STSADM Path – access stsadm at anytime in command prompt

A quick way to access STSADM is to set a Path for the 12 Hive's bin folder.  Doing this, you can type "stsadm" at anytime in a command prompt window to access the operations it provides. 

1. Access Environment Variables
   1. Go to your server's System Properties
      1. RClick 'My Computer' > Properties
   2. Click Advanced tab
   3. Click Environment Variables button

      

2. Select the variable Path in System Variables
3. Click Edit button

    

4. In the edit window, add the directory path for stsadm at the end.  Make sure you add a semicolon before the path.
   1. C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN\

      

   2. Click the OK button

I'll typically do this on any MOSS server for ease of administration via command line.  If you prefer a shortcut, check out another post: Shortcut to stsadm.exe.  And if for some reason you just love using file explorer, you may like this post which details how to open a command prompt on any folder: GoToCommand - Open Command Prompt on any folder

- Dan Lewis