Microsoft Edge Try Microsoft Edge A fast and secure browser that's designed for Windows 10 Get started

Skip to main content
Microsoft
Microsoft Support
  • Office
  • Windows
  • Surface
  • Xbox
  • Deals
  • Support
      • Windows apps
      • OneDrive
      • Outlook
      • Skype
      • OneNote
      • PCs & tablets
      • Accessories
      • VR & mixed reality
      • Microsoft HoloLens
      • Xbox games
      • PC games
      • Windows digital games
      • Movies & TV
      • Books
      • Microsoft Azure
      • Microsoft Dynamics 365
      • Microsoft 365
      • Cloud platform
      • Enterprise
      • Data platform
      • .NET
      • Visual Studio
      • Windows Dev Center
      • Docs
      • Microsoft Store
      • Free downloads & security
      • Education
      • Store locations
      • Gift cards
    • View all
    0
    Sign in
    Microsoft Support

    How to replace a driver by using Recovery Console in Windows Server 2003

    Content provided by Microsoft

    Content provided by Microsoft


    For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see 313670 .

    IN THIS TASK

    • SUMMARY
      • Requirements
      • Start Recovery Console
      • Extract the Driver Files from the Windows Server 2003 Installation CD-ROM
      • Replace the Driver Files by Using the COPY Command
      • Add Recovery Console to an Existing Installation

    Summary


    This step-by-step article describes how to use Recovery Console to replace a driver on a Windows Server 2003-based computer that you cannot start. back to the top

    Requirements

    To replace a driver, you must have a functional copy of the driver files and you must know the location of folder that contains the driver file.

    Note Only the Administrator account can obtain access to Recovery Console.

    back to the top

    Start Recovery Console

    To start Recovery Console, use one of the following methods.

    Recovery Console Is Installed

    1. Start your computer.
    2. When you are prompted to select an operating system, select
      Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Recovery Console.

      Note If Recovery Console does not appear in the list, Recovery Console is not installed. Follow the steps in the next section to start Recovery Console.
    3. Select the Windows installation that you want to repair, and then press ENTER.
    4. Type the Administrator password, and then press ENTER.


      Note Recovery Console uses the Administrator password that you configured when you installed Windows Server 2003. Changes that you make to the Administrator password after you install Windows Server 2003 do not apply to Recovery Console.


    Recovery Console Is Not Installed

    1. Start your computer by using the Windows CD-ROM.
    2. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press R to repair the installation, and then press C to start Recovery Console.
    3. Select the Windows installation that you want to repair, and then press ENTER.
    4. Type the Administrator password, and then press ENTER.


      Note Recovery Console uses the Administrator password that you configured when you installed Windows Server 2003. Changes that you make to the Administrator password after you install Windows Server 2003 do not apply to Recovery Console.
    back to the top

    Extract the Driver Files from the Windows Server 2003 Installation CD-ROM

    Installation files are stored on the Windows Server 2003 installation CD-ROM in compressed folders that are known as cabinet (.cab) files. Driver files are stored in the Driver.cab file. To use original driver files that are included on the Windows Server 2003 installation CD-ROM to replace damaged driver files:
    1. Insert the Windows Server 2003 installation CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive.
    2. At the command prompt in Recovery Console, type
      expand d:\i386\driver.cab /f:filename[path], and then press ENTER, where:
      • d: is the CD-ROM drive letter
      • filename is the name of the file you want to expand
      • path is the folder where to copy the driver file
      Typically, driver files (.sys) are stored in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Drivers folder. For example, to replace the Atimpab.sys driver file, you might use the expand d:\i386\driver.cab /f:atimpab.sys %systemroot%\System32\Drivers\ command.

      Note In this command, you must use the /f
      switch because the Driver.cab CAB file contains more than one file.
    back to the top

    Replace the Driver Files by Using the COPY Command

    If the driver files that you want are not located in a cabinet (.cab) file, you can use the Recovery Console copy command to overwrite the damaged files:
    1. At the command prompt, type copy [source_path]
      source_filename[destination_path]
      destination_filename
      , and then press ENTER, where:
      • source_path is the path for the source replacement file
      • source_filename is the name of the replacement file
      • destination_path is the path for the driver file that you want to replace
      • destination_filename is the name of the driver file that you want to replace

      For example, to replace the Atimpab.sys file with a known good copy from a floppy disk, you might use the copy a:\atimpab.sys c:\winnt\system32\drivers\atimpab.sys command.

      Note The copy command in Recovery Console does not support wildcard characters. Because of this, you can copy only one file at a time. If you must replace more than one file, use multiple copy commands.
    2. When you are prompted to confirm that you want to overwrite the existing file, press Y, and then press ENTER.
    back to the top

    Add Recovery Console to an Existing Installation

    You can add Recovery Console to an existing installation of Windows Server 2003 by using the winnt32.exe /cmdcons command. Recovery Console requires approximately 7 megabytes (MB) of free disk space in the system partition on the hard disk.

    For more information about Recovery Console and software mirroring, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    229077 Mirroring prevents pre-installing the Recovery Console

    back to the top

    Last Updated: Apr 19, 2018
    • Email
    • Print
    Thanks! Your feedback will help us improve the support experience.

    What's new

    • Surface Book 2
    • Surface Pro
    • Xbox One X
    • Xbox One S
    • VR & mixed reality
    • Windows 10 apps
    • Office apps

    Store & Support

    • Account profile
    • Download Center
    • Sales & support
    • Returns
    • Order tracking
    • Store locations
    • Support
    • Buy online, pick up in store

    Education

    • Microsoft in education
    • Office for students
    • Office 365 for schools
    • Deals for students & parents
    • Microsoft Azure in education

    Enterprise

    • Microsoft Azure
    • Enterprise
    • Data platform
    • Find a solutions provider
    • Microsoft partner resources
    • Microsoft AppSource
    • Manufacturing & resources
    • Financial services

    Developer

    • Microsoft Visual Studio
    • Windows Dev Center
    • Developer Network
    • TechNet
    • Microsoft Virtual Academy
    • Microsoft developer program
    • Channel 9
    • Office Dev Center

    Company

    • Careers
    • About Microsoft
    • Company news
    • Privacy at Microsoft
    • Investors
    • Diversity and inclusion
    • Accessibility
    • Security
    English (United States)
    • Terms of use
    • Privacy & cookies
    • Trademarks
    • © Microsoft 2018
    This site in other countries/regions
    Algérie - Français
    Argentina - Español
    Australia - English
    Belgique - Français
    België - Nederlands
    Bolivia - Español
    Bosna i Hercegovina - Hrvatski
    Brasil - Português
    Canada - English
    Canada - Français
    Chile - Español
    Colombia - Español
    Costa Rica - Español
    Crna Gora - Srpski
    Danmark - Dansk
    Deutschland - Deutsch
    Dominican Republic - Español
    Ecuador - Español
    Eesti - Eesti
    El Salvador - Español
    España - Español
    Estados Unidos - Español
    France - Français
    Guatemala - Español
    Hong Kong SAR - English
    Hrvatska - Hrvatski
    India - English
    Indonesia (Bahasa) - Bahasa
    Ireland - English
    Italia - Italiano
    Latvija - Latviešu
    Lietuva - Lietuvių
    Luxembourg - Français
    Magyarország - Magyar
    Malaysia - English
    Maroc - Français
    México - Español
    Nederland - Nederlands
    New Zealand - English
    Norge - Bokmål
    Panamá - Español
    Paraguay - Español
    Perú - Español
    Philippines - English
    Polska - Polski
    Portugal - Português
    Puerto Rico - Español
    România - Română
    Schweiz - Deutsch
    Singapore - English
    Slovenija - Slovenščina
    Slovensko - Slovenčina
    South Africa - English
    Srbija - Srpski
    Suisse - Français
    Suomi - Suomi
    Sverige - Svenska
    Tunisie - Français
    Türkiye - Türkçe
    United Kingdom - English
    United States - English
    Uruguay - Español
    Venezuela - Español
    Việt Nam - Tiếng việt
    Ísland - Íslenska
    Österreich - Deutsch
    Česká Republika - Čeština
    Ελλάδα - Ελληνικά
    България - Български
    Казахстан - Русский
    Россия - Русский
    Україна - Українська
    ישראל - עברית
    الإمارات العربية المتحدة - العربية
    المملكة العربية السعودية - العربية
    مصر - العربية
    भारत - हिंदी
    ไทย - ไทย
    中国 - 简体中文
    台灣 - 繁體中文
    日本 - 日本語
    香港特別行政區 - 繁體中文
    대한민국 - 한국어
    ERROR: at System.Diagnostics.Process.Kill() at Microsoft.Support.SEOInfrastructureService.PhantomJS.PhantomJSRunner.WaitForExit(Process process, Int32 waitTime, StringBuilder dataBuilder, Boolean isTotalProcessTimeout)New URL: about:blank