Performing Common Actions Using Server Core

One quick way to get information about your environment is with the systeminfo command, as shown executing in the following listing:

C:\Windows\System32>systeminfo.exe

Host Name: 		SAVTSTCORE01
OS Name: 		Microsoftr Windows Serverr 2008
			Enterprise
OS Version: 		6.0.6001 Service Pack 1, v.222 Build 6001
OS Manufacturer: 	Microsoft Corporation
OS Configuration: 	Member Server
OS Build Type: 		Multiprocessor Free
Registered Owner: 	Windows User
Registered Organization:
Product ID: 		78440-034-0066664-70918
Original Install Date: 	9/4/2007, 4:05:28 PM
System Boot Time: 	9/9/2007, 6:46:54 PM
System Manufacturer: 	Microsoft Corporation
System Model: 		Virtual Machine
System Type: 		X86-based PC
Processor(s): 		1 Processor(s) Installed.
			[01]: x86 Family 6 Model 15 Stepping
6 GenuineIntel ~
4 Mhz
BIOS Version: 		American Megatrends Inc. 080002,
			2/22/2006
Windows Directory: 	C:\Windows
System Directory: 	C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device: 		\Device\HarddiskVolume1
System Locale: 		en-us;English (United States)
Input Locale: 		en-us;English (United States)
Time Zone: 		(GMT-06:00) Central Time (US &
			Canada)
Total Physical Memory: 	1,023 MB
Available Physical Memory: 778 MB
Page File: Max Size: 	2,299 MB
Page File: Available: 	2,092 MB
Page File: In Use: 	207 MB
Page File Location(s): 	C:\pagefile.sys
Domain: 		virt.savilltech.net
Logon Server: 		\\SAVTSTDC01
Hotfix(s): 		N/A
Network Card(s): 	N/A

One item many users struggle with is no system clock, which they get used to in the System Tray. You can update your prompt to include the time with the following prompt command:

C:\Windows\System32>prompt [$T]$S$P$G

[10:50:03.26] C:\Windows\System32>
[10:50:04.50] C:\Windows\System32>

What else do you normally use on a system? The Task Manager. Its keyboard shortcut still works in Server Core, so press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Windows Task Manager or access it via the Windows Security Dialog by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del. There is no Windows Task Manager help, however, because the help is based on HTML, which is not included in the Server Core.

What about rebooting, shutting down, and logging off? You can access the Windows Security dialog and elect to shut down or reboot, or you can use the Windows standard shutdown command. The key switches you use are as follows, but you can find full information by running shutdown /?.

• /s. Shutdown.
• /r. Reboot.
• /t 0. Wait 0 seconds to perform the action.
• /a. Abort a shutdown. This is usable only if you had a time other than 0, so you can type before the reboot/shutdown occurs.

For example, to reboot the computer immediately, use this command:

To log out, you can use the logoff command-line utility or the Windows Security dialog.

From a utility perspective, both Notepad and Regedit are included in Server Core, RegEdit because you need it and Notepad because customers demanded it. However, neither has help because the help has dependencies on HTML. As noted previously, HTML is not included. However, the basic Copy, Paste, Find, and other commands all function. The Open and Save dialogs might look familiar, but not in a good way.