System Restore for Windows XP
How the System Restore Utility Uses Drive Letters Information on System Restore and Password Restoration
How to Disable the System Restore Configuration Non-Admin User Is Unable to Start System Restore Utility
System Restore "Restore Points" Are Missing or Deleted Improper Shutdown May Affect System Restore
Install Additional Files During Automated System Recovery How to Turn On and Turn Off System Restore in Win XP
The Registry Keys and Values for the System Restore Utility Highlights of System Restore fixes included in SP1
Microsoft Windows XP System Restore
Bobbie Harder
On the creation of a scheduled task for creating a restore point, System Restore does create a restore point every 24 hours IF the system is idle, but on and not in hibernate or standby, (idle meaning no disk i/o, mouse or keyboard activity).
Too many restore points per day, and due to space limitations, cause older more valuable restore points potentially to be aged out, while ensuring additional space for perhaps duplicative restore points.
Windows XP System Restore (Contents Include):
Introduction, Detail, Design Overview, Automatically Created Restore Points, System and Application File Change
Monitoring Restore Process, What's Restored and What's Not, Interoperation with Other Windows XP Recovery Features, Files Monitored and Restored by System Restore. For detailed information click here.
How to Enable and Disable Windows XP's System Restore feature
System Restore (restorept.api) is a new Windows XP feature that's similar to "Last Known Configuration." However, System Restore maintains multiple restore points instead of one last restore point. The user can manually create restore points, or System Restore can keep restore points during the following operations:
Installing new software, if the application uses a current installer that is System Restore-compliant, Using AutoUpdate, During a restore operation, During a Microsoft backup or recovery operation, Installing an unsigned driver, Automatically following 24 hours of inactivity.
By default, System Restore monitors all partitions. So, for example, if you delete an executable file, you can have the system state revert to a specific restore point to recreate or repair the executable file. When you revert to a restore point, however, you lose all changes since that point, except for changes to files in the My Documents folder and documents you've created with applications such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.
If you use System Restore and don't like the new system state, you can undo the process and restore the machine to the system state it had before you ran System Restore. Alternatively, you can run System Restore to change the system state to a different restore point.
To enable or disable System Restore, perform the following steps:
Start the System Control Panel applet. Select the System Restore tab. Clear the "Turn off System Restore on all drives" check box to enable System Restore, or select this check box to disable System Restore. Click OK. Also here:
To delete older restore points, but leave the system restore turned on: Right Click the Drive in question/Properties/Disk Cleanup/More Options/System Restore/Cleanup.
You can also click the Settings button to set a maximum amount of space that you want each drive to use for restore information. If the drive you select isn't the system drive, you can also disable System Restore on a per-drive basis. The maximum amount of space that you can use for restore information is 12 percent per drive.
An alternative to the usual method of enabling and disabling Windows XP's System Restore feature is to use the registry. To use this alternative, perform the following steps: Start the registry editor (regedit.exe).
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore.
If a "DisableSR" value doesn't exist, go to the Edit menu, select New, DWORD value, and create the value.
Set the value to 1 to disable System Restore or 0 to enable System Restore.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\sr to prevent the System Restore service from starting.
Double-click Start, and set the value to 4 to stop the service from starting or to 0 for normal startup. Close the registry editor.
***Added Notes by: Barry Nordendale (7-9-05)
"After making SR disabled in services, I tried to open SR (no reboot) in CP/Services it said SR is off, would you like to turn on. I said yes and everything works fine now!"
System Restore Usage
System Restore Requirements:
System Restore is automatically installed and configured on Windows XP if your computer has at least 200MB of free disk space after Windows XP is installed.
Enabling System Restore:
Right click my computer icon, properties. System Restore Tab, Clear "Turn Off System Restore on all Drives".
Adjust System Restore Disk Usage
By default, System Restore is given 12% of your hard disk space when you install Windows XP. Change amount: Right click my computer icon, properties. System Restore Tab, Settings.
Creating Restore Points
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore. In the System Restore window, click "Create a Restore Point button, next. In the window that appears, enter a description. The date and time is created automatically.
Running System Restore
If you can boot Windows:
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore. Click the Restore My Computer to an earlier time, next.
If you cannot boot Windows:
Boot into safe mode. Click the System Restore link. Click the Restore My Computer to an earlier time, next.
Note: Current documents, files and e-mail are not affected during a restoration.
Undoing a Restoration
Reversing Restoration if you can boot your computer:
Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore. Click "Undo my last restoration", next. Click Ok to the
screen message after the reboot.
Reversing Restoration if you cannot boot your computer:
Boot into safe mode, follow the help screen and choose, "Undo my last restoration".
Note: If you have chosen the wrong restore date, follow the steps under, "Undoing a Restoration".
How and Where System Restore Points are saved:
Restore points are saved in under x:\system volume information\_restore{558C94FD-3C7F-4954-A02D-
26679E6D849E}. Each restore point's files are saved in a folder named RPXX where XX is a two digit number
corresponding to the restore point.
System Restore: Description and Functionality of Srdiag.exe
The file Srdiag.exe is a tool developed specifically for capturing System Restore files and putting them into a text format or other format so that a support professional or an advanced user can easily view the contents of such files to try to diagnose problems that are occurring with System Restore.
Srdiag.exe collects all information that is related to System Restore and puts it in a .cab file. The .cab file name is then
automatically generated by using the computer name, followed by a timestamp for the month, day, and year, as well as a timestamp for the hour, minutes and seconds of the .cab file creation. More Information.
What is restored on my machine when I use System Restore and what is not?
The following are restored when you use System Restore to restore your system to a previous time using a restore point:
Registry
Profiles (local only—roaming user profiles not impacted by restore)
COM+ DB
WFP.dll cache
WMI DB
IIS Metabase
Files type which are monitored by System Restore as specified in the SDK available from http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/sr/sr/monitored_file_extensions.asp.
The following are not restored by System Restore:
DRM settings
Passwords in the SAM hive.
WPA settings (Windows authentication information is not restored)
Specific directories/files listed in the Monitored File Extensions list in the System Restore section of the Platform SDK e.g. 'My Documents' folder.
Any file types not monitored by System Restore like personal data files e.g. .doc, .jpg, .txt etc.
Items listed in both Filesnottobackup and KeysnottoRestore (hklm->system->controlset001->control->backuprestore->filesnottobackup and keysnottorestore) in the registry.
User-created data stored in the user profile
Contents of redirected folders
Troubleshooting System Restore in Windows XP
To troubleshoot System Restore issues, try one or more of the following steps:
- If you receive an error message that is related to System Restore, always make sure that you first record the error message
and follow the instructions that the error message contains to try to resolve the issue. Most System Restore issues generate
an error message that contains a description of the issue and suggestions for how to resolve the issue.
- Make sure that you have enough disk space on all of the drives on which System Restore is enabled.
- Make sure that the System Restore service is running by using one of the following methods:
- Check in Control Panel:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click "Performance and Maintenance".
2. Click Administrative Tools, click Computer Management, and then click Services and Applications.
3. Click Services, and then click System Restore Services.
- Open a command prompt window:
1. Click Start, click Run, and then type "CMD" (without the quotation marks).
2. Press the ENTER key, and then type "Net Start" (without the quotation marks) at the command prompt to make sure that
the System Restore service is up and running.
- Make sure that System Restore is enabled on the drives that you want System Restore enabled on.
- Try to run System Restore in Safe mode.
- If you suspect that you do not have as many restore points as you should have, make sure that the data store is the size that
you want the data store to be.
- Check the event logs to investigate System Restore service errors:
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click "Performance and Maintenance".
2. Click Administrative Tools, click Computer Management, double-click Event Viewer, and then click System.
3. Click the Source tab to sort by name, and then look for "sr" or "srservice." Double-click each of these services, and then
evaluate the event description for any indication of the cause of the problem.
System Restore cannot create a restore point. Please restart your computer
Disable System Restore, reboot, then enable.
System Restore Should Not Be Enabled During Program Installation
When you first enable System Restore, this creates an initial restore point. If you enable System Restore during a program installation, this may corrupt the initial restore point.
System Restore tracks changes to the registry and system files. By keeping a record of changes, System Restore can undo the changes to set the computer back to a previous state, which is also called a restore point. To create a restore
point, use the System Restore program in the System Tools folder, which is on the Start menu.
In Control Panel, you can enable and disable System Restore in System properties on the System Restore tab. When you disable System Restore, all previous restore points are lost because System Restore is no longer able to track changes and is
therefore unable to undo those changes.
When you re-enable System Restore, it creates an initial restore point. If you enable System Restore while you are installing a program, this may corrupt the initial restore point as well as all subsequent restore points. There is no way to determine if the initial restore point is corrupted.
System Restore Tool Displays a Blank Calendar in Windows XP
When you run the System Restore tool on a Windows XP-based computer, the calendar on the left side of the "Choose a Restore Point" window is not displayed. This behavior can occur if the file association for Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) component (.htc) files is not in the registry. To resolve this behavior, verify that the following keys are in the registry. Keys are listed here.
How to Start the Windows XP System Restore Tool if You Can't Boot
Boot into safe mode/Log on with Admin Privileges/ Type: %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe. Then press enter.
HOW TO: Restore Windows XP to a Previous State.
VB Script to Run Unattended Restore Point Creation as a Scheduled Task by MS-MVP Doug Knox
This VB Script can be run as a Scheduled Task to create an unattended System Restore Point. The Restore point will be identified as Automatic Restore Point with the date and time the script was run.
Usage: Download xp_sysrestorepoint.vbs and save this file to your hard drive. Create a new Scheduled Task and point it to the VBS file. After the script runs, it will leave a dialog telling you whether or not the Restore Point was successfully created. This script can be viewed in Notepad or any text editor, as to the specific Registry key and value that are updated.
Restore System Restore Points VBS Scripts by MS-MVP Bill James
Download Here
Create a System Restore Point Each Day
MVP-Bill James
Copy the following 3 lines to NotePad, then save it with .vbs extension (for example, CreateRP.vbs). You can run it manually to create a Restore Point by double clicking, or add it as a scheduled task.
This script creates a System Restore Point for Windows XP.
rp = "Manual Restore Point by " & WScript.ScriptName
GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\default:Systemrestore").CreateRestorePoint rp, 0, 100
Note: This script is not well suited for creating an unattended System Restore point, since it requires user intervention. The attached VB Script (modified from the original script) will do automate the process for a scheduled task.
When you create a scheduled task for this script, you will need to give a user name and password with sufficient "permissions" to create a restore point. System Restore Points: By Doug Knox MS-MVP. Download Here.
Unable to use System Restore due to "missing framedyn.dll. Please reinstall the application to fix this problem".
A temporary fix to address this issue is to make the user copy the framedyn.dll file from \Windows\System32\WBEM directory to the \Windows\System32 directory.
Re-Activation for Windows XP
Should you restore your system to a point before you activated XP on your computer, the OS will forget that you activated it and you'll need to reactivate XP. If the system restore point is past the 30-day grace period that Microsoft allows for activation, you'll have to activate XP immediately.
The only workaround to reactivating your system is to perform the following steps:
Start your Windows installation in Minimal Safe mode.
Move to the \%systemroot%\system32 folder.
Rename wpa.dbl to wpa.noact.
Rename wpa.bak to wpa.dbl.
Reboot your system as normal.
Note: The above procedure will work only if you've made no significant hardware changes.
Highlights of System Restore fixes included in SP1
1. Fix for SR not launching due to the framedyn.dll error you all have been reporting.
2. No calendar availaible in the SR wizard to select restore points due to the the .htc file association being knocked out in the
registry has been fixed.
3. A fix for SR failing restores. A lot of you were seeing failed restores when restoring to any restore point. Although some of
it was attributed to SR data store corruption, in most cases it was possibly due to locked file issues causing the restore
process to fail, especially in scenarios where fast user switching was used. This was a known issue which is now fixed in in
SP1.
This will hopefully resolve all cases for failed restores and it would be great if all of you running into this problem could
upgrade to SP1 and provide us feedback on this issue, whether it has resolved the problem for you or not.
4. Fix for drive table inconsistency on a machine causing SR to not create restore points.
5. Security fixes for SR to keep away those terrible hackers and viruses.
So upgrade to SP1 and provide us with some feedback on your issues with SR and whether they are now resolved, especially when dealing with failed restores.
Anshul Rawat [MS]
System Restore, Windows XP
Friday, March 26, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
VMware ESX and ESXi 3.5 Comparison
VMware ESX and ESXi 3.5 Comparison
Purpose
This article provides a detailed comparison of VMware ESX and ESXi 3.5. The article is separated into capabilities or features and compared at that level.
Resolution
Capability
VMware ESX
VMware ESXi
Service Console
Service Console is a standard Linux environment through which a user has privileged access to the VMware ESX kernel. This Linux-based privileged access allows you to highly customize your environment by installing agents and drivers and executing scripts and other Linux-environment code.
VMware ESXi is designed to make the server a computing appliance. Accordingly, VMware ESXi behaves more like firmware than traditional software. To provide hardware-like security and reliability, VMware ESXi does not support a privileged access environment like the Service Console of VMware ESX. To enable interaction with agents, VMware has provisioned CIM Providers through which monitoring and management tasks – traditionally done through Service Console agents – can be performed. VMware has provisioned RCLI to allow the execution of scripts.
Remote CLI
VMware ESX Service Console has a host CLI through which VMware ESX can be configured. ESX 3.5 Update 2 supports RCLI.
VMware ESX Service Console CLI has been ported to a Remote CLI (RCLI) for VMware ESXi. RCLI is a virtual appliance that interacts with VMware ESXi hosts to enable host configuration through scripts or specific commands.
Note:
RCLI is limited to read-only access for the free version of VMware ESXi. To enable full functionality of RCLI on a VMware ESXi host, the host must be licensed with VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise.
The VMware Infrastructure toolkit for Windows and the Perl toolkit access ESXi through the same API as RCLI. Similarly, these toolkits are limited to read-only access for the free version of VMware ESXi. When the host is upgraded to VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise, these toolkits have write-access and provide a scriptable method for managing ESXi hosts.
The following Service Console CLI commands have not been implemented in RCLI:
ESXcfg-info
ESXcfg-resgrp
ESXcfg-swiscsi
Scriptable Installation
VMware ESX supports scriptable installations through utilities like KickStart.
VMware ESXi Installable does not support scriptable installations in the manner ESX does, at this time. VMware ESXi does provide support for post installation configuration script using RCLI-based configuration scripts.
Boot from SAN
VMware ESX supports boot from SAN. Booting from SAN requires one dedicated LUN per server.
VMware ESXi may be deployed as an embedded hypervisor or installed on a hard disk.
In most enterprise settings, VMware ESXi is deployed as an embedded hypervisor directly on the server. This operational model does not require any local storage and no SAN booting is required because the hypervisor image is directly on the server.
The installable version of VMware ESXi does not support booting from SAN.
Serial Cable Connectivity
VMware ESX supports interaction through direct-attached serial cable to the VMware ESX host.
VMware ESXi does not support interaction through direct-attached serial cable to the VMware ESXi host at this time.
SNMP
VMware ESX supports SNMP.
VMware ESXi supports SNMP when licensed to a VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise edition. The free version of VMware ESXi does not support SNMP.
Active Directory Integration
VMware ESX supports Active Directory integration through third-party agents installed on the Service Console.
VMware ESXi with a Virtual Infrastructure license and in conjunction with VirtualCenter allows users to be authenticated via Active Directory. In this configuration, users can log in directly to an ESXi host and authenticate using a local username and password.
The free version of VMware ESXi does not support Active Directory integration at this time.
HW Instrumentation
Service Console agents provide a range of HW instrumentation on VMware ESX.
VMware ESXi provides HW instrumentation through CIM Providers. Standards-based CIM Providers are distributed with all versions of VMware ESXi. VMware partners may inject their own proprietary CIM Providers in customized versions of VMware ESXi. To obtain a customized version of VMware ESXi, you typically have to purchase a server with embedded VMware ESXi through a server vendor.
At this time, HP also offers its customized VMware ESXi Installable on http://www.vmware.com/. Dell, IBM, and FSC will soon offer their customized version of VMware ESXi on http://www.vmware.com/.
Remote console applications like Dell DRAC, HP iLO, IBM RSA, and FSC iRMC S2 are supported with ESXi.
Note: COS agents have a longer lineage than CIM Providers and are therefore more mature. VMware is actively working with its 250+ partners to close the CIM Provider–Service Console agent gap.
Software Patches and Updates
VMware ESX software patches and upgrades behave like traditional Linux based patches and upgrades. The installation of a software patch or upgrade may require multiple system boots as the patch or upgrade may have dependencies on previous patches or upgrades.
VMware ESXi patches and updates behave like firmware patches and updates. Any given patch or update is all-inclusive of previous patches and updates. That is, installing patch version “n” includes all updates included in patch versions n-1, n-2, and so forth.
VI Web Access
VMware ESX supports managing your virtual machines through VI Web Access. You can use the VI Web Access to connect directly to the ESX host or to the VMware Infrastructure Client.
VMware ESXi does not support web access at this time.
Licensing
VMware ESX hosts can be licensed as part of a VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation, Standard, or Enterprise suite.
VMware ESXi hosts can be individually licensed (for free) or licensed as part of a VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation, Standard, or Enterprise suite.
Individually licensed ESXi hosts offer a subset of management capabilities (see SNMP and Remote CLI).
Jumbo Frames iSCSI with Jumbo Frames is not supported. Jumbo Frames are not supported for VMkernel networking interfaces in ESXi 3. In ESXi 3.5, Jumbo Frames are only supported on non-VMKernel network interfaces. For more information, see Enabling Jumbo Frames of the ESXi Server Configuration Guide.
ESXi – Free License
(ESX not available without VI)
VI Foundation
(with ESX or ESXi)
VI Standard
(with ESX or ESXi)
VI Enterprise
(with ESX or ESXi)
Core hypervisor functionality
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Virtual SMP
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
VMFS
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
VirtualCenter Agent
Yes
Yes
Yes
Update Manager
Yes
Yes
Yes
Consolidated Backup
Yes
Yes
Yes
High Availability
Yes
Yes
VMotion
Yes
Storage VMotion
Yes
DRS
Yes
DPM
Yes
Purpose
This article provides a detailed comparison of VMware ESX and ESXi 3.5. The article is separated into capabilities or features and compared at that level.
Resolution
Capability
VMware ESX
VMware ESXi
Service Console
Service Console is a standard Linux environment through which a user has privileged access to the VMware ESX kernel. This Linux-based privileged access allows you to highly customize your environment by installing agents and drivers and executing scripts and other Linux-environment code.
VMware ESXi is designed to make the server a computing appliance. Accordingly, VMware ESXi behaves more like firmware than traditional software. To provide hardware-like security and reliability, VMware ESXi does not support a privileged access environment like the Service Console of VMware ESX. To enable interaction with agents, VMware has provisioned CIM Providers through which monitoring and management tasks – traditionally done through Service Console agents – can be performed. VMware has provisioned RCLI to allow the execution of scripts.
Remote CLI
VMware ESX Service Console has a host CLI through which VMware ESX can be configured. ESX 3.5 Update 2 supports RCLI.
VMware ESX Service Console CLI has been ported to a Remote CLI (RCLI) for VMware ESXi. RCLI is a virtual appliance that interacts with VMware ESXi hosts to enable host configuration through scripts or specific commands.
Note:
RCLI is limited to read-only access for the free version of VMware ESXi. To enable full functionality of RCLI on a VMware ESXi host, the host must be licensed with VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise.
The VMware Infrastructure toolkit for Windows and the Perl toolkit access ESXi through the same API as RCLI. Similarly, these toolkits are limited to read-only access for the free version of VMware ESXi. When the host is upgraded to VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise, these toolkits have write-access and provide a scriptable method for managing ESXi hosts.
The following Service Console CLI commands have not been implemented in RCLI:
ESXcfg-info
ESXcfg-resgrp
ESXcfg-swiscsi
Scriptable Installation
VMware ESX supports scriptable installations through utilities like KickStart.
VMware ESXi Installable does not support scriptable installations in the manner ESX does, at this time. VMware ESXi does provide support for post installation configuration script using RCLI-based configuration scripts.
Boot from SAN
VMware ESX supports boot from SAN. Booting from SAN requires one dedicated LUN per server.
VMware ESXi may be deployed as an embedded hypervisor or installed on a hard disk.
In most enterprise settings, VMware ESXi is deployed as an embedded hypervisor directly on the server. This operational model does not require any local storage and no SAN booting is required because the hypervisor image is directly on the server.
The installable version of VMware ESXi does not support booting from SAN.
Serial Cable Connectivity
VMware ESX supports interaction through direct-attached serial cable to the VMware ESX host.
VMware ESXi does not support interaction through direct-attached serial cable to the VMware ESXi host at this time.
SNMP
VMware ESX supports SNMP.
VMware ESXi supports SNMP when licensed to a VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise edition. The free version of VMware ESXi does not support SNMP.
Active Directory Integration
VMware ESX supports Active Directory integration through third-party agents installed on the Service Console.
VMware ESXi with a Virtual Infrastructure license and in conjunction with VirtualCenter allows users to be authenticated via Active Directory. In this configuration, users can log in directly to an ESXi host and authenticate using a local username and password.
The free version of VMware ESXi does not support Active Directory integration at this time.
HW Instrumentation
Service Console agents provide a range of HW instrumentation on VMware ESX.
VMware ESXi provides HW instrumentation through CIM Providers. Standards-based CIM Providers are distributed with all versions of VMware ESXi. VMware partners may inject their own proprietary CIM Providers in customized versions of VMware ESXi. To obtain a customized version of VMware ESXi, you typically have to purchase a server with embedded VMware ESXi through a server vendor.
At this time, HP also offers its customized VMware ESXi Installable on http://www.vmware.com/. Dell, IBM, and FSC will soon offer their customized version of VMware ESXi on http://www.vmware.com/.
Remote console applications like Dell DRAC, HP iLO, IBM RSA, and FSC iRMC S2 are supported with ESXi.
Note: COS agents have a longer lineage than CIM Providers and are therefore more mature. VMware is actively working with its 250+ partners to close the CIM Provider–Service Console agent gap.
Software Patches and Updates
VMware ESX software patches and upgrades behave like traditional Linux based patches and upgrades. The installation of a software patch or upgrade may require multiple system boots as the patch or upgrade may have dependencies on previous patches or upgrades.
VMware ESXi patches and updates behave like firmware patches and updates. Any given patch or update is all-inclusive of previous patches and updates. That is, installing patch version “n” includes all updates included in patch versions n-1, n-2, and so forth.
VI Web Access
VMware ESX supports managing your virtual machines through VI Web Access. You can use the VI Web Access to connect directly to the ESX host or to the VMware Infrastructure Client.
VMware ESXi does not support web access at this time.
Licensing
VMware ESX hosts can be licensed as part of a VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation, Standard, or Enterprise suite.
VMware ESXi hosts can be individually licensed (for free) or licensed as part of a VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation, Standard, or Enterprise suite.
Individually licensed ESXi hosts offer a subset of management capabilities (see SNMP and Remote CLI).
Jumbo Frames iSCSI with Jumbo Frames is not supported. Jumbo Frames are not supported for VMkernel networking interfaces in ESXi 3. In ESXi 3.5, Jumbo Frames are only supported on non-VMKernel network interfaces. For more information, see Enabling Jumbo Frames of the ESXi Server Configuration Guide.
ESXi – Free License
(ESX not available without VI)
VI Foundation
(with ESX or ESXi)
VI Standard
(with ESX or ESXi)
VI Enterprise
(with ESX or ESXi)
Core hypervisor functionality
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Virtual SMP
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
VMFS
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
VirtualCenter Agent
Yes
Yes
Yes
Update Manager
Yes
Yes
Yes
Consolidated Backup
Yes
Yes
Yes
High Availability
Yes
Yes
VMotion
Yes
Storage VMotion
Yes
DRS
Yes
DPM
Yes
VirtualCenter service does not start after reboot
Symptoms
VirtualCenter service does not start after reboot
VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client cannot connect to VirtualCenter
You are using Microsoft SQL Server or SQL Express
VirtualCenter Server service can be started manually with no problems
Purpose
In some cases a race condition can occur and VirtualCenter starts before the SQL database it depends on.
This article provides steps to prevent the race condition from occurring.
Resolution
This issue may occur if the VirtualCenter Server service starts before one of the services it depends on. The VirtualCenter Server service is dependent on the following services:
SQL Services
ADAM Services (when using linked mode in vCenter Server 4.0)
To resolve this issue, add a dependency to the VirtualCenter service so that it only starts after the necessary services have started.
Note: This solution assumes that the database server and the SQL server reside on the same machine. If the SQL server is on a different physical machine, you must ensure that the SQL server is functioning before attempting to start the VirtualCenter service.
To create a service dependency:
Click Start > Run.
Type services.msc and press Enter.
Locate any services that VirtualCenter requires. For example, SQLEXP_VIM or ADAM_VCMSDS.
Open the service properties and note the Service Name. For example, MSSQL$SQLEXP_VIM .
In the Run dialog, type Regedit.exe and press Enter. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vpxd.
Double-click the DependOnService key and add the Service name using the name identified in step 4.
Close Regedit.
Go back to the Services window and open the service properties for the service identified in step 3.
On the Dependencies tab, verify the VMware VirtualCenter service is listed as depending on the service.
Repeat steps 3 to 9 for any services that VirtualCenter requires.
VirtualCenter service does not start after reboot
VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client cannot connect to VirtualCenter
You are using Microsoft SQL Server or SQL Express
VirtualCenter Server service can be started manually with no problems
Purpose
In some cases a race condition can occur and VirtualCenter starts before the SQL database it depends on.
This article provides steps to prevent the race condition from occurring.
Resolution
This issue may occur if the VirtualCenter Server service starts before one of the services it depends on. The VirtualCenter Server service is dependent on the following services:
SQL Services
ADAM Services (when using linked mode in vCenter Server 4.0)
To resolve this issue, add a dependency to the VirtualCenter service so that it only starts after the necessary services have started.
Note: This solution assumes that the database server and the SQL server reside on the same machine. If the SQL server is on a different physical machine, you must ensure that the SQL server is functioning before attempting to start the VirtualCenter service.
To create a service dependency:
Click Start > Run.
Type services.msc and press Enter.
Locate any services that VirtualCenter requires. For example, SQLEXP_VIM or ADAM_VCMSDS.
Open the service properties and note the Service Name. For example, MSSQL$SQLEXP_VIM .
In the Run dialog, type Regedit.exe and press Enter. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vpxd.
Double-click the DependOnService key and add the Service name using the name identified in step 4.
Close Regedit.
Go back to the Services window and open the service properties for the service identified in step 3.
On the Dependencies tab, verify the VMware VirtualCenter service is listed as depending on the service.
Repeat steps 3 to 9 for any services that VirtualCenter requires.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Change the registered owner of Windows with this Registry tweak
Problem
When you install Windows, the installation procedure prompts you to enter an owner name and a company name. Then, this information displays on the General tab of the System Properties dialog box under the Registered To heading. Unfortunately, Windows doesn't provide you with a tool for changing this registration information when transferring a system from one user to another. However, you can alter the registration information by editing the Registry.
Warning
Making manual changes to the Windows Registry can have negative consequences on a system. Always make a backup copy before you begin making changes.
Solution
Follow these seven steps to alter the owner and company information:
1. Launch the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe)
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version
3. Locate and double-click the RegisteredOwner value
4. When you see the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, change the Value Data setting to whatever owner name you want, and click OK
5. Locate and double-click the RegisteredOrganization value
6. When you see the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, change the Value Data setting to whatever company name you want, and click OK
7. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows XP in order for the changes to take effect.
When you install Windows, the installation procedure prompts you to enter an owner name and a company name. Then, this information displays on the General tab of the System Properties dialog box under the Registered To heading. Unfortunately, Windows doesn't provide you with a tool for changing this registration information when transferring a system from one user to another. However, you can alter the registration information by editing the Registry.
Warning
Making manual changes to the Windows Registry can have negative consequences on a system. Always make a backup copy before you begin making changes.
Solution
Follow these seven steps to alter the owner and company information:
1. Launch the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe)
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version
3. Locate and double-click the RegisteredOwner value
4. When you see the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, change the Value Data setting to whatever owner name you want, and click OK
5. Locate and double-click the RegisteredOrganization value
6. When you see the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, change the Value Data setting to whatever company name you want, and click OK
7. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows XP in order for the changes to take effect.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Xp Search option Fix
Hi,
If your search option is corrupted or Search windows is not comming properly
here is the solution
download the below reg file and merge it
http://www.divshare.com/download/7455590-f11
By Scott Lowe
One of the most effective ways to secure a Windows workstation is to turn off unnecessary services. This reference sheet lists the Windows XP SP 2 services, describes each service's function, specifies whether you can safely disable the service, and outlines the ramifications of disabling the service. The list assumes the machines is running Windows XP SP2 in a corporate network environment. The list offers one of the following three possibilities for safely disabling each service:
• YES = You can disable the service without causing any problems.
• MAYBE = The computer's role dictates whether you should or should not disable the service--read the special considerations for further information.
• NO = The service is critical to proper Windows operation and should not be disabled.
Service
Description
Safely Disable?
Ramifications if disabled
Suggested setting
Special Considerations
Alerter
Notifies selected users and computers of administrative alerts
Yes
Programs that use administrative alerts will not receive them.
Disable
Application Layer Gateway
Provides support for application-level protocol plug-ins and enables network/protocol connectivity
Maybe
Programs that rely on this service, such as MSN Messenger and Windows Messenger will not function.
Enable
Only enable when using the Windows firewall or another firewall. Failure to do so can result in a significant security hole.
Application Management
Processes installation, removal, and enumeration requests for Active Directory IntelliMirror group policy programs
Yes
Users will be unable to install, remove, or enumerate any IntelliMirror programs.
Disable
Automatic Updates
Enables the download and installation of critical Windows updates
Yes
The operating system cannot automatically install updates, but can still be manually updated at the Windows Update Web site.
Enable
Automatic updates help keep your computer current. If you do disable the service, perform regular, manual updates.
Background Intelligent Transfer
Transfers data between clients and servers in the background
Yes
Features such as Windows Update will not work properly.
Disable
Enable this services if you enable Automatic Updates.
Speed Up Boot and Shutdown Times
Speed Up Boot and Shutdown Times Hack #3
Shorten the time it takes for your desktop to appear when you turn on your
PC, and make XP shut down faster as well.
No matter how fast your PC boots, it’s not fast enough. Here are several
hacks to get you right to your desktop as quickly as possible after startup.
Perform a Boot Defragment
There’s a simple way to speed up XP startup: make your system do a boot
defragment, which will put all the boot files next to one another on your
hard disk. When boot files are in close proximity to one another, your system
will start faster.
On most systems, boot defragment should be enabled by default, but it
might not be on yours, or it might have been changed inadvertently. To
make sure that boot defragment is enabled on your system, run the Registry
Editor [Hack #83] and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction
Edit the Enable string value to Y if it is not already set to Y. Exit the Registry
and reboot. The next time you reboot, you’ll do a boot defragment.
I’ve found many web sites recommending a way of speeding
up boot times that might in fact slow down the amount of
time it takes to boot up and will probably slow down
launching applications as well. The tip recommends going to
your C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch directory and emptying it every
week. Windows uses this directory to speed up launching
applications. It analyzes the files you use during startup and
the applications you launch, and it creates an index to where
those files and applications are located on your hard disk. By
using this index, XP can launch files and applications faster.
So, by emptying the directory, you are most likely slowing
down launching applications. In my tests, I’ve also found
that after emptying the directory, it takes my PC a few seconds
longer to get to my desktop after bootup.
Hack Your BIOS for Faster Startups
When you turn on your PC, it goes through a set of startup procedures in its
BIOS before it gets to starting XP. So, if you speed up those initial startup
procedures, you’ll make your system start faster.
You can speed up your startup procedures by changing the BIOS with the
built-in setup utility. How you run this utility varies from PC to PC, but you
12 | Startup and Shutdown
#3 Speed Up Boot and Shutdown Times
HACK
typically get to it by pressing the Delete, F1, or F10 keys during startup.
You’ll come to a menu with a variety of choices. Here are the choices to
make for faster system startups:
Quick Power On Self Test (POST)
When you choose this option, your system runs an abbreviated POST
rather than the normal, lengthy one.
Boot Up Floppy Seek
Disable this option. When it’s enabled, your system spends a few extra
seconds looking for your floppy drive—a relatively pointless procedure,
especially considering how infrequently you use your floppy drive.
Boot Delay
Some systems let you delay booting after you turn on your PC so that
your hard drive gets a chance to start spinning before bootup. Most
likely, you don’t need to have this boot delay, so turn it off. If you run
into problems, however, you can turn it back on.
Fine-Tune Your Registry for Faster Startups
Over time, your Registry can become bloated with unused entries, slowing
down your system startup because your system loads them every time you
start up your PC. Get a Registry clean-up tool to delete unneeded Registry
entries and speed up startup times. Registry First Aid, shown in Figure 1-3,
is an excellent Registry clean-up tool. It combs your Registry for outdated
and useless entries and then lets you choose which entries to delete and
which to keep. It also creates a full Registry backup so that you can restore
the Registry if you run into a problem.
Registry First Aid is shareware and free to try, but it costs $21 if you decide
to keep using it. Download it from http://www.rosecitysoftware.com/
Reg1Aid/index.html.
After you clean out your Registry, you might want to try compacting it to get
rid of unused space. The Registry Compactor, available from http://www.
rosecitysoftware.com/RegistryCompactor/index.html, will do the trick. Compacting
your Registry reduces its size and decreases loading time. It’s shareware
and free to try, but it costs $19.95 if you decide to keep it.
Speed Up Shutdown Times
It’s not only startup times that you’d like to speed up; you can also make
sure that your system shuts down faster. If shutting down XP takes what
seems to be an inordinate amount of time, here are a couple of steps you can
take to speed up the shutdown process:
Speed Up Boot and Shutdown Times #3
Startup and Shutdown | 13
HACK
Don’t have XP clear your paging file at shutdown. For security reasons,
you can have XP clear your paging file (pagefile.sys) of its contents
whenever you shut down. Your paging file is used to store temporary
files and data, but when your system shuts down, information stays in
the file. Some people prefer to have the paging file cleared at shutdown
because sensitive information, such as unencrypted passwords, sometimes
ends up in the file. However, clearing the paging file can slow
shutdown times significantly, so if extreme security isn’t a high priority,
you might not want to clear it. To shut down XP without clearing your
paging file, run the Registry Editor and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
Management
Change the value of ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 0. Close the Registry
and restart your computer. Whenever you turn off XP from now on, the
paging file won’t be cleared, and you should be able to shut down more
quickly.
Turn off unnecessary services. Services take time to shut down, so the
fewer you run, the faster you can shut down. For information on how to
shut them down, see “Halt Startup Programs and Services” [Hack #4].
Shorten the time it takes for your desktop to appear when you turn on your
PC, and make XP shut down faster as well.
No matter how fast your PC boots, it’s not fast enough. Here are several
hacks to get you right to your desktop as quickly as possible after startup.
Perform a Boot Defragment
There’s a simple way to speed up XP startup: make your system do a boot
defragment, which will put all the boot files next to one another on your
hard disk. When boot files are in close proximity to one another, your system
will start faster.
On most systems, boot defragment should be enabled by default, but it
might not be on yours, or it might have been changed inadvertently. To
make sure that boot defragment is enabled on your system, run the Registry
Editor [Hack #83] and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction
Edit the Enable string value to Y if it is not already set to Y. Exit the Registry
and reboot. The next time you reboot, you’ll do a boot defragment.
I’ve found many web sites recommending a way of speeding
up boot times that might in fact slow down the amount of
time it takes to boot up and will probably slow down
launching applications as well. The tip recommends going to
your C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch directory and emptying it every
week. Windows uses this directory to speed up launching
applications. It analyzes the files you use during startup and
the applications you launch, and it creates an index to where
those files and applications are located on your hard disk. By
using this index, XP can launch files and applications faster.
So, by emptying the directory, you are most likely slowing
down launching applications. In my tests, I’ve also found
that after emptying the directory, it takes my PC a few seconds
longer to get to my desktop after bootup.
Hack Your BIOS for Faster Startups
When you turn on your PC, it goes through a set of startup procedures in its
BIOS before it gets to starting XP. So, if you speed up those initial startup
procedures, you’ll make your system start faster.
You can speed up your startup procedures by changing the BIOS with the
built-in setup utility. How you run this utility varies from PC to PC, but you
12 | Startup and Shutdown
#3 Speed Up Boot and Shutdown Times
HACK
typically get to it by pressing the Delete, F1, or F10 keys during startup.
You’ll come to a menu with a variety of choices. Here are the choices to
make for faster system startups:
Quick Power On Self Test (POST)
When you choose this option, your system runs an abbreviated POST
rather than the normal, lengthy one.
Boot Up Floppy Seek
Disable this option. When it’s enabled, your system spends a few extra
seconds looking for your floppy drive—a relatively pointless procedure,
especially considering how infrequently you use your floppy drive.
Boot Delay
Some systems let you delay booting after you turn on your PC so that
your hard drive gets a chance to start spinning before bootup. Most
likely, you don’t need to have this boot delay, so turn it off. If you run
into problems, however, you can turn it back on.
Fine-Tune Your Registry for Faster Startups
Over time, your Registry can become bloated with unused entries, slowing
down your system startup because your system loads them every time you
start up your PC. Get a Registry clean-up tool to delete unneeded Registry
entries and speed up startup times. Registry First Aid, shown in Figure 1-3,
is an excellent Registry clean-up tool. It combs your Registry for outdated
and useless entries and then lets you choose which entries to delete and
which to keep. It also creates a full Registry backup so that you can restore
the Registry if you run into a problem.
Registry First Aid is shareware and free to try, but it costs $21 if you decide
to keep using it. Download it from http://www.rosecitysoftware.com/
Reg1Aid/index.html.
After you clean out your Registry, you might want to try compacting it to get
rid of unused space. The Registry Compactor, available from http://www.
rosecitysoftware.com/RegistryCompactor/index.html, will do the trick. Compacting
your Registry reduces its size and decreases loading time. It’s shareware
and free to try, but it costs $19.95 if you decide to keep it.
Speed Up Shutdown Times
It’s not only startup times that you’d like to speed up; you can also make
sure that your system shuts down faster. If shutting down XP takes what
seems to be an inordinate amount of time, here are a couple of steps you can
take to speed up the shutdown process:
Speed Up Boot and Shutdown Times #3
Startup and Shutdown | 13
HACK
Don’t have XP clear your paging file at shutdown. For security reasons,
you can have XP clear your paging file (pagefile.sys) of its contents
whenever you shut down. Your paging file is used to store temporary
files and data, but when your system shuts down, information stays in
the file. Some people prefer to have the paging file cleared at shutdown
because sensitive information, such as unencrypted passwords, sometimes
ends up in the file. However, clearing the paging file can slow
shutdown times significantly, so if extreme security isn’t a high priority,
you might not want to clear it. To shut down XP without clearing your
paging file, run the Registry Editor and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
Management
Change the value of ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 0. Close the Registry
and restart your computer. Whenever you turn off XP from now on, the
paging file won’t be cleared, and you should be able to shut down more
quickly.
Turn off unnecessary services. Services take time to shut down, so the
fewer you run, the faster you can shut down. For information on how to
shut them down, see “Halt Startup Programs and Services” [Hack #4].
Thursday, February 12, 2009
new virus problem and solution (Sirc32.exe )
issue is virus, can’t open any programs (any exe files)
Observed: Many exe file were their in c drive I deleted those things and the regedit, taskmgr, mspaint, outlook, is not opening if you click on the exe it will give open with option are file missing error.
Cause: The W32.Sircam.Worm@mm worm virus can cause this issue. The W32/Sircam virus spreads itself through e-mail messages or unprotected network file shares and can reveal or delete information on your computer. To verify that your computer is infected with this kind of virus:
Restart your computer, press F8 at the Windows XP Startup menu, and then select Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
At the command prompt, type regedit, and press ENTER.
If the following registry key is set to C:\recycled\sirc32.exe "%1" %*, your computer is infected with the W32/SirCam worm virus:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command
Note If this registry setting is anything other than
"%1" %*
Your computer may be infected with a different virus.
Solution
In front of the above data anything is their just delete it. and run combofix in command prompt.
Note:
The removal of the Sirc32.exe virus without modification of the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Exefile\Shell\Open\Command key will invalidate every executable file on the computer because, according to this line in the registry, the executable files are to be run as a command line parameter to the Sirc32.exe file which no longer exists. This prompts the "Windows cannot find" message when you try to start the executable file
For more info check Article ID: 311446
Observed: Many exe file were their in c drive I deleted those things and the regedit, taskmgr, mspaint, outlook, is not opening if you click on the exe it will give open with option are file missing error.
Cause: The W32.Sircam.Worm@mm worm virus can cause this issue. The W32/Sircam virus spreads itself through e-mail messages or unprotected network file shares and can reveal or delete information on your computer. To verify that your computer is infected with this kind of virus:
Restart your computer, press F8 at the Windows XP Startup menu, and then select Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
At the command prompt, type regedit, and press ENTER.
If the following registry key is set to C:\recycled\sirc32.exe "%1" %*, your computer is infected with the W32/SirCam worm virus:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command
Note If this registry setting is anything other than
"%1" %*
Your computer may be infected with a different virus.
Solution
In front of the above data anything is their just delete it. and run combofix in command prompt.
Note:
The removal of the Sirc32.exe virus without modification of the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Exefile\Shell\Open\Command key will invalidate every executable file on the computer because, according to this line in the registry, the executable files are to be run as a command line parameter to the Sirc32.exe file which no longer exists. This prompts the "Windows cannot find" message when you try to start the executable file
For more info check Article ID: 311446
You will get "Access Is Denied" error message when you try to delete a file
You will get "Access Is Denied" error message when you try to delete a file or folder. This happens when file or folder is being used by processes running in the system and you do not know which process it is!
Windows doesn't ship with any tool that can be used to find out which process is locking up the file or folder. You need to use Process Explorer tool to find the lock on the file and then kill the lock so that you can delete the file and folder.
Steps:
Download Process Explorer at here (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx)
Note the file name or folder you're trying to delete
Run Process Explorer > Find > Find Handle > Enter the file or folder name in "Handle or DLL Substring" Dialogue box
Click on Search
Right Click on the handle and then click "Close Handle" > Press Yes when promoted.
Now you can successfully delete the file or folder you are trying to delete.
Windows doesn't ship with any tool that can be used to find out which process is locking up the file or folder. You need to use Process Explorer tool to find the lock on the file and then kill the lock so that you can delete the file and folder.
Steps:
Download Process Explorer at here (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx)
Note the file name or folder you're trying to delete
Run Process Explorer > Find > Find Handle > Enter the file or folder name in "Handle or DLL Substring" Dialogue box
Click on Search
Right Click on the handle and then click "Close Handle" > Press Yes when promoted.
Now you can successfully delete the file or folder you are trying to delete.
Windows XP Directory Structures
Windows XP Directory Structures
The Windows XP installation routine makes several changes to your hard drives. Windows XP uses two different partitions to store its information: a system partition and a boot partition. These partitions can exist on a single physical partition or on two physical partitions. Unfortunately, the way these terms are used is the reverse of common sense usage. The system partition is the partition containing the initial bootstrap components and the boot menu. The boot partition is the partition hosting the Windows XP root folder and all operational drivers and files.
The boot and system partition files can be located on the same partition, on different partitions, or even on different hard drives. However, the system partition must always be on the first hard drive in the system and must be an active primary partition. The boot partition can be a primary partition or a logical drive within an extended partition.
System Partition
Table 3.1 shows the files contained on the system partition for an x86 computer.
Table 3.1 Files Located on the System Partition for an x86 Computer
File
Description
NTLDR
Controls the operating system boot selection process and hardware detection before the actual Windows XP Kernel is launched. It requires that boot.ini, ntdetect.com, bootsect.dos (if dual booting), and ntbootdd.sys (if booting on a non-BIOS enabled SCSI drive; that is, scsi() is used instead of multi() in the ARC name in boot.ini) exist in the root system partition.
boot.ini
Contains the contents of the boot menu displayed by NTLDR. This file contains the default operating system selection, the timeout period for the selection, and an ARC name or pathname for each listed operating system boot selection.
ntdetect.com
Detects the major components of the computer before NTLDR selects a configuration and loads the Kernel.
bootsect.dos
Present only on dual-boot systems. NTLDR uses this file when the selected operating system is not Windows XP. Bootsect.dos in turn seeks out the OS-specific operating system loader file, such as io.sys for MS-DOS or os2ldr.exe for OS/2.
ntbootdd.sys
Used only on systems with SCSI drives that do not have on-board BIOS translation enabled. It is a copy of the device driver for your particular SCSI drive.
hiberfil.sys
Available if hibernation is enabled on the computer.
NOTE
When BOOTSECT.DOS is installed using the DOS-mode setup (for example, a Windows 98 startup disk), the file will still appear, even though it is not really a dual-boot system, meaning there is no COMMAND.com to boot into DOS. In this scenario, there is only one OS entry in the boot.ini file, and the boot selection menu does not appear.
For more information on the boot.ini file, see Chapter 7, "Booting Windows XP," p. 129.
Other files can appear in the system partition on x86 dual-boot and multi-boot systems. The addition of these files does not affect the function or capabilities of the required Windows XP boot files in the system partition. Installing multiple operating systems on a single computer with Windows XP Professional (or Home Edition) often requires a specific installation order or manual post-installation configuration changes. Both the Microsoft Windows XP documentation and TechNet include detailed articles on performing multi-boot setups with Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows Server 2003, Windows 95, Windows 98, MS-DOS, and OS/2.
Multi-booting Windows XP with non-Microsoft operating systems, such as Linux, often requires third-party boot and partition managers. For popular tools, see the "For More Information" section at the end of this chapter. Red Hat Linux contains two boot loaders—LILO and GRUB—that can also be used for a dual-boot configuration with Windows XP.
The system partition does not include any folders. It exists as a root folder only with three or more files. Having additional folders in the system partition does not affect the operation of boot files.
You might notice that the files in the system partition are among the files found on an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD). This should not be surprising because an ERD is used to restore files to the system partition if these files are corrupted, deleted, or otherwise destroyed.
Boot Partition
The directory structure and subsequent files installed into the boot partition are quite a bit more complex than those of the system partition. Table 3.2 describes the five folders created in the boot partition's root folder (normally the C:\ drive) during the installation of Windows XP.
Table 3.2 Folders Created by Windows XP in the Boot Partition's Root Folder
Directory
Description
Documents and
This folder is used to hold the configurations for each user
Settings
who accesses the system. In Windows NT, this information was stored in the \Windows\profiles folder.
Program Files
This folder is the default installation location for Windows applications.
System Volume Information
This folder stores all disk permission and security information.
Recycler
This is not a true folder; instead, it is the system-controlled temporary repository for deleted files. You can access its contents by launching the Recycle Bin tool from the desktop.Note that this folder does not appear until a file is deleted.
Windows
This is the main folder containing all the Windows XP system files, and the default folder for Windows XP.
The root of the boot partition is also the default location for pagefile.sys, which is the page file the Windows NT virtual memory system uses.
For information on how to tune Windows XP performance by placing and configuring the page file, see Chapter 22, "Tuning and Optimizing Windows XP," p. 485.
NOTE
The file and folder structure discussed in this chapter is derived from a fresh installation of Windows XP on an x86 desktop system with Service Pack 1 integrated. The typical installation method was chosen. No other applications from Microsoft or any third-party vendors were present on the system. That means no additional services or applications were installed from the Windows XP distribution CD, no hotfixes were applied, and Internet Explorer was not updated.
The Program Files folder is home to 16 subfolders:
Common Files. This folder contains files shared with the Microsoft applications.
ComPlus Applications. This folder contains files used by ComPlus applications. If there are no ComPlus applications installed on your XP machine, this folder will be empty. COM+ builds on the Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) integrated services and features, making it easier for developers to create and use software components in any language, using any tool.
Internet Explorer. This folder contains the files and executables for Internet Explorer, a Web-browsing tool.
Messenger. This folder contains files and executables for the new Windows Messenger Service. This service combines features found in MSN Messenger with an improved communications infrastructure.
Movie Maker. This folder contains the files and executables for the Movie Maker application.
MSN. This folder contains the files and executables for MSN Explorer, the new Internet connectivity tool from Microsoft that combines Web, e-mail services, and Internet setup services.
MSN Gaming Zone. This folder contains the files and executables for the MSN Gaming Zone.
NetMeeting. This folder contains all the files used by Microsoft NetMeeting.
Online Services. This folder contains files used to establish Internet connectivity. These files enable you to set up Internet access through MSN or to select another available Internet service provider.
Outlook Express. This folder contains all the files and executables needed by Microsoft Outlook Express, a simple e-mail application.
Uninstall Information. This is a hidden folder containing files and information for uninstall services.
Windows Media Player. This folder contains the Microsoft Media Player application.
Windows NT. This folder contains any applications that have been ported over from other Windows operating systems (such as Pinball). This folder has empty folders in it if the ported components were not selected during installation.
Windows Update. This folder contains all the files used by the Windows Update Service.
Xerox. This folder contains all the files used by Xerox applications. By default, this folder is empty.
The Windows root-level folder contains an extensive subfolder hierarchy but very few files. The Windows\System32 folder is the main repository of all files required to launch and operate Windows XP. The following files are among those stored in the Windows folder:
Wallpaper and tiling images (.bmp)
Initialization and configuration files for backward-compatibility with various 16-bit utilities and applications (.ini)
Readme, log, and documentation files (.txt, .log, and .wri)
The following is a listing of the subfolders under the Windows folder:
Addins. ActiveX controls files.
AppPatch. Contains application compatibility .dlls and Appfix packages.
Config. Contains configuration .idf files used by the MIDI sound system. Depending on system configuration, this folder might be empty.
Connection Wizard. Files used for establishing Internet connectivity. Can be an empty folder.
CSC. The Client Side Cache is where contents of mapped network drives are cached so that the contents of these drives will be available offline. By default, this folder contains empty folders.
Cursors. Contains static and animated cursor files. You can use these files by configuring the Mouse applet.
Debug. Contains .log files that can be used to debug network connectivity and other setup functions.
Downloaded Program Files. Contains ActiveX controls and Java applets that have been downloaded from the Internet.
Driver Cache. Contains a platform subdirectory and a copy of the driver.cab file so that new devices can be easily installed without needing the Windows XP CD. Might contain SP1.cab if installing an integrated copy of the operating system.
Fonts. Contains all installed fonts.
Help. Contains the help files used by the Windows XP Help system and all its native utilities.
Ime. Files to support the Input Method Editor. Provides language support for Windows XP.
Inf. Contains the .inf (system information) files used to install software components. This is a hidden folder.
Installer. The location for temporary files used by the Windows Installer program. This is a hidden folder.
Java. Folder structure for Java files.
Media. Contains media files (sound and video) used by sound themes.
Msagent. Microsoft agent files, which are software services that support using animated characters in the Windows interface to assist users in manipulating the operating system.
Msapps. Contains files for backward-compatibility with applications that use shared components.
Mui. MUI (Multilingual-User Interface) Packs give companies flexibility in making language options available to users.
Offline Web Pages. Any Web pages designated as offline accessible are stored in this folder, along with any images and other files that go with it.
PCHEALTH. Contains files and subfolders to support the Microsoft Help Center Service. These files support all the Windows XP Help services, including features such as Remote Desktop Assistance.
Prefetch. Contains the files that XP is tracking for prefetch execution. Caching frequently used files decreases startup time for applications and optimizes XP performance.
Registration. Contains files that support COM+ applications.
Repair. Contains backup copies of the permanent Registry hives. The NTBackup program updates this directory with the System State option.
Resources. Contains files to support the user's shell interface.
Security. Contains subfolders and files related to security. Includes log files that define the default security applied during setup and templates for assigning new security privileges.
Srchasst. Contains files and subfolders for Search Companion, the updated search assistant included with XP. Includes files to support an indexing function that improves search performance.
System. Contains 16-bit versions of protected and real mode drivers and .dll files used by applications. These files are provided for backward-compatibility with older applications. Additional 16-bit driver files can be stored in this folder.
System32. Contains the core operating system files and subfolder trees.
Tasks. Contains scheduled tasks that run without operator intervention.
Temp. Contains any temporary files used by the system and applications.
Twain_32. Contains files to support Twain technology, enabling a scanner document to be inserted into a file.
Web. Contains files and subfolders to support Internet printing and document access.
WinSxS. A folder to store the shared components of side-by-side applications. These can be multiple versions of the same application or the same assembly.
The System32 subfolder contains most of the files used by Windows XP. This is the primary storage location for DLLs, Control Panel applets (.cpl), device drivers (.drv), help files (.hlp and .cnt), MS-DOS utilities (.com), language support files (.nls), screensavers (.scr), setup information files (.inf), and a handful of other files used for support, configuration, or operation.
The most commonly accessed subfolders in Windows\System32 are described in the following list:
1025, 1028, 1031, 1033, etc. Contains locationization languages files. Most of these folders will be empty. The English language is 1033. The complete list of locale IDs can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/loclanghome.mspx.
CatRoot. Contains security catalog files.
CatRoot2. Contains catalog database files.
Com. Contains COM object information.
Config. Contains the Registry hives used during bootup and is the storage location for the System, Security, and Application log files viewed through Event Viewer. Config now contains a new folder called \systemprofile that holds a standard profile for the local system.
DHCP. This is an empty folder used to hold Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) database files if the host becomes a DHCP server.
DirectX. Contains files to support the accelerated performance features of game devices.
Dllcache. Contains backup copies of the operating system files that are under the Windows File System Protection system.
Drivers. Contains driver files (.sys); the \etc folder contains sample copies of the TCP/IP text-based configuration files, such as Hosts and LMHosts files.
Export. This is an empty folder.
IAS. If there is no Internet connection capability, this is an empty folder used to hold configuration files for the Internet Authentication Service. This service is typically found on servers. If the machine has a device capable of connecting to the Internet, the IAS folder should not be empty. It will contain two files: DNARY.MDB (used to phrase IAS log files) and IAS.MDB (used to store remote access policies).
Icsxml. Contains files for Univeral Plug and Play.
IME. Contains files for Input Method Editors.
Intsrv. Contains files used by the World Wide Web service. This folder is empty.
Macromedia. Contains a subfolder with the Shockwave Flash .ocx file.
MsDTC. Contains Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator files that control transaction output and message delivery between two different applications or processes.
MUI. Contains Multilingual-User Interface files that are created by applications, such as Service Pack 1.
Os2. Contains drivers used by the OS/2 subsystem.
NPP. Contains files to support collecting network traffic from an XP PC by a Network Monitor server.
Oobe. Contains "Out of Box Experience" files that prompt users to complete product activation and registration and to create a new user other than Administrator. This feature is activated only after setup.
Ras. Contains the default scripts used by Dial-Up Networking.
Restore. Contains a list of files to be monitored and saved to an alternative location in case of file corruption. The System Restore service takes snapshots of the XP system periodically to enable the system to be restored from a previous set of data. This folder also contains the machine GUID.
Setup. Contains setup files for additional services, such as FrontPage Server Extensions and Microsoft Fax.
ShellExt. By default, this folder is empty.
Spool. Used by the printing system to store spooled print jobs and related files. The Printers subfolder is used to store spool files. The other folders found here vary based on printer drivers and configuration.
USMT. USMT stands for User State Migration Tool. This folder contains files to support both USMT and the File and Settings Transfer Wizard. Both tools enable user files and settings to be copied to another PC.
WBEM. Used by Web Based Enterprise Management to store its data and executable files and utilities. The Microsoft implementation of WBEM is the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Service. With WMI, programmers can create applications that control network devices, using the same commands regardless of platform.
Wins. Contains files to support the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS). This folder is empty
The Windows XP installation routine makes several changes to your hard drives. Windows XP uses two different partitions to store its information: a system partition and a boot partition. These partitions can exist on a single physical partition or on two physical partitions. Unfortunately, the way these terms are used is the reverse of common sense usage. The system partition is the partition containing the initial bootstrap components and the boot menu. The boot partition is the partition hosting the Windows XP root folder and all operational drivers and files.
The boot and system partition files can be located on the same partition, on different partitions, or even on different hard drives. However, the system partition must always be on the first hard drive in the system and must be an active primary partition. The boot partition can be a primary partition or a logical drive within an extended partition.
System Partition
Table 3.1 shows the files contained on the system partition for an x86 computer.
Table 3.1 Files Located on the System Partition for an x86 Computer
File
Description
NTLDR
Controls the operating system boot selection process and hardware detection before the actual Windows XP Kernel is launched. It requires that boot.ini, ntdetect.com, bootsect.dos (if dual booting), and ntbootdd.sys (if booting on a non-BIOS enabled SCSI drive; that is, scsi() is used instead of multi() in the ARC name in boot.ini) exist in the root system partition.
boot.ini
Contains the contents of the boot menu displayed by NTLDR. This file contains the default operating system selection, the timeout period for the selection, and an ARC name or pathname for each listed operating system boot selection.
ntdetect.com
Detects the major components of the computer before NTLDR selects a configuration and loads the Kernel.
bootsect.dos
Present only on dual-boot systems. NTLDR uses this file when the selected operating system is not Windows XP. Bootsect.dos in turn seeks out the OS-specific operating system loader file, such as io.sys for MS-DOS or os2ldr.exe for OS/2.
ntbootdd.sys
Used only on systems with SCSI drives that do not have on-board BIOS translation enabled. It is a copy of the device driver for your particular SCSI drive.
hiberfil.sys
Available if hibernation is enabled on the computer.
NOTE
When BOOTSECT.DOS is installed using the DOS-mode setup (for example, a Windows 98 startup disk), the file will still appear, even though it is not really a dual-boot system, meaning there is no COMMAND.com to boot into DOS. In this scenario, there is only one OS entry in the boot.ini file, and the boot selection menu does not appear.
For more information on the boot.ini file, see Chapter 7, "Booting Windows XP," p. 129.
Other files can appear in the system partition on x86 dual-boot and multi-boot systems. The addition of these files does not affect the function or capabilities of the required Windows XP boot files in the system partition. Installing multiple operating systems on a single computer with Windows XP Professional (or Home Edition) often requires a specific installation order or manual post-installation configuration changes. Both the Microsoft Windows XP documentation and TechNet include detailed articles on performing multi-boot setups with Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows Server 2003, Windows 95, Windows 98, MS-DOS, and OS/2.
Multi-booting Windows XP with non-Microsoft operating systems, such as Linux, often requires third-party boot and partition managers. For popular tools, see the "For More Information" section at the end of this chapter. Red Hat Linux contains two boot loaders—LILO and GRUB—that can also be used for a dual-boot configuration with Windows XP.
The system partition does not include any folders. It exists as a root folder only with three or more files. Having additional folders in the system partition does not affect the operation of boot files.
You might notice that the files in the system partition are among the files found on an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD). This should not be surprising because an ERD is used to restore files to the system partition if these files are corrupted, deleted, or otherwise destroyed.
Boot Partition
The directory structure and subsequent files installed into the boot partition are quite a bit more complex than those of the system partition. Table 3.2 describes the five folders created in the boot partition's root folder (normally the C:\ drive) during the installation of Windows XP.
Table 3.2 Folders Created by Windows XP in the Boot Partition's Root Folder
Directory
Description
Documents and
This folder is used to hold the configurations for each user
Settings
who accesses the system. In Windows NT, this information was stored in the \Windows\profiles folder.
Program Files
This folder is the default installation location for Windows applications.
System Volume Information
This folder stores all disk permission and security information.
Recycler
This is not a true folder; instead, it is the system-controlled temporary repository for deleted files. You can access its contents by launching the Recycle Bin tool from the desktop.Note that this folder does not appear until a file is deleted.
Windows
This is the main folder containing all the Windows XP system files, and the default folder for Windows XP.
The root of the boot partition is also the default location for pagefile.sys, which is the page file the Windows NT virtual memory system uses.
For information on how to tune Windows XP performance by placing and configuring the page file, see Chapter 22, "Tuning and Optimizing Windows XP," p. 485.
NOTE
The file and folder structure discussed in this chapter is derived from a fresh installation of Windows XP on an x86 desktop system with Service Pack 1 integrated. The typical installation method was chosen. No other applications from Microsoft or any third-party vendors were present on the system. That means no additional services or applications were installed from the Windows XP distribution CD, no hotfixes were applied, and Internet Explorer was not updated.
The Program Files folder is home to 16 subfolders:
Common Files. This folder contains files shared with the Microsoft applications.
ComPlus Applications. This folder contains files used by ComPlus applications. If there are no ComPlus applications installed on your XP machine, this folder will be empty. COM+ builds on the Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) integrated services and features, making it easier for developers to create and use software components in any language, using any tool.
Internet Explorer. This folder contains the files and executables for Internet Explorer, a Web-browsing tool.
Messenger. This folder contains files and executables for the new Windows Messenger Service. This service combines features found in MSN Messenger with an improved communications infrastructure.
Movie Maker. This folder contains the files and executables for the Movie Maker application.
MSN. This folder contains the files and executables for MSN Explorer, the new Internet connectivity tool from Microsoft that combines Web, e-mail services, and Internet setup services.
MSN Gaming Zone. This folder contains the files and executables for the MSN Gaming Zone.
NetMeeting. This folder contains all the files used by Microsoft NetMeeting.
Online Services. This folder contains files used to establish Internet connectivity. These files enable you to set up Internet access through MSN or to select another available Internet service provider.
Outlook Express. This folder contains all the files and executables needed by Microsoft Outlook Express, a simple e-mail application.
Uninstall Information. This is a hidden folder containing files and information for uninstall services.
Windows Media Player. This folder contains the Microsoft Media Player application.
Windows NT. This folder contains any applications that have been ported over from other Windows operating systems (such as Pinball). This folder has empty folders in it if the ported components were not selected during installation.
Windows Update. This folder contains all the files used by the Windows Update Service.
Xerox. This folder contains all the files used by Xerox applications. By default, this folder is empty.
The Windows root-level folder contains an extensive subfolder hierarchy but very few files. The Windows\System32 folder is the main repository of all files required to launch and operate Windows XP. The following files are among those stored in the Windows folder:
Wallpaper and tiling images (.bmp)
Initialization and configuration files for backward-compatibility with various 16-bit utilities and applications (.ini)
Readme, log, and documentation files (.txt, .log, and .wri)
The following is a listing of the subfolders under the Windows folder:
Addins. ActiveX controls files.
AppPatch. Contains application compatibility .dlls and Appfix packages.
Config. Contains configuration .idf files used by the MIDI sound system. Depending on system configuration, this folder might be empty.
Connection Wizard. Files used for establishing Internet connectivity. Can be an empty folder.
CSC. The Client Side Cache is where contents of mapped network drives are cached so that the contents of these drives will be available offline. By default, this folder contains empty folders.
Cursors. Contains static and animated cursor files. You can use these files by configuring the Mouse applet.
Debug. Contains .log files that can be used to debug network connectivity and other setup functions.
Downloaded Program Files. Contains ActiveX controls and Java applets that have been downloaded from the Internet.
Driver Cache. Contains a platform subdirectory and a copy of the driver.cab file so that new devices can be easily installed without needing the Windows XP CD. Might contain SP1.cab if installing an integrated copy of the operating system.
Fonts. Contains all installed fonts.
Help. Contains the help files used by the Windows XP Help system and all its native utilities.
Ime. Files to support the Input Method Editor. Provides language support for Windows XP.
Inf. Contains the .inf (system information) files used to install software components. This is a hidden folder.
Installer. The location for temporary files used by the Windows Installer program. This is a hidden folder.
Java. Folder structure for Java files.
Media. Contains media files (sound and video) used by sound themes.
Msagent. Microsoft agent files, which are software services that support using animated characters in the Windows interface to assist users in manipulating the operating system.
Msapps. Contains files for backward-compatibility with applications that use shared components.
Mui. MUI (Multilingual-User Interface) Packs give companies flexibility in making language options available to users.
Offline Web Pages. Any Web pages designated as offline accessible are stored in this folder, along with any images and other files that go with it.
PCHEALTH. Contains files and subfolders to support the Microsoft Help Center Service. These files support all the Windows XP Help services, including features such as Remote Desktop Assistance.
Prefetch. Contains the files that XP is tracking for prefetch execution. Caching frequently used files decreases startup time for applications and optimizes XP performance.
Registration. Contains files that support COM+ applications.
Repair. Contains backup copies of the permanent Registry hives. The NTBackup program updates this directory with the System State option.
Resources. Contains files to support the user's shell interface.
Security. Contains subfolders and files related to security. Includes log files that define the default security applied during setup and templates for assigning new security privileges.
Srchasst. Contains files and subfolders for Search Companion, the updated search assistant included with XP. Includes files to support an indexing function that improves search performance.
System. Contains 16-bit versions of protected and real mode drivers and .dll files used by applications. These files are provided for backward-compatibility with older applications. Additional 16-bit driver files can be stored in this folder.
System32. Contains the core operating system files and subfolder trees.
Tasks. Contains scheduled tasks that run without operator intervention.
Temp. Contains any temporary files used by the system and applications.
Twain_32. Contains files to support Twain technology, enabling a scanner document to be inserted into a file.
Web. Contains files and subfolders to support Internet printing and document access.
WinSxS. A folder to store the shared components of side-by-side applications. These can be multiple versions of the same application or the same assembly.
The System32 subfolder contains most of the files used by Windows XP. This is the primary storage location for DLLs, Control Panel applets (.cpl), device drivers (.drv), help files (.hlp and .cnt), MS-DOS utilities (.com), language support files (.nls), screensavers (.scr), setup information files (.inf), and a handful of other files used for support, configuration, or operation.
The most commonly accessed subfolders in Windows\System32 are described in the following list:
1025, 1028, 1031, 1033, etc. Contains locationization languages files. Most of these folders will be empty. The English language is 1033. The complete list of locale IDs can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/loclanghome.mspx.
CatRoot. Contains security catalog files.
CatRoot2. Contains catalog database files.
Com. Contains COM object information.
Config. Contains the Registry hives used during bootup and is the storage location for the System, Security, and Application log files viewed through Event Viewer. Config now contains a new folder called \systemprofile that holds a standard profile for the local system.
DHCP. This is an empty folder used to hold Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) database files if the host becomes a DHCP server.
DirectX. Contains files to support the accelerated performance features of game devices.
Dllcache. Contains backup copies of the operating system files that are under the Windows File System Protection system.
Drivers. Contains driver files (.sys); the \etc folder contains sample copies of the TCP/IP text-based configuration files, such as Hosts and LMHosts files.
Export. This is an empty folder.
IAS. If there is no Internet connection capability, this is an empty folder used to hold configuration files for the Internet Authentication Service. This service is typically found on servers. If the machine has a device capable of connecting to the Internet, the IAS folder should not be empty. It will contain two files: DNARY.MDB (used to phrase IAS log files) and IAS.MDB (used to store remote access policies).
Icsxml. Contains files for Univeral Plug and Play.
IME. Contains files for Input Method Editors.
Intsrv. Contains files used by the World Wide Web service. This folder is empty.
Macromedia. Contains a subfolder with the Shockwave Flash .ocx file.
MsDTC. Contains Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator files that control transaction output and message delivery between two different applications or processes.
MUI. Contains Multilingual-User Interface files that are created by applications, such as Service Pack 1.
Os2. Contains drivers used by the OS/2 subsystem.
NPP. Contains files to support collecting network traffic from an XP PC by a Network Monitor server.
Oobe. Contains "Out of Box Experience" files that prompt users to complete product activation and registration and to create a new user other than Administrator. This feature is activated only after setup.
Ras. Contains the default scripts used by Dial-Up Networking.
Restore. Contains a list of files to be monitored and saved to an alternative location in case of file corruption. The System Restore service takes snapshots of the XP system periodically to enable the system to be restored from a previous set of data. This folder also contains the machine GUID.
Setup. Contains setup files for additional services, such as FrontPage Server Extensions and Microsoft Fax.
ShellExt. By default, this folder is empty.
Spool. Used by the printing system to store spooled print jobs and related files. The Printers subfolder is used to store spool files. The other folders found here vary based on printer drivers and configuration.
USMT. USMT stands for User State Migration Tool. This folder contains files to support both USMT and the File and Settings Transfer Wizard. Both tools enable user files and settings to be copied to another PC.
WBEM. Used by Web Based Enterprise Management to store its data and executable files and utilities. The Microsoft implementation of WBEM is the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Service. With WMI, programmers can create applications that control network devices, using the same commands regardless of platform.
Wins. Contains files to support the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS). This folder is empty
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