The Recovery Console is a special command-line interface for Windows XP which allows an administrator to identify and locate drivers and files which are problematic, as well as troubleshoot system settings. It’s recommended by Microsoft only for advanced users (in other words, that nerdy kid down the block), and only when Safe Mode (pressing the F8 key at boot-up) is not working.
The highlights of what commands you’ll most likely use:
“Bootcfg” recovers the Boot.ini file.
“Chkdsk /r” looks for bad disk sectors and attempts to recover any information which can be read from them.
“Copy” copies a file to a target location.
“Delete” deletes one file.
“Disable” disables a Windows system service or driver.
“Enable” restarts a disabled service or driver.
“Diskpart” manages hard disk partitions. Be very careful using this!
“Expand” decompresses a compressed file. This is good for getting files off the installation CD if needed.
“Fixmbr” repairs the boot code on a hard-disk. If your operating system “cannot be found” you’ll likely use this command, along with little brother “Fixboot”.
