ERD Commander version 1.03 User’s Guide Winternals Software LP 3101 Bee Caves Road, Suite 150 Austin, Texas 78746 (512) 330-9130 (512) 330-9131 Fax www.winternals.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 Table of Contents 1 Introduction................................................................................... 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 2 ERD Commander Setup ............................................................... 4 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3 Booting Up .....................................................................................7 Sample Screen ..............................................................................7 The Command-line Environment .....................
ERD Commander Version 1.03 1 Introduction Welcome to ERD Commander, the advanced system utility that finally brings boot-floppy functionality to Windows NT. When problems arise in Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 that render a system unbootable, there is always the possibility of booting off of a DOS floppy disk so that the drives of the machine can be accessed for repair and salvage. In the past, Windows NT administrators have gone without this recovery option. 1.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 ♦= Allows Device and Service startup options to be reconfigured in the registry (Boot, System, Automatic, Manual, or Disabled) in order to enable/disable defective drivers ♦= Built in FAT32 support ♦= Built in EXPAND functionality for decompressing and copying files from the NT Installation CD-ROM, or restoring backup registry hives created by RDISK An upgrade is available for registered users of ERD Commander to ERD Commander Professional. 1.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 Correcting Registry Problems A number of NT boot problems are the result of misconfigured Registry values. With ERD Commander you can copy Registry hives (located under \system32\config) off the system to a floppy disk or other writeable removable media for modification on another NT machine (using Regedt32’s Hive loading capability). Modified hives can then be copied back.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 2 ERD Commander Setup 2.1 Requirements ERD Commander requires the Microsoft Windows NT© 4.0 installation CDROM to create a set of boot diskettes. The disks can be used to access both NT 4.0 and 3.51 systems. You will need three blank floppy diskettes. Optionally, you can supply an existing set of Windows NT Setup diskettes, which ERD Commander will modify. Please note that such modification is permanent; you will not be able to reinstall NT from those disks in the future.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 2.3 ERD Commander for the DEC Alpha Edition The ERD Commander Setup program will allow you to create a set of Alpha NT boot floppies that are configured with ERD Commander. The Setup program will also allow you to install the ERD Commander boot files into a directory on a hard drive or removable media. Follow your ARC OS loader instructions to initiate a boot of ERD Commander, specifying “SETUPLDR” as the boot file.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 3. Under the [SCSI] heading oemdrvr = "HAL 9000 SCSI Host Adapter" Enter as shown above, replacing ”oemdrvr” with the name of the third-party driver that you need to add. The format should match that of other entries in each section.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 3 Starting ERD Commander 3.1 Booting Up After the disks are loaded, a stripped–down version of Windows NT will start, displaying the familiar boot–time Blue Screen that presents the NT version number, system memory size, and number of processors present. ERD Commander then starts automatically and enters a command–line environment nearly identical to the one NT implements in Command–Prompt. 3.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 4 The Command-line Environment 4.1 Overview ERD Commander has a sophisticated command-line processor and it implements a large subset of NT’s command-line command set, complete with all standard file-related commands. The environment mirrors the standard NT command-line environment so that using ERD Commander is intuitive – if you’re familiar with the commands and command-line editing capabilities present in NT, then you already know how to use ERD Commander.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 4.2 Command-line Editing The command-line editing capabilities of ERD Commander are very similar to those supported by NT’s command-line processor. Below is a reference of recognized special keys. ESC Resets the input line. HOME Moves the cursor to the start of the input line. END Moves the cursor to the end of the input line. LEFT, RIGHT Moves the cursor left or right one character DEL Deletes the character under the cursor.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5 The Command Set The command set of ERD Commander, like its command-line editing features, is similar that of NT. The command set includes all standard filerelated commands, and virtually all support the same options as their NT counter-parts. This list shows the full set, with each command linked to its documentation.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 MKDIR Creates a directory. MORE Displays the contents of a file MOVE Moves one or more files from one directory to another directory. QUIT Quits ERD Commander and reboots the system. RD Removes a directory. REN Renames a file or files. RENAME Renames a file or files. RMDIR Removes a directory. SERVICE Displays and modifies service and driver startup settings. TYPE Displays the contents of a file VER Displays ERD Commander version number.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5.1 ACCESS Gives Everyone full access to directories or files. Syntax ACCESS [[drive][path]filename] [/S] Switches /S Processes files in all subdirectories in the specified path This command is a custom ERD Commander command. It is possible to render a NT system unbootable by inadvertently applying security restrictions to NTFS files or directories that prevent NT from loading files it requires.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5.2 ATTRIB Displays or changes file attributes. Syntax ATTRIB [+R | -R] [+A | -A] [+S | -S] [+H | -H] [drive:][path]filename] [/S] Switches 5.3 + Sets an attribute - Clears an attribute R Read-only file attribute A Archive file attribute S System file attribute /S Processes files in all subdirectories in the specified path CD/CHDIR Displays the name of or changes the current directory. Syntax CHDIR [drive:][path] CHDIR[..] CD [drive:][path] CD[..] Notes ..
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5.5 COPY Copies one or more files to another location. Syntax COPY source [destination] Notes source Specifies the file or files to be copied destination Specifies the directory and/or filename for the new file(s) Wildcards can be used in both the source and destination file name specifications. 5.6 DEL/ERASE DEL or ERASE deletes one or more files.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5.7 DIR DIR displays a list of files and subdirectories in a directory.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5.8 EXIT/QUIT Exits ERD Commander and reboots the system. Syntax EXIT QUIT Be sure to remove the boot floppy from the floppy disk drive before the system reboots. 5.9 HELP Provides Help information for ERD Commander commands.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5.10 MAP Displays drive letter to partition mappings. Syntax MAP This command’s purpose is to help you determine the drive letter assignments ERD Commander has made. ERD Commander does not rely on Disk Administrator drive letter mappings because there may be multiple NT installations on the hard disks, each with their own mappings. For each drive you’ll see the device name, volume label, file system type and drive size.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5.11 MKDIR/MD Creates a directory. Syntax MKDIR [drive:]path MD [drive:]path MKDIR creates any intermediate directories in the path, if needed. For example, assume \a does not exist then: Syntax 5.12 MKDIR a\b\c is the same as MKDIR \a mkdir \a\b mkdir \a\b\c MORE/TYPE Displays the ASCII contents of a file. Syntax MORE filename TYPE filename The MORE/TYPE command automatically pauses after each screen of data.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5.14 RENAME/REN Renames a file/directory or files/directories. Syntax RENAME [drive:][path][directoryname1 | filename1] [path][directoryname2 | filename2] REN [drive:][path][directoryname1 | filename1] [path][directoryname2 | filename2] Note that you cannot specify a new drive for your destination. 5.15 RMDIR/RD Removes (deletes) a directory. Syntax RMDIR [/S] [/Q] [drive:]path RD [/S] [/Q] [drive:]path Switches 5.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 5.17 XCOPY Copies files and directory trees. Syntax XCOPY source [destination] [/A | /M] [/P] [/S] [/W] [/C] [/I] [/Q] [/F] [/H] [/R] [/T] [/U] [/K] Notes source Specifies the file(s) to copy destination Specifies the location and/or name of the new files Switches /P Pauses after each screenful of information /A Copies files with the archive attribute set, doesn't change the attribute. /M Copies files with the archive attribute set, turns off the archive attribute.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 6 Troubleshooting When ERD Commander is booting I get an error that a file is corrupt, or that the boot cannot continue for some reason. What is the problem? Errors during ERD Commander’s boot process are almost always due to defective floppy disk media. (This damage will only be detected by running a low-level sector scan of the disk.) Try creating the boot diskettes using a new set of floppy diskettes.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 At the end of the boot sequence ERD Commander blue-screens with an "INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE" error. This occurs when a driver necessary to access your floppy disk is not installed and when using PCMCIA-based floppy drives for laptops. To correct this, manually install the PCMCIA driver on the ERD Commander diskettes. XCOPY doesn't seem to work correctly for me.
ERD Commander Version 1.03 Does ERD Commander work with the NTFS 5 enhancements that come with Service Pack 4/5 and Windows 2000? The SP4 enhancements to the NTFS driver do not modify the file system, and do not interfere with ERD Commander .
ERD Commander Version 1.03 7 Technical Support ♦= If you encounter a problem that isn’t resolved by the suggestions listed above and wish to receive technical support, please e-mail us at: support@winternals.com ♦= You can also view our Frequently Asked Questions and download free updates from our web site at: http://www.winternals.
