But what if one day, you need to verify if a hotfix has been installed on your computer. One way you can check is to open up Add or Remove Programs from the Control Panel.

As you can see, viewing updates from Add or Remove Programs don't offer much information for each update and is pretty useless. Instead there are better alternatives that provides more useful hotfix and service pack information installed on your system.

View Hotfixes On Windows XP

For XP systems, an excellent portable freeware utility called WinUpdatesList from nirsoft.net, provides an easy to use interface that displays a list of all Windows updates (Service Packs and Hotfixes) installed on your computer.

To run the program, download the zip file from http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wul.html (scroll to bottom of page and click on "Download WinUpdatesList in zip file "). Now unzip the file, wul.zip , then double click on wul.exe to launch the utility.

WinUpdatesList list all hotfixes and service packs that have been installed, who installed the update and when it was installed. You can sort the list by clicking on any column. For example, to view by date, click on Installation Date column. Scrolling over to the right, reveals more information such as Web Link for each update and the uninstall Command.

Clicking on an update in the list displays all the files associated with the update in the lower pane including version information and file path. To display detailed information, right click on an update in the upper pane, and select Open Web Link. Your browser will open and display the knowledge base article on Microsoft web site for the update.

WinUpdatesList also allows you to search for an update (select Edit \ Find from menu) and can print a report by selecting View \ HTML Report .

View Hotfixes On Windows Vista

Unfortunately WinUpdatesList has not been updated for Vista yet. But you can get similar information by clicking on the Start menu and searching for update (from Start menu). In the search results, click on Windows Update.

Then in the left navigation pane, click on the View update history link.

You will then see all the updates that have been installed on your Vista computer and you can sort them by clicking on the Date Installed column or view all successful and failed update installations by clicking on the Status column.

Although Windows Update does not provide as much information as WinUpdatesList, it does provide the capability to view the knowledge base article on Microsoft web site, by right clicking on an update and selecting View details.

Then click on the link under More information to open up the knowledge base article.

Now that you know how to view installed updates on your XP or Vista computer, it can be usefull for times when you are having problems and need to verify which updates are installed.

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And when that occurs, the only way to recover if you're unsuccessful with piecing things back together, is from a backup or a system restore. Neither of which is worth the time for something that is considered eye candy (for the amount of system memory it uses) on the desktop.

But after using Vista sidebar for a while, you may find yourself dependent on those little gadgets sitting on your desktop, that you just have to have everything back as they were.

So before you go messing around with tweaking a gadget or sidebar setting, here is a simple backup method which will make restoring your sidebar effortless, with out the need of any third party utility.

Before making any changes to the sidebar, simply make a copy of the Windows Sidebar folder located under your user profile folder at:

C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar

NOTE: if your default Vista installation was installed on another partition, just substitute the drive letter in the path listed above, such as D:\Users\….

You can copy the folder (and it's sub-folder contents) to a USB drive or another location on your hard drive.

The next time you want to restore the sidebar to it's previous setting (from the last time you made a backup copy):

- close and exit Windows Sidebar by right clicking on the Windows Sidebar icon in the System tray and click Exit.

- then copy the folder back to your user profile (path shown above) and overwrite the contents of the folder.

- when the copy is completed, restart the sidebar, by clicking on Start and type sidebar in the search field, then click on Windows Sidebar in the search results.

You should now see the sidebar appear with all your gadgets and settings, as they were before you messed everything up

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If so, you can easily change it to a more friendly name. Doing so can have many benefits, especially on a home network.

Instead of connecting to a system with an ugly name such as D2347TB998, you can change it to JOEPC or DUDE if you want and easily identify whose PC you are connecting to without guessing.

Changing the computer name is performed the same way no matter what system you are running – Vista, XP or Windows 7.

NOTE: Before starting, make sure any programs or applications that you have open are closed.

Now, just click on Start \ Run and enter sysdm.cpl in the run box and click OK.

When the Systems Properties window opens, click on the Computer Name tab…

…then click on the Change button next to "To rename this computer…."

You will see your current Windows computer name in the Computer name: field as well as the full name if your computer is a member of a Windows Domain (which many home users are not members of a Domain).

To change the name, just type a new name in the Computer name: field and click OK.

You will then see a dialog box informing you that you must restart the computer for the changes to take place.

Click OK again to close the Systems Properties window, then reboot your computer.

After rebooting, your computer name will be change to it's new name. If you want, you can verify it did change by checking the  System Properties (sysdm.cpl) Computer Name tab.

Changing Your Computer Name From The Command Prompt

For those of you who prefer to use the command prompt to change the name, you can do so by using the Netdom command.

If you are running XP, Netdom is available in the Support Tools installation, which can be found on the Windows XP CD in the tools directory, or as a download from Microsoft web site.

If you are running Vista or Windows 7, Netdom is not included on the CD and you cannot install the XP support tools on a Vista or Windows 7 system. Instead, you will need to copy the executable from a XP computer. If that's not possible, you won't be able to use the command prompt for changing the computer name.

Once you have the Netdom executable on your hard drive, open a command prompt by clicking on Start \ Run and enter cmd, then follow these instructions for changing the computer name.

N ow that you have a more friendlier computer name, it will make connecting computers together on your home network much easier to identify.

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If so, it may be because of the power plan option that Vista is using.

Unlike XP, Vista power plans include a configuration setting that can greatly effect speed and reduce performance by 50 percent, almost to the point of frustration.

Especially if you use the Power Saver plan.

Unknown to many (unless you are a Geek and dig around in the operating system often), Vista default power setting for the Power Saver plan limits CPU performance to 50 percent, even when you are plugged in and not using battery power.

Now, it makes sense that the Power Saver plan is designed to….save power. But it doesn't make sense to cut processing power by fifty percent when using the power cord (unless you REALLY want to save on your electric bill).

Fortunately you can tweak this setting to get better CPU performance.

To modify the processing power setting, click on Start and enter power in the search field. Then click on Power Options in the search results.

If you are using the Power Saver plan (indicated by the bullet), click on the Change plan settings link.

Then on the next screen, click on the Change advanced power settings link.

In the settings screen for the Power saver plan, scroll down and expand Processor power management \ Maximum processor state. You will notice the Plugged in: value is set to 50%. We'll want to change the value by clicking on it and increasing it to 100%.

When finished, click on OK, followed by Save changes (if necessary) on the next screen.

With this change, you will speed up Vista and maintain the same optimization settings for best performance (plugged in) and battery life with the Power saver plan.

If you use other power plans, you can also adjust the Minimum and Maximum processor state values to your preference.

But, depending on how you use your computer while using battery power, will determine the best solution for you. As always test when making changes (one a time) until you find the optimal power plan if you are not happy with battery performance.

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You know you are if your desktop looks anything like this:

What a mess. Sure, all the icons are organized in nice neat rows and columns. But honestly, that's the only thing organized about it. What a double-vision-icon nightmare these desktops are when I have to work on people's computers.

So instead of telling them to get rid of everything, I show them a better way to clean up and organize their desktop, with out deleting anything.

Quick Launch

Quick Launch is just a folder on your computer, which the content can be made visible as part of the task bar located next to the Start button.

Quick Launch is the perfect companion to the Start menu, except you only drop items in it that you use frequently (the reason why it's called Quick launch).

These items are usually shortcuts to programs, files and folders. So if you look at your desktop, that's really what you have…shortcuts to programs, files and folders.

Now, I only use my Quick launch for programs and files that I use frequently (later I'll show you a  better solution for folders).

If you don't see Quick Launch next to the Start button, just right click on the taskbar then select Toolbars \ Quick Launch.

From here, you can add items by dragging them on top of Quick Launch, or right click just before the double arrows to open the Quick Launch folder.

NOTE: Right clicking before the arrows can be a little tricky. Instead you can access the Quick Launch folder under your user profile in the folder – \Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch (in XP) and \AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch (in Vista).

You can also create new folders to organize your items, add files to your preference. When finished, just close the folder.

The width of the Quick Launch bar can be adjusted by grabbing the bar and moving left or right to display more or less icons. If you don't see the bar, unlock it by right clicking on an empty area of the taskbar and un-select Lock the Taskbar.

Adding Toolbars To The Taskbar

Have a lot of shortcuts to folders? Then adding a toolbar to the taskbar is the perfect solution to de-cluttering your desktop.

Start off by creating an empty folder, called Folder Shortcuts (or what ever you want to call it) somewhere on your hard drive, such as in your My Documents folder.

Next, drag all those folder shortcuts sitting on your desktop into this folder (you can also include files if you want to).

Now, right click on an empty area of the taskbar and select Toolbars \ New Toolbars and browse for the folder that you just created.

You will now have a new toolbar, similar to Quick Launch, next to the System tray. This will allow for easy access to those folder shortcuts that USED to clutter up your desktop.

Just like the Quick Launch bar, you can add items to the toolbar by dragging them on top of the toolbar.

Create A Docking Toolbar

If you don't like adding toolbars to the taskbar, then create a docking toolbar.

To do this, open My Computer or Windows Explorer and create a new folder any where on your hard drive. Then add the shortcuts (from your desktop) to the new folder.

When finished, shrink Windows Explorer or My Computer window so you can see part of your desktop, now left click and drag the folder to the very top of your screen and release your mouse (make sure you touch the top of your screen before releasing).

The new toolbar will dock itself to the top of the screen. You can also dock toolbars to either side of the screen if you prefer.

NOTE: To remove the toolbar, just right click on it and select "Close Toolbar". To move it to another location on your screen, left click and hold on the very left side of the toolbar (before the sliding bar) and drag it.

Cleanup The Start Menu By Sorting and Organizing

One of the reasons why people clutter up their desktops is because their Start menu becomes a cluttered mess. But if you spend a little time and organize the contents, it will become more useful.

First, start off by opening the Start menu folder by right clicking on the Start button and select Open. At this level you can add/delete and organize items that appear when you click on Programs (Classic style) or All Programs (default style). Make sure you organize the Start Menu folder and the Program folder.

Next, right click on the Start button and select Properties then Customize. Depending on which style you are using, several options exist to enable or disable items that appear on the Start menu. Take time to go through everything and only enable items you really need.

Make sure you click on the Sort button. By doing so, will alphabetize the items in the list allowing you to easily find items.

Once you have finshed, your desktop will (hopefully) never look the same again!

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More free disk space.

Apparently Vista SP2 includes a clean up tool (Compcln.exe) that  recovers hard disk space by permanently deleting previous versions of files such as RTM, SP1 uninstall files and restore points that are being serviced by SP2.

If installing SP2 does not automatically delete these files, you can run the clean up tool manually.

But before you run the tool, understand that the tool will make all service packs and other packages permanent on this computer. This means, you will not be able to remove  any cleaned packages from this system (such as go back to SP1)

Because the cleanup tool performs this action, it also removes previous restore points, preventing you from going back to a previous state.

So, in reality, the free disk space recovered by deleting the restore points is temporary. As time goes by, new restore points will be added, thus using up disk space.

If you want to control, how much disk space is taken up by System Restore, see the following article – Reduce Disk Space Used By Vista System Restore.

To run the new SP2 clean up tool manually, first check the amount of free disk available so you can compare the amount of free space gained after running the tool.

To run the utility:

• Open a command prompt by clicking on Start \Run and enter cmd.exe. You can also open a command prompt by clicking on Start and typing cmd.exe in the search box.

• Next, type the following command at the prompt and press enter:

c:\Windows\System32 \compcln.ex

• When prompted to continue, enter Y.
  

After the tool completes, go back and check the amount of free disk space you have gained.

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In a previous tip, I showed you how you can use Firefox to browse your hard drive for files and folders. This tip works great when you want to keep the number of applications open to a minimum or you are using Firefox on a portable USB Drive.

Another cool feature is the capability to view files and folders or play music and video files in Firefox simply using drag and drop.

Say you have an MP3 file on your desktop, instead of double clicking on it, and using the default player to play the MP3 file, just drag it inside an open Firefox window, and it will start to play.

Or if you have a PDF file, just drag and drop in Firefox and the PDF file will open in Firefox. You can open text files, even drag and drop a folder to view the contents.

Now, for this to work with different file types in Firefox, plugins must be installed and the file type associated with the plugin (see Configure FireFox To Open Different Types Of Files).

For example, to view PDF files, you will need to have the Adobe PDF plug-in  installed and to play audio or view video, you can use the QuickTime plugin (by default the file type extension will be associated in Firefox after  a plugin is installed).

If you try to drag and drop a file that does not have a plugin installed or it's file type associated (in Firefox), Firefox will prompt you for how to open the file or if you want to save it to your Computer (this is the typical dialog box you will see when saving files).

You might wonder why or what uses drag and dropping files or folders into Firefox can be used for.

For one, if you run applications off a USB thumb drive (such as PortableApps.com), you can use this feature without needing to install the application, or keep a portable version, if one exist.

But the best reason is if your work restricts using any kind of media player. As long as you have the right plug-ins installed, you can listen to music or watch videos without breaking the rules!

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So you open up Windows Task Manager, find the application process, right click on it and select End Process.

Nothing happens! The process is still running and the dead application continues to cause high CPU utilization to the point where you can't do much with your computer.

You repeat the process. Nothing again. One more time…that process just won't terminate and die.

Now what?

Well, having pesky processes, that refuse to terminate and continues to hog CPU cycles, can be frustrating to the point where you just want to hit the power button and shut down. But that's too risky and more times than not will cause loss of data or system boot problems.

What you need is a utility that can kill and terminate stubborn processes, the first time, using PsKill from Microsoft Sysinternals.

PsKill requires no installation and is a stand alone executable that is run from the command line. It can kill process locally or remotely. PsKill is bundled with Sysinternals PsTools which is a collection of command line tools for Windows computers.

To use PsKill, you want to get things setup first:

• Download PsTools from Microsoft site, and unzip to your desktop.

• Open the PsTools folder and copy pskill.exe to your System32 folder. The reason for this is that pskill will be in your executable environment path so you can just type the command, with out specifying the full path to the folder and file location.

• Next open Task Manager (right click on the taskbar then select Task Manager ) and make sure the PID column is visible (may need to use horizontal scroll bar to scroll to the right to see PID column).

If it is not visible, click on View \ Select Columns… and make sure PID (Process Identifier) is checked and select OK.

• Now the next time you have an application that is hanging, and it's process will not end from Task Manager, make note of the process PID number in Task Manager.

• Then open up a command prompt (click on Start \ Run and enter cmd in the run box) and type the following command:

pskill 1680

(just substitute 1680 with your PID number that you want terminated).

The process WILL terminate freeing your computer from application hell.

You should be able to re-open the application again. But be careful, killing processes this way may cause data loss with the application that was terminated (such as if you were using a text editor or Microsoft Word).

At least you won't have to reboot 

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Unless you know where to look…

Windows provide an easy way to vew this information, with out needing to install anything by using Add or Remove Programs in XP or with Programs and Features in Vista.

Viewing Last Accessed Information In XP

To view when applications or programs were last accessed in Windows XP, open up Add or Remove Programs by clicking on: Start \ Run and enter appwiz.cpl .

Or, using the long way, click on Start \ Settings \ Control Panel \ Add or Remove Programs .

Once Add or Remove Programs window has open, by default all installed programs are sorted by name. To view last accessed information, click on the Sort by: pull down arrow and select Date Last Used selection.

Here you be able to view when programs were last accessed, which can help if you are want to clean up your computer.

Also notice that not all programs in the last will provide this information. The reason for this is that not all programs installed can be accessed as a single program (such as patches, resource kits, etc) or some have never been access.

If you are using this information because you want to cleanup your hard drive, use discretion when removing programs and always make a backup first.

Viewing Last Accessed Information In Vista

Vista provides the same information but it's not easy to find how to display it. Click on: Start \ Run and enter appwiz.cpl

Or click on Start and type program in the search field and select Programs and Features from the list.

In the Uninstall or change a program window, right click on the Name column and select More…

In the Choose Details window,click on the check box next to Last Used On and click the OK button.

Depended on what columns are selected and how they are sorted, your view of last accessed programs will look similar to the following screenshot:

The view can be sorted in ascended or descending order by clicking on the Last Used On column.

Just like XP, the same reason applies for why some programs do not display any information on when they were last used.

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But what if you need to map multiple drives at once, or you want to always map the drive when you logon to your computer?

The best solution is to create a batch file that you can click on, when you need to map the drives, or copy it to your Windows user account Startup folder so the drives are mapped automatically during logon.

To map drives using a batch file, we'll need to use the net use command. At it's simplest form, the command looks like this:

net use [devicename | *] [\\computername\sharename

where:

devicename = the dive letter for the map drive

computername = is the computeer wher the share exists

sharename = is the name of the share

So to create a batch file that will map a drive to different computers that are sharing folders, we'll use the following commands:

net use W: \\computer1\MP3

net use X: \\computer2\Photos

Note: you can asssign any drive letter you want, as long as it is not in use by your computer (for example A or C drives).

What About Authentication?

Using the commands above to map drives, assumes that the account you are logged on as, exists on the remote computer where the shared folder is located, or if you are at work, is part of a Windows Domain.

If you need to authenticate when mapping the drive, we'll need to use an account that exists on the remote computer or in a Windows Domain, and add it onto the net use command as shown below:

net use [devicename | *] [\\computername\sharename password  /USER:username

Therefore the command will look like this when used in a batch file:

net use W: \\computer1\MP3 mypassword /USER:mary

net use X: \\computer2\Photos mypassword /USER:bob

If an error occurs (unknown user name), you will need to use the /USER switch with the domainname option as follows:

net use W: \\computer1\MP3 mypassword /USER:mydomain\mary

If the remote computer is not part of a Domain, and is part of a Workgroup, then substitute the Domain for the name of the remote computer (where the user account resides).

net use W: \\computer1\MP3 mypassword /USER:computer1\mary

Creating The Batch File

Ok, now that we know how to use the net use command, let's create the batch file.

• First, open up Notepad or your favorite text editor.
• Next, copy the commands as shown below and paste them into the file. Don't forget to modify the net use command with the drive letter you want to use, the name of the Computer and share you want to map a drive to, and password and account name (if needed).

ECHO Begin Mapping Drives
net use W: \\computer1\MP3 mypassword /USER:mary
net use X: \\computer2\Photos myrealpassword /USER:bob
exit

• Then save the file with any name and a .bat extension (make sure it's NOT saved using .txt as the file type extension), to a location where you can easily access it (such as your Desktop).
• When you need to map the drive(s), just double click on it.

A Word About Security

Now, realize when using the net use command and hard coding passwords, make sure you understand that you are at risk if anyone gains access to the batch file. You don't want to create the batch file at work and save it to a File Server.

Use common sense, and don't be careless.

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Now this is not something that will completely prevent someone from changing the contents of the file, but I find it to be useful, more like a reminder) in situations where I want to prevent myself from changing the file accidentally.

After you have created the file (it can by any kind of file with any kind of extension), just right click on the file and select Properties.

In the Properties window, towards the bottom, click on the check box next to Read-only then click on OK to save the setting.

When you do try to save the file after making changes, you will see the following error message:

To not save the file, click OK (for the error message), then close the file and select Don't Save.

With the Read-only attribute set, any changes to the file will be prevented until you un-check the setting for the file.

Using The Command Prompt

If you prefer to use the command line to set the Read-only attribute, use the following command at the prompt:

attrib +r filename

To reset the Read-only attribute (remove it and make the file writable again), use the following command at the prompt:

attrib -r filename

Remember to replace filename with the actual name of the file.

Once you have set the Read-only attribute, it will remain even when you copy the file to another location on your computer or to another Windows computer.

Remember, this method is not a substitute for any kind of security, but is a nice solution…when you want to prevent yourself from modifying files that you don't want changed.

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What's cool about using filters to find files of the same type, is that you don't need to know the file extension name and you can group and sort them, which allows you to easily view the files of the same type.

To see how you can use the file type filter,  just open Windows Explorer by doubling clicking on My Computer or any folder shortcut on your desktop and navigate to a folder that you want to find a specific file.

Now, mouse over on the "Type" column and you will notice an arrow will appear.

Clicking on the drop down arrow will display a list of programs that you can select to view by it's file type.

Take notice, that Vista filtering system only displays the programs that are present in the folder. This let you choose only the program file type you are looking for, with out needing to scroll through a long list of programs.

Also, you are not limited to selecting only one file type, You can make multiple sections using the check boxes.

To make it easier to view the selected files, click on the Group icon so the files of the same type are group together (also notice that the number of files are listed next to the program name).

To help you remember that you have a filter set, Vista will display a check mark next to column name (in our example this is the Type column).

When you are finished, and want to turn a filter off, you can un-do the settings you made by deselecting the check boxes to return the view to normal.

Using Windows Explorer filters in Vista, makes organizing your files much easier by changing how the content of folders are displayed. Once you get the hang of it, finding files becomes a whole lot easier.

Want to see what else is new with Windows Explorer? Check out 12 Hidden Windows Explorer Tricks.

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Being a System Administrator, I constantly use the command prompt, mostly because I access systems remotely and many tasks can be performed quickly with out the graphics over head (even though connecting via Terminal Server is very convenient).

So if you are an avid user of the command line, here are my top 10 built-in (non third party) command line tools for XP, Vista and WIndows server versions (remember these commands are not your typical tools, such as find, copy, move, dir, etc..).

1 - systeminfo – Have a need to display operating system configuration information for a local or remote machine, including service pack levels? Then systeminfo is the tool to use. When I need to connect to a system that I am not familiar with, this is the first tool I run. The output of this command gives me all the info I need including: host name, OS type, version, product ID, install date, boot time and hardware info (processor and memory). Also knowing what hot fixes are installed can be a big help when troubleshooting problems. This tool can be used to connect to a machine remotely using the following syntax: SYSTEMINFO /S system /U user

2 - ipconfig – This tool may be most useful tool for viewing and troubleshooting TCP/IP problems.  It's capability includes release or renew an adapter IP Address, display and flush DNS cache, re-register the system name in DNS. WIth Vista and some server versions, ipconfig includes support for IPv6.

Some examples when usinging ipconfig.

• To view all TCP/IP information, use: ipconfig /all
• To view the local DNS cache, use: ipconfig /displaydns
• To delete the contents in the local DNS cache, use: ipconfig /flushdns

3 - tasklist and taskkill – If you are used to Windows Task Manager, then you'll find tasklist very easy to use. This tool displays a list of currently running processes, including image name, PID (Process ID) and memory usage on local or remote machines. Using the /V switch displays more information in verbose mode that includes, CPU Time, user name, and modules. Tasklist includes a filter option to display a set of task based on the criteria specified. But the best use of the filter is using it to display programs running inside svchost.exe process.

Of course, there will be times when a process needs to be killed and taskkill can be used to terminate those trouble processes. A single or multiple processes can be killed using the PID (/PID ) or image name (/IM ). Here are two examples for doing just that:

TASKKILL /IM notepad.exe
TASKKILL /PID 1230 /PID 1241 /PID 1253 /T

Both tasklist and taskkill can connect to remote systems using the /S (system name) /U (user name) switches.

4 - netstat – Need to know who (or what) is making a connection to your computer? Then netstat is the tool you want to run. The output provides valuable information of all connections and listening ports, including the executable used in the connections. In additon to the above info, you can view Ethernet statistics, and resolve connecting host IP Addresses to a fully qualified domain name. I usually run the netstat command using the -a (displays all connection info), -n (sorts in numerical form) and -b (displays executable name) switches.

5 – type – A lesser known tool to those who don't work with the command prompt. For Administrators, the type command is the perfect tool for viewing text files. But what many people don't know about the type tool, is it's capability to read multiple files at once. For example to view multiple text files, just separate each file with a space:

type firstfile.txt  secondfile.txt  thirdfile.txt

For files that are large, you can control text scrolling using the more command.

6 - net command – Although this tool is more known as a command, the net command is really like a power drill with different bits and is used to update, fix, or view the network or network settings.

It is mostly used for viewing (only services that are started), stopping and starting services:

• net stop server
  
• net start server
• net start (display running services)

and for connecting (mapping) and disconnecting with shared network drives:

• net use m: \\myserver\sharename
  
• net use m: \\myserver\sharename /delete
  

Other commands used with net command are, accounts (manage user accounts), net print (manage print jobs), and net share (manage shares).

Below are all the options that can be used with the net command.

[ ACCOUNTS | COMPUTER | CONFIG | CONTINUE | FILE | GROUP | HELP |HELPMSG | LOCALGROUP | PAUSE | PRINT | SESSION | SHARE | START |STATISTICS | STOP | TIME | USE | USER | VIEW ]

To display the complete syntax for each command, just type net help followed by the command – net help use .

7 – nslookup – With the Internet, DNS (Domain Name Service) is the key for allowing us to use friendly names when surfing the web instead of needing to remember IP Addresses. But when there are problems, nslookup can be a valuable tool for testing and troubleshooting DNS servers.

Nslookup can be run in two modes: interactive and noninteractive. Noninteractive mode is useful when only a single piece of data needs to be returned. For example, to resolve google.com:

To use the interactive mode, just type nslookup at the prompt. To see all available options, type help while in interactive mode.

Don't let the help results intimidate you. Nslookup is easy to use. Some of the options I use when troubleshooting are:

set ds (displays detailed debugging information of behind the scenes communication when resolving an host or IP Address).

set domain (sets the default domain to use when resolving, so you don't need to type the fully qualified name each time).

set type (sets the query record type that will be returned, such as A, MX, NS)

server NAME (allows you to point nslookup to use other DNS servers than what is configured on your computer)

To exit out of interactive mode, type exit .

8 - ping and tracert - These tools can be helpful with connectivity to other systems. Ping will test whether a particular host is reachable across an IP network, while tracert (traceroute) is used to determine the route taken by packets across an IP network.

To ping a system just type at the prompt: ping www.google.com. By default, ping will send three ICMP request to the host and listen for ICMP “echo response” replies. Ping also includes switches to control the number of echo requests to send (-n ), and to resolve IP addresses to hostname (-a ).

To use tracert, type at the prompt: tracert www.google.com. You can force tracert to not resolve address to hostnames by using the -d switch, or set the desired timeout (milliseconds) for each reply using -w switch.

9 – gpresult – Used mostly in environments that implement group poicies, gpresults (Group Policy Results) verifies all policy settings in effect for a specific user or computer. The command is simple to use, just enter gpresults at the prompt. It can also be used to connect to computers remotely using the /S and /U switches.

10 – netsh – Without a doubt the most powerful command line tool available in Windows. Netsh is like the swiss army knife for configuring and monitoring Windows computers from the command prompt. It capabilities include:

• Configure interfaces
• Configure routing protocols
• Configure filters
• Configure routes
• Configure remote access behavior for Windows-based remote access routers that are running the Routing and Remote Access Server (RRAS) Service
• Display the configuration of a currently running router on any computer

Some examples of what you can do with netsh:

• Enable or disable Windows firewall:

netsh firewall set opmode disable

netsh firewall set opmode disable

• Enable or disable ICMP Echo Request (for pinging) in Windows firewall:

netsh firewall set icmpsetting 8 enable

netsh firewall set icmpsetting 8 disable

• Configure your NIC to automatically obtain an IP address from a DHCP server:

netsh interface ip set address "Local Area Connection" dhcp

(For the above command, if your NIC is named something else, use netsh interface ip show config and replace the name at Local Area Connection).

As you can see netsh can do alot. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, check out the following Microsoft article for more info on netsh.

The use of Windows command line tools can be a powerful alternative when only a command prompt is available. I'm sure there are plenty more commands that I have not mention.

Let us know what your favorite command line tool is and leave a comment below.

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But in some cases, so much text was returned that it exceeds the screen buffer size and rolls off the screen. Especially when you are viewing text files from logs or error outputs.

So how can you control the amount of text that can be viewed from the command prompt?  By using the more command.

The more command easily allows you to control scrolling text by stopping the scrolling one page at a time.

Before we get started, the command examples shown below uses the pipe symbol (character) which can be entered by pressing SHIFT+Backspace (above ENTER key).

Now that's out of the way, let's continue.

Say you wanted to list the contents of the System32 directory while viewing the results one page at a time. Just enter the following command at the prompt.

dir c:\windows\system32 | more

And the text will stop scrolling at the first page. To continue scrolling, press the Space bar once, for each time you want to scroll through the pages.

Now that you can scroll one page at a time, you can stop or break out of the more command by pressing the Q key.

To control exactly what you want to see, you can also display or skip how many lines of text you want to view.

To do this, use the following options with the more command:

P n Display next n lines
S n Skip next n lines

For example using the above dir (directory) command, after the first page of text has stopped scrolling, instead of pressing the Space bar, press either the P or S key (depending on if you want to display or skip a number of lines).

You will see the word Lines and a semicolon. To skip the next four lines, press the S key, followed by pressing the number 4 key. Then press Enter.

To display the next four lines, just press P and follow the steps above for skipping lines.

Now that you can control scrolling text from a command, how about displaying text from a file?

To do this, just use the following command syntex.

more filename

For example to view a file named, mycdrive.txt, you would enter the following command at the prompt:

more mycdrive.txt

Windows will automatically put you in the more mode and you can use all the commands shown above to control text scrolling.

If you want to view which line you are at in the text file, press the = (equal) key on the keyboard.

If you ever forget what options to use with the more command, just type more /? at the prompt to see all available options.

Now that you know how to control text scrolling, using Windows command prompt has just become a little easier!

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I prefer to just drill down using a menu and expand items in the same window as if I am navigating through the file system while using Windows Explorer.

For example, when clicking on the Start menu and accessing the Control Panel, most of the time I know the item I want to access. Instead, the default setting in Windows is for another window (dialog box) to open displaying all Control Panel items that you need to navigate.

So, to avoid having yet another window open, you can easily force Windows to display the Control Panel items as a menu when using the Start menu.

Just right click on the Start icon in the taskbar (or the Windows Orb in Vista) and select Properties.

In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties page, click on the Customize… button.

If your settings are like mine above (if not, see Classic Start menu below), you will see the same screen listed below. Just scroll down to the Control Panel section and click on the radio button next to Display as a menu. Click OK twice to save setting and close both windows.

NOTE: In XP click on the Advanced tab to access the options.

If you are using the Classic Start menu, click on the Customize… button and then click the check box next to Expand control panel. Click OK twice to save setting and close both windows.

Now, instead of having another window open when clicking on the Control Panel in the Start menu, all items will be displayed in a menu allowing you to click on any item.

No more extra window opening up to annoy you!

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