Does anyone know or can suggest how to get access to the XP Recovery Console if you don't have an XP CD?

Many of the newer pc's from stores (Dell, HP, others) do NOT come with the XP boot CD.  Many don't have floppy drives either.  So what do you do when you need access to fixmbr or other recovery console commands?

Ghost4me.John

If it's not already on the system, the only way I know of adding it is from the WinXP installation CD.

You have been working with *dave_cal* in another thread, and I noticed an interesting entry on his *boot.ini*:

Ghost 10 Copy Drive feature


Quote:

I could'nt find a boot.ini in C: So I did a search and came up with a "backup boot.ini in C"\Windows\pss " ---------------------------------- as follows------- [boot loader] timeout=0 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons ----------------------------------------

The second entry in *[operating systems]*:

*C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons* is the *Recovery Console* that is installed on his system!

But *timeout* is set to *0*--so he probably never sees a boot menu screen to select that option--needs to edit boot.ini so *timeout=5* or something like that so has a chance to make a selection.

So, it looks like Dell is putting *Recovery Console* on some of their systems.

P.S.--*dave_cal*'s system must be set to *hide* system files!

NightOwl,

I've seen several PC's with no Recovery Console partition, and no XP CD either.

Normally, you can install the Recovery Console from your CD yourself if you have the XP startup CD.  But what do you do if you don't have it?

I've searched on Google, etc. thinking I could find a download of it somewhere so you could install it if needed.  I couldn't find it.

Anyone know if/where that is available?

Ghost4me.John

I think the only way to get the *Recovery Console* is off the installation CD--anybody's installation CD--but it has to be the same SP version that you have on your system or you get a *wrong version* error message--so WinXPSP1 requires an installation CD of WinXPSP1 to install the Recovery Console, and not a WinXPSP2 installation CD.

John,

I've never used the Recovery Console. I have an idea what it does from reading. What would be the main things that you personally do from the Recovery Console?

Brian

It's *DOS* for NTFS partitiions--well, kinda...but not exactly  ;) !

Recovery Console in Windows XP

Thanks NightOwl. Now I know why I've never tried it.

Brian

Ooops--said the *DOS* word  ;D !

It is a *command line* based utiltiy--see here for more details:

Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console

Brian wrote on Jan 31^st, 2006 at 10:27pm:

John, I've never used the Recovery Console. I have an idea what it does from reading. What would be the main things that you personally do from the Recovery Console?

Brian,
The main things from an XP stand point that you do with the Recovery Console is fix boot problems.  When you can't boot an XP system (usually due to mbr and/or boot.ini problem), you boot from the XP CD and choose Recovery Console.

The links show some of the most powerful/common uses that I have found:

• bootcfg: allows you to scan, display, and fix boot problems.
  
• fixmbr: fix the master boot record
  
• fixboot: write a new boot sector code (in case you forgot to restore it or it doesn't have one)
  
• chkdsk: the normal chkdsk but done without XP running
  
• diskpart:  similar to fdisk
  

Messing with partitions, restoring partitions (e.g. with Ghost), etc. makes it more likely you need to use these commands to get the boot process in order.  Other times are PC's that have a multi boot manager that further confuses all these issues.  In all these cases a simple restore (as we saw today) from Ghost creates additional complexities.  Same issue because of new PC's having multiple partitions and hidden partitions on them.  No longer is a new PC just one partition.

I think that is the reason Ghost 10 Utility has the Edit boot.ini there -- so that after you restore a second partition to a new/blank drive, you run edit boot.ini and change partition(2) to partition(1) and reboot.  All that logic should be straightforward but honestly how many people know that is the problem.  (turns a 5 minute problem into a 5 hour problem)

In that case if you hadn't restored the mbr, you would have had to use the Recovery Console to fix it (or rerun the restore).

My question remains though:  Why isn't there a website similar to http://www.bootdisk.com that also contains images or downloads of the Recovery Console?

Well, after NightOwl frightened me with that word, thanks for the detailed description, John. Seems it does things that BartPE won't do. Lucky for me I haven't had the need to use it.