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Win2K Move To & Copy To Context Menu
And Hidden Win2K Tools May 15, 2001

Here are a couple of tips for Windows 2000.

This first tip is by Nomad48 and was orginally posted at PC911 . Add Copy To Folder... and Move To Folder... to the right-click context menu in Windows 2000

If you take an active roll in organizing the contents of your hard drive, you probably use the Copy and Move commands regularly as well. Until recently, I used the Send To menu for doing the lion's share of my file Copy and Move operations, but this Registry edit creates an even easier way to perform these tasks. Here's what you can do:

  1. Back up your Registry. You may have read that somewhere before. It's good advice.
  2. Launch Regedit and go to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ AllFilesystemObjects\ shellex\ ContextMenuHandlers sub key.
  3. First for the Copy To item:
    • Right click on ContextMenuHandlers sub key folder and click on New and then Key.
    • Type Copy To as the new key name and press Enter.
    • Left-click on the new Copy To key, then double-click on the (Default) value in the right-hand pane.
    • Highlight the following key value {C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13} and press Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard, and then paste it in as the new (Default). (Or just type it in.)
  4. Now for the Move To item:
    • Right click on ContextMenuHandlers sub key folder and click on New and then Key.
    • Type Move To as the new key name and press Enter.
    • Left-click on the new Move To key, then double-click on the (Default) value in the right-hand pane.
    • Highlight the following key value {C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13} and press Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard, and then paste it in as the new (Default). (Or just type it in.)
  5. Close Regedit, launch Windows Explorer and right-click on any file. Note the new menu items. Very handy.
  6. Enjoy!

This second tip is from David Mackey's web site FixWindows

Windows 2000 Support Tools

It's a little know fact that Microsoft includes a wide array of troubleshooting and diagnostic tools on the Windows 2000 installation CD (this is true for the Professional, Server and Advanced Server products). These tools are a must for any power user or network administrator. And if you're an average user, it doesn't hurt to install the 50 or so utilities just in case.

Note: In addition to the tools on the installation CD, you can also download other Windows 2000 tools from Microsoft's website by clicking here.  Those of you who don't have the Windows 2000 installation medium can download some of the tools from the same location. 

To install the tools, perform these steps:

  1. Insert the Windows 2000 installation CD. 

  2. From Windows Explorer or My Computer, navigate to your CD-ROM drive, the SUPPORT folder then the TOOLS folder.

  3. Within the Tools folder, double-click the file labeled SETUP or SETUP.EXE.

  4. Within the Welcome screen, click the Next button to continue.

  5. Within the Setup Options screen, choose Typical and click the Next button.  Windows 2000 will install all of the support tools to your hard drive.

  6. After the installation is completed, click the Finish button to exit the setup wizard.

  7. To learn more about the individual tools, click the Start button. Point to Programs, Windows 2000 Support Tools and click the Tools Help menu option.  Navigate through the Windows Help file to get an overview of the tools and instructions on each utility.

Here are some highlights that should help you with your troubleshooting conquests:

  • Active Directory Diagnostic Tool - Gathers a variety of diagnostic information to troubleshoot AD.  This tools is particularly useful if you need to compare two replicas on different domain controllers.

  • Active Directory Replication Monitor - Allows administrators to view the lower level details on Active Directory replication.  You can also use this tool to force a replication.

  • Advanced Power Management Status - For older laptops, the utility provides information about the power saving features.  Owners of newer laptops will probably not have a need for this utilities since the newer systems use Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) instead.

  • Application Compatibility Program - If you ever run into problems running an older application within Windows 2000, you can use this utility to fool the application into thinking you're using another version of Windows.  This tool won't guarantee the older application will work; however, it will normally fool the operating system check of most installation programs.

  • Browser Status - Helps diagnose and troubleshoot problems with Windows Browser service.  A number of systems within a Windows network, known as Browsers, dole out a list of computers on the network whenever you browse through My Network Places or Network Neighborhood.

  • Dependency Walker - Allows you to view the functions and modules on which a particular 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module is dependent.  This can be useful for troubleshooting application errors, but really earns its keep when you're programming with the Windows API.

  • Diskprobe -  Write this one down!  If you don't use any other Support tool, install the kit just for this tool.  If you ever accidentally delete a file, you can use Diskprobe to recover the sectors from disk.  This tool is not as advanced as Norton Utilities or some of the other file recovery utilities, but you'll love it when you're in a jam.

  • Distributed File System (DFS) Utility - Enables you to troubleshoot problems with DFS from the command prompt.

  • DNS Server Troubleshooting Tool - Allows you to troubleshoot problems with your DNS servers from the command prompt.

  • Domain Controller (DC) Diagnostic Tool - This is a great tool that tests various functions of your domain controller (e.g. replications, net logon rights, etc.)

  • Error and Event Message Help - Although this is not really a utility, it's a great reference to look up those cryptic Windows errors messages and events and find more information.

  • File and Directory Comparison (WinDiff) - Here's another utility that's a keeper!  WinDiff allows you to compare the contents of directories or compare two files to determine if the have the same contents.  This is extremely helpful when troubleshooting your system by allowing you to compare files and directories from your ailing computer against a healthy one.

  • FileVer - Many times when you have to install updates or new drivers, you need to determine if your current files are older.  FileVer allows you to check the version information for particular files.

  • Memory Profiling Tool - Takes a snapshot of the processes currently running in memory and allows you to view the memory allocation of each.  This tool provides more details than Task Manager.

  • Network Connectivity Tester - Here's a keeper for troubleshooting network problems on a Windows network.  This tool will conduct a series of tests from a Windows system to allow you to rule out various network components (e.g. loopback test, modem diagnostics, WINS test, etc.)

  • NlTest - This is tool is a catch-all that allows you to view a lot of odds and ends about your network (e.g. trusts, user information, DC info, etc.).  Oddly enough, you can also use this utility to shutdown a particular server.

  • PPTP Ping - Consisting of a client and server utility, these tools allow you to verify that your Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol connection is working properly.

  • Process Resource Monitor - Basically a command-line version of Task Manager.

  • Process Viewer - A GUI utility that works like Task Manager in allowing you to view processes and kill ones that misbehave.

  • Registry Console Tool - This is command-line based version of REGEDIT or REGEDT32.  The enormous benefit to this tool (REG.EXE) is that you can easily call the utility from a login script to make Registry modifications.

  •  Security Administration Tools (SIDWalker) - The SIDWalker tools consist of the Security Migration Editor, Showaccs and Sidwalk.  These three tools allow you to monitor and modify the ACLs on Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 systems from the command line.  You can also run these in a scheduled batch file to periodically check the security of your servers.

  • SNMP Query Tool  - This is a graphical version of the older SNMPUTIL.EXE utility.  When troubleshooting SNMP operations on your network, you can use this utility to get and set SNMP attributes of particular devices.

  • System Information - Put this one in your pocket also.  Running MSINFO32 provides a lot of concise information about your Windows system.  Find OS version, service pack level, available memory and other good information for troubleshooting.

  • Task Killing Utility (Kill) - This command-line utility allows you to kill processes or tasks - similar to the Task Manager.  Use the Task List Viewer (another Support Tool) to find information about the current tasks.

  • Windows Report Tool - Although this tool is designed for users to send their information to a technical support team, you can also use this tool to capture a whole array of file information, event logs and other system settings.  This tool is imperative for advanced troubleshooting.