Microsoft provides a large assortment of command-line tools, which can be obtained in a variety of ways. For users of Windows XP Professional, there are three major sources. One set of "native" tools is part of the standard installation and these are listed on another page. A second set, called "support tools", can be installed from a full version of Windows XP Professional or downloaded. These are the subject of this page on the present site. A third set is part of the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit but are applicable to Windows XP. They can be downloaded here and are the subject of this article.

As would be expected, the Windows 2003 Server tools are intended for large networked systems and many are not appropriate for typical home systems. Nonetheless, many can be useful in a simple system. I have made a somewhat arbitrary selection of those that seem most helpful and discuss them below. Note that some of these tools are actually graphical (GUI) tools that are opened from the command line and this is indicated where it applies. A full list of the tools is available at the Microsoft download site. Once they are installed. the Help and Support Center will contain a list with descriptions and syntax for their use.

Cdburn.exe: ISO CD-ROM Burner Tool

CDBurn is a command-line tool that allows the user to write data images from image files located on the hard drive to a CD. The data image can be any kind of data, even raw data. This tool can also be used to erase CD-RW media.

Chklnks.exe: Link Check Wizard

Link Check Wizard (ChkLnks) is a GUI tool that scans all the link (shortcut) files on a computer to determine whether or not the shortcuts point to existing applications or documents. When Link Check Wizard does not find an associated application or document, the wizard lists that file as a dead link, giving you the option to remove it.

Cleanspl.exe: Spooler Cleaner

Spooler Cleaner (CleanSpl) is a GUI tool that restores the print spooler to its original state. It deletes all print jobs, printers, printer drivers, and spool files on a specified local or remote server.

Creatfil.exe: Create File

CreatFil creates a blank file of a specified size, filled with space characters.

Diskraid.exe: RAID Configuration Tool

DiskRaid is a command-line tool that enables configuration and management of redundant array of independent (or inexpensive) disks (RAID) storage subsystems.

Dvdburn.exe: ISO DVD Burner Tool

DVDBurn is a command-line tool that allows the user to write DVD images from image files located on the hard drive to DVD media. The data image can be created by any program capable of producing DVD image files. You can also use this tool to erase DVD media.

Empty.exe: Free Working Set Tool

Free Working Set Tool (Empty) is a command-line tool that frees the working set of a specified task or process, making those page frames available for other processes.

Iniman.exe: Initialization Files Manipulation Tool

IniMan is a command-line tool that enables you to add, delete, modify, or query sections or keys in an .ini file.

Instsrv.exe: Service Installer

Service Installer (InstSrv) is a command-line tool that installs and uninstalls executable services and assigns names to them.

Kernrate.exe: Kernel Profiling Tool

Kernel Profiling Tool (KernRate) is a command-line tool that is a CPU sample profiler. A sample profiler monitors performance and reports back to the user. KernRate reports on kernel and user-mode processes to provide information about CPU activity. Use KernRate to identify which processes are causing a CPU bottleneck.

Linkspeed.exe: Link Speed

Link Speed is a command-line tool that displays the speed of the connection between computers on a network.

Memmonitor.exe: Memory Monitor

MemMonitor is a command-line tool that monitors the memory a process uses

Memtriage.exe: Resource Leak Triage Tool

MemTriage is a command-line tool that detects a possible resource leak on a running system. MemTriage records process information or current kernel pool information and saves it to a log file.

Now.exe: STDOUT Current Date and Time

Now reads standard input (STDIN) and then displays, on standard output (STDOUT), the current date and time followed by the STDIN. Used alone, it displays the current date and time.

Ntimer.exe: Windows Program Timer

NTimer is a command-line tool that measures how long a program runs. NTimer shows elapsed time, time in user mode, and time in privileged mode.

Oh.exe: Open Handles

Open Handles is a command-line tool that shows the handles of all open windows. OH can also be used to show only information about a specific process, object type, or object name.

Oleview.exe: OLE/COM Object Viewer

OLE/COM Object Viewer (OLEView) is a GUI tool that allows you to manage all Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) classes installed on your computer.

Pathman.exe: Path Manager

PathMan is a command-line tool that adds or removes components from system or user paths.

Pmon.exe: Process Resource Monitor

Process Resource Monitor (PMon) is a command-line tool that displays several measures of the CPU and memory use of processes running on the system. The PMon display appears in the command window.

Printdriverinfo.exe: Drivers Source

Drivers Source (PrintDriverInfo) is a command-line tool that is used to collect information about printer drivers and is primarily used for support purposes.

Qgrep.exe

Qgrep is a command-line tool that is used to search a file or list of files for a specific string or pattern and return the line containing the match. QGrep also allows you to search multiple files and subdirectories. Qgrep is similar to the UNIX tool "grep".

Remapkey.exe: Remap Windows Keyboard Layout

RemapKey is a GUI tool that changes the layout of a keyboard by remapping the scan codes of the keys.

Robocopy.exe: Robust File Copy Utility

A versatile utility for maintaining an identical copy of a folder and its sub-folders in more than one location,  

Setprinter.exe: Spooler Configuration Tool

Spooler Configuration Tool is a command-line tool that is used to set configurations of local and remote printers 

Sleep.exe: Batch File Wait

Sleep is a command-line tool that causes the computer to wait for a specified amount of time. For use in batch files

Splinfo.exe: Print Spooler Information

SplInfo is a command-line tool that collects information from the print spooler and displays it.

Tail.exe

Tail is a command-line tool that displays a user-specified number of the last lines of a text file, such as a log file, in a console window.