What is the Recovery Console, and how do I

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Summary: The Windows Recovery Console is an advanced repair tool that can in Safe Subscribe >> Why
some cases help you to repair and recover from certain types of system problems. Subscribe?

The recovery console is a diagnostic

Windows XP Repair? The latest:
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and repair tool that's included on your Leo's Answers #183 -
Fail 2 Fix Windows XP Windows installation CD. It allows you June 16, 2009
www.XP-Repair.PC-Support-Help.com to boot from that CD and run a
command-line "console" from within
Windows Xp which you can examine your hard disk,
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full" only if it's over 1
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without service packs. (17-Jun 10:33am PT)

Boot from your Windows XP installation CD, and you should (eventually) arrive at this Popular & Hot
screen:
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Type R to start the Recovery Console. The Recovery Console will examine your system Internet Safety: How do
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Type 1 and press Enter. You'll then be prompted for the password of the Administrator
account:

And now you're in the Recovery Console.

This looks very much like a Windows Command Prompt because in effect it is a modified
version of it. There is no graphical interface, everything here is done via typed in
commands.

The goal of the Recovery Console is to, as its name implies, recover from problems. As a
result, it does not allow access to any or all drives or folders on the machine - typically
only the root folder, and the Windows folder tree, where all of the recovery activity
makes sense. The idea is that once you've repaired whatever needs repairing, you can
then boot back into Windows (perhaps in Safe Mode), and continue whatever data or
other recovery is necessary.

There are several commands available within the Recovery Console (you can get the full
list in Microsoft's Knowledgebase Article). I want to point out a couple of the most
commonly used and useful.

FIXBOOT writes a new Windows boot sector to the system partition. This can
sometimes be useful if the partition exists, but the boot sector has been damaged by a
virus or other issue.

FIXMBR writes a new master boot record, which is different than the Boot Sector
written by FIXBOOT. A single hard disk can have several partitions, each which could be
bootable with its own copy of Windows or another operating system. FIXBOOT writes the
boot sector that appears within a specific Windows partition. FIXMBR writes the master
boot record on the hard disk that is used, among other things, to locate all the partitions
that may have bootable operating systems on them.

FIXMBR can, in fact, wipe out partition tables, and perhaps your entire hard drive, if used
improperly. On the other hand, certain viruses have been known to cause damage that
FIXMBR does repair. Use with caution, and of course always have a full/recent backup
available, in case the worst happens.

Note the dire warning. In my case there was no problem and the machine booted
properly. Be careful.

DISABLE and ENABLE are commands

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There are other commands, of course,

but perhaps the most powerful is the
most unassuming:

COPY allows you to copy files. I say that this is the most powerful, because it can allow
you to copy off files (those that are accessible, anyway) from the machine, and copy files
to the machine. For example, one machine I was repairing had lost its copy of
winlogon.exe due to a virus and naturally no one could login. Using the recovery console
and a copy of winlogon.exe from another system (running an identical version of
Windows) I was able to COPY it back into place, reboot the machine and sign in
successfully to continue my repairs.

The recovery console is extremely powerful, and as with the FIXMBR command, you can
do a lot of damage if used improperly. On the other hand, the Recovery Console is
extremely powerful , and used properly, (perhaps with guidance or assistance), it may
help recover from or avoid a disaster.

Related:

My computer locks up and won't boot. What do I do? There are a few things
to take a look at with your system if your computer locks up and won't boot.
What is the System File Checker, and how do I run it? The System File
Checker is a little known utility that validates that Windows own files are
undamaged. It's a simple to run command line program.
I don't have an installation CD for Windows XP - what if I need one? At
some point you'll need your Windows installation CD. If you don't have one, you
could be out of luck. Be sure to get one and keep it safe.
Article C3715 - April 23, 2009

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Recent Comments
7 Comments

I bought a used computer( Pavilion)It didn't come with a repair CD. Something
happened to my compt. and now I have WindowsXP and part of my netscape.com is on
Windows Pro. also. They said it couldn't be fixed back to just windows XP.Can this be
fixed or not?

Posted by: Florence Brazil at April 28, 2009 2:36 PM

I've been installing the Recovery Console on XP installations for years now, so there's
no need to boot from the CD.

From Microsoft (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654):

"Although you can run the Recovery Console by starting directly from the Windows XP
CD, it is generally more convenient to set it up as a startup option on your startup
menu. To run the Recover Console directly from the CD, see the "How to use the
Recovery Console" section.

To install the Recovery Console, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into the CD-ROM drive.

2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type d:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons where d is the drive letter for
the CD-ROM drive. In the case of 'Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, type
d:\amd64\winnt32.exe /cmdcons where d is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive.
4. A Windows Setup Dialog Box appears. The Windows Setup Dialog Box describes the
Recovery Console option. To confirm the installation, click Yes.
5. Restart the computer. The next time that you start your computer, "Microsoft
Windows Recovery Console" appears on the startup menu."

Two caveats: 1) this is something you do before you need it, and 2) it assumes
your hard disk is bootable in order to use it.
- Leo
01-May-2009
Posted by: Mark Fawcett at April 28, 2009 7:31 PM

I read with interest about the recovery console. I used this option trying to fix a boot
problem and now have managed to disable my d: boot drive (by mistake). How do I
use this to RE-ENABLE the drive? I can't even access the files from this drive even
though it's booting from the c: drive now.

Posted by: Lesly Walters at April 30, 2009 6:14 AM

A linux live CD,Parted magic with its Test Disk utility,UBCD and System Rescue CD are a
much better option for sorting out windox problems...

Posted by: Hugh E Torrance at April 30, 2009 10:55 AM

Dear Leo,

Very interesting site you have.

I have been dealing with an error for more than a month, and I can get this resolved.

is like this:
Windows installer
then:
Prepairing to Install

I need you help!

Thank you!

Leonardo Barrussi
[email address removed]

Posted by: Leonardo at May 1, 2009 4:06 PM

HI!
Thx 4 this, but in my case after presing "R" it apears the same page as if I pres ENTER,
it starts to examine hard drive without progress bar:
"Examinando Disco 57240 MB 0 en Id. 0 en bus 0 en atapi..." in a blue screen

Posted by: Pol at June 2, 2009 12:41 PM

HI
I need to type chkdsk /f
but i cant because windows crashes when it is being loaded. i see the logo of windows
and the progress bar then a blue screen error bsd saying *** Stop: 0x00000024
(0x00190203, 0x82b09828, 0x0000102, 0x00000000) so i put the windows CD and i see
the same as you show in the first screenshot but when i press "R" i don't see a black
window, (running XP pro), i press R and it goes to a blue screen. What can I do?
Hope is nothing serious...
THX A LOT FOR YOUR HELP.

Posted by: Pol at June 3, 2009 4:33 PM

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