Introduction

Welcome to the Microsoft® Windows NT® Server Resource Kit: Windows NT Server Resource Guide.

The MicrosoftWindows NT Server Resource Kit for version 4.0 consists of three new volumes and a single compact disc (CD) containing utilities for both Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server. An online version of the new, comprehensive Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide is also available on the CD. Update books for the Windows NT Server Resource Kit will be released on a semi-annual basis. They will contain new information and major revisions of existing topics.

The Windows NT Server Resource Guide presents detailed information that is specific mainly to the Windows NT Server operating system, plus topics that are either new for version 4.0 or reflect issues that our Product Support people consider timely and important. This information is intended to be an in-depth, technical supplement to the printed and online documentation included as part of the Windows NT Server version 4.0 product. It does not replace that information as the source for learning how to use the product features and programs. It is also supplementary to the information presented in the Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide, which is available in online format on the CD.

This Introduction includes the following types of information you can use to get started:

• The first section outlines the contents of this book, so that you can quickly find pertinent technical details.

• The second section introduces the Windows NT Server Resource Kit CD.

• The third section describes the support policy for the Windows NT Server Resource Kit.

About the Windows NT Server Resource Guide

This book includes the following chapters.

Part I, About Windows NT Server

Chapter 1, "Deploying Windows NT Server," discusses special considerations for deploying Windows NT Server 4.0. In general, you can deploy Windows NT Server using the techniques described for deploying Windows NT Workstation in Part I, "Windows NT Workstation Deployment," of the Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide.

Chapter 2, "Printing," describes the Windows NT printing architecture and flow of control, including printing from all possible network clients. Descriptions of each printing component, including the spooler and print server services, are included, as well as a printing troubleshooting guide.

Part II, Reliability and Recoverability

Chapter 3, "Disk Management Basics," describes managing and understanding disks to provide you with a basic understanding of disk hardware and how Windows NT accesses disks. The chapter also describes the Windows NT startup process so that you can troubleshoot problems effectively and recover from them.

Chapter 4, "Planning a Reliable Configuration," covers topics such as disaster planning, backup strategies, and mass storage strategies.

Chapter 5, "Preparing for and Performing Recovery," describes what information you should back up and how to use those backups to recover from problems.

Chapter 6, "Troubleshooting Startup and Disk Problems," discusses what you can do to isolate startup problems, along with possible causes of and how to recover from disk problems.

Chapter 7, "Disk, File System, and Backup Utilities," describes each of the utilities mentioned in the previous chapters and how to use them.

Part III, Windows NT Server Troubleshooting

Chapter 8, "General Troubleshooting," identifies tools that are available in Windows NT to help you troubleshoot problems. The chapter also contains information about troubleshooting hardware problems and how to use the information in the Registry to determine why services are not working correctly.

Index to this Windows NT Server Resource Guide.

Glossary is available online in the Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide.

Resource Kit Compact Disc

The CD that accompanies the Windows NT Server Resource Kit contains utilities that apply to information in the Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide, the Windows NT Server Resource Guide, the Windows NT Server Networking Guide, and the Windows NT Server Internet Guide. This new CD replaces all previous ones. It includes a collection of information resources, tools, and utilities that can make networking and working with the Windows NT platform even easier.

Note: The utilities on this CD are designed and tested for the U.S. version of Windows NT version 4.0. Use of these utilities on any other version of Windows NT may cause unpredictable results.

A large Help file with explanations and user actions for the majority of the messages included in Windows NT version 4.0, and a large Help file of Performance Counter Definitions are just two of the major items included on the Windows NT Server Resource Kit CD. Updates to these files and others will be provided, when available, on the Microsoft Internet web site for the Windows NT Resource Kits. See the Rktools.hlp file for the exact site address, as well as the addresses of other Microsoft information sites.

After installing the Windows NT Server Resource Kit, please refer first to the following three files:

• The Readme.wri file, which contains a complete list of all the tools and utilities on the Windows NT Server Resource Kit CD and additional setup instructions for some of them.

• Either the Rkdocw.hlp (for Windows NT Workstation) or the Rkdocs.hlp (for Windows NT Server) file, which provides a single entry point for all of the major components of the Resource Kit's online documentation.

• The Rktools.hlp file, which provides an overview of the Resource Kit tools and utilities and basic instructions on how to use many of them, along with links to additional documentation and, in some cases, to the actual program files.

The most current corrections to those tools and utilities and their documentation, as well as the POSIX and Perl source code files, are available on the Internet at the following Microsoft FTP site**:**

ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/reskit/nt40/

The Windows NT Server Resource Kit CD includes a wide variety of tools and utilities to help you work more efficiently with both Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server. The following notes describe some of the enhancements made to the existing tools and utilities and introduce new ones that have been added for this version 4.0 release.

Batch Tools

• KiXtart 95, Kix32.exe, is a logon script processor and/or enhanced batch language for Windows NT and Windows 95 workstations in a Windows Networking environment. You can use it to do such things as display user information, connect to network resources, read/edit the Registry, and add/change program groups.

Computer Administration/Configuration Tools

• SrvInstW is a wizard for installing and deleting services and device drivers. This is a GUI form of the Instsrv.exe application that now also has increased functionality for detailing service parameters.

Computer and Network Setup Tools

• SysDiff.exe enables you to pre-install applications, including those that do not support scripted installation, as part of an automated setup.

Computer Diagnostic Tools

• Remote Kill is a service with both GUI and command-line clients. It enables a user to enumerate and kill a process on a remote computer. It also combines some of the functionality of Tlist.exe and Kill.exe.

• ShowAcls is a utility that enumerates the access rights for files, folders, and trees. It also allows masking to enumerate only specific ACLs.

Desktop Tools

• Desktop Themes from the Windows 95 Plus Pack are included now along with several new Windows NT-specific themes. These themes include a variety of visual, sound, and symbolic components that can enhance the look and feel of your Windows NT 4.0 desktop. Each desktop theme includes a background wallpaper, a screen saver, a color scheme, and a set of sounds, cursors, icons, and fonts.

• MultiDesk, Multidsk.exe, is a desktop switching program for Windows NT 4.0. It customizes the desktop wallpaper and colors, and separates executing programs into new desk spaces.

Disk/Fault Tolerance Tools

• DiskProbe, Dskprobe.exe, is a sector editor for Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server that enables a user with local Administrator rights to edit, save, and copy data directly on the physical hard drive that is not accessible in any other way.

• DiskMap produces a detailed report on the configuration of the hard disk that you specify. It provides information from the Registry about disk characteristics and geometry, the Master Boot Record, and the Partition Table for all the partitions on the disk.

File Tools

• ForFiles is a utility that enables batch processing of files in a folder or tree. You can run a command or give arguments to certain files. For example, you can run the type command on all files in a tree with the *.txt extension. Or you could execute every batch file (*.bat) on the C:\ drive with the "myinput.txt" filename as the first argument.

• LogTime is a utility that logs the date and time stamp for batch file calls.

• SetX is a utility that sets User vs. System environment variables.

Internet and TCP/IP Services/Tools

• Web Based Administration of Windows NT Server, WebAdmin, is an ISAPI DLL that will enable remote administration of Windows NT Server by means of shipping HTML browsers, such as Internet Explorer 2.0 and above, from Windows®, Macintosh, and UNIX platforms. Its purpose is to assist administrators when they do not have access to their traditional tools, such as when they are away from their normal workspace or "roaming."

• dbWeb is a gateway between Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) data sources and the Internet Information Server (IIS). You can use dbWeb to publish data from an ODBC data source and provide familiar World Wide Web (WWW) hypertext navigation. While allowing users to create queries, dbWeb enables you to filter the data and sources that users can access and display.

• The Beta version of our Telnet Server, Telnetd.exe. You can use it to run command-line utilities, scripts, and batch files from operating system-independent clients. It is not intended to be a full, commercial-grade Telnet solution.

Network Diagnostic Tools

• SrvInfo.exe is a command line utility that displays local or remote computer-configuration information, including such things as whether it is a Server or a Workstation, the version, domain, PDC, IP address, CPU type and revision, drives, file systems, available drive space, mappings, services and status, network cards and bindings, and system up time.

• Updated and additional MIBs are included.

Network/Server Administration Tools

• Group Copy, GRPCPY, is a utility that enables you to copy the usernames in an existing group to another group that is in the same or another domain or a Windows NT computer. You must have at least Account Operator privileges to the domains with which you want to work.

• Remote Console is a client/server application that enables you to run a command-line session remotely, within which you may launch any other application. Few tools besides Remote Console run applications remotely. REMOTE is not a service, but simply redirects standard input and output, so console programs that take control of the video memory and the keyboard do not work with REMOTE. Along with RCMD and RSH, Remote Console offers you a new way to run consoles remotely and to take control of a CMD session.

Registry Tools

• The Registry Entries Help file, Regentry.hlp, has been updated again for this newest version. The chapter in the Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide that corresponded to this Help file has been discontinued.

• Over 10 new command-line Registry programs have also been added for searching, retrieving, and replacing keys in both local and remote Registries.

Tools for Developers

• PULIST is a utility that enumerates system processes and dumps process owners and IDs. You can use it against local or remote computers.

• Api Monitor, APIMON, is a utility that enables you to monitor the API calls that a process is making. This utility incorporates the functionality of the Application Profiler that will no longer ship with the Windows NT Workstation Resource Kit.

• CpuStress is a utility that loads down the processor, which is useful for evaluating how a system performs under heavy usage.

• Heap Monitor, HEAPMON, is a utility that enables you to view system heap information.

User Account Administration Tools

• Delete Profile, DELPROF, is a utility that deletes user profiles on Windows NT.

• SU now includes a GUI interface along with other major additions. SU enables you to start a process that is running as an arbitrary user.

• AddUsers has been updated to include such things as home-directory creation, global and local group deletion, and the ability to set the parsing token for the input/output (I/O) file.

Resource Kit Support Policy

The SOFTWARE supplied in the Windows NT Server Resource Kit is not officially supported. Microsoft does not guarantee the performance of the Window NT Server Resource Kit tools, response times for answering questions, or bug fixes to the tools. However, we do provide a way for customers who purchase the Windows NT Server Resource Kit to report bugs and receive possible fixes for their issues. You can do this by either sending Internet mail to RKINPUT@MICROSOFT.COM or by referring to one of the options listed in the Start Here book, which is included with your Windows NT Server product. This mail address is only for Windows NT Server Resource Kit related issues.

The SOFTWARE (including instructions for its use and all printed and online documentation) is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft further disclaims all implied warranties, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk arising out of the use or performance of the SOFTWARE and documentation remains with you.

In no event shall Microsoft, its authors, or anyone else involved in the creation, production, or delivery of the SOFTWARE be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use the SOFTWARE or documentation, even if Microsoft has been advised of the possibility of such damages.