Managing disks and data
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2
Managing disks and data
Using the Windows interface
Using command-line tools
Using the Windows interface
The following table lists some of the most common tasks for managing disks and data, and the tools you can use to perform them. For more information, click the corresponding link under Tool or Feature.
| Task | Tool or feature |
|---|---|
Back up and restore data. |
|
Set properties for storage devices. |
|
Analyze local volumes and consolidate fragmented files and folders on your hard disk. |
|
Manage hard disks and the volumes they contain. |
|
Monitor and limit disk space use on NTFS volumes. |
|
Manage files and folders. |
|
Work with network files and program even when you are not connected to the network. |
|
Extend disk space on your server without adding more hard disks. |
|
Track a computer's removeable storage media and manage the hardware libraries that contain them. |
|
View the contents of network folders as they existed at points of time in the past. |
For more information about managing disks and data, see "Part One: Managing Data and Devices" at the Microsoft Windows Resource Kits Web site.
Using command-line tools
The following table lists some of the most common tasks for managing disks and data, and the command-line tools you use to perform them. For more information, click the corresponding link under Command-line tool.
| Task | Command-line tool |
|---|---|
Display or modify file name extension associations. |
|
Display, set, or remove the read-only, archive, system, and hidden attributes assigned to files or directories. |
|
Display the name of the current directory or changes the current folder. |
|
Create and display a status report for a disk based on the file system; correct errors on the disk. |
|
Display or specify whether automatic system checking is scheduled to be run on a FAT, FAT32, or NTFS volume when the computer is started. |
|
Display or alter the encryption of folders and files on NTFS volumes. |
|
Compare the contents of two files or sets of files byte by byte on the same drive or on different drives, or in the same directory or in different directories. |
|
Display and alter the compression of files or directories on NTFS partitions. |
|
Convert FAT and FAT32 volumes to NTFS. |
|
Copy one or more files from one location to another. |
|
Clean specified profiles of wasted space and, if user-specific file associations are disabled, remove these associations from the registry. |
|
Locate and consolidate fragmented boot files, data files, and folders on local volumes. |
|
Delete specified files. |
|
Manage a distributed file system. |
|
Display a list of a directory's files and subdirectories. |
|
Compare the contents of two floppy disks. |
|
Copy the contents of the floppy disk in the source drive to a formatted or unformatted floppy disk in the destination drive. |
|
Manage objects (disks, partitions, or volumes) by using scripts or direct input. |
|
Expand one or more compressed files. |
|
Compare two files and display the differences between them. |
|
Used in conjunction with the command redirection pipe character (|), a command filter is a command within a command that reads the command's input, transforms the input, and then writes the output. Filter commands help you sort, view, and select parts of a command output. Filter commands divide, rearrange, or extract portions of the information that passes through them. |
|
Searches for a specific string of text in a file or files. After searching the specified file or files, find displays any lines of text that contain the specified string. |
|
Searches for patterns of text in files using regular expressions. |
|
Enable or disable flat temporary folders. |
|
Format the disk in the specified volume to accept Windows files. |
|
Check to see if the specified amount of disk space is available before continuing with an installation process. |
|
Perform many FAT and NTFS file system related tasks, such as managing reparse points, managing sparse files, or dismounting a volume. |
|
Displays or modifies file types used in file name extension associations. Used without parameters, ftype displays the file types that have open command strings defined. |
|
Replace locked operating system files. |
|
Create, change, or delete the volume label (that is, the name) of a disk. |
|
Manage File Server for Macintosh servers, volumes, directories, and files. |
|
Creates a directory or subdirectory. |
|
Create, delete, or list a volume mount point. Mountvol is a way to link volumes without requiring a drive letter. |
|
Move one or more files from one directory to a specified directory. |
|
Back up disks and data. |
|
Query, display, or disconnect open files or files opened by network users; enable or disable the system Maintain Objects List global flag. |
|
Copy files between a Windows Server 2003 family, or Windows XP computer and a system running rshd, the remote shell service (daemon). |
|
Remove (delete) a directory. |
|
Recover readable information from a bad or defective disk. |
|
Change the name of a file or a set of files. |
|
Replace files in the destination directory with files in the source directory that have the same name; add unique file names to the destination directory. |
|
Remove (delete) a directory. |
|
Manage media resources using Removable Storage |
|
Manage Remote Storage. |
|
Read input, and sort data; write the results to the screen, to a file, or to another device. |
|
Associate a path with a drive letter. |
|
Display the directory structure of a path or of the disk in a drive graphically. |
|
Displays the contents of a text file. Use the type command to view a text file without modifying it. |
|
Display the disk volume label and serial number, if they exist. |
|
Displays current volume shadow copy backups and all installed shadow copy writers and providers in the command window. The Windows Server 2003 family version of this command contains more parameters than the one that is in Windows XP. |
|
Locate and display all files that match the given parameter. |
|
Copy files and directories, including subdirectories. |
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.