When was the last time you visited the command line? A few administrators live there, but many
others have forgotten about it over the years. When Microsoft originally introduced Windows, the
assumption was that you no longer needed the command line and many people left it behind com-
pletely. After all, why bother with the command line when you can access everything you need
from the graphical environment? The problem is that the Windows Graphical User Interface (GUI)
doesn't actually provide access to everything on your system. In addition, all of that mousing
around wastes considerable time and effort. You can't easily replicate your actions either; many
people have tried, and failed, to produce a macro recorder for the graphical portion of Windows.
Every time that you want to perform a task, you start it from scratch, which means that you have
plenty of opportunities for making mistakes.

Windows Administration at the Command Line

reveals
the command line to you. Using the information in this book, you not only discover the vast array
of commands that are at your disposal, but you also see how to automate those commands so that
you can save significant time and effort while performing administrative tasks.

Overcoming GUI Problems

As an example of the flawed behavior of the GUI, just try locating the word

Microsoft

in the exe-
cutables on your hard drive. You'll find that the task is impossible because Windows doesn't
search executables and just barely searches data files. Many people have complained about the
flawed performance of the search mechanism in Windows. Many people end up getting third
party utilities to help them search for the data that Windows should help them find, utilities with
dubious reputations for compromising security.

Windows Administration at the Command Line


shows you a better way, one that relies on a free utility supplied with Windows that will never
divulge your personal information to anyone else. Check out the FindStr utility in Chapter 4 and
you'll discover the high-speed search mechanism used by people in the know. The FindStr utility
is but one of hundreds of commands and utilities discussed in this book. Just think about what you
can do with all of those free resources! Not only will you accomplish your work faster and with
fewer errors, but by reading this book, you can save your company a significant investment in
third party products that might not do the job anyway.
No other book has the level of detail provided by

Windows Administration at the Command
Line

. I scoured the Internet looking for all of the details about every Windows command and
utility I could find. In some cases, the information you see in this book appears nowhere else.
Much of the extra information in this book is the result of 20 years of hard won experience at the
command line starting with DOS and moving through the current version of Windows. This
book gives you the benefit of experience of many network administrators as told on their Web
sites and through correspondence in email.