Recovery Console

Infobox Software
name = Recovery Console



caption = The Windows 2000 Recovery Console selection, login, and command prompts.
developer = Microsoft Corporation
released = February 17, 2000
latest_release_version =
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latest_preview_version =
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operating_system = Windows 2000
Windows XP
Windows Server 2003
platform = x86, x86-64 and Itanium
language =
status = Discontinued
genre = Operating system shell
source_model = Closed source
license = MS-EULA
website = [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058 Recovery Console] The Recovery Console is a feature of the Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. It provides the means for administrators to perform a limited range of tasks using a command line interface. Its primary function is to enable administrators to recover from situations where Windows does not boot as far as presenting its graphical user interface.

How to invoke the recovery console

The recovery console may be entered in one of two ways:
* From the operating system installation CD-ROM
* Via the boot-time menu presented by NTLDR

Invoking the recovery console from the installation CD-ROM

The recovery console is always available from the operating system installation CD-ROM. To invoke it, an administrator simply boots the computer from the CD-ROM. From the operating system setup utility, Windows 2000 users have to select two menu options ("To repair a Windows 2000 installation, press R." and then "To repair a Windows 2000 installation by using the recovery console, press C.") whereas Windows XP users have to select just one ("To repair a Windows XP installation using recovery console, press R.")

Invoking the recovery console from the NTLDR menu

The recovery console can also be configured as an option on the boot-time menu that is presented by NTLDR. This is not included by default when the operating system is first installed. Instead, administrators have to run the winnt32 utility with the /cmdcons switch, which adds the recovery console to the NTLDR menu, ready for when the machine is next bootstrapped.

This requires that the system is not damaged to the extent that the Windows NT Startup Process cannot even reach the point of running NTLDR.

Tasks that can be performed via the recovery console

The recovery console has a simple command line interpreter. Many of the available commands closely resemble the command line commands that are normally available on Windows, namely attrib, copy, del, and so forth.

From the recovery console an administrator can:
* create and remove directories, and copy, erase, display, and rename files
* enable and disable services (which modifies the service control database in the registry, to take effect when the system is next bootstrapped)
* write a new Master Boot Record to a disc, using the fixmbr command
* write a new Volume Boot Record to a volume, using the fixboot command
* format volumes
* expand files from the compressed format in which they are stored on the installation CD-ROM
* perform a full CHKDSK scan to repair corrupted disks and files, especially if the computer cannot be started properly

Filesystem access on the recovery console is by default severely limited. An administrator using the recovery console has only read-only access to all volumes except for the boot volume, and even on the boot volume only access to the root directory and to the Windows system directory (e.g. WINNT). This can be changed by changing Security Policies to enable read/write access to the complete file system including copying files from removable media (i.e. floppy drives).

Although it appears in the list of commands available by typing "HELP", and in many articles about the Recovery Console (including those authored by Microsoft), the NET command does not function. No protocol stacks are loaded, so there is no way to connect to a shared folder on a remote computer as implied.

See also

* Emergency Repair Disk

References

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