Percent signs surrounding a word represent an "environment variable". There are many command-line based applications and scripts that need to account for differences in file locations, system architecture, etc. SYSTEMROOT is such a variable, and is automatically maintained by Windows. It is commonly used in the Windows Registry to point to the correct location of items stored in the directory where Windows is stored, which defaults to C:\Windows\ (the system's root directory).
If this is a sample test or homework question from a course you paid money for, you got ripped off. %SystemRoot% refers to the location of the system or "Windows" folder. It may be the C:\Windows directory, but it doesn't have to be (and you shouldn't assume that it is... the whole point of defining %SystemRoot% is so you don't have to guess where the system folder is).
Substituting environment variable valuesTo enable the substitution of variable values at the command line or in scripts, enclose the variable name in percent signs (that is, %variablename%). By using percent signs, you ensure that Cmd.exe references the variable values instead of making a literal comparison. After you define variable values for a variable name, enclose the variable name in percent signs. Cmd.exe searches for all instances of the variable name and replaces it with the defined variable value. For example, if you create a script that contains different values (for example, user names) and you want to define the USERNAME environment variable for each user with these values, you can write one script using the variable USERNAME enclosed in percent signs. When you run this script, Cmd.exe replaces %USERNAME% with the variable values, which eliminates the need to perform this task manually for each user. Variable substitution is not recursive. Cmd.exe checks variables once. For more information about variable substitution, see For and CallFrom the above Technet description, the % signs are used to ensure that "cmd.exe" does not literally use the term "systemroot" and references the systemroot variable correctly (So therefore %systemroot% is recognised correctly as the C:\ drive, if C:\ is your systemroot).
Press WinKey+R then type %systemroot% to find out! It will likely be C:\Windows\ but if you're using multiple versions of Windows on the same computer, the others could be on different drive letters e.g. N:\Windows\
It means the "system32" folder inside whatever the system folder of the currently running version of Windows is. It may be, in fact probably is (at least 90% of the time), C:\Windows\system32, but the point of using the %SystemRoot% specification is that even if you've somehow managed to install Windows in some nonstandard location, that will point to the correct directory.
%SystemRoot%\system32
Hives are stored in\system32\configAll system files in thefolderthis can be state as the Folder in which windows 2000/XP is installed"Systemroot" or more commonly seen as "%Systemroot%" refers to the directory where Windows is installed. This is usually "C:\Windows"
Create two files in notepad, use the XP.cmd file if you are on Windows XP, use the 2K version if on Windows 2000. Use Save As to make the file a .cmd or .reg file as sown in the file names below. Run the two files and then reboot. Here are the files: File SCARD_XP.CMD: %systemroot%\system32\scardsvr.exe reinstall %systemroot%\system32\regsvr32.exe /s %systemroot%\system32\scardssp.dll %systemroot%\system32\regedt32.exe /s scard_xp.reg %systemroot%\system32\net.exe start scardsvr %systemroot%\system32\sc.exe config scardsvr start= auto File SCARD_2K.CMD: %systemroot%\system32\scardsvr.exe reinstall %systemroot%\system32\regsvr32.exe /s %systemroot%\system32\scardssp.dll %systemroot%\system32\net.exe start scardsvr %systemroot%\system32\sc.exe config scardsvr start= auto File SCARD_XP.REG: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\SCardSvr] "ObjectName"="NT AUTHORITY\\LocalService" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\SCardDrv] "ObjectName"="NT AUTHORITY\\LocalService"
yes
C:\Windows
%systemroot%
systemroot\system32\certlog
0.8 or 80%.