Release Notes for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Support Tools

 

This document contains the following important information that is not included in the online Help for the Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 Support Tools, including how to set up support tools, and important updates and corrections.

This file was updated with the latest information available at time of release.

Contents

About the Tools

Debugging Tools

Tools Removed from the Support Tools Folder

Online Documentation

Troubleshooting with Support Tools

Tools Documentation Update

Netdiag Update

Tools Requiring Perl

Sample Scripts

Setup for Support Tools Software

General Setup Instructions

Command Line Installation

Support Policy


About the Tools

Windows Support Tools are intended for use by Microsoft support personnel and experienced users to assist in diagnosing and resolving computer problems. For individual tool descriptions, see the Windows Support Tools online documentation (Suptools.chm).


Debugging Tools

Debugging tools have been removed from the support tools folder. For information about debuggers and to obtain debugging tools and documentation, see Microsoft Debugging Tools(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=1651).

Tools Removed from the Support Tools Folder

The tools listed below have been removed from the support tools folder in this version of Windows Support Tools for any of the following reasons:

Removed Tools

Tool name Descriptive name Disposition
Apcompat.exe Application Compatability Toolkit Microsoft Debugging Tools(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=1651)
Dommig.exe Domain Migration Tool See Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) on the Windows  Server 2003 operating system CD.
Dumpchk.exe Dump Check Utility Obsolete. See Microsoft Debugging Tools(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=1651).
Kill.exe Process Kill Utility Replaced by TaskKill.exe, which is in %windir%\system32.
Msinfo32.exe Msinfo32 Moved to Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo.
Pmon.exe Process Resource Monitor Use Pviewer.exe instead. Pmon.exe is included in the Windows  Server 2003Resource Kit Tools.
Pptpclnt.exe and Pptpsrv.exe Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol Ping Utilities (PPTP Ping) Removed.
Reg.exe Registry Console Tool Moved to %windir%\system32.
Tlist.exe Task List Viewer Replaced by Tasklist.exe in %windir%\system32.
Wsremote.exe Wsremote Use Remote.exe instead.

Online Documentation

The following table describes major online documents available with Windows Support Tools for Microsoft Windows.

Document Description
Suptools.chm Documentation for Windows  Server 2003 Support Tools, describing the required files, syntax, and other usage issues, along with examples for using these tools.

Troubleshooting with Support Tools

Many support tools provide diagnostic features that are useful for troubleshooting Windows  Server 2003 operating system configurations. However, because these tools have been designed primarily for system administrators and support personnel, their output might be difficult to analyze. In these cases, you should review the appropriate troubleshooting sections in the Windows Deployment and Resource Kits Web site(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=286).

Netdiag Update

This version of Netdiag.exe does not work on Microsoft Windows XP Professional.

Tools Documentation Update

The following tools install, however, comprehensive Help for these tools is not included in the Suptools.chm file. Verbose Help for these tools can be launched from their own Help menu option, or can be launched from the command line by typing the Help file name (.hlp) directly.

Netdiag Update

This version of Netdiag.exe does not work on Microsoft Windows XP Professional.

Word Documents

The supplementary documents for Clonepr.dll, Ldp.exe, Replmon.exe cannot be viewed without Microsoft Word or a compatible viewer. You can download a free version of Microsoft's Word Viewer from the Microsoft Office Download Center(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=10100).

Tools Requiring Perl

The following tools require ActiveState Tool Corporation's ActivePerl version 5.005_03 built for MSWin32-x86-object (with 1 registered patch), binary build 521 provided by ActiveState Tool Corp, built at 12:26:50 on Oct 16 1999.

For more information or to download a free version, see the ActiveState Web site(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=9247).

Sample Scripts

The following scripts are provided as samples only. Help is not included in Suptools.chm file for these scripts. For more information, see the Iadstools.doc and Clonepr.doc files.

Search.vbs is provided as a sample only, and is not listed in SupTools.chm. The Search.vbs script has its own command-line help. Type cscript search.vbs /? at a Windows command prompt.

Setup for Support Tools Software

The Windows  Server 2003 Support Tools are located in the \Support\Tools folder on the Microsoft Windows  Server 2003 operating system CD. The \Support\Tools folder contains a Windows Installer file (Suptools.msi), which installs the support tools files on your computer's hard drive. The Suptools.msi file only installs support tools; it does not install the other files in the \Support\Tools folder. To start the installation of the support tools, right-click the .msi file and select Install.

Important
These tools were written and tested in English only. Using these tools with a different language version of Microsoft Windows might produce unpredictable results.

General Setup Instructions

Windows  Server 2003 Support Tools can be installed only on a computer running the Microsoft® Windows® XP; Windows®  Server 2003, Standard Edition; Windows®  Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; or Windows®  Server 2003, Datacenter Edition operating systems. They cannot be used to upgrade Microsoft® Windows NT® or Windows® 2000 Support Tools installed on the Windows NT or Windows 2000 operating systems.

Important
It is highly recommended that you remove all previous versions of support tools, including beta versions, before running the support tools installation program. If the Setup program finds an older version of Support Tools, it opens a dialog box with Add/Remove and Remove all (default) options. If you select Remove all, Setup automatically uninstalls Support Tools. If you select Add/Remove, you can manually uninstall Support Tools.

To install Support Tools for Microsoft Windows

  1. Start Microsoft Windows, and then insert the Windows  Server 2003 operating system CD in your CD-ROM drive.
  2. Select Browse CD, and navigate to the support folder, then the tools folder.

  3. Right-click the Suptools.msi file and select Install. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

Note
In the unlikely event that your computer pauses for a few minutes during installation while the Setup window is displaying "publishing product information," please be patient. The Setup program will continue shortly and will finish installing the support tools.

The Setup program installs Support Tools files onto your hard disk. A typical installation requires 5 megabytes (MB) of free space. A complete install requires 12 MB of free space.

As it installs the support tools, Setup performs the following operations:

Some tools require separate or additional setup besides the steps described here. For more information about these types of tools, as well as a complete list of the tools, see the online Help file (Suptools.chm).

Note
Microsoft Windows support tools are compressed into cabinet (.cab) files. You cannot run executable files, call other binaries, or open documentation directly from .cab files. Before you run a tool that you have not installed by using the Support Tools Setup, you must first extract all associated files for a tool from the .cab file on the CD, to your hard drive.

Be aware also that for some tools, the Support Tools Setup or the tool's own Setup program performs other installation procedures, such as making changes in the registry. You may not be able to run these tools even if you extract all their files from the .cab. First install them with the Support Tools Setup or the tool's own Setup program.

Command Prompt Installation

You can install the Windows Support Tools from the command prompt by using Msiexec, a command-line tool included in Windows XP and Windows  Server.

The basic commands follow below. They assume that the Microsoft Windows CD is in the CD-ROM drive of the local computer and that you are installing Support Tools in the current directory.

For a user-guided installation, type:

For an unattended installation, type:

For detailed information on Msiexec and its command-line syntax, see Msiexec in the Help and Support Center for Windows  Server 2003.


Support Policy

The SOFTWARE supplied in the Program Files\Support Tools directory is not supported under any Microsoft standard support program or service.

The SOFTWARE (including instructions for its use and all printed and online documentation) is provided AS IS without warranty of any kind. Microsoft further disclaims all implied warranties including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk arising out of the use or performance of the SOFTWARE and documentation remains with you.

In no event shall Microsoft, its authors, or anyone else involved in the creation, production, or delivery of the SOFTWARE be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use the SOFTWARE or documentation, even if Microsoft has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

© Copyright 1985–2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.