Introduction

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

The Microsoft Windows NT Workstation Resource Kit for version 4.0 consists of this new, comprehensive volume and a single compact disc (CD) containing utilities that make it easier for you to get the most out of Windows NT Workstation. For information and utilities specific to working with Windows NT Server and/or large networks, you need to purchase the Microsoft Windows NT Server Resource Kit for version 4.0.

The Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide presents detailed information on the Windows NT Workstation operating system, plus topics that are either new for version 4.0 or reflect issues that our Product Support people consider timely and important. You should consider this information to be an in-depth, technical supplement to the printed and online documentation included as part of the Windows* *NT Workstation version 4.0 product. It does not replace that information as the source for learning how to use the product features and programs.

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 Workstation Resource Kit CD.

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

About the Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide

This book includes the following chapters.

Part I, Windows NT Workstation Deployment

Chapter 1, "Deployment Strategy and Details," provides an overview of the steps involved in deploying Windows NT Workstation 4.0 throughout an organization. These steps include assembling the teams, choosing and testing the configurations of Windows NT Workstation to be used in an organization, and testing and performing the deployment process.Chapter 2, "Customizing Setup," tells administrators how to provide their users with an unattended, customized installation. They can include applications, third-party device drivers, and even organization-specific Help files. End users can get right to work with an easy to use, powerful operating system, and all the applications, files, and tools they need.Chapter 3, "Planning for a Mixed Environment," discusses the tools available to manage a network that includes both Windows NT Workstation and Windows 95. It also discusses factors to consider when deciding which operating system to install on which computers in an organization.Chapter 4, "Deployment on Existing Client-Server Networks," discusses tools such as Systems Management Server that administrators can use to make the deployment of Windows NT Workstation 4.0 across an existing network even easier — or administrators, for users, and for help desk personnel.

Part II, About Windows NT

Chapter 5, "Windows NT Workstation Architecture," describes the architecture of Windows NT and its components. It also includes information on the improvements that were made in the architecture for Windows NT version 4.0.Chapter 6, "Windows NT Workstation Security," provides a detailed description of the security architecture, which is pervasive throughout the operating system. It also gives detailed examples of how security can be implemented in Windows NT and provides practical suggestions for implementing different levels of security. The chapter concludes with a description of C2 security and the status of Windows NT in the certification process.Chapter 7, "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.Chapter 8, "Fonts," presents technical information about the font technologies supported by Windows NT and focuses on TrueType fonts. This chapter also provides detailed information about printer fonts, installing fonts, and the expanded support for multiple character sets.

Part III, Optimizing Windows NT Workstation

Chapter 9, "The Art of Performance Monitoring," is an overview of the elements of performance monitoring on Windows NT.Chapter 10, "About Performance Monitor," is a detailed description of Performance Monitor, the monitoring tool designed for Windows NT, from its most basic level to the subtle details of mastering the tool.Chapter 11, "Performance Monitoring Tools," is a review of additional tools for monitoring the performance of Windows NT, including many of those that are included on the Windows NT Workstation Resource Kit CD.Chapter 12, "Detecting Memory Bottlenecks," describes tests you can use to monitor your computer's physical memory and its role in the Windows NT virtual memory system. The chapter also includes tests to help you determine how efficiently your applications use the virtual memory system.Chapter 13, "Detecting Processor Bottlenecks," guides you through the steps of recognizing a processor bottleneck, tracing it to its source, and eliminating it.Chapter 14, "Detecting Disk Bottlenecks," describes different disk testing methods, and shows you how to measure the efficiency of your disks and your application's use of them. The chapter also includes a guide to testing and analyzing the performance of stripe sets using Performance Monitor logs included on the Windows NT Workstation Resource Kit CD.Chapter 15, "Detecting Cache Bottlenecks," demonstrates how a memory shortage affects the Windows NT file system cache and shows you how to use cache activity indicators to analyze application I/O.Chapter 16, "Monitoring Multiprocessor Computers," describes the performance issues unique to a symmetric multiprocessing system and how to monitor them.

Part IV, Reliability and Recoverability

Chapter 17, "Disk and File System Basics," describes the organization, contents, and purpose of the information on hard disks, and includes a description of disk hardware. Understanding the information in this chapter will help you to troubleshoot disk problems effectively and recover from them.Chapter 18, "Choosing a File System," provides an overview of the capabilities and limitations of the File Allocation Table (FAT) file system and the Windows NT file system (NTFS). The previous chapter describes the structure of FAT and NTFS partitions from the perspective of how each file system organizes the data on the disk. This chapter focuses on the user aspects of each file system.Chapter 19, "What Happens When You Start Your Computer," describes what happens at each step in the process when the computer starts successfully with Windows NT installed as one of the operating systems. It also describes dual-booting and triple-booting other operating systems, such as Windows 95 and MS-DOS®. It provides information on the contents of the Boot.ini file on x86-based computers and describes the firmware menus and how to use them on RISC-based computers.Chapter 20, "Preparing for and Performing Recovery," describes what information you should back up and how to use those backups to recover from problems.Chapter 21, "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 22, "Disk, File System, and Backup Utilities," describes each of the utilities mentioned in the previous chapters and how to use them.

Part V, Windows NT Registry

Chapter 23, "Overview of the Windows NT Registry," describes the Windows NT Registry, which is the configuration database for Windows NT.Chapter 24, "Registry Editors and Registry Administration," describes the two Registry editors included with Windows NT, with an emphasis on protecting the Registry contents and using Registry editors to monitor and maintain the system configuration on local and remote computers.Chapter 25, "Configuration Management and the Registry," provides examples of investigative and problem-solving techniques using the Registry and Registry editors.Chapter 26, "Initialization Files and the Registry," describes how .ini files and other configuration files are used under Windows NT and how these values are stored in the Registry.

Part VI, Compatibility

Chapter 27, "Compatibility and Migration: Windows 3.x and Windows 95," provides a technical discussion of the Win16 subsystem for running Win16 and MS-DOS applications under Windows NT. The chapter also presents a discussion about running a mixed environment of Windows operating systems, and a detailed comparison of system architecture, reliability, security, and features between Windows NT and Windows 95.Chapter 28, "OS/2 Compatibility," describes the implementation of the OS/2 subsystem, the application programming interface, and how to run OS/2 applications under Windows NT.Chapter 29, "POSIX Compatibility," describes POSIX and its levels of conformance. The chapter also describes the implementation of the POSIX subsystem and how to run POSIX applications under Windows NT.

Part VII, Networking with Windows NT Workstation

Chapter 30, "Microsoft TCP/IP and Related Services for Windows NT," provides an overview of the networking services and TCP/IP transport used in Windows NT networking.Chapter 31, "Microsoft TCP/IP Architecture," provides a general description of the architecture of TCP/IP in Windows NT.Chapter 32, "Networking Name Resolution and Registration," describes the name resolution and registration services provided with Windows NT to enable locating and connecting to remote computers on an intranet or the Internet.Chapter 33, "Using LMHOSTS Files," provides information about the LMHOSTS file that contains static mappings of "friendly" NetBIOS computer names to IP addresses to enable computers to locate resources on the Internet or on routed, TCP/IP intranets.Chapter 34, "Managing User Work Environments," describes the following tools that you can use to manage user work environments: user profiles, System Policy Editor, logon scripts, and environment variables.Chapter 35, "Using Windows NT Workstation on the Internet," introduces the components that enable a computer running Windows NT Workstation to access the Internet or to publish using Peer Web Services.

Part VIII, Windows NT Workstation Troubleshooting

Chapter 36, "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.Chapter 37, "Monitoring Events," describes the three types of Windows NT events (application, system, and security) and the tool that you use to view them.Chapter 38, "Windows NT Executive STOP Messages," discusses the various types of messages generated by the Windows NT Executive and categorizes them by their type and severity.Chapter 39, "Windows NT Debugger," provides information on how to troubleshoot blue screens and Executive STOP messages by configuring the computer for a local or remote debugging session.

Part IX, Appendixes

Appendix A, "Answer Files and UDFs," is a reference for creating the answer files and associated Uniqueness Database Files (UDFs) that enable a completely unattended setup for each user in an organization. Appendix B, "Security in a Software Development Environment," provides detailed information on protecting and auditing objects that are not normally accessed by anything other than the Windows NT operating system itself. This appendix is of use in a software development environment, or in situations where custom software shares the system with sensitive data. This appendix also describes special cases of auditing that might be of interest to administrators of high-level security installations.Appendix C, "Port Reference for MS TCP/IP," describes the well-known and registered port assignments that are supported by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows NT.

Glossary in printed form for Windows NT.

Index to this Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide.

Resource Kit Compact Disc

The CD that accompanies the Windows NT Workstation Resource Kit contains utilities that apply to information in the Windows NT Workstation Resource 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 Workstation 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 Workstation 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 Workstation 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 Workstation Resource Kit CD includes a wide variety of tools and utilities to help you work more efficiently with Windows NT Workstation. 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.

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 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

• 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/Server Administration Tools

• 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

• 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.

Resource Kit Support Policy

The SOFTWARE supplied in the Windows NT Workstation Resource Kit is not officially supported. Microsoft does not guarantee the performance of the Window NT Workstation 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 Workstation 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 Workstation product**.** This mail address is only for Windows NT Workstation 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.