User manual WINTERNALS NTRECOVER

[. . . ] Windows NT/2000 machines that fail to boot because of data corruption, improperly installed software or hardware, or faulty configuration, can be accessed and recovered using standard administrative tools, such as CHKDSK, with NTRecover. NTRecover consists of host and client software, where the host software is run on a functioning Windows NT or Windows 2000 system, and the client software is executed on a target dead system. The host and client machines must be connected with a standard null-modem serial cable. The NTRecover host software creates virtual disk drives on the host machine that represent the drives present on the client computer. [. . . ] If the client software displays a high number of retry operations (several dozen over a few seconds), or if no communications is established when a connection is attempted, you will need to lower the baud rate the next time you connect. 6. 1. 4 Read-Only This check box is present in the write-capable version of NTRecover. Checking it results in a read-only mount of client drives, which is useful if you want to ensure that the client drives are not changed in any way during an NTRecover session. 6. 1. 5 Mount After communications parameters have been entered, use the mount button to make a connection between the host and the client. It is recommended that you start the client before you direct NTRecover to attempt a mount, but it is not necessary. If an error is reported, see the troubleshooting section. 6. 2 The Statistics Dialog Once a connection has been established, NTRecover will present a statistics window [Figure 6-2] that allows you to monitor NTRecover communications activity with cumulative statistics on all mapped client drives, or on a Winternals Software LP Page 8 NTRecover particular client drive. Use the drives pull-down list to choose which drive to watch, with `*' representing all the drives. The menu can also be used to see which of the host drive letters map client drives. Figure 6-2 The statistics presented include the total number of reads and writes, as well as the number of bytes read or written. For your reference, the serial port and baud rate of the connection are also displayed. Additional NTRecover boot floppies can be created from this dialog as well. 6. 2. 1 Activity Light The light above the buttons functions like a standard hard disk activity light, becoming lit when the client drive is being accessed. If the client drives are mounted for read/write access, the drive light will be green during disk accesses. If the drives are mounted for read-only access, the light will be yellow. The activity light is present so that you can monitor client disk traffic. Exiting the statistics dialog causes it to become inactive, but it can be recalled at any time by clicking on the NTRecover icon in the task bar. Most computers can support the maximum serial rate of 115200 baud, but this is dependent on variables such as the quality of the serial cable, the speed of the host computer, and the type of serial controllers present on the two computers. If the client software displays a high number of retry operations (several dozen over a few seconds), or if no communications is established when a connection is attempted, you will need to lower the baud rate the next time you run NTRecover. In the current version of NTRecover, you must reboot the host to try another rate if a connection has already been made. 7. 2. 3 Disk Choose the physical hard drive that you want to access from the host. Only one disk, which can contain multiple logical drives, can be accessed at one time. Once you have entered your selections for the above settings, press enter to have the client wait for a connection attempt from the host. Winternals Software LP Page 13 NTRecover 7. 3 The Statistics Screen After a connection is made, the client displays a statistics screen [Figure 7-2] which shows the number of reads and writes, as well as bytes read and written, from and to the client drives. At any time, press escape to have the client exit, or return to the connection screen if it was started from a native NTRecover boot floppy. Figure 7-2 After you have finished accessing a client disk from the host, you must dismount it. [. . . ] When finished, select the hive again, and use the Registry|Unload Hive menu item to write the hive back to the client machine. 8. 8. 2 Checklist for Common Problems If you have trouble making a connection between a host and a client, check the following list for common problems. If you still cannot make a connection, please contact our Technical Support for additional assistance. = Is the serial cable a null-modem cable and is it properly connected to both machines?= Have you correctly identified and entered the serial ports on the host and the client? [. . . ]