Microsoft Windows Troubleshooting Guide
- Introduction
- Malware Removal
- Fixing Networking Problems
- Repairing a System that Won't Boot
- Optimizing Windows
Using Various Boot CDs
In order to fix certain problems that prevent your system from booting you need to get your computer into a "mode" where you can run commands onto your Windows partition. Instead of physically removing the hard drive and putting it into another computer you can utilize what are called "Boot CDs" or "Rescue CDs". Below are some of the Rescue CDs that I have tried and the utilities I have used.
Note - Some of these Rescue CDs may be legally questionable to use.
System Rescue CD
System Rescue CD is one of the many bootable CDs that are based on GNU/Linux. Because of this, it may be a little more difficult to use for those who only have experience with working on Windows Systems.
There are quite a few utilities on System Rescue CD that can be used on a Windows System that refuses to boot. Here are a few commands that you can use:
- ntfsfix /dev/sda1 - This will check the NTFS Partition for errors, similar to chkdsk, where /dev/sda1 is the location of the partition, for more information on this nomenclature go here.
- fschk.msdos /dev/sda1 - This will check a FAT Partition for errors.
- ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /mnt/windows - This will mount an NTFS Partition so that it is writable, this can be helpful to restore an older version of the Registry (discussed in next section)
System RescueCD also has multiple utilities to backup data from any Partition, including Windows Partitions. This can be very helpful if you need to backup files before you completely re-install Windows on a non-booting system.
There are many other GNU/Linux based CDs available, many include a graphical interface instead of the console interface of SysRescCD. Another extremely popular one is Knoppix.
Microsoft DaRT
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/products/mdop/dart.aspx
A ways back Microsoft purchased Sysinternals, the company that created quite a few useful utilities for Windows, including "Emergency Repair Disk". ERD was a bootable CD which booted into a Windows XP environment to aid in fixing problems that prevent Windows from booting. Since Microsoft's purchase, Microsoft renamed ERD to DaRT, Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset. DaRT is basically the same as the older ERD with additional tools added. For instance with DaRT, you can:
- Automatically fix a corrupt registry if one if found
- Use chkdsk as you would on any Windows system
- Edit the Registry
- Disable/Enable Various Drivers and Services starting
- Remove any Hotfix that may have caused problems
- Reset the Administrator Password
- Roll Back to an earlier System Restore Point
- Many, Many more utilities
DaRT 5 is based on Windows XP/2003 and can be used on Windows 2000,XP and 2003. DaRT 6.0 can be used on Windows Vista and Windows 2008 Server, Dart 6.5 can be used with Windows 7. Microsoft DaRT is available within the "Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack", which is only available through "Microsoft Volume Licensing". Although a while back Microsoft released a 30-Day Demo of DaRT 5, which you can still find on the Internet.
Other Bootable CDs
The following CDs may be questionable on the legal status, but for reference, here are popular CDs on the Internet:
- Hirens CD - Includes hundreds of DOS and Windows Utilities. Includes both a DOS bootable environment and a Windows bootable environment.
- Ultimate Boot CD - Includes quite a few tools for Hardware Diagnostics and a Windows Environment with hundreds of Utilities.
- Falcon 4 Boot CD - Includes other Bootable Utilities, such as Hirens, DaRT/ERD, Ulitmate Boot CD, Windows XP and Vista Recovery Console on one CD.
