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Installing the Recovery Console on SBS

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We always need to assume that disasters will eventually occur and plan accordingly. Many times we get into a 'no boot' situation could have been resolved from the Recover Console however we don't have the media at hand. The media is safely locked in a fireproof vault, keys to which are with someone who is not available at that very moment.... Murphy's law!

Recovery console is one of the most useful recovery features in Windows Small Business Server 2003. It is basically an enhanced, NTFS-enabled, secure
command prompt that can be used to copy files, start and stop services, and perform recovery actions when you can’t boot the system even in safe mode.

The Recovery Console, even though is available through the first Windows Small Business Server 2003 CD-ROM, can be installed as an option on the Boot menu for use in those dark hours!

[You’ll still need to use the boot disk if you can’t get to the Boot menu or the Recovery Console is damaged.] ....there is always a but...!

To install the Recovery Console on SBS, complete the following steps;

1. Insert the first Windows Small Business Server 2003 CD-ROM, Disk1.
2. Close the Autorun dialog box if it appears.
3. At a command prompt or in the Run dialog box, type the command
d:\i386\winnt32/cmdcons, replacing d with the drive letter of the
Windows Small Business Server 2003 CD-ROM.
4. Click Yes to install the Recovery Console.
Figure no.1;

image 

If you have installed SP2 for Windows Server 2003, you might get the following popup;
Figure no.2;

image

If you do get the above popup, simply press OK and it will take you to the next screen which Figure no.1

5. Next you will get the following screen;
image

If Internet connection is not available then you will get another popup that will ask whether you want to continue without updates or you want to cancel it here.

6. The Copying Installation Files page appears next and copies the necessary files from the CD.

7. A message box appears indicating that Recovery Console was successfully
installed.

The next time you reboot, one of the boot options will be Microsoft Windows Recovery Console.