Managing computers

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Managing computers

• Using the Windows interface

• Using command-line tools

Using the Windows interface

The following table lists some of the most common tasks for managing computers, and the tools you can use to perform them. For more information, click the corresponding link under Tool or Feature.

Task	Tool or feature
On a single local or remote computer: create and manage shared resources, view a list of users who are connected to the computer, or view device configurations and add new device drivers.	Computer Management
Use a graphical view of the hardware that is installed on your computer; if necessary, update the drivers for hardware devices, modify hardware settings and troubleshoot problems.	Device Manager
Monitor security and other events that occur on a local or remote computer, including hardware and software-generated events, and system problems.	Event Viewer
Create a specific desktop configuration for a group of users (for example, programs available to users, programs that appear on the user's desktop, Start menu options).	Group Policy (pre-GPMC)
Install hardware and manage hardware-related issues.	Hardware
Secure and manage user accounts and groups stored locally on a computer.	Local Users and Groups
Create, save, and open administrative tools (in the form of snap-ins) that manage hardware, software, and network components of a local or remote computer, or multiple computers.	Microsoft Management Console
Manage how a computer connects to the network.	Network Connections Overview
Connect computers to printers.	Netsh overview
View or edit configuration information on a computer.	The Registry
On local or remote computers: display system configuration information, such as hardware configurations, computer components, installed software, and driver information.	System Information
View and change system properties on a local or remote computer.	System Properties
Manage user profiles.	User profiles overview
Manage a single or multiple local or remote computers in a single command.	Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line
Synchronize time on the computers in your network.	Windows Time Service

For more information about deploying computers, see "Part 1: Client Deployments" at the Microsoft Windows Resource Kits Web site.

Using command-line tools

The following table lists some of the most common tasks for managing computers, and the command-line tools you can use to perform them. For more information, click the corresponding link under Command-line tool.

Task	Command-line tool
Configure, query, or change Boot.ini file settings.	Bootcfg
Manage Terminal Services.	Terminal Services change commands
Display or change the identification number of an active console code page.	Chcp
Install or removes a Connection Manager service profile.	Cmstp
Displays the current system date setting. Used without parameters, date displays the current system date setting and prompts you to type a new date.	Date
Display properties for all installed device drivers.	Driverquery
Create a custom event in a specified event log.	Eventcreate
List the events and event properties from one or more event logs.	Eventquery.vbs
Display and configure event triggers on local or remote computers.	Eventtriggers
Display a comprehensive view of the hardware, system components, and software environment on the local computer.	Msinfo32
Display and configure the virtual memory paging file on a computer.	Pagefileconfig.vbs
Detect floating point division error (if present) in the Pentium chip, disable floating point hardware, or start floating point emulation.	Pentnt
Control the power settings on a computer.	Powercfg
Check Terminal Services status information.	Terminal Services query commands
Automate the connection process for any Microsoft client.	Rasdial
Add, change, or displays registry subkey information and values in registry entries.	Reg
Register .dll files as command components in the registry.	Regsvr32
Reset (delete) a session from a terminal server.	Reset session
Run commands on remote computers running the Rexec service (daemon); authenticates a user name on a remote computer before executing a command.	Rexec
Run commands on remote computers running the RSH service or daemon.	Rsh
Communicate with the Service Controller and installed services; retrieve or set control information about services.	SC
Shut down or restart a local or remote computer.	Shutdown
Install a limited set of optional components.	Sysocmgr
Display detailed configuration information about a computer and its operating system, including operating system configuration, security information, product ID, and hardware properties, such as RAM, disk space, and network cards.	Systeminfo
Scan and verify the versions of all protected system files after you restart your computer.	System File Checker (sfc)
Set up or disable the telephony application programming interface (TAPI) client.	Tcmsetup
Administer a local or a remote computer running Telnet Server.	Telnet Command-line Reference for Telnet Server
Administer Terminal Services.	Terminal Services commands
Display or set the system time.	Time
Import assignment information from an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file into the TAPI server security file (Tsec.ini); you can also use this command to display the list of TAPI providers and the lines devices associated with each of them, validate the structure of the XML file without importing the contents, and check domain membership.	Tsecimp
Displays the Windows XP version number.	Ver
Diagnose problems occuring with Windows Time.	W32tm
Install or upgrade to a product in the Windows Server 2003 family.	Winnt32

For more information about the command shell, see Command shell overview. For information about tools used to manage the command-prompt window, see Manage the command-prompt window. For an alphabetical list of all of the command-line tools, see Command-line reference A-Z.