Websites, Resource Kits, Books and Utilities

Windows XP - Microsoft Documentation
Windows Command Reference - Windows 7/2008.

AppDeploy - Deploy/Install Applications
CommandLine - Batch File examples and Utilities
FP Schultze - Batch files
Smithii - Scripts to slipstream a Windows XP boot disk + Security fixes
OldNewThing - Raymond Chen
Rob van der Woude.com - Batch files, VBS
Timo Salmi - Useful script tricks and tips
Steve Hardy - NT/2K command line scripting
List of TCP and UDP port numbers

MS Support Q no's

Search Microsoft Knowledge base

Resource Kits + updates

Many resource kit tools and utilities will run successfully on earlier versions of Windows. However Active Directory and NTFS have changed significantly over the years so I recommended you only use the tools supported for your platform.

win7 reskit Windows 7 Resource Kit
By Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup & Jerry Honeycutt
1,700 pages, Deploy, Manage, Maintain and Troubleshoot. Example VBS and PowerShell scripts, sample chapter (PDF.)

Windows 7 Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) - Free Download (also: Active Directory Domain Services Tools)

Windows 8 Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) - Free Download

Windows 7 Home > Professional upgrade - Allows Win XP applications to run.

Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 Resource Kit - April 2008
By Microsoft Corp
4,000 pages + DVD with more than 200 essential tools and scripts.

Sysinternals Suite - Download the Sysinternals utilities.

Remote Desktop Connection Manager - RDP to multiple machines.

Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit - Evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues for Vista and Windows 7. Includes the Compatibility Administrator which can be used to set UAC exceptions (Application fix.)

Windows XP Resource Kit (3rd edition XP/Sp2, March 2005)
By Microsoft Corp
Technical Documentation plus the essential Tools and Utilities for administering both Windows XP and 2003 Server

Windows 2003 Resource Kit (July 2005)
By Microsoft Corp
Seven volume documentation set, Tools and Utilities plus searchable e-books.

The resource kit tools for XP and 2003 are also available as a free download: Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools - New tools in the download include some neat group policy tools and an updated RoboCopy.

Windows 2003 Administration Tools - Remotely manage computers

Account Lockout Status (LockoutStatus.exe) - display lockout information for a particular user account.

WMI Diagnosis Utility - Diagnose and repair problems with the WMI service.

File Checksum Integrity Verifier (FCIV) - Compute and verify cryptographic hash values for files.

Windows XP SP2 Support Tools - Support Tools can be found on the Windows install CD
Uninstall any existing support tools before installing the update above. This will update bitsadmin.exe, extract.exe, httpcfg.exe, iadstools.dll, ipseccmd.exe, netdom.exe, replmon.exe

Windows 2000 Resource Kit Tools, free download.
NT 4 ResKit + Update + Q234968 for errata.

Other Toolkits:

Elevation PowerToys for Windows Vista + Elevation blog

Group Policy Management Console SP1 & Group Policy Object Settings spreadsheet 2003/2008/2008R2/Win7

XP Power Toys and Tweak UI - add fun and functionality to Windows (unsupported)

Account Lockout and Management Tools - Troubleshoot account lockouts, add functionality to Active Directory.

Windows Services for UNIX Version 3.5 (XP/2003) and UNIX Utilities/SDK (Windows 7 /Server 2008 R2)

Recommended Books.

sysinternals Sysinternals Administrator's Reference
by Mark E. Russinovich
Guidance and inside insights for the Windows Sysinternals tools. Guided by Sysinternals creator Mark Russinovich and Windows expert Aaron Margosis

Windows 7 scripting Windows 7 and Vista Guide to Scripting, Automation, and Command Line Tools
By Brian Knittel
A complete guide covering VBScript, traditional batch files, and PowerShell.

scripting Windows NT Shell Scripting
by Tim Hill.

First published in 1998 so no mention of VBS or Powershell, despite this it's still a solid introduction to writing batch files under Windows. Sample chapter.

Windows Internals Windows Internals, Part 1: Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 + Part2
by Mark E. Russinovich, David A. Solomon and Alex Ionescu
Insider perspectives and hands-on experiments to demonstrate how Windows operates.

win7 tools Windows 7: The Definitive Guide
by William R Stanek
990 pages. The how and why of Windows 7 - Setup & boot environment, management & security, customization, advanced tips & techniques.

Missing manual Windows 7: The Missing Manual
by David Pogue
An enjoyable but still very detailed read with lot's of good tips and keyboard shortcuts.

minasi Mark Minasi's Mastering Windows Server 2008
by Mark Minasi.

Comprehensive and understandable guide. Improve the performance and manageability of your network.
minasi.com

Also see - Recommended VBScript Books

Utilities - Command line

SysInternals - Microsoft System utilities.
Joeware.net - Admin, AD and Exchange tools.
Nirsoft Utilities
Bamboo Software - Scheduled Tasks and other command line utils.
Console 2 - Front end for the CMD and or PowerShell (review)
CommandLine.co.uk - Useful tools (free Win32 utilities - mostly console)
Frank P. Westlake (mirror) - Free NT, XP and Vista console utilities.
Alexander Frink - NT Security Utils, Logoff, Change password
OptimumX - Utilities by Marty List
Bill Stewart - Batch script and Windows admin tools (TrueLast LogonTime)
FastCopy - An alternative to RoboCopy
HoboCopy - open-source backup tool (can copy open files)
System Tools - Dump Event Log, Registry or Security info
SetRes - Set screen resolution (Ian Sharpe)
Cygwin - Linux-like environment for Windows, tutorial: 1, 2, 3
unxutils - Port of unix utilities to run under the CMD shell
xCMD - Execute applications on remote systems (like PsExec)

Utilities - GUI

Agent Ransack - File Search (search all file types)
AnalogX - Screen capture, Terminal Server copy, etc
Autohotkey - Automate keystrokes, mouse clicks.
AutoIT - GUI scripting
CPU-Z - gather information on system devices
CreativeDocs - Vector Graphic Design
Dban - Darik's Boot and Nuke, a boot CD that securely wipes hard disks.
OCS Inventory - Open Source System Management
Filezilla - FTP
Find And Replace Text - Grep-like utility by Lionello Lunesu
Flash uninstall - To allow a full 'clean' reinstall
FlashBlock - Content-filtering extension for Firefox
Inkscape - Vector Graphics (Illustrator)
imgburn.com - Free CD/DVD/Blu-ray burner
isoRecorder - Burn iso image to bootable CD
Lost NT password
MakeMSI - Build Windows Installer files.
MalwareBytes - Anti Malware, run in safe mode with system restore turned off.
Malware ComboFix - Scan and clean malware infections.
Ninite - Automate software installations and updates.
Notepad++ - Notepad replacement
nLite - pre-installation Windows configuration
NTFS undelete - undelete files
nu2/Barts Bootable CDs - Admin/Recovery
Trinity Rescue Kit - Recovery and repair of Windows machines
Microsoft Application Compatibility and User Account Control (UAC)
Netikus - Password, Ping, FTP, event log alerts.
Poor Mans SMS - scan a pre defined IP range and list installed software
PuTTY - Free Telnet/SSH Client
SoftPerfect - Search, Scan for open file shares and other utils.
Start Menu add-ons for Windows 8: RetroUI - Classic Shell - StartMenu7 - Win8Startbutton - Power8
Sumatra - PDF viewer
SyncBack - GUI Backup and synchronize files
SyncToy - Synchronize files and folders
TeamViewer - Screen sharing/Remote control (Mac/PC/Linux)
TribbleSoft - Easy Robocopy (GUI)
UnDelete - Diskeeper
USB install for Windows 7 - Copy iso images to a bootable USB stick
Windows XP mode - Virtual Windows XP for Windows 7
WinMerge - open source WinDiff
VirtualDub - Process/Edit .AVI files
VMWare - Free
WSUS Offline Update - Microsoft Windows/Office updates from a USB stick.
Wink - Capture screenshots/video, add help text
Microsoft Steady State - Free - Lock down Windows XP/Vista, for shared computers
WsusOffline - Apply Windows Update patches without an internet connection.
Zero Assumption Recovery - data recovery

Related

Usenet - alt.msdos.batch.nt
DosTips forum
SS64 - Windows CMD discussion Forum

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