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John T
Asked: 2009-05-03 23:18:05 +0800 CST

Tools a Windows administrator cannot live without

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As a Windows administrator, what tools do you feel you cannot live without?

windows

30 Answers

  1. 3rd party tools are great, but before I start there, the basic ones you get with the system:

    • Computer Management
    • Event Viewer
    • Services Console
    • Perfmon
    • Active Directory Users and Computers
    • Active Directory Domains and Trusts
    • Active Directory Sites and Services
    • Group Policy Management Console (okay, so you download this one)
    • The command line itself with
      • netstat
      • nbtstat
      • ipconfig
      • net
      • findstr
      • netsh
    • Internet Explorer/Firefox
    • Scripting tool like VBScript/PowerShell/Perl
    • Notepad

    Other Tools:

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  3. I can't live without PowerShell.

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  4. WinDirStat is great for finding out how all your disk space it getting used.

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  5. I always post this one, but it remains true. Beyond Compare is the best folder & file diff program. It is so ridiculously useful for maintenance work and updating, plus it does built-in FTP

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  6. Never underestimate the power of a really good text editor. I've used UltraEdit for years and couldn't live without it. I've tried moving to Notepad++, Editplus, and a few other text editors and I always end up frustrated and back using UltraEdit. You can also get a U3 version that lives on a flash drive.

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  7. Robocopy.

    Recursive copying with solid reporting and allows you to update changed only. Used to be part of the windows resource kit, but i think it's distributed with Vista now.

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    • ProcessExplorer
    • PS Tools
    • Perl
    • Perfmon
    • TextPad/Notepad++
    • Terminal Services
    • Cygwin
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  9. A Linux LiveCD (Knoppix preferably)

    And processexplorer

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  10. The SysInternals suite, live edition:

    http://live.sysinternals.com/

    hexedit or another hex editor.

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