Useful commands for Windows administrators

Managing a Windows 2000 Active Directory with about 100 servers, over 1500 computers and 35 sites, the following commands often helped me answer questions or solve problems.
Most commands are "one-liners", but for some I had to make an exception and go to the right directory first.

These commands could all be used in batch files, though some may need some "parsing" with FOR /F to retrieve only the required substrings from the displayed information.

Notes:	(1)	Commands that use external, or third party, or non-native utilities contain hyperlinks to these utilities' download sites.
	(2)	Replace command arguments displayed in italics with your own values.
	(3)	Commands or utilities that require Windows Server 2003 are marked bright blue.
Warning:		Most commands on this page are very powerful tools. Like most powerful tools they could cause a lot of damage in the hands of insufficiently skilled users. Treat these commands like you would (or should) treat a chainsaw: with utmost care. Do not use them if you do not fully understand what they do or how they do it. Any damage caused using these commands is completely your own responsibility. How many users are logged on/connected to a server? Sometimes we may need to know how many users are logged on to a (file) server, like maybe when there is a performance degradation. At the server's console itself, with native commands only: NET SESSION | FIND /C "\\" Remotely, with the help of SysInternals' PSTools: PSEXEC \\servername NET SESSION | FIND /C "\\" By replacing FIND /C "\\" by FIND "\\" (removing the /C switch) you'll get a list of logged on users instead of just the number of users.

Getting Sound to work with Windows Server 2003 and Virtual PC 2007

Getting Sound to work with Windows Server 2003 and Virtual PC 2007

While I've read that the audio device which Virtual PC uses is not officially supported under Windows 2003 Server, I did find a blog entry which somewhat explained how to get it working. I offer my version of what worked based on my trial and errors with the original blog.

1. Either mount the ISO or load the Windows XP product CD so you can access it via your Windows 2003 VPC

2. Create a folder on your VPC desktop called "sound" (we just need it for a bit)

3. On the CD, navigate to the i386 directory and locate the following file: WDMA_CTL.IN_

4. Copy the WDMA_CTL.IN_ file to the "sound" directory you just created on your VPC desktop

5. Go back to the CD and navigate to the Driver.CAB file - inside there you will find a file called ctlsb16.sys you want to Extract that to your "sound" folder.

6. Get thee to a command prompt (dunno why I wanted to say that) and navigate to your "sound" folder

7. From the command prompt type "Extract WDMA_CTL.IN_ WDMA_CTL.INF" (without the quotes - did I really need to include that?)

8. Now you should be able to install the drivers for the virtual SB 16 device on the VPC - but wait there's more!

9. You may need to go to the Control Panel - select Sound and Audio Devices and enable the sound service - This will require a reboot and then you should be able to hear audio on your Windows 2003 VPC.

How to Delete the .vsp files without reboot

How to delete the VSP temp files WITHOUT a reboot!!

Server which are having VERITAS backup, some times will have the VSP temp files. Which you can’t delete by normal procedure. Here is the procedure how to delete the VSP temp files WITHOUT a reboot!!

Procexp is the tool to manually remove the temp files left over. You need to down load this tool from the below mentioned link.
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml

Process Explorer Usage to remove the cache file:

1. Open the Procexp tool by double click.
2. Expand System Idle Process
3. Select and highlight System , you will notice in
the bottom half of the screen will populate with a
list of all the processes that are running under the
System account.
4. Click on show DLL, which is rounded in the below screen shot.

5. Sort the Name Field by name and scroll down till you see the entries that
start with \Device\VSPSnapshot0\_vxfiVspCacheFile_1.tmp (depending on the
number of drives, you may find more then one mapping in the list that use
the same naming convention).

6. Highlight the first \Device\VSPSnapshot0\_vxfiVspCacheFile_1.tmp, right click and select Close Handle.

now delete vsp files

Explain the lease process of the DHCP server.

The Process for leasing the ip address in DHCP is called DORA( D-Discover, O-Offer, R-Request, A- Acknowledge).

DHCP Server leases the IP addresses to the clients as follows:
DORA
D (Discover) : DHCP Client sends a broadcast packets to identify the dhcp server, this packet will contain the source MAC.
O (Offer) : Once the packet is received by the DHCP server, the server will send the packet containing Source IP and Source MAC.
R (Request) : Client will now contact the DHCP server directly and request for the IP address.
A (Acknowledge) : DHCP server will send an ack packet which contains the IP address.

WindowsServer2003 Interview Questions

1 what is the difrences btwen 2k , 2k3 and xp?
2. WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF DHCP?
3. HOW DHCP CONFIGURE?
4. What is the new major feature introduced in Exchange 2003, which was not included in Exchange 2000?
5. How can you recover a deleted mail box ?
6. what is the use of ESUtil.exe ?
7. What are the port Numbers for pop3, imap, smtp port, smtp over ssl, pop3 over ssl, imap over ssl ?
8. Difference between Exchance 2003 and 2007?
9. what is RPC over Http ?
10. What is required for using RPC over Https with MS Outlook ?
11. If you have deleted the user, after you recreated the same user. How you will give the access of previous mail box ?
12. What are the prequisite for installation of Exchange Server ?
13. What is the use of NNTP with exchange ?
14. If NNTP service get stoped, what features of exchange will be effected ?
15. Which protocol is used for Public Folder ?
16. How will take backup of Active Directory ?
17. What are the content of System State backup ?
18. 1.boot process in windows nt/xp/2000/2003
19. 2.how do you configure memory dump if c:,d:,e: & paging file is configured so and so way?
20. 3.backups ? which is better, why and which to use when?
21. 4.disaster recovery plan?
22. 5.DHCP lease process
23. 6.DNS zones, chronicle records what are they?
24. 7.DHCP relay agent where to place it?
25. 8.what is active directory compared to SAM?
26. 9.what is GC? how many required for A Tree?
27. 10.what is forest?
28. 11.Group policies?
29. 12.FSMO Roles?
30. When you use ping command, how do you recognise DNS/WINS is working ?
31. What is the difference between DNS/WINS ?
32. Do you require WINS in Windows 2000 ? Explain how ?
33. What is Active Directory ?
34 You have parentdomain xyzhq.com and the childdomains INxyz and UKxyz. When you apply a group policy in parent domain zHQ as a domain level, does it applies to its child domain INxyz and UKxyz ?
35. You take a backup on Monday as FULL and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday as Differential Backup. If your Server Crashes on Friday. Then what are the media tape required to restore the date ? Explain how ?
36. What is Global Catalog Server ?
37. Can GC Server and Infrastructure place in single server ? if not explain why ?
38. What is the size of log file which created before updating into ntds.dit and the total number of files ?
39. What does SYSVOL contains ?
40. Which is service in your windows is responsible for replication of Domain controller to another domain controller.
41. How data will travel between sites in ADS replication?
42. What is the port number for SMTP, Kerberos, LDAP, GC Server. ?
43. What Intrasite and Intersite Replication ?
44. What is lost & found folder in ADS ?
45. What is Garbage collection ?
46. What System State data contains ?
47. How do you restore a particular OU which deleted by accidently ?
48. What is IPSec Policy ?
49. What are different types of Group Policy ?
50. What is the order of applying Group Policy ?
51. What are the new features in Windows 2003 related to ADS, Repllication, Trust ?
52. How to edit the Schma in ADS ?
53. What is Domain Local, Global Group, Universal group ?
54. Diff between Global & Universal group ?
55. What are the different types of Terminal Services ?
56. What does mean by root DNS servers?
57. What are the different records in DNS ?
58. What is SOA records ?
59. How does the downlevel clients register it names with DNS server ?
60. What is RsOP ?
61. What is default lease period for DHCP Server?
62. What is the process of DHCP clients for getting the ip address?
63. What is multicaste ?
64. What is superscope ?
65. What is the System Startup process ?
66. What is WINS hybrid & mixed mode?
67. What is Disk Quota ?
68 .What is Active Directory?
69. What is LDAP?
70. Can you connect Active Directory to other 3rd-party Directory Services? Name a few options.
71. Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?
72. What is the SYSVOL folder?
73. Name the AD NCs and replication issues for each NC
74. What are application partitions? When do I use them
75. How do you create a new application partition
76. How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?
77. What is the Global Catalog?
78. How do you view all the GCs in the forest?
79. Why not make all DCs in a large forest as GCs?
80. Trying to look at the Schema, how can I do that?
81. What are the Support Tools? Why do I need them?
82. What is LDP? What is REPLMON? What is ADSIEDIT? What is NETDOM? What is REPADMIN?
What are sites? What are they used for?
83. What's the difference between a site link's schedule and interval?
84. What is the KCC?
85. What is the ISTG? Who has that role by default?
86. What are the requirements for installing AD on a new server?
87. What can you do to promote a server to DC if you're in a remote location with slow WAN link?
How can you forcibly remove AD from a server, and what do you do later? • Can I get user passwords from the AD database?
88. What tool would I use to try to grab security related packets from the wire?
Name some OU design considerations.
89. What is tombstone lifetime attribute?
90. What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 DC in a Windows 2000 AD?
91. What do you do to install a new Windows 2003 R2 DC in a Windows 2003 AD?
92. How would you find all users that have not logged on since last month?
What are the DS* commands?
93. What's the difference between LDIFDE and CSVDE? Usage considerations?
94. What are the FSMO roles? Who has them by default? What happens when each one fails?
95. What FSMO placement considerations do you know of?
96. I want to look at the RID allocation table for a DC. What do I do?
97. What's the difference between transferring a FSMO role and seizing one? Which one should you NOT seize? Why?
98. How do you configure a "stand-by operation master" for any of the roles?
99. How do you backup AD?
100. How do you restore AD?
101. How do you change the DS Restore admin password?
102. Why can't you restore a DC that was backed up 4 months ago?
103. What are GPOs?
104. What is the order in which GPOs are applied?
105 Name a few benefits of using GPMC.
106. What are the GPC and the GPT? Where can I find them?
107. What are GPO links? What special things can I do to them?
108. What can I do to prevent inheritance from above?
109. How can you determine what GPO was and was not applied for a user? Name a few ways to do that.
110. A user claims he did not receive a GPO, yet his user and computer accounts are in the right OU, and everyone else there gets the GPO. What will you look for?
111. Name some GPO settings in the computer and user parts.
112. What are administrative templates?
113. What's the difference between software publishing and assigning?
114. Can I deploy non-MSI software with GPO?
115.You want to standardize the desktop environments (wallpaper, My Documents, Start menu, printers etc.) on the computers in one department. How would you do that?


Server Support Interview Questions-2
1) How to enable telnet in Windows ?
2) What are the different types of Terminal Services ?
3) What is the diff between Application mode and Administration mode ?
4) What is Licensing in Terminal Services?
5) What is FSMO roles and explain ?
6) I have a Global Catalog server in Server1, and want to make the same server as a Infrasture Master. Can i go ahead with that ? Explain.
7) How to publish a web site in IIS?
8) How to deploy a patches to the systems ?
9) What are the tools available for Patch Deployments ?
10) Difference between Differential and Incremental Backup ?
11) What is DHCP Option, Server Options?
12) How to take backup in Group Policy?
13) Which component is used for replication between the sites?
14) How to take the backup DHCP data while DHCP SERVER is running?
15) What is new features in Windows 2003 DNS?
16) What are new ADS features in 2003 ?
17) You are having high configuration server SERVER1 and additional domain controller with less configuration serv2, serv3. When the 1000 users login into their computer, all login traffic goes to serv2 and serv3. so the server serv2 and serv3 get hung. How do you redirect the logon traffic to SERVER1?
18) What is the procedure to restore the data in ADS?
19) What is the use of ntdsutil command ?
20) Which command helps to find the server for FSMO roles ?
21) What are the protocol supports for Replication ?
22) What is the expantion of .Dit ? Scalable size of NTDS in 2k3?
23) What are the partitions available in AD?
24) What are the two types of replications?
25) What is KCC ? What is the function of the KCC?
26) What are the two trust protocols 2k3 using ?
27) What are the trust relations available in 2k3?
28)What are the protocols used on replication?
29) What is the default time delay on replication?
30) What Different tables available in NTDS database?
31) Where is the FRS logs stored in and what is the database engine name?
32) What is tombstone object in AD? What is it’s life time?
33) What are the functions of GC?
34) What is Global catalog and GC server?
35) What are the domain functional levels in 2k3?
36) What is the hierarchy of applying Gpo in 2k3?

How to Reset administrator username and password in SmarterMail

Software affected: SmarterMail Vx.x
Description: Reset administrator username and password in SmarterMail

Resolution:
To reset the primary administrator login and password in SmarterMail 2.x, follow the instructions below:
1. Stop the SmarterMail Service
2. Open Windows Explorer (My Computer)
3. Go to C:\Program Files\SmarterTools\SmarterMail (or wherever you installed SmarterMail)
4. Open the Service subdirectory
5. Make a backup copy of the file MailConfig.xml
6. Right-click on MailConfig.xml and choose Open With -> Notepad
7. Find the section that looks like this: ... ...
8. Delete those lines and save the file
9. Start the SmarterMail Service
You should now be able to log in to SmarterMail by using the following:
Email: adminPassword: admin