Install the Windows Recovery Console for Server 2003

ByTerry Watts

Some times it is necessary to boot into the recovery console to repair your server installation or run a chkdsk.  Normally you would boot from the installation CD and choose the relevant boot options.  However you can also install the Recovery Console to the system partition so that you can boot into the recovery console…

Some times it is necessary to boot into the recovery console to repair your server installation or run a chkdsk.  Normally you would boot from the installation CD and choose the relevant boot options.  However you can also install the Recovery Console to the system partition so that you can boot into the recovery console without the CD.

To install the Recovery Console you will need to have access to your Installation CD or the I386 folder if you have copied it to your computer.

Click Start, then choose Run.
Type D:\i386\WINNT32.EXE /cmdcons
Press the OK button, the installation will start.

The Installation will prompt asking if you really want to install the Recovery Console, answer Yes to this prompt.

The Installation will now perform a dynamic update to ensure that you have the latest files on the Recovery Console.  If you don’t have an internet connection, the install will pause for a short time and then display a prompt.  You can use existing files from the installation source so not having an internet connection is not a problem.

At the end of the installation a dialog box will inform you that the installation was successful.

You can check that you have the console installed by checking to see if you have a hidden folder on your system partition.  This will be something like  C:\CMDCONS and will take up about 8Mb of space.

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