A quick look at the
Windows 2003 support tools
The Windows 2003 support tools are a collection
of resources with the aim of assisting administrators to simplify management
tasks. These include: troubleshooting operating systems, configuring networking
and security features, managing Active Directory, and automating application
deployment. With the use of these tools, the user is able to pin-point
problematic issues with the system and will therefore be able to find a solution
more easily.
The Windows 2003 Support Tools consist of a
number of command-line utilities, visual basic scripts, GUI based applications,
and documents - all of which you must install from a seperate application. The
Support Tools are not automatically installed when you install Windows 2003;
their installation isn’t an option in the Windows 2003 setup. The installation
program is located on the CD-ROM in the \support\tools folder and the setup file
(suptools.msi) must be opened manually to initiate the installation wizard.
Installing the support tools
Press Next and browse through the
screens, select "I Agree" when the license agreement screen comes up. You
will be prompted to choose a location in which to install the tools. By
default, the location is c:\program files\support tools\
Press the "Install Now" button and
the installation will proceed. The installation will take a couple of
minutes to be complete. Press "Finish" and close all windows to be able to
start using the tools.
The support tools explained
This section will display the list
of support tools found on the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM in alphabetical
order.
Tool Name:
ACL Diagnostics
Filename:
acldiag.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Detects and displays the permission
problems found in the Access Control Lists of objects in Active
Directory
Tool Name:
Active Directory Replication Monitor
Filename:
replmon.exe
Format:
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Allows the control of Active Directory
replication information
Tool Name:
Active Directory Search Tool
Filename:
search.vbs
Format:
Command Line
Description:
A script used to search an LDAP
(Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) directory
Tool Name:
Application Deployment Diagnostics
Filename:
addiag.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Gives you a list of the software
implemented on a local computer using group policy
Tool Name:
ADSI Edit
Filename:
adsiedit.msc
Format:
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Allows the editing of objects in Active
Directory in a low-level style editor
Tool Name:
Advanced Power Management Status
Filename:
apmstat.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Gives information about advanced power
management features in older notebook computers
Tool Name:
Binary File Difference Finder
Filename:
bindiff.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Allows you to compare two binary files
and view their differences
Tool Name:
BITS Administration Utility
Filename:
bitsadmin.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Adminsters the Background Intelligent
Transfer Service which controls background file transfers for
Internet Information Services
Tool Name:
Browser Status
Filename:
browstat.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Displays network browser status
Tool Name:
Cabinet Tool
Filename:
cabarc.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Creates, views and extracts compressed
.CAB files
Tool Name:
Clone Principal
Filename:
clonepr.dll
Format:
Command Line
Description:
This dynamic link library clones
windows NT 4.0 users and groups to allow migration to a Windows
Server 2003 forest
Tool Name:
Dependancy Walker
Filename:
depends.exe
Format:
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Allows you to view all the dependencies
of a file. You are able to check which DLLs are dependant on others.
This can be very useful when investigating a problem related to a
missing file. The image below shows the GUI interface of the
dependancy viewer. To demonstrate, I have loaded the twain_32.dll
file - as you can see, this dll depends on three other dlls for it
to work.
Tool Name:
Device Console Utility
Filename:
devcon.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
The command prompt version of the
device manager in the hardware tab of system properties
Tool Name:
DFS and SYSVOL Replication Topology
Analysis Tool
Filename:
topchk.cmd
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Shows the FRS replication topology
Tool Name:
DHCP Server Locator Utility
Filename:
dhcploc.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Shows a list of all DHCP servers on
the subnet
Tool Name:
Directory Disk Usage
Filename:
diruse.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Displays directory sizes and
compression information
Tool Name:
Directory Services ACL Editor
Filename:
dcaslc.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Manages access control lists for
Active Directory objects
Tool Name:
Directory Services Utility
Filename:
dsastat.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Compare and contrast two directory
trees in the same domain or across different domains
Tool Name:
Distributed File System (DFS)
Utility
Filename:
dfsutil.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Manages DFS, limits clients to
targets within the same site and enables windows server 2003
based DFS servers to select remote targets
Tool Name:
Diskprobe
Filename:
dskprobe.exe
Format:
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Allows you to edit the disk sector
information directly (includes also the MBR)
Tool Name:
Disk Manager Diagnostics
Filename:
dmdiag.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Provides detailed diagnostic
information about hard disk drives
Tool Name:
DNS Server Troubleshooting Tool
Filename:
dnscmd.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Administrators are able to view and
modify DNS servers, zones and resources
Tool Name:
Domain Controller Diagnostic Tool
Filename:
dcdiag.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Analyzes and reports on the state
of a domain controller
Tool Name:
Encrypting File System Information
Filename:
efsinfo.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Provides information about
files that have been encrypted using EFS. This is a very helpful
tool when you want to analyze which files and folders are
encrypted. If I were to go to the C: drive in the command prompt
and type "efsinfo", a list of all the files and their encryption
related information will be displayed. This can be seen in the
example below:
Tool Name:
Extensible Perforamce Counter List
Filename:
Exctrlst.exe
Format:
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Displays information about the
programs that use the regsitry to provide performance counters
Tool Name:
Fault Tolerance Disk Mounter
Filename:
ftonline.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Mounts Windows NT 4.0 fault
tolerance disk sets
Tool Name:
File and Directory Comparison
Filename:
windiff.exe
Format:
Command Line, Graphical User
Interface
Description:
Compares ASCII text files or
folders
Tool Name:
File Replication Utility
Filename:
ntfrsutil.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Displays the status of the NT file
replication service onto the screen of dumps it in a file
Tool Name:
FileVer
Filename:
filever.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
States version information of a
file or folder
Tool Name:
FRS Connection Status Report
Filename:
connstat.cmd
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Tool Name:
FRS Health Check
Filename:
health_chk.cmd
Format:
Command Line
Description:
States the health of the FRS of a
specified domain controller
Tool Name:
FRS Inbound and Outbound Logs
Report Tool
Filename:
lologsum.cmd
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Displays information about FRS
replication
Tool Name:
Get Security ID
Filename:
getsid.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Checks if a user account database
is corrupt by comparing the SIDs of the account on two domain
controllers
Tool Name:
Global Flags Editor
Filename:
gflags.exe
Format:
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Allows you to edit global registry
settings or flags that are in use by the kernel
Tool Name:
HTTP Configuration Utility
Filename:
httpcfg.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Manages the HTTP Application
Programming Interface
Tool Name:
IAS Parse Tool
Filename:
iasparse.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Parses RAS and IAS log files and
displays the results in IAS or ODBC format
Tool Name:
Kerberos Keytab Setup
Filename:
ktpass.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Configures a non-windows 2003
kerberos service to be a security principle in Windows Server
2003
Tool Name:
Kerberos Setup
Filename:
ksetup.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Configures Windows Server 2003
clients to use an MIT Kerberos Server
Tool Name:
LDP Tool
Filename:
ldp.exe
Format:
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Performs Lightweight Directory
Access Protocol operations
Tool Name:
Manipulate Service Principle Names
for Accounts
Filename:
setspn.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Manipulates SPNs for active
directory service accounts
Tool Name:
Memory Pool Monitor
Filename:
poolmon.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Shows information about the
system's memory pool.
Tool Name:
Memory Profiling Tool
Filename:
memsnap.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Allows you to save a list of the
memory resources being used by all processes
Tool Name:
Move Users
Filename:
movetree.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Moves objects between domains
Tool Name:
Network Connectivity Tester
Filename:
netdiag.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Troubleshoots network
connectivity by running various tests on your configuration and
displaying the results. This tool does not require any extra
parameters, which allows the administrator to instruct a user to
run this command, pass on the results and allow them to be
analyzed. Thus, making it less complicated if say, a senior
admin was at home instructing the junior admin to do this on the
servers at the office. The image below only displays the first
phase of the results.
Tool Name:
Network Monitor Capture Utility
Filename:
netcap.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Acts as a packet sniffer by using
Network Monitor to capture packets and log them to a file
Tool Name:
NItest
Filename:
nitest.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Queries the status of trusts; lists
primary domain controllers; forces a shutdown and forces a user
database in syncronization
Tool Name:
Poolmon
Filename:
poolmon.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Helps to detect memory leaks
by displaying detailed information about the allocation of
memory. As soon as you type "poolmon" from the command prompt,
the following kind of data will be shown. This includes the
total amount of memory in the system and the memory available,
amongst others.
Tool Name:
Port Query
Filename:
portqry.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Allows you to troubleshoot
TCP and UDP ports. This helps the administrator to determine the
state of any given port. If you type "portqryt -n computer_name
-e port_number" the name will be resolved to the ip address and
the port number will be queried. Details such as the service
assigned to that port, the port type (TCP, UDP), the state of
the port and also any held data will be displayed.
Tool Name:
Process Viewer
Filename:
pviewer.exe
Format:
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Allows you to change a process priority
or kill a process. This can be described as more advanced version of
the "process viewer" available in the task manager. With this tool
you are able to set the priority of the thread and process or kill a
process altogether. Pressing on the memory detail button will bring
up a window displaying in-depth information as to where the memory
of the process is going.
Tool Name:
Remote Command Line
Filename:
remote.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Runs command line programs on
remote computers using only named pipes
Tool Name:
Remote Storage Diagnostics Utility
Filename:
rsdiag.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Queries and reports on remote
storage databases
Tool Name:
Remote Storage File Analysis
Utility
Filename:
rsdir.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Displays information form files in
remote storage
Tool Name:
Replication Diagnostics Tool
Filename:
repadmin.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Allows the doagnosis of replication
problems between controllers in Windows Server 2003
Tool Name:
Security Administration Tools
Filename:
sidwalk.exe, showaccs.exe,
sidwalk.msc
Format:
Command Line, Command Line,
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Manages access control lists
Tool Name:
Security Descriptor Check Utility
Filename:
sdcheck.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Displays access controls on an
object
Tool Name:
Service Pack Check
Filename:
spcheck.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Creates a file containing a
list of the service pack versions of important system files.
This tool requires you to have the spcheck.ini file in the
directory in which you are going to execute the command. If you
do not have this file available, then you may download it from
the Microsoft website. Type "spcheck" and a report will be
created and dumped into the current directory. You will then
have to go to the file and open it will a text editor (notepad.exe
will do fine). The report contains a list of important system
files and which service pack they have installed or if they are
missing.
Tool Name:
Windows Domain Manager
Filename:
netdom.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Provides command line
administration of domains and trusts
Tool Name:
Windows Installer Cleanup Utility
Filename:
msicuu.exe
Format:
Graphical User Interface
Description:
Removes excess registry entries
from a faulty installation
Tool Name:
Windows Installer Zapper
Filename:
msizap.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
The same as the widows installer
cleanup utility, only a more in depth version
Tool Name:
Xcacls.exe
Filename:
xcacls.exe
Format:
Command Line
Description:
Sets and displays files ACLs
