15 Must Know Windows Run Commands - Updated

On the Microsoft Windows operating system, the Run command is used to directly open an application or document whose path is known.

We will show up you 15 awesome Run commands that’d helps you to bypass a series of clicks, thereby making things faster in your daily usage of Windows.

Do note that the Run hasn’t disappeared in Windows 8 either. It might not show up like it did in its predecessors, but a simple Win+R keystroke would bring it up. Hence knowing how to use it is only going to help you.

Note: To run these commands, press Win+R button to open the Run box, type in the command you want to run and press the enter key.

Here are the Commands start from :

1. cleanmgr

To do a disk cleanup with a simple steps which is having a default program, no need to use any third party applications to clean your system (temp, Internet cache junk... etc.)

Probably, the easiest way to clean up the junk files accumulated in your computer. Run the command to open up the Windows Disk Cleanup Manager, select the drive you want to clean and click ok. Computer will then scan the particular drive for junk files and give the option to clean them.

2. %userprofile%

Just like the previous command, this will open up the user profile directory for the particular user. You can access your picture, music, videos and other personal folders easily from here.

3. control

If you want to open your system Control Panel, this command will open it up for you directly. You’ll be surprised how few people know this one. So many of my so called geeky friends had no notion about this one.

We will be seeing how to open certain Control Panel settings directly as we proceed.

4. %programfiles%

We have to open program files most of the time to run and manage installed applications. This command will open your Program Files folder directly no matter on which drive Windows is installed on your computer. It’s better than opening Windows Explorer and then navigating to the folder manually.

5. compmgmt.msc

The command will open Computer Management, directly which you open conventionally by right-clicking on My Computer (or Computer), and selecting Manage. One can manage shared folders, manage disk services and take care of other management stuff using that window.

6. firewall.cpl

Want to disable or enable firewall quickly? Type in firewall.cpl in the Run box and press enter. Takes you right into Windows Firewall.

7. fsmgmt.msc

Keep track of all the shared folder and devices using this command. You can control sharing on your computer easily from here.

8. Open Web Browser (iexplore, chrome, firefox, opera)

These commands will open up Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, and Opera on your system respectively if they are installed on your computer. That’s not all. You can append the URL of the website at the end of the browser name to open the website directly. For e.g. if you want to open Guiding Tech on Chrome, open Run Command and type in Chrome www.guidingtech.com and press enter. For the note, this command is my personal favorite (no points for guessing why).

9. msinfo32

Probably, the easiest way to see your computer’s complete system info. Here you can find all the hardware and software information you will need to know about your computer.

10. Netplwiz

This command is useful for a multi-user computer. Administrators can directly open User Account advance configuration and configure any account they would like. Other users, however, can edit and change their personal account preferences.

11. osk

Abbreviation for On Screen Keyboard, this one opens it on your computer screen. You can use these on screen keyboards to fight keyloggers while browsing through a shared public computer.

12. Logoff/shutdown

As the name speaks, these commands quickly logoff a user or shut down the computer respectively. You can also use “shutdown –a” to abort a system shutdown, but you have to be very quick while using the command.

13. utilman

We have seen how osk can open the on screen keyboard Windows utility, but if you want to use magnifier or a narrator, this command will open up the full utility manager for you.

14. wuapp

This command will open up the Windows Update Manager for you. You can then install and configure your Windows updates from here.

15. write

Just as the notepad command is used to open Windows Notepad, write launches the default Windows WordPad. Oh, you never knew this existed, did you? Try it out.

For more Usefull Commands - Visit Here

Upgrade from Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller to Windows Server 2008

Introduction

I have been using Windows Server 2003 for years and I believe its time to shift and try using Windows Server 2008, I have downloaded RC0 and decided to Upgrade my Domain Controller, which is also a DNS & DHCP Server to Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition RC0. In this article, I will show you step by step how to perform an in-place upgrade for a Domain Controller from Windows Server 2003 To Windows Server 2008 RC0

Note: This article was written when Windows Server 2008 was still RC0. Changes might occur later once the product is RTM'd Upgrade Steps

1. On you Windows Server 2003 DC, insert the Windows Server 2008 DVD, and then open command prompt and run the following commands, make sure first to browse to the adprep directory inside the Windows 008 DVD , in my case case, the F drive is the DVD Drive letter, so to browse to the adprep directory I would write the following inside cmd:cd f:\sources\adprerp
   
   
   adprep/ forestprep

• 
  adprep/ domainprep
• adprep/ rodcprep (Optional, if you plan to add a Read Only Domain Controller Later)
  
  
  
  

2. If the Install Windows page did not auto run before the previous step, double click on your DVD drive where you have inserted the Windows Server 2008 DVD, then Click on Install now
   
3. A please wait screen will be followed, then a page to decide what to do, either to go online and get the latest updates for installation or to skip going online by clicking on the Do not get the latest updates for installation option
   
   
   
   
   I will perform the updates later, so for the purpose of this article, I will click on Do not get the latest updates for installation
   
   
4. Enter the product key, click Next
   
   
5. Accept the license terms and click on Next
   
   
6. What we need to do is to upgrade our server, so click on the Upgrade option
   
   
7. The compatibility report will be displayed telling you what hardware might not function once upgrade is completed , also to check with software vendors to check if their software are compatible with Windows Server 2008. click Next
   
   
8. Upgrade is now in process
   
   
9. The Server will be restarted automatically several times, the Upgrade process will continue with the remaining operations:
   • Expanding Files
   • Installing Features and updates
   • Completing Upgrade


After multiple restarts, the Upgrade process will be completed and you will be able to start using your Windows Server 2008.

Summary

In this article, I showed you how to do an in-place upgrade for Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller to Windows Server 2008. The steps are easy and straightforward, just make sure while reading the compatibility report, if any of the hardware/software installed on your Server are compatible with Windows Server 2008.

Useful VMware Commands

Restart management services:	Service mgmt-vmware restart
Find DNS servers:	Cat /etc/resolv.conf
Check ESX version:	esxupdate query
Restart vmware management:	service vmware-vpxa restart service mgmt- vmware restart
vdf –h	view partion info (disk space etc)
ls –larth	list files in a directory in by GB, MB (easy to see file sizes)
ls –larth *delta*	as above but only show files with “delta” in the name
List registered VMs:	vmware-cmd –l (gives machine id)
Check if VM powered on (e.g.):	vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/4a006885-0aed81dd-0cdc-002219b72e1d/Exchange01/Exchange01.vmx getstate
Check if VM powered on (e.g.):	Type ifconfig to check the current IP address. esxcfg-vswif -i x.x.x.x vswif0 Example esxcfg-vswif -i 10.0.1.3 vswif0
Check jumbo frames are working	Vmkping –s 9000
ifconfig	Display IP information

Please Click any of the following link

Setup the vSphere Management Assistant

The below article describes the initial stpes in setting up a vSpehre Management Asssitant appliance.

Step 1 – Download and Install

• Go to the Vmware website and download the latest version of the VMA appliance
• This comes as a .zip file. Extract this file. You should get the files below

• You can then create the VMA appliance using the .ovf file

• Once the VMA files have finished uploading to your ESX server you can then power on the newly created VM.
• Connect to the console of the new VM and run through the various setup options specifying IP addresses etc.

Step 3- Set Time Zone and Keyboard

Use the “date” command to view the current date, time and time zone info. If you need to change these enter the commands

Set Time Zone:

sudo rm /etc/localtime

sudo ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/GMT /etc/localtime

(If your timezone is not GMT browse the zoneinfo directory for other timezones)

You can set the time with the below command

Sudo date –set “28 Jan 2010 18:00:00″

(note there is a double hyphen)

Set Keyboard

sudo nano /etc/sysconfig/keyboard

(Choose the appropriate keyboard option – in the below case its “uk”)

Step 3 – Add to Active Directory (optional)

If desired you can add the VMA to your Active Directory Domain. Enter the below on the VMA console

sudo domainjoin-cli join

You will need to reboot

Step 4 – Enable the vi-user account

By default the vi-user account cannot be used until you have specified a password.

sudo passwd vi-user

Step 5 – Add standalone ESX\ESXi server

You can add target servers running virtual centre 4.0 + and ESX\ESXi3.5+

To add a standalone ESX\ESXi server run the below command

vifp addserver

You will be prompted for the root username and password. You can verify the target servers in use with the command

Vifp listservers

Please Click any of the following links

Quick tip: Launching the Hidden Command Prompt while installing Windows

Quick tip: Launching the Hidden Command Prompt while installing Windows

During the installation of Windows, its is possible to launch the command prompt after entering the username and password.

Just press Shift + F10 and the command prompt will appear.

By this you can enable the hidden administrator (inactive) account and others, tweak anything while installing, and verify the settings through command prompt.

Cool right?!Tested the installation using Virtual PC running 512mb, enabled virtualization and 2 Ghz Core2duo processor while using the classic theme of windows... Its fast.. Thanks for reading the article!

Creating a Batch to free up disc space

Creating a Batch to free up disc space






You can free up spaces on your hard drive. Just follow these instructions:

Open Notepad, copy and paste:

CD\
CD %APPDATA%
CD..
CD LOCAL\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\EXPLORER
DEL *.db
CD\
CD %Windir%
CD SoftwareDistribution
DEL /F /S /Q Download
vsp1cln /quiet /verbose
vssadmin resize shadowstorage /On=C: /For=C: /Maxsize=3GB

reg add hklm\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VSS /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 3 /f

reg add hklm\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore\cfg /v DiskPercent /t REG_DWORD /d 5 /f

Then click on FILE > SAVE AS

On Save as type: Select All files
Give the file a name which ends with .bat
Click Save

To run the file, you have to right click on it> Run as administrator.

You can also use CCleaner