Original equipment manufacturers that are taking advantage of Microsoft’s embedded operating system lineup of products have also been able to leverage specific support tools. It was the case with Windows XP Embedded, and as of the start of December 2009, the same is valid for the latest iteration of Windows Embedded. Microsoft has started offering the Windows XP Support Tools to OEMs working with Windows Embedded Standard 2009.

“The Windows XP Support Tools, previously available on the ECE for OEM customers for Windows XP Embedded, are now available for Windows Embedded Standard 2009 as well,” revealed Lynda Allen, Microsoft Embedded program manager. “These Support Tools are intended for use by Microsoft support personnel and experienced users to assist in diagnosing and resolving problems with their embedded systems. They include things like netdom.exe, filever.exe, extract.exe, tracelog.exe etc.”

More specifically, the support tools are as follows: Ipseccmd.exe, Httpcfg.exe, Replmon.exe, Iadstools.dll, Extract.exe, Bitsadmin.exe, and Netdom.exe. Advanced users and admins of Windows XP already recognize these utilities, as they are integrated by default into the predecessor of Windows Vista. Still, although shipping with XP, the support tools had to be installed separately of the operating system. IT professionals needed to run the Setup.exe file from the \Support\Tools folder on the Windows XP CD in order to deploy the support tools for the client version of XP.

Now Microsoft is also making them available for download for Windows Embedded Standard 2009, and operating system essentially based on Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3). However, access to the support tools is restricted. ““OEMs can download this .img file from the ECE site. If you have questions on accessing the ECE, please email MS Mobile & Embedded Communications Feedback & Support, ECE at microsoft.com,” Allen added.