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Recover your system with ease
by Joel Semeniuk

Quick Facts ERD Commander 2002 Winternals Web: erdcommander2002 Phone: (800) 408-8415 Price: $399 Quick Facts: Boots directly from the CD-ROM to access tools that enable you to diagnose and repair many common system problems. Pros: Easy to use; powerful tools; provides network access; works with Windows NT, 2000, and XP; launches right from the CD. Cons: Might impose security risks.

I remember the days when I carried around my trusted "fix everything" boot disk that contained all the tools I needed to repair almost any Windows computer. My disk had NE2000 network drivers and generic DOS CD drivers, as well as various other tools that would allow me to edit and copy files, such as the autoexec.bat, system.ini, and config.sys. My "fix everything" disk worked like magic until Windows NT came along and things became significantly more complex. Since then I've become aware that I need a new and improved "fix everything" boot disk. Here's where Winternals' ERD Commander 2002 can help.

ERD Commander provides a set of tools on a single bootable CD that will help you troubleshoot and correct many common problems that can occur on Windows NT (service pack 4 or better is recommended), Windows 2000, and Windows XP. It runs automatically from a bootable CD-ROM, which you can either receive from Winternals directly or can create from a CD image you obtain electronically. This tools CD provides you with full access to dead systems by giving you the means to recover and reset administrative passwords, edit the system Registry, enable or disable services and device drivers, and search for files. The latest version, ERD Commander 2002, works with Windows XP, provides you with Network Neighborhood browsing (a Notepad-like interface for editing text files), and gives you access to the system event log—all through a Windows-like graphical user interface (GUI).

Diagnose and Repair System Problems

You don't need to install ERD Commander; it's ready to use out of the box. I evaluated the product with a CD Winternals sent me. I was required to store my license-key file on a floppy, which I used during the ERD Commander load process. If I'd created my own bootable CD from the ISO image, I could have included the licensing information and assigned a password that you would need to supply each time for the product to work.

After booting from the CD, ERD Commander loaded and displayed a list of the operating systems installed on my server. After I selected the appropriate instance, I was able to access the tools products from the environment's Start menu. In fact, the entire GUI is so similar to the Windows interface I'm sure you will have no problem finding your way around. Just in case you do, however, ERD Commander provides a good help system that's similar to Windows help. Once inside ERD Commander, I was stunned by how much I could do—even on what was considered a secure Windows 2000 installation. I was able to use all the product's features quickly, even the LockSmith, which allowed me to reset the local administrator password.

I found ERD Commander easy to use and extremely powerful, and I would recommend it to any administrator who needs a good tool to troubleshoot and recover systems. I do voice on the side of caution with regard to security. With this tool, any user with the license disk or password has the capability to take complete control over a system without restrictions. This is both an advantage and is scary at the same time. A user can easily gain access to files located on an NTFS partition and can change the local administrator's password. I recommend if you choose to use ERD Commander, you also control who has access to it. The power of this tool stresses the importance of physical security throughout your IT environment. In spite of this, I'm sure you'll find ERD Commander to be an important part of your company's IT toolbox.

About the Author
Joel Semeniuk is vice president of software development, and heads up all new development projects for ImagiNET Resources Corp., a highly specialized Microsoft Gold Partner in e-commerce based in Canada. Reach him by e-mail at JoelS@ImagiNETs.com.