Windows XP in a Nutshell

Name

Net — \windows\system32\net.exe

Synopsis

Display, modify, and troubleshoot your current workgroup settings.

To Open

Command Prompt → net

Usage

net command [parameters]

Description

Net is a general purpose diagnostic tool used to configure, control, and troubleshoot the networking settings on a Windows XP system. The Net tool is largely obsolete, although it may appeal to more advanced users or those who need to control network settings from the command line.

To use Net, you must specify one of the following 22 commands, followed by any of the applicable parameters. To get more information about any of these commands, use the help command, like this:

net help command

Here are the commands used with Net:

accounts

Use net accounts to update the user accounts database and modify password and logon requirements for all accounts. If used without parameters, the current settings for password, logon limitations, and domain information are displayed.

computer

Use net computer to add or delete computers from a domain database; only available on Windows XP Server and Advanced Server.

config

The net config command displays configuration information about the workstation or server service. See Examples, below.

continue

Type net continue to reactivate a Windows service that has been suspended by net pause.

file

Closes a shared file and removes any file locks. When used without options, net file lists the open files on a server (see OpenFiles, later in this chapter). The listing includes ...