How do I use the Recovery Console SET command?

A. The Recovery Console (RC) lets you access the Windows file system from outside Windows 2000 to perform recovery actions. Four variables make this environment more user friendly:

• allowwildcards—lets you use wildcards with some commands (e.g., "del *.tmp")
• allowallpaths—lets you change directories (the cd command) to include all folders on all drives
• allowremovablemedia—lets you copy files from the hard disk to a diskette or other recognized removable media
• nocopyprompt—lets you copy files without being prompted to continue when you overwrite an existing file

By default these variables are set to false. Use the following syntax to set these variables to true:

set \[set variable\] = true

For example, "set nocopyprompt = true" removes the copy prompt when you overwrite a file.

Before you can use these variables, you must use one of the following methods to enable them:

• Domain Controller Security Policy in Administrative Tools
• Domain Security Policy in Administrative Tools
• Local Security Policy in Administrative Tools

After you open a policy, expand the Computer Configuration branch, then expand Windows Settings, Local Policies, Security Options. Double-click "Recovery Console: Allow floppy copy and access to all drives and all folders," and set it to Enabled.

Use the following command to refresh the policy:

C:\> secedit /refreshpolicy machine_policy

For a full list of all available commands see Microsoft article Q229716.