Create Windows Shares from the Command Line using RMTSHARE.EXE

RMTSHARE.EXE from one of the Windows NT Resource kits makes quick work of creating shares.

Here's an example of creating a hidden, read-only share accessible only by the fictional AD group 'DOMAIN\AdminsSQL':

rmtshare \\SQLSERVERNAME\BACKUPS-RO$=E:\BACKUPS /GRANT "DOMAIN\AdminsSQL":r

Want write(change) access but still with a hidden share? Use this syntax:

rmtshare \\SQLSERVERNAME\BACKUPS-RW$=E:\BACKUPS /GRANT "DOMAIN\AdminsSQL":c

Remove the dollar sign from the end of the share name if you want the share to be visible.

Running RMTSHARE.EXE against a \\SERVERNAME with no parameters shows all the shares(including the hidden shares) available, like so:

C:\>rmtshare \\SQLSERVERNAME

Share name   Resource                        Remark

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IPC$                                         Remote IPC
C$           C:\                             Default share
X$           X:\                             Default share
ADMIN$       C:\WINDOWS                      Remote Admin
BACKUPS-RO$  E:\BACKUPS                      Shared by remote command.
BACKUPS-RW$  E:\BACKUPS                      Shared by remote command.
D$           D:\                             Default share
L$           L:\                             Default share
E$           E:\                             Default share
The command completed successfully.

Tested in Vista, Server 2003, Server 2000. Let me know if you find a version of Windows incompatible with RMTSHARE.EXE!