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Written by Oleksandr Gavenko (AKA gavenkoa), compiled at 2015-10-05 from rev 764bb173578d.

Windows OS.

Determining windows version.

Run winver.exe: <Win> + R winver <RET>.

Or type: <Win> + <Break>.

Under cmd.exe use built-in command ver.

For Win 2000 and upper check registry key:

cmd> reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" /v CurrentVersion

To check 32/64-bit OS use PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE env var (it has such values: x86, AMD64, IA64).

Full info about Windows edition available from this .vbs:

cmd> slmgr -dli

Windows update.

To find updates and drivers visit (подлинность Windows not checked):

You can search driver by keywords from Device Manager like:

VEN_10DE DEV_0247
VID_22B8 PID_2A62

Also you can find updates on:

Updates that reset pirate copy of Windows: КВ971033.

List of installed updates:

cmd> wmic qfe

Check system files integrity.

cmd> sfc /Scannow

To complete repair you may need original installation CD (you can mount it from .iso image for example with DemonTools). Look to c:/Windows/Logs/CBS/CBS.log for errors and warnings.

Works starting from Windows 2000.

See:

Repair boot.

If you only damage boot sector of master or system partition boot from Windows XP installation CD, enter to recovery console and run:

cmd> fixboot cmd> fixmbr

See

Activate Windows.

Activate Windows from command line:

cmd> slmgr -ipk YGR45-THIS9-WONT5–0WORK-D7667

Reset the evaluation period/licensing status and activation state of the machine:

cmd> slmgr -rearm

Check activation:

cmd> slmgr /xpr

See:

Activate Windows XP.

Replace %WINDIR%/system32/winlogon.exe with valid in Safe Mode and run Windows Product Key Update Tool.

Access to Samba from Vista/7.

By default, you cannot authenticate and share files to and from Mac OS X or Linux Samba due to a well known authentication method turned off by default. To enable this,

Only for Windows Vista Ultimate/Business/Enterprise Editions.

Goto Start->Run and open gpedit.msc or secpol.msc

Select Continue on the User Account Control prompt. This will launch the Group Policy Object Editor for the Local Computer Policy.

In the Group Policy Object Editor, expand:

-> Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options

Open the “Network security: LAN Manager authentication level” policy and change the Security Setting to:

Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated

Windows Vista Home Edition.

Since Windows Vista Home Edition does not feature the Group Policy Editor, you may do the following to enable this feature:

Goto Start->Run-> and type regedit.

Select Continue on the User Account Control prompt.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlLsa

Create the following DWORD value (if it doesn’t exist): LmCompatibilityLevel

And set its value to: 1

Map dir to disk.

To create:

cmd> subst [to-disk: [from-disk:]path]

To remove:

cmd> subst disk: /d

Standard scripts.

compmgmt.msc - Computer management devmgmt.msc - Device manager diskmgmt.msc - Disk management dfrg.msc - Disk defrag eventvwr.msc - Event viewer fsmgmt.msc - Shared folders gpedit.msc - Group policies lusrmgr.msc - Local users and groups perfmon.msc - Performance monitor rsop.msc - Resultant set of policies secpol.msc - Local security settings services.msc - Various Services msconfig - System Configuration Utility regedit - Registry Editor msinfo32 - System Information sysedit - System Configuration Editor win.ini - windows loading information(also system.ini) winver - Shows current version of windows mailto: - Opens default email client command - Opens command prompt

appwiz.cpl - Add & Remove Programs timedate.cpl - Date/Time Properties desk.cpl - Display Properties inetcpl.cpl - Internet Options mmsys.cpl - Sound Settings sysdm.cpl - System Properties password.cpl - Password Options main.cpl - Mouse and Keyboard Options control fonts - Fonts Folder control printers Printers Folder

‘.cpl’ scripts can be run from command line as:

cmd> Rundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL cmd> Rundll32 Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL Mmsys.cpl,,0

Path.

Max path length.

260 chars. Use MAX_PATH macros from ‘windows.h’.

Allowed characters.

Not allowed:

  • characters from 0 to 31

  • < (less than)

  • > (greater than)

  • : (colon)

  • ” (double quote)

  • / (forward slash)

  • (backslash)

  • (vertical bar or pipe)

  • ? (question mark)

    • (asterisk)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365247.aspx
Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces

Memory.

PAE.

All 32-bit Windows XP support only 4 GiB RAM. To enable PAE (Physical Address Extension) edit ‘c:boot.ini’, add option ‘/pae’:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS=”MS Windows XP Prof” /fastdetect /pae

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff557168%28v=VS.85%29.aspx
/pae option
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/server/pae/paedrv.mspx
PAE support

NX.

NX (no execute) in Windows realised in Data Execution Prevention (DEP) technology.

On 64-bit processes, DEP is enabled by default and cannot be disabled. For 32-bit Windows DEP is supported in Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows XP with SP2, Windows Vista, and later versions of Windows.

To enable NX on 32-bit Windows edit ‘c:boot.ini’, add option ‘/noexecute=...’ (alwayson/optout/optin/alwaysoff):

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="MS Windows XP Prof" /fastdetect /noexecute=alwayson

To see current DEP status run:

cmd> wmic OS Get DataExecutionPrevention_Available
cmd> wmic OS Get DataExecutionPrevention_SupportPolicy
cmd> wmic OS Get DataExecutionPrevention_Drivers

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff557134%28VS.85%29.aspx
              /noexecute parameter
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912923
              How to determine that hardware DEP is available and configured on your computer

Life cycle.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/servicepacks.mspx
Windows Service Pack Road Map
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/default.mspx
Windows Life-Cycle Policy
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselect
Life-Cycle Policy by product
http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search
Microsoft Product Lifecycle Search. Type product name into search box (like “Windows 95”, “Windows XP”, “Windows Server 2003”, etc)!

NTFS junction points.

To craete use ‘junction.exe’ from Mark Russinovich or ‘linkd.exe’ from Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit.

‘junction.exe’ included with Sysinternals suite.

cmd> md c:Program-Files cmd> junction c:Program-Files “c:Program Files”

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/bb896768.aspx
Junction v1.05, Published: July 24, 2007
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=205524
How to create and manipulate NTFS junction points
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS_junction_point
NTFS junction point

Microsoft Windows 2000 Resource Kit.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927229
Windows 2000 Resource Kit Tools for administrative tasks separate tools downloads

Enable/Disabling UAC.

To disable UAC on the computer, you must be able to log on with or provide the credentials of a member of the local Administrators group.

Starting with Windows 7, UAC is disabled by following these steps:

  1. On the Start menu, type “UAC” and then click Change User Account settings.
  2. Move the slide bar to the bottom (Never Notify) and then click OK.

On Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, UAC is disabled by following these steps:

  1. Start Control Panel and double-click User Accounts.
  2. In the User Accounts tasks window, click Turn User Account Control on or off.
  3. Clear the Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer check box, and then click OK.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Turn-User-Account-Control-on-or-off
Turn User Account Control on or off

Fix file association.

Check current association:

$ cmd /c assoc | grep -i "^\.mp3"
.mp3=mp3file

Get list of all available commands:

$ cmd /c ftype
...
AIMP.mp3="C:\Program Files\AIMP2\AIMP2.exe" "%1"
...

and select one on them:

$ cmd /c assoc .mp3=AIMP.mp3

Clean up Windows system directories.

Run cleanmgr.exe.

You can safely remove SP restore files:

%Systemroot%\$NtServicePackUninstall$

Also check such directories:

%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Program Files\Common Files
%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Documents and Settings\USER\Application Data
%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Documents and Settings\USER\Local Settings

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290402
              HOW TO: Remove the Service Pack Restore Files and Folders in
              Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/253597
              Automating Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows

Schedule Tasks in Windows.

List registered of task.

$ schtasks /query

Create task.

$ schtasks /create /tn %TASK_NAME% /ru %ROOT% /sc daily /st 23:00:00 /tr "rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation"

/sc can be one of:

MINUTE HOURLY DAILY WEEKLY MONTHLY ONCE ONSTART ONLOGON ONIDLE

Delete task.

schtasks /delete /tn %TASK_NAME% /f

Change NTFS permission.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919240
The Icacls.exe utility is available for Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2

Change NTFS permission with ‘icacls’.

‘icacls’ allow option:

  • /c - Continues the operation despite any file errors. Error messages will still be displayed.
  • /t - Performs the operation on all specified files in the current directory and its subdirectories.
  • /l - Performs the operation on a symbolic link versus its destination.
  • /q - Suppresses success messages.

Recursively change the owner of all matching files to the specified user:

cmd> icacls %dir% /setowner %user% /t /c

or simply:

cmd> takeown /r /f %file%

Recursively grand full access for everyone:

cmd> icacls %dir% /t /grant:r %user%:(f)
cmd> icacls %dir% /t /grant:r *S-1-1-0:(f)

Well-known security identifiers (SID).

S-1-0-0
Null SID. A group with no members. This is often used when a SID value is not known.
S-1-1-0
World/Everyone. A group that includes all users.
S-1-3-0
Creator Owner ID. A security identifier to be replaced by the security identifier of the user who created a new object. This SID is used in inheritable ACEs.
S-1-3-1
Creator Group ID. A security identifier to be replaced by the primary-group SID of the user who created a new object. Use this SID in inheritable ACEs.
S-1-5-6
Service. A group that includes all security principals that have logged on as a service. Membership is controlled by the operating system.
S-1-5-7
Anonymous. A group that includes all users that have logged on anonymously. Membership is controlled by the operating system.
S-1-5-32-544
Administrators group.
S-1-5-32-545
Users group.
S-1-5-32-546
Guests. By default, the only member is the Guest account. The Guests group allows occasional or one-time users to log on with limited privileges to a computer’s built-in Guest account.
S-1-5-32-547
Power Users. Power users can create local users and groups; modify and delete accounts that they have created; and remove users from the Power Users, Users, and Guests groups. Power users also can install programs; create, manage, and delete local printers; and create and delete file shares.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa379649.aspx
Well-known SIDs
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243330
Хорошо известные идентификаторы безопасности в операционных системах Windows
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_Identifier
Security Identifier

Converting SID to names and inside out.

Use ‘PsGetSid’ utility from Sysinternals:

cmd> PsGetSid S-1-3-0
cmd> PsGetSid "\NULL SID"

Gathering info about Windows.

cmd> systeminfo

From Win+R:

helpctr.exe -mode hcp://system/sysinfo/msinfo.xml

or by:

cmd> %SystemRoot%\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\helpctr.exe -mode hcp://system/sysinfo/msinfo.xml

Automatically logon to Windows.

cmd# control userpasswords2

Format drive.

Replace with own disk letter:

cmd# format E: /q /fs:ntfs

See:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/format.mspx
Formats the disk in the specified volume to accept Windows files.