Quick Reference for Server Core Installations (R2 edition)

Configuration and installation

 

Task	Steps
Set the local administrative password	At a command prompt, type: net user administrator *
Join a computer to a domain	At a command prompt, type on one line: netdom join %computername% /domain: /userd:\username> /passwordd:* Restart the computer.
Confirm that the domain has changed	At a command prompt, type: set
Remove a computer from a domain	At a command prompt, type: netdom remove
Add a user to the local Administrators group.	At a command prompt, type: net localgroup Administrators /add \
Remove a user from the local Administrators group	At a command prompt, type: net localgroup Administrators /delete
Add a user to the local computer	At a command prompt, type: net user /add *
Add a group to the local computer	At a command prompt, type: net localgroup /add
Change the name of a domain-joined computer	At a command prompt, type: netdom renamecomputer %computername% /NewName: /userd: /passwordd:*
Confirm the new computer name	At a command prompt, type: set
Change the name of a computer in a work group	At a command prompt, type: netdom renamecomputer /NewName: Restart the computer.
Disable paging file management	At a command prompt, type: wmic computersystem where name="" set AutomaticManagedPagefile=False
Configure the paging file	At a command prompt, type: wmic pagefileset where name=”” set InitialSize=,MaximumSize= Where: path/filename is the path to and name of the paging file initialsize is the starting size of the paging file in bytes. maxsize is the maximum size of the page file in bytes.
Change to a static IP address.	At a command prompt, type: ipconfig /all Record the relevant information or redirect it to a text file (ipconfig /all >ipconfig.txt). At a command prompt, type: netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces Verify that there is an interface list. At a command prompt, type: netsh interface ipv4 set address name source=static address= gateway= Verify by typing ipconfig /all at a command prompt and checking that DHCP enabled is set to No.
Set a static DNS address.	At a command prompt, type: netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name= address= index=1 At a command prompt, type: netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name= address= index=2 Repeat as appropriate to add additional servers. Verify by typing ipconfig /all and checking that all the addresses are correct.
Change to a DHCP-provided IP address from a static IP address.	At a command prompt, type: netsh interface ipv4 set address name= source=DHCP Verify by typing Ipconfig /all and checking that DCHP enabled is set to Yes.
Enter a product key	At a command prompt, type: slmgr.vbs –ipk
Activate the server locally.	At a command prompt, type: slmgr.vbs -ato
Activate the server remotely.	At a command prompt, type: cscript slmgr.vbs –ipk At a command prompt, type: cscript slmgr.vbs -ato Retrieve the GUID of the computer by typing cscript slmgr.vbs -did Type cscript slmgr.vbs -dli Verify that License status is set to Licensed (activated).

Networking and firewall

 

Task	Steps
Configure your server to use a proxy server.	At a command prompt, type: netsh Winhttp set proxy : Note Server Core installations cannot access the Internet through a proxy that requires a password to allow connections.
Configure your server to bypass the proxy for internet addresses.	At a command prompt, type: netsh winttp set proxy :bypass-list=""
Display or modify IPSEC configuration.	At a command prompt, type: netsh ipsec
Display or modify NAP configuration.	At a command prompt, type: netsh nap
Display or modify IP to physical address translation.	At a command prompt, type: arp
Display or configure the local routing table.	At a command prompt, type: route
View or configure DNS server settings.	At a command prompt, type: nslookup
Display protocol statistics and current TCP/IP network connections.	At a command prompt, type: netstat
Display protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NBT).	At a command prompt, type: nbtstat
Display hops for network connections.	At a command prompt, type: pathping
Trace hops for network connections.	At a command prompt, type: tracert
Display the configuration of the multicast router.	At a command prompt, type: mrinfo
Enable remote administration of the firewall.	At a command prompt, type: netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group=”Windows Firewall Remote Management” new enable=yes

Updates, error reporting, and feedback

 

Task	Steps
Install an update.	At a command prompt, type: wusa .msu /quiet
List installed updates	At a command prompt, type: systeminfo
Remove an update.	Type at a command prompt: expand /f:* .msu c:\test Navigate to c:\test\ and open .xml in a text editor. In .xml, replace Install with Remove and save the file. At a command prompt, type: pkgmgr /n:.xml
Configure automatic updates.	At a command prompt: To verify the current setting, type: cscript scregedit.wsf /AU /v To enable automatic updates, type: cscript scregedit.wsf /AU 4 To disable automatic updates, type: cscript scregedit.wsf /AU 1
Enable error reporting.	At a command prompt: To verify the current setting, type: serverWerOptin /query To automatically send detailed reports, type: serverWerOptin /detailed To automatically send summary reports, type: serverWerOptin /summary To disable error reporting, type: serverWerOptin /disable
Participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP).	At a command prompt: To verify the current setting, type: serverCEIPOptin /query To enable CEIP, type: serverCEIPOptin /enable To disable CEIP, type: serverCEIPOptin /disable

Services, processes, and performance

 

Task	Steps
List the running services.	At a command prompt, type either of the following: sc query net start
Start a service.	At a command prompt, type either of the following: sc start net start
Stop a service.	At a command prompt, type either of the following: sc stop net stop
Retrieve a list of running applications and associated processes.	At a command prompt, type: tasklist
Stop a process forcibly.	Use the tasklist command to retrieve the process ID (PID). At a command prompt, type: taskkill /PID
Start Task Manager.	At a command prompt, type: taskmgr
Manage the performance counters and logging with commands such as typeperf, logman, relog, tracerprt.	See http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=84872.

Event logs

 

Task	Steps
List event logs.	At a command prompt, type: wevtutil el
Query events in a specified log.	At a command prompt, type: wevtutil qe /f:text
Export an event log.	At a command prompt, type: wevtutil epl
Clear an event log.	At a command prompt, type: wevtutil cl

Disk and file system

 

Task	Steps
Manage disk partitions.	For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type: diskpart /?
Manage software RAID.	For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type: diskraid /?
Manage volume mount points.	For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type: mountvol /?
Defragment a volume.	For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type: defrag /?
Convert a volume to the NTFS file system.	At a command prompt, type: convert /FS:NTFS
Compact a file.	For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type: compact /?
Administer open files.	For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type: openfiles /?
Administer VSS folders.	For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type: vssadmin /?
Administer the file system.	For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type: fsutil /?
Verify a file signature.	At a command prompt, type: sigverif /?
Take ownership of a file or folder.	For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type: icacls /?

Hardware

 

Task	Steps
Add a driver for a new hardware device.	Copy the driver to a folder at %homedrive%\. At a command prompt, type: pnputil -i -a %homedrive%\\.inf
Remove a driver for a hardware device.	For a list of loaded drivers, at a command prompt, type: sc query type= driver At the command prompt, type: sc delete