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November 17, 2005 at 11:08 am #2178385This conversation is currently closed to new comments.
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131845
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131846
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131847
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131841
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131842
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131843
iShadow Desktop Updated (1.6.0.0)
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I’ll have to check this out when I get back.
An update to iShadow Desktop technology preview – 1.6.0.0 is available.This universal ICA-RDP client (some features are yet to be enabled) has multi-window and multi-monitor support. Was tested with 40+ concurrent sessions and is a good candidate for benchmarking TS and Citrix deployments (has to be wired for benchmarking). I Like it. See more news on iShadow Desktop here.
Download iShadow Desktop 1.6.0.0 here.
[Via Thincomputing.net]
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131844
Three New VMware Books
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Some VMmware reading.
Experts in the community have written new books about VMware:The VMware Workstation 5 Handbook (Networking & Security) by Steven Warren
VMware ESX Server: Advanced Technical Design Guide by Ron Oglesby, Scott Herold
Virtualization with VMware ESX Server by Al Muller, S. Wilson, D. Happe, G. Humphrey.More here.
[Via Thincomputing.net]
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131839
Has adprep been run?
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I had an interesting question asked of me today, and I had to spend some time looking into it, so I thought I’d share the result of that with you.
As you know, adprep is used for preparing Active Directory to include Windows Server 2003 domain controllers. It comes in two flavors:adprep /forestprep
Which is, of course, run once per forest, andadprep /domainprep
Which is, of course, run once per domain.
Forestprep
The forestprep process creates a new container named:CN=Operations,CN=ForestUpdates,CN=Configuration,DC=<VAR>ForestRootDomain</VAR>
Each operation executed by adprep/forestprep causes a new GUID-named container object to be created in the above container.
If you are upgrading from any version of Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003, and adprep/forestprep has completed successfully, then the CN=Operations container will have 36 of the GUID-name objects contained within it. If you are upgrading from a beta or release-candidate version of Windows Server 2003 to the released version, you may have as many as 43 of these objects.
If there are fewer than 36 objects, then adprep/forestprep failed somewhere along the process. You can compare the list of operations and GUIDs in the Microsoft KB article 309628.
Domainprep
Similar to forestprep, the domainprep operation also creates a new container:CN=Operations,CN=DomainUpdates,CN=System,DC=<VAR>DomainName</VAR>
but unlike forestprep, domainprep also creates a second container:CN=Windows2003Update,CN=DomainUpdates,CN=System,DC=<VAR>DomainName</VAR>
which contains a single attribute of interest CN=Revision.
The CN=Operations container will contain 50 updates (up to 55 if you are upgrading from beta-releases).
If all 50 of the operations are completed successfully, then the CN=Windows2003Update container will have its Revision attribute set to 8 (eight).
If the CN=Revision attribute is not eight, then each GUID in the CN=Operations,CN=DomainUpdates container may be examined to determine where adprep/domainprep failed. The list of these is also given in Microsoft KB article 309628.
Fun Fact
All of the non-schema updates that happen as a result of running adprep are executed on the domain controller which holds the infrastructure master FSMO role.
[Via Michael’s meanderings…] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131840
Microsoft gets into the VoIP game
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Marketwatch: Microsoft buys VoPI provider Teleo.
Ahh, this is the tool I saw at Demo and I said it’s a potential Skype killer.
It hasn’t turned out to be that yet, but this sure is interesting news. I didn’t know about it, by the way. I have some inquiries into our mergers and acquisitions department to see if they can tell me more.
[Via Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131834
Desktop Search Engines Can Affect Exchange Server Performance
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I was glad to see that we have a KB article stating this.? (Very well written, Nino…)? It is a very lo-o-o-ng title:? "Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 2003 performance may be affected when desktop search engine software is running on Outlook or other MAPI client computers"The article does a good job of explaining under what circumstances you will see the issue.? This is yet another good reason to run Outlook in cached mode in your organization.? Also included is a link to the ExMon tool to identify who?are the culprits.?
I use the MSN search tool?exclusively now and love it.? But I also know that I am running in cached mode, so I know that I am not causing any issues with my Exchange servers.? Excellent.
[Via Gerod Serafin’s WebLog] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131835
New Features of Exchange 12
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Check out this article which goes into a lot of the new features promised in Exchange 12. As always, this is pre-beta information so much could change by the release date.
http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Overview-E12-Features.html
I am really disappointed that MS has decided not to move away from the Jet database format. They are going to have to bite the bullet on this sometime.
[Via myITForum Blogs] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131836
Upgrade complete
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I updated the site to .760 Gold today. Let me know if you find any issues. Please post them in the forums. If your having issues logging in or creating an account email me: benwaynet+website AT gmail DOT com.
later,jb
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131837
pnForum 2.5 RC1 available
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I know this is a beta version, but since the forums aren’t used too much, look like its time for an update. I’ll let you know when I’ve installed it so you can give it a try.
The first RC1 of pnForum 2.5 is available for download now. This version requires .760!pnForum is a fully integrated forum module using pnRendertemplates for visualizing data. It uses the PostNuke permission system and supports all kind of transform and display hooks.
[Via pnModules]
later,jb
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131838
Quick Glance: Terminal Server licensing differences between Windows 2000 and 2003
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
There are several changes in Terminal Server licensing functionality between Windows 2000 and Windows 2003. I’ve pulled them together in this chart for quick reference.
[Via Brian Madden – Technology Author and Freelance Consultant] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131833
Sending an e-mail to users whose password is about to expire
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I can’t wait until we get all of our users on the Exchange 2003 server and give this a try!
This has come up a number of times, and I actually thought I’d blogged about it in the past — but I guess not.
If you have users that only use POP and/or IMAP, and never log into via Outlook/Exchange or OWA Premium, then those users do not get notified when their password is about to expire.
You can write a script that sends your users e-mail when their passwords are about to expire. The script below is based on a Scripting Clinic article available here, with?some bug fixes and enhancements.
This script, with a few changes and enhancements, is also in my upcoming book from O’Reilly: “Essential Exchange Server 2003“.
” exch-pwd-expires.vbs” Michael B. Smith’ March 21, 2005” This program scans all users in the Users container and all organizational units’ beneath the HOSTING_OU organizational unit, for users whose passwords have either’ already expired or will expire within DAYS_FOR_EMAIL days.” An email is sent, using CDO, via the SMTP server specified as SMTP_SERVER to the’ user to tell them to change their password. You should change strFrom to match’ the email address of the administrator responsible for password changes.” You will, at a minimum, need to change the SMTP_SERVER, the HOSTING_OU, and the’ STRFROM constants. If you run this on an Exchange server, then SMTP_SERVER can ‘ be "127.0.0.1" – and it may be either an ip address or a resolvable name.” If you don’t have an OU containing sub-OU’s to scan, then set HOSTING_OU to the’ empty string ("").’
?Option Explicit
?’ Per environment constants – you should change these!?Const HOSTING_OU??= "Hosting"?Const SMTP_SERVER??= "127.0.0.1"?Const STRFROM???= "emailadmin@your.domain"?Const DAYS_FOR_EMAIL??= 15
?’ System Constants – do not change?Const ONE_HUNDRED_NANOSECOND??? = .000000100?? ‘ .000000100 is equal to 10^-7?Const SECONDS_IN_DAY??????????? = 86400?Const ADS_UF_DONT_EXPIRE_PASSWD = &h10000?Const E_ADS_PROPERTY_NOT_FOUND? = &h8000500D
?’ Change to "True" for extensive debugging output?Const bDebug???= False
?Dim objRoot?Dim numDays, iResult?Dim strDomainDN?Dim objContainer, objSub
?Set objRoot = GetObject ("LDAP://RootDSE")?strDomainDN = objRoot.Get ("defaultNamingContext")?Set objRoot = Nothing
?numdays = GetMaximumPasswordAge (strDomainDN)?dp "Maximum Password Age: " & numDays
?If numDays > 0 Then
??Set objContainer = GetObject ("LDAP://CN=Users," & strDomainDN)??Call ProcessFolder (objContainer, numDays)??Set objContainer = Nothing
??If Len (HOSTING_OU) > 0 Then???Set objContainer = GetObject ("LDAP://OU=" & HOSTING_OU & "," & strDomainDN)
???For each objSub in objContainer????Call ProcessFolder (objSub, numDays)???Next
???Set objContainer = Nothing??End If
??’========================================??’ Add the number of days to the last time??’ the password was set.??’========================================??’whenPasswordExpires = DateAdd ("d", numDays, oUser.PasswordLastChanged)
??’WScript.Echo "Password Last Changed: " & oUser.PasswordLastChanged??’WScript.Echo "Password Expires On: " & whenPasswordExpires?End If
?WScript.Echo "Done"
Function GetMaximumPasswordAge (ByVal strDomainDN)?Dim objDomain, objMaxPwdAge?Dim dblMaxPwdNano, dblMaxPwdSecs, dblMaxPwdDays
?Set objDomain = GetObject("LDAP://" & strDomainDN)?Set objMaxPWdAge = objDomain.maxPwdAge
?If objMaxPwdAge.LowPart = 0 And objMaxPwdAge.Highpart = 0 Then??’ Maximum password age is set to 0 in the domain??’ Therefore, passwords do not expire??GetMaximumPasswordAge = 0?Else??dblMaxPwdNano = Abs (objMaxPwdAge.HighPart * 2^32 + objMaxPwdAge.LowPart)??dblMaxPwdSecs = dblMaxPwdNano * ONE_HUNDRED_NANOSECOND??dblMaxPwdDays = Int (dblMaxPwdSecs / SECONDS_IN_DAY)??GetMaximumPasswordAge = dblMaxPwdDays?End IfEnd Function
Function UserIsExpired (objUser, iMaxAge, iDaysForEmail, iRes)?Dim intUserAccountControl, dtmValue, intTimeInterval?Dim strName
?On Error Resume Next?Err.Clear
?strName = Mid (objUser.Name, 4)?intUserAccountControl = objUser.Get ("userAccountControl")
?If intUserAccountControl And ADS_UF_DONT_EXPIRE_PASSWD Then??dp "The password for " & strName & " does not expire."??UserIsExpired = False?Else??iRes = 0??dtmValue = objUser.PasswordLastChanged??If Err.Number = E_ADS_PROPERTY_NOT_FOUND Then???UserIsExpired = True???dp "The password for " & strName & " has never been set."??Else???intTimeInterval = Int (Now – dtmValue)???dp "The password for " & strName & " was last set on " & _????DateValue(dtmValue) & " at " & TimeValue(dtmValue) & _????" (" & intTimeInterval & " days ago)"
???If intTimeInterval >= iMaxAge Then????dp "The password for " & strName & " has expired."????UserIsExpired = True???Else????iRes = Int ((dtmValue + iMaxAge) – Now)????dp "The password for " & strName & " will expire on " & _?????DateValue(dtmValue + iMaxAge) & " (" & _?????iRes & " days from today)."
????If iRes <= iDaysForEmail Then?????dp strName & " needs an email for password change"?????UserIsExpired = True????Else?????dp strName & " does not need an email for password change"?????UserIsExpired = False????End If???End If
??End If?End IfEnd Function
Sub ProcessFolder (objContainer, iMaxPwdAge)?Dim objUser, iResult
?objContainer.Filter = Array ("User")
?Wscript.Echo "Checking company = " & Mid (objContainer.Name, 4)
?For each objUser in objContainer??If Right (objUser.Name, 1) <> "$" Then???If IsEmpty (objUser.Mail) or IsNull? (objUser.Mail) Then????dp Mid (objUser.Name, 4) & " has no mailbox"???Else????If UserIsExpired (objUser, iMaxPwdAge, DAYS_FOR_EMAIL, iResult) Then?????wscript.Echo "…sending an email for " & objUser.Mail?????Call SendEmail (objUser, iResult)????Else?????dp "…don’t send an email"????End If???End If??End If?NextEnd Sub
Sub SendEmail (objUser, iResult)?Dim objMail
?Set objMail = CreateObject ("CDO.Message")
?objMail.Configuration.Fields.Item ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusing")????? = 2?objMail.Configuration.Fields.Item ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserver")???? = SMTP_SERVER?objMail.Configuration.Fields.Item ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserverport") = 25?objMail.Configuration.Fields.Update
?objMail.From???? = STRFROM?objMail.To?????? = objUser.Mail?objMail.Subject? = "Password needs to be set for " & Mid (objUser.Name, 4)?objMail.Textbody = "The active directory password for user " & objUser.userPrincipalName & _????" (" & objUser.sAMAccountName & ")" & vbCRLF & _????"will expire in " & iResult & " days. " & vbCRLF & _????"Please change it as soon as possible." & vbCRLF & vbCRLF & _????"Thank you," & vbCRLF & _????"Your email administrator"
?objMail.Send
?Set objMail = NothingEnd Sub
Sub dp (str)?If bDebug Then??WScript.Echo str?End IfEnd Sub
[Via Michael’s meanderings…] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131828
Integrating hotfixes into your RIS images
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Anyone ever had much success getting their patches integrated into their RIS images? We’ve always just used SMS to push out the patches after the RIS but our folks out in the field don’t like waiting up to an hour for everything to come down. And until we had the ITMU, it might need to reboot a few times during the process.
Tim Mintner and I recently played around with a few new ways of pulling it off but ended up resorting to just using a batch file that installs all of the critical patches. It just gets called at the end of the RIS process. This is better but I’ve seen some articles on some other methodologies that have piqued my interest.
1. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/828930/?- This explains how you can use the “/integrate” option to integrate a hotfix into an image.
2. A lot of people seem to be using RyanVM’s update Pack in conjunction with nLite.
The thing is, Tim and I couldn’t get it to work. We tried following some step-by-step directions but the RIS would fail whenever we tried to?install a new workstation. Although I’m not sure that we did actually follow every step exactly so maybe it was our own fault. It sure seems like what we did should have worked though.
So has anyone played around with these and gotten them to work with RIS? I haven’t actually tried using these processes to create a normal boot CD install. If I find some time, I might try that to see if it is just RIS that is causing the problems.
[Via myITForum Blogs] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131829
Software Assurance Benefits Comparison Chart
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
This chart explains which Software Assurance benefits apply to each Microsoft Volume Licensing program.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=dfaaac74-4aef-4c71-a2fc-b25d3ccd84cd&displaylang=en
[Via Rod Trent at myITforum.com] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131830
Free Windows CD/DVD software roundup
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I don’t know how many e-mails I’ve received asking me about alternative solutions to commercial CD and DVD burning applications like Nero and Roxio, so I’ve finally decided to put together a short but sweet list of free applications so you can create your own CDs and DVDs at home. Read on for the full list, and yes, I’ll be doing Mac and Linux versions of the roundup soon.
Burnatonce- the basic installation lets you burn CDs without restrictions, but if you want to burn DVDs, you’ll need to install a separate shareware application (probably to avoid legal problems). With Burtatonce, you can create audio and data CDs. It supports burning ISO, CUE, and TOC images, and best of all, will automatically convert FLAC, MP2, MP3, OGG, and WAV files to audio CD.
CDBurnerXP Pro- this is the solution I used for a long time before going back to Nero, and is one of the best, in my opinion. Not only can you create audio, data, and video discs on both CDs and DVDs, but it will also rip CDs, convert different disc image and audio formats, lets you create covert art, and more. I highly recommend this solution.
DeepBurner (Free version)- a pretty good solution for creating audio and data CDs and DVDs, with a nice Windows Explorer-like interface. The free version is only available for personal use.
GUIs for CDRTools- this is not really one program, but a collection of small programs which act as frontends to the free, command line CD creation tool, CDRTools. Easy Burning is one of the best, and easily integrates into Windows 98 or higher, offering basic burning tools. The page has other tools available, like ISOBurn to burn ISO images to CD.
ISORecorded Power Toy- Windows XP has basic CD and DVD burning capabilities, but you cannot burn ISO images, which is where this tool comes in. The original version works great, but works only on Windows XP with up to Service Pack 1. There are other versions available for Service Pack 2, but I’ve had trouble getting them to run properly.[Via TipMonkies]
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131831
Downloaded Microsoft Global Contact Access yet?
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Use a Windows Mobile Smartphone or Pocket PC phone?? If you also are in an Exchange environment, you need Microsoft Global Contact Access.? You’ll also need Exchange 2003 with a valid web access email account.? With this, you can:
Search Global Address Book lists
Schedule meetings with multiple recipients
View Free/Busy schedules of potential meeting attendees
Send email to anyone in the Global Address Book list without needing them in your contacts
I’ve been using it for the last couple of months and being able to see everyone’s free/busy time from my phone has been a?great addition?to have for scheduling meetings.
You can download it here.
[Via myITForum Blogs] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131832
Troubleshooting Tools For Citrix Environments
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
This article provides a detailed list of tools available for troubleshooting Citrix environments. Many of these tools are not made by Citrix and their use is not limited to Citrix-related problems. The document is divided into two sections: Citrix Tools and Third Party Tools. Many of the tools listed are installed during either the Windows or Citrix installations. Any Citrix tool that is not automatically installed is either included on the installation media or is available to download from the Citrix Knowledge Center Tools and Resources page. The third party tools listed are generally available for download from the manufacturers’ Web [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131826
Go Lions
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
We are off for our lions weekend. We are heading over to the east side of the state to start our Christmas shopping and to see the Lions game tomorrow.
I just wanted to remind everyone that this site has turned into my tech site. My personal blog is http://www.savagenomads.net
later,jb
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131827
Exchange Standby Clusters are now supported
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Great news! The long-awaited ability to use standby Exchange clusters is finally completed testing and documentation with its addition to the Disaster Recovery Operations Guide: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/guides/DROpsGuide/2493c2d6-618c-4c49-9cb1-fff556926707.mspx
This is one of those topics that has come up again and again over the years, and there was never any good (supported) solution for it. Well, over the past few months the Exchange team went through all the requisite testing and documentation, and now this is a fully-supported DR solution!
What does this mean? It means you can now recover your clustered Exchange 2003 EVS to a totally different cluster server (potentially in a different physical or AD site, with different IP, etc). See the updated DR Ops guide for more details.
[Via Evan Dodds – Microsoft Exchange Server Blog] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131824
PNJokes 2.0
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Is anyone interested in Jokes? Should I add this module to the site?
It had been snowing for hours when an announcement came over the high school intercom:
"Will the students who are parked on University Drive please move their cars so that we may begin plowing."Twenty minutes later there was another announcement:
[Via pnModules] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131825
VMware Player
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
This looks sweet. I just wonder about licensing of the software running in the VM?
Brilliant stuff! VMware Player is free software that enables PC users to easily run any virtual machine on a Windows or Linux PC. VMware Player runs virtual machines created by VMware Workstation, GSX Server or ESX Server and also supports Microsoft virtual machines and Symantec LiveState Recovery disk formats.Run any virtual machine
Run virtual machines created by VMware Workstation, GSX Server or ESX Server. VMware Player also supports Microsoft virtual machines and Symantec LiveState Recovery disk formats.Revert To Previous State
Revert virtual machines to a previous ‘clean’ state within seconds.Access Host PC devices
Use host CD/DVD drives, network adapters, [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131823
VMware VMworld 2005 sessions recording available
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I couldn’t make it to vmworld but atleast I can see and here some of the sessions.
VMware finally published VMworld 2005 sessions audio recording (mp3) and slides (pdf).Continue at the source here.
[Via Thincomputing.net]
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131821
Upgrading to E2k3 SP2 cluster
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I’ve been waiting to install SP2 untill I found something like this…..
Evan Dodds – Microsoft Exchange Server Blog —Upgrading to E2k3 SP2 cluster
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131822
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131820
Surviving Printing On Citrix
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
A new article on the new MSterminalservice.org website written by Stefan Vermeulen.
"Printing with Citrix has always been a major problem, causing headaches all around. This article will help you stabilize your printing environment."
Read it here.
[Via Thincomputing.net]
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131818
Updated: Thincomputing.net Tools
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
In my work over the years I’ve noticed that I usually use the same tools when dealing with Server Based Computing environments. I’ve decided to bundle all the tools that I frequently use into an "installer" package called Thincomputing.net Tools. The Thincomputing.net Tools package download is about 4MB in size. All tools should run on Windows XP, W2k and Windows Server 2003.
Update: at the request of Mark Russinovich I have removed the sysinternals tools from the Thincomputing.net Tools package due to distribution restrictions.
Read more and download here. Be sure to read the readme in the installation folder!
[Via Thincomputing.net]
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131819
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131816
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131817
Excel’s Shared Workbook Feature
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Often times a document or spreadsheet is not compiled by a single person but rather requires input for multiple people. In Excel, you can create a shared workbook and store it on the network so it can be edited by the necessary users. This way each person can add information to the same workbook instead of having to maintain multiple spreadsheets. You can create a shared workbook using the steps outlined below:…
Direct and Related Links for ‘Excel’s Shared Workbook Feature’
[Via Lockergnome’s Windows Fanatics] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131814
New Exchange tools released
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Microsoft released a bunch of new tools on November 2nd.? Along with PFDAVAdmin, which I mentioned the other day, they have released the following tools:?
1.? New version of Exchange Best Practices Analyzer (ExBPA).? The new version is version 2.5 and includes some enhancements and additions to both the UI and the database.
2.? A new tool called the Exchange Server Performance Troubleshooting Analyzer Tool (ExPTA).? At first glance, this would appear to be a tool to help admins determine root causes for performance problems.? It will be able to gather perfmon counters, tracing information, etc. and then analyzes that data to present information on what the root cause could be.? It seems like this functionality could be compared to tools such as Quest’s Spotlight for Exchange.? Though obviously more advanced, Spotlight allows admins to see potential bottlenecks and act accordingly.? Still, it’s nice to see Microsoft release a product that does some of this natively.? I don’t think it’s meant to serve as direct competition for 3rd party providers of tools like these such as Quest.? It’s kind of like comparing NTBackup to 3rd party backup tools.? NTBackup works, but it doesn’t have some of the value-add functionality that 3rd party software companies can provide.
3.? Another new tool called the Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer Tool (ExDRA).? This should be a great tool for Exchange admins to have in their toolkit.? According to the overview on Microsoft’s website, it will basically gather configuration data and header information from both the databases and log files, then analyze that data and give you a list of problems as well as?instructions on how to resolve the problem.? I see this as a tool that is meant for the seeming trend of less-experienced Exchange admins.? However, it’s a tool that should be beneficial to any Exchange admin, even the most experienced ones.? I know I’ll definitely try it out.
You can find these tools on Microsoft’s site at the following location.? http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/downloads/2003/analyzers/default.mspx
In addition, the Exchange Team blogged about these new tools here.? My feed reader (IntraVnews) didn’t pick up that post for some reason, so this may be old news to you.
[Via A Collection of Random Thoughts] -
November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131815
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131811
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131812
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November 17, 2005 at 12:58 pm #3131813
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November 17, 2005 at 4:58 pm #3132467
A 10-Minute Guide to Deploying VoIP
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Thinking of rolling out VoIP? It’s tougher and more time-consuming than you think. But this 10-Minute guide will give you the rundown on everything you need to know before you get started.
[Via Network Computing Digital Convergence RSS Feed] -
November 17, 2005 at 4:58 pm #3132468
All-In-One Security Appliances
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
An all-in-one security appliance provides protection against a multitude of threats without adding to your device-management burden. Here’s how to choose the right model for your organization.
[Via Network Computing] -
November 18, 2005 at 9:48 am #3131033
Windows Desktop Search — enabled for the enterprise (With Review)
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Where to get it: (Free to Win 2k/XP Licencees)
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/desktopsearch/enterprise/default.mspx
Review:
MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search Reviewhttp://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/msn_search_toolbar_wds.asp
[Via Windows Shell/User (And MSN Too)] -
November 18, 2005 at 9:48 am #3131034
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November 18, 2005 at 1:45 pm #3130890
Non-Admin Rights
by jason · about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I’ve been searching for a way to allow a non-admin on Windows XP to change the network settings (IP address,subnet,gateway,dns,etc)
Well I was search for a solution I found this blog posting about a nice little script that will make a user an admin, start a new process with admin rights, then remove the user from the admin group. Its using runas, so to be really usefull I need to find a way to script in the admin password (encrypted)Also I still have not been able to find a way to have a non-admin user change network settings. If you found a way, please let me know.
Thanks,jb
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November 22, 2005 at 5:45 pm #3121739
Script To Display Printer Drivers In The Farm, Per Server
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I love little usefull scripts like this.
This script uses the Citrix MFCOM to display printer drivers in a farm, per server.The output is delimited with comas so that it can be imported into Microsoft Excel, if desired.Get it here.
[Via Thincomputing.net]
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November 23, 2005 at 1:25 am #3121678
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November 24, 2005 at 1:26 am #3113888
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November 25, 2005 at 5:23 pm #3122571
A blogcast series on upgrading your organization from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
What’s a blogcast? As Eileen Brown said it:
"It’s a mini Webcast, typically about 5 minutes long, and shows a visual demo of the technology. Audio is embedded along with the .WMP file and you can view this on demand over and over again. It differs from a podcast in as much as a podcast is audio only, and has enclosures that means that you can subscribe to a podcast feed to receive updated audio broadcasts when they are available. Blogcasts (cast out, from a blog, typically) show short targeted demos and they’re visual. Some have PowerPoint, some only show the interface…"
Eileen has been posting blogcasts in this series for a while now and this particular series is now complete. Here is what is covered:
[Via You Had Me At EHLO…]
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November 25, 2005 at 5:23 pm #3122572
Exchange 2003 migration resources
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
So, as promised yesterday, here are a collection of the resources and documents I talked about during the Exchange Unplugged tour gig in London yesterday
BlogCast: Populating Active Directory using the Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT)
Blogcast series on upgrading to Exchange 2003
The Active Directory Migration Tool Overview (originally written for Windows 2000, but the concepts still apply…)
The Active Directory Connector
See you in Coventry on Monday 🙂
[Via Eileen Brown’s WebLog] -
November 26, 2005 at 9:25 am #3044004
Ignore — Feedster Claim
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
feedster-612f3a23c201779460c06adaa3c9087e-feedster
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November 26, 2005 at 9:25 am #3044005
Ignore — Feedster Claim (Second Try)
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
No Need to Click Here – I’m just claiming my feed at Feedster feedster:d7f7fb4498c70887a36aea0f9f3226fc
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November 27, 2005 at 1:26 am #3043928
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November 27, 2005 at 5:28 pm #3043824
pnForum 2.6 available
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
After a lot of changes nd some deadline shifts pnForum 2.6 is now available for download.
In addition there are new versions of pn_bbcode and pn_bbsmile available too.
[Via pnModules]
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November 28, 2005 at 1:26 am #3043762
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November 30, 2005 at 11:09 am #3127479
Citrix Easy Backup Manager
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
A great new download form Doug Brown’s site: If you want to backup all your Citrix published applications and have them restored or migrate then you will want to download the Citrix Easy Backup Manager. Simply install it and then click the backup button to export and the restore button to import and the rest is down for you. I?’m very impressed, it is simple and easy and thus a must have!
Download it here.
[Via Thincomputing.net]
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November 30, 2005 at 10:05 pm #3128591
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December 3, 2005 at 4:08 pm #3128018
Deploying SP2 for Push Email
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I hope Verizon offers an upgrade to the samsung i730
On our Exchange Unplugged Tour – I’ve had lots of questions from customers about what they have to do to get Push Email with Windows Mobile 5 devices.
I have to re-iterate that you need two components:
1) Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2
2) Windows Mobile 5 devices that have AKU 2.0 integrated – all new devices from Q1 next year will have this integrated however existing Windows Mobile 5 devices will need an upgrade – you need to check with your OEM/Operator on when they will have an upgrade.
From an infrastructure perspective you have to deploy Exchange Server Activesync – there is a great document on our website that describes step-by-step how to do this –
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/business/strategy/exchangemobilemessaging.mspx
Once you have that in place then all you have to do is:
1) Upgrade your Front End Server to Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2 – you do NOT need to upgrade all the Back-end servers.
2) You then need to extend your ISA or other Firewall timeout from it’s default of 120 seconds to 1800 seconds (30 minutes) – the reason for this is that the Push Model needs the SSL connection to stay open (but not using data) for >15 minutes to support the Push Model.
Many customers are about to hit change freeze for the Christmas period so if you want to take advantage of this in the future it’s important to make those changes ready for when the flood of devices appears early next year!
?[Via Jason Langridge’s WebLog – MR Mobile!]
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December 3, 2005 at 4:08 pm #3128019
Granting access to another mailbox
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
These are some great tips, now that we are on our last stages of our exchange 2003 migration.
I noticed that this flash tip has been highlighted on TechNet recently, and how very appropriate and timely as i’ve had 2 mails this week about this very topic.? Susan wanted to know how to grand acces to someone elses mailbox, and Claire wanted to know the difference between send on behalf of and send as…?
This is the best article I know of?explaining the differences between Send as and send on behalf of, and should sort both Claire and Sue out at work.. Good luck![Via Eileen Brown’s WebLog]
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December 4, 2005 at 12:13 am #3127938
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December 4, 2005 at 8:09 am #3127911
Exchange Server support tools
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Microsoft is releasing some usefull free tools for exchange.
I’ve been so busy out on the road at IT forum,? then out of the country on holiday and now out on the road with the Exchange Unplugged tour (here’s the tour blog by the way) that i havent had any chance to keep up to date with anything at all, so I’ve been dealing with the backlog of stuff for the past 2 weeks.? Fortunately Blake has reminded me of the new set of support tools for Exchange Server that ave been released, and he gives a good explantion of what each tool does.? I’ve also blogged?about features of each tool too…?[Via Eileen Brown’s WebLog]
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December 4, 2005 at 4:15 pm #3127829
How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot with Security
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Jesper M. Johansson, Senior Security Strategist in the Security Technology Unit at Microsoft published 2 Technet articles on “How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot with Security”:
How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot with Security, Part 1The objective is to help you better understand some of the things we do to provide security, and how they may break things unless we are really careful in how we use them.
How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot with Security, Part 2: To ACL or Not to ACLThe "verbification" of our languages is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? ACL is just one of the recent additions to the powerful list of new verbs we have available to us. ACL stands for Access Control List. However, you have probably heard people use it as a verb, in the context of "you need to ACL the boot partition so Everyone can’t get to it."
[Via Donna’s SecurityFlash] -
December 5, 2005 at 12:10 am #3127782
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December 8, 2005 at 12:40 am #3130042
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December 9, 2005 at 5:39 pm #3124386
Cool Linux command line and shell script tricks!
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
As the author of a bunch of books on Unix and shell script programming (most recently Teach Yourself Unix in 24 Hours and Wicked Cool Shell Scripts) I see a lot of interesting questions about how to be more efficient with the Unix / Linux command line and how to do neat things in shell scripts. In fact, I have an entire category on my weblog all about Shell Script Programming if you’re really into…
unix linux shell script programming
Direct and Related Links for ‘Cool Linux command line and shell script tricks!’
[Via Lockergnome’s Linux Fanatics] -
December 9, 2005 at 5:39 pm #3124385
Data Recovery Freeware
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Every know and then I accidentaly delete files and later find out that I still need them. I configured my trashcan to hold no files at all, means files that I delete are gone by normal means and can??t be recovered that easily.
[Via gHacks] -
December 9, 2005 at 9:39 pm #3124348
Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Administration Tool now released
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
We’ve spent 2-3 trying to get activesync and http-rpc working though ISA. Maybe this tool will help us, I’ll give it a go on Monday.
While checking my RSS feeds noticed that Susan Bradley has bloged about Microsoft releasing the Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Administration Tool….(read more)
[Via ExchangeIS] -
December 10, 2005 at 1:41 am #3124326
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December 11, 2005 at 9:38 am #3121105
VMX Builder for VMware Player
by jason · about 18 years, 4 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Robert Petruska and Ulli Hankeln did it again.
Robert Petruska created a bunch of great Windows GUIs for many famous VMware utilities.Ulli Hankeln reversed the VMware virtual hard disks (.vmdk) structure, creating a lot of incredible utilities. Among them there is a batch for producing new VMware virtual machines configuration files (.vmx) called vmx-builder.cmd.
Why should you need producing new .vmx files from scratch? Simple: to create new virtual machines with VMware Player without installing VMware Workstation trial.If you wanna know more you better read my previous post and come back here.
Now Robert and Ulli worked together and produced a Windows application easier than ever to creat new .vmx files: the VMX Builder.
Please note that this utility isn’t connected with the online VM Builder.[Via virtualization.info]
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December 15, 2005 at 11:46 pm #3125475
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December 24, 2005 at 1:53 am #3081390
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December 25, 2005 at 1:54 am #3081259
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December 26, 2005 at 1:48 am #3082414
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December 27, 2005 at 1:54 am #3082202
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December 28, 2005 at 1:52 am #3083445
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December 29, 2005 at 1:50 am #3083637
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December 30, 2005 at 1:55 am #3082476
Links for 2005-12-29 [del.icio.us]
by jason · about 18 years, 3 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
- gHacks » 5 Best Freeware Games of 2005
- Welcome to the OpenNMS Project – OpenNMS
- splunk > home
- Zabbix
- Oreon – Network & System Monitoring
- Projects – Big Sister System and Network Monitor
- Automated Server Monitor 2
- FlowScan – Network Traffic Flow Visualization and Reporting Tool – CAIDA : TOOLS : utilities : flowscan
- Network monitoring with Cacti
- SWITCH – Projects – TF-NGN Netflow
- My NetFlow Reporting System – Dynamic Networks
- AJAX Tips and Tricks: Put GeekSquad Out of Business
- x11vnc: a VNC server for real X displays
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December 31, 2005 at 1:51 am #3082010
Links for 2005-12-30 [del.icio.us]
by jason · about 18 years, 3 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
- PasswordMaker. One Password To Rule Them All.™
- Welcome to AudioAdvisor.com
- liveplasma music, movies, search engine and discovery engine
- Audiri > Home
- Predixis, Discover, Enjoy and Manage Your Music.
- Gnod – The global network of dreams
- Soundflavor – Discover music through friends and friends through music
- Music-Map – The tourist map of music
- Open Workbench – Open Source Project Management and Project Scheduling for Windows – Home
- ms project alternatives – Google Search
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December 31, 2005 at 9:52 am #3081949
Detect me detect me not
by jason · about 18 years, 3 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Well, we run Trend and Mcafee on our Email, but CA Etrust on the desktop… So I have mixed feelings. Monday should be fun.
The latest flaw in Windows handling of WMF images files has highlighted some of the differences between Anti-Virus detection rates. With multiple variations of the exploit in action Anti-Virus vendors are struggling to keep up. http://www.eweek.com is running a story listing how each of the major Anti-Virus applications perform against the current known lists of variants.The following detected all 73 versions of the exploit :-
Alwil Software (Avast)
Softwin (BitDefender)
ClamAV
F-Secure Inc.
Fortinet Inc.
McAfee Inc.
ESET (Nod32)
Panda Software
Sophos Plc
Symantec Corp.
Trend Micro Inc.
VirusBuster.And the rest listed against how many versions detected :-
62 — eTrust-VET
62 — QuickHeal
61 — AntiVir
61 — Dr Web
61 — Kaspersky
60 — AVG
19 — Command
19 — F-Prot
11 — Ewido
7 — eSafe
7 — eTrust-INO
6 — Ikarus
6 — VBA32
0 — NormanWe hope your Anti-Virus solution is located in the TOP list.
Source: http://www.eweek.com
[Via bitByte : IT news, reviews & opinion] -
January 1, 2006 at 1:54 am #3081853
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January 4, 2006 at 1:50 am #3094353
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January 5, 2006 at 1:48 am #3095510
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January 6, 2006 at 1:56 am #3095832
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January 7, 2006 at 10:20 pm #3095145
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January 8, 2006 at 10:26 am #3095056
Folder Size Freeware
by jason · about 18 years, 3 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
i’ve been looking for something like this for awhile.
Folder Size is a nice little freeware application that adds a new column to the details view of your windows explorer displaying the size of every folder that exists in the current directory. Its mighty helpful if you want to clean your hard drive. It shows exactly which folders contain the biggest files and its always a good idea to start cleaning there.
[Via gHacks] -
January 8, 2006 at 10:26 am #3095055
Microsoft Express Editions
by jason · about 18 years, 3 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Lightweight, easy-to-use, and easy-to-learn tools for the hobbyist, novice, and student developer. The Express Editions are lightweight, easy to use, and easy to learn developer tools for hobbyists, enthusiasts, and students. Professional developers may want to evaluate the Visual Studio 2005 languages, including Visual Basic and Visual C#, using the Express Editions. Most professional features of the Integrated Development Environment are not present in the Express Editions, however. Express Quick Facts….
Direct and Related Links for ‘Microsoft Express Editions’
[Via Lockergnome’s Windows Fanatics] -
January 9, 2006 at 12:14 am #3094928
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January 11, 2006 at 12:25 am #3078697
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January 14, 2006 at 9:51 pm #3077448
BullSh*t
by jason · about 18 years, 3 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
The Patriots where just screwed. They got called for pass interference in the in zone. I’m going to be pissed if that call cost the them the game. Its still early, but still. It was a VERY crappy call.
The NFL needs to have a new rule next year that no hair can be sticking out from the helmet.
jb
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January 15, 2006 at 1:45 am #3077432
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January 15, 2006 at 1:45 pm #3077376
Linux Media Center
by jason · about 18 years, 3 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
For under $400 bucks, I’ll have to give this a try.
Pretty good article on getting the underpinnings of a Linux Media Center put together. [linux.com]
[Via Geek News Central] -
January 16, 2006 at 1:45 am #3077298
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January 17, 2006 at 8:57 pm #3097096
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January 18, 2006 at 5:18 pm #3098215
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January 19, 2006 at 1:20 am #3098112
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January 19, 2006 at 9:21 am #3098470
Those MS Research folks are so darn clever!
by jason · about 18 years, 3 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Check this out.
MS Research has made their experimental Group Shot photo editing tool available for people to play with
“So?”
Okay..? let me explain what it does. Let’s say you’re at your brother Carla’s wedding in San Francisco last November, and someone has used your brother Paua’s really really nice digital camera to take several photos of your three families plus Grandma and Grandpa. Problem: Your little niece, who ordinarily is adorable and agreeable in every way, decides that she’s not going to be in the mood for a photo at this very given once-in-a-lifetime moment. In fact, here are the various shades-of-niece we had to deal with:[Via Full of I.T.]
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January 20, 2006 at 1:17 am #3099744
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January 22, 2006 at 5:16 pm #3259100
Group Policy Settings Reference…
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I receive a lot of questions around Group Policy. One of the more common questions is about how to locate a policy in the large (and growing!) list of policies available. The good news is there is a nice reference spreadsheet that MS makes available for download here. Load this Excel spreadsheet and you can locate different policies easily and simply. It has seperate tabs for different administrative templates, Security Settings for Win 200o and also for Win 2003/XP.
?
Cheers!
[Via Stewed Prunes…] -
January 22, 2006 at 9:15 pm #3259034
HDD Fixed…Amazing.
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
This guy had a seagate hard drive that was reporting bad sectors and he found some software that can repair bad sectors if it is not a physical defect! Read On….
Prior to calling Sun?support for a new HDD (described here), I decided to give a utility called HDD Regenerator as shot.? The author of the software states that "Almost 60% of all hard drives damaged with bad sectors have an incorrectly magnetized disk surface" and that they "developed an algorithm which is used to repair damaged disk surfaces".
Sounded a bit far fetched to me…the hardware guy in me says software can’t fix something wrong with failing hardware.??Regardless?I downloaded the demo that would repair the first sector and quit.? Remember that I mentioned that the Seagate utils were detecting a bad sector, but couldn’t repair or move it.? I knew exactly where it was on the disk since I ran the tool several times.? I ran HDD Regenerator and sure enough it spotted the same sector and "repaired" it.? Hmmm….Back to the Seagate utils, it scooted right over this sector and continued on it’s merry way checking the rest of the disk.? I was psyched and plunked down the duckets for the full version.? 9 hours and 100 repaired sectors later I have a disc that fully passed both the Seagate and Microsoft disk utilities.? Very cool.?
?[Via Sun Ray Blog]
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January 22, 2006 at 9:15 pm #3259035
Free PDFCreator (0.9) Released: Terminal Server / Citrix Compatible
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I’ll have to check this out, this could save some major cash!
Schinning.net reports that the free PDFCreator has been updated to version 0.9. Amongst the changes is Terminal Server / Citrix compatibility.Download PDCreator 0.9 here.
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
January 27, 2006 at 11:56 pm #3110116
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January 28, 2006 at 3:57 pm #3109584
Security Configuration Wizard documentation
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Security Configuration Wizard (SCW) is an attack surface reduction tool for members of the Microsoft?? Windows Server™ 2003 family with Service Pack 1 (SP1). SCW determines the minimum functionality required for a server’s role or roles, and disables functionality that is not required.
SCW guides you through the process of creating, editing, applying, or rolling back a security policy based on the selected roles of the server. The security policies that are created with SCW are XML files that, when applied, configure services, network security, specific registry values, audit policy, and if applicable, Internet Information Services (IIS).
The Security Configuration Wizard documentation set [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
January 28, 2006 at 11:55 pm #3109512
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January 29, 2006 at 8:02 am #3109432
Gates: beating China, India piracy to take 10 years
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates said on Friday beating software piracy in China and India and getting compliance up to U.S. and European levels would take 10 years.
[Via ActiveWin.com Headlines]
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January 29, 2006 at 11:57 pm #3108506
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January 30, 2006 at 11:58 pm #3108828
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February 1, 2006 at 10:09 pm #3107575
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February 3, 2006 at 10:16 am #3135171
VMware To Make GSX Server Free !
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I can’t wait to see the details on this next week!!!
Thanks to Jeff Pitsch in pointing this out to me:VMware is expected to announce next week that it will begin giving away one of its key products for free: GSX Server, sources familiar with the plan said.
VMware may gain two advantages from the move. First, because virtual machines can be moved from GSX to ESX, customers who try the former may choose to upgrade to the latter. Second, giving the software away for free could make VMware’s technology more popular and cement the company’s lead over emerging rivals. For example, a couple of months ago Microsoft announced that it’s similar [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
February 11, 2006 at 8:07 pm #3077768
Windows Vista Step-by-Step Guides for IT Professionals
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I’ve heard goog things about vista for the enterprise, I know we won’t move to vista when it first comes out. But I still want to start learning about the new OS.
These step-by-step guides will assist IT Professionals in deploying or migrating to Windows Vista. These guides will also provide step-by-step information on how to monitor performance, manage printing, control how CPU and memory resources are allocated using Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM), control device installation using Device Management and Installation (DMI), and manage ADMX files. There are also step-by-step guides to help you protect data using BitLocker Drive Encryption, to administer the TPM Security Hardware in a computer using Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Services, and to help deploy better-managed desktops and mitigate the impact of malware using User Account Control (UAC).Download [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
February 11, 2006 at 8:07 pm #3077767
BrianMadden.com’s Downloadable scripts, Utilities, and Tools
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Looks like I have some tools to checkout on Monday.
Brian Madden has set up a special forum on BrianMadden.com where you can find all kinds on downloadable scripts, utilities, and tools. You are highly encouraged to contribute tools:"There are a lot of really great tools and utilities out there. We’ve created a forum where these tools and utilities can be shared by everyone. Right now we have a utility the lets users change their own passwords, utilities for querying the client’s IP address from the command line, and links to other free stuff. Feel free to submit your own tools and utilities to share with the community."
One of the [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
February 12, 2006 at 12:08 am #3077728
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February 13, 2006 at 12:04 am #3133731
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February 14, 2006 at 12:06 am #3091588
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February 16, 2006 at 11:26 pm #3091498
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February 17, 2006 at 7:25 pm #3252075
Exchange 2003 – Active Sync reporting
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I’ll have to give these a try next week.
<block>
We have received a lot of feedback recently about your need to better understand the usage of your Exchange 2003 ActiveSync (EAS) deployment. With all of the great features built into EAS, its important for you as an IT Professional to know the volume and usage patterns of your deployment. This information can help you more effectively manage your EAS deployment, better understand user productivity, and help you calculate ROI.
</block>
[Via Microsoft community blog posts] -
February 18, 2006 at 12:11 am #3252028
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February 18, 2006 at 8:12 am #3090789
VMware Virtualization University
by jason · about 18 years, 2 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
VMware’s Virtualization University is a site loaded with valuable tips and tools for effective implementation of VMware Server. With a variety of tips, tools and resources, getting started with VMware Server and virtualization has never been easier. Amongst other things you can find:
• The Virtual Machine Center
• Virtual Machine Wizard
• Virtualization Best Practices SeminarAnd lots more. Visit the "VMware Virtualization University" here.
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
February 19, 2006 at 12:12 am #3090573
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February 19, 2006 at 10:37 pm #3252830
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February 21, 2006 at 10:37 pm #3102893
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February 22, 2006 at 11:28 pm #3101536
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March 2, 2006 at 10:34 am #3090533
RE: Tech: Automating VMware Virtual CDROM and floppy disconnection
by jason · about 18 years, 1 month ago
In reply to Benway Net
This will be very helpful. I’ll give it a try and let everyone know how well it works.
jbGabrie van Zanten posted on VMTN Forums a Bash script for disconnecting resources-consuming virtual CDROM and floppy devices:
I found that project admins who install VM’s often forget to disconnect CD-rom or floppy drives after they have been used. And because according to the VMware docu, CD-rom and floppy drives use extra resources through the COS, I started looking for a script that could disconnect all CD-roms and floppy at night.
Through the VMware community forum I received a script from Stuart Thompson which I editted for personal use. The result is below.Tags:vmware;virtualization
[Via virtualization.info]
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March 5, 2006 at 11:26 pm #3085017
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March 9, 2006 at 11:20 am #3084203
Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List
by jason · about 18 years, 1 month ago
In reply to Benway Net
Everyone collects utilities, and most folks have a list of a few that they feel are indispensable.? Here’s mine.? Each has a distinct purpose, and I probably touch each at least a few times a week.? For me, util means utilitarian and it means don’t clutter my tray.
Link: ComputerZen
[Via Two Mad Geeks] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3147841
Long Time
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I know its been awhile since I’ve posted about my life, so its a 5 cent tour of the last few months.
Big news, We are pregnant!!!!! I’m going to be a daddy!!!!! We are due in August. I can’t wait!!!!
On other news, I finally got my home theater installed. Here’s the current setup:
Technics
SB-C938
SB-A28
SB-S938
Pioneer DVD player DV-414
Panasonic AE900
106′ dia manual screen
Charter Moxi DVR
Onkyo TXSR703B
PS2I already have like 50 hours on the bulb. The projector looks great out of the box, I haven’t messed with the color settings at all.
Everything else is going well, work is crazy busy. The size of my groups responcability keeps growing, but time doesn’t.
I’m so ready for spring, this Michigan weater is just teasing me.
We are starting to have troubles with the car again, its never been right since Melissa got reared ended a few years ago.
That’s about it. later,jb
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3147842
gmail spam filters
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I just wanted to say that the spam filters for Gmail suck!!!!
thank you have a nice day.
jb -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3147843
Important VirtualCenter Patch!
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Time to patch virtualcenter.
VMware just released a patch for VirtualCenter 1.3. It addresses a rare, but serious problem invlolving data-loss with cold migrations (while VM is off). The issue happens when a network failure occurs at the same time of the cold-migration. Assuming that you do not like loosing your virtual machine data, VMware is recommending all their […]
[Via http://www.run-virtual.com] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3147844
SurfControl Web Filter Optimized for Citrix Presentation Server(TM) Gains Momentum
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Other solutions can work with citrix, but you need to use a proxy server
SurfControl has announced continued momentum of its Web Filter optimized for Citrix Presentation Server. With SurfControl you’re able to enforce Internet acceptable use policies, monitor Web usage, and create detailed usage reports on an individual basis.SurfControl (London: SRF), the world leader in Internet content protection, today announced continued momentum of its Web Filter optimized for Citrix Presentation Server(TM) to protect companies and employees against the ever-changing threat landscape. One customer in particular, Healthcare Management Systems (HMS), has deployed the solution as a value-added offering for their Desktop ASP computing clients. HMS’s innovations have enabled them to become a total IT solutions [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3147845
Implement WPA2-Personal wireless security on a Windows XP SP2-based computer
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Barb Bowman introduces you to the latest version of wireless security WPA2 and shows you how to implement it on your Windows XP SP2 based computers.
[Via Windows XP Expert Zone Community] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3147846
RE: Tutorial: How to Build an Effective Virtual Machine Template
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
This is written for VM Workstation, but a lot of the ideas will work on ESX.
Virtual Strategy Magazine published a tutorial on how create and customize an optimized master virtual machine for creating several clones for work:
Many people have been asking for some tips on how to build a VMware Workstation virtual machine. The following guide has been written with the assumption that this will be the first virtual machine you will be configuring, and that you will be creating this as a template virtual machine.
A template virtual machine, will be a virtual machine, configured by you, which will be prepared for rapid deployment of additional virtual machines. Rapid Deployment means being able to deploy a new pre-configured virtual machine in 10 to 15 minutes.
An assumption will be made that you have the current version of VMware Workstation (as of this writing, version 5.5.1 build 19175) installed on your workstation. It will also be assumed that you understand how to install and configure Windows XP Professional, as this will be the operating system configured as the template.
Read the whole article at source.[Via virtualization.info]
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158700
Clustering VMware ESX Server For Free With VMCL
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
From Virtualization.info: Massimiliano Daneri, creator of the worldwide known perl script VMBK for live backup of ESX Server virtual machines, is working on another great project: VMCL.
VMCL is a clustering software for VMware ESX Server based on the Linux-HA project, able to syncronize virtual machines between different host OS.
Actually there is no documentation available but the beta program just started and you can download beta 1 here.
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158701
PHD Consulting launches a free VMware ESX Server hot backup product
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Another free vmware backup tool
PHD Consulting just released a new tool called esXpress.
It’s available in 3 versions: LE, Pro and Enterprise.
The LE version is available for free and offers:Complete 100% backups of all your virtual machines every day
Faster then other virtual backup solutions. Realistic backups speeds from 17 GB an hour to 100 GB an hour
No local /vmfs or ext3 space is required on the host
Run multiple backups per day, instead of multiple days per backup
Backup to Linux, Windows or any other server using FTP
Each host runs autonomously, not from a centralized host. No single point of failure
Menu driven, no scripting required
Simple installation on host server
Restore FULL backups easily through the PHD Menu, which pulls the backup directly from the backup server
No Additional local space is required to restore a FULL backup. You only need enough local /vmfs space to recreate the restored FULL VMDK backup
No software is actually required to restore a FULL backup, it just makes it simpler
Simple reporting on the backup FTP server. Hosts, Days, VMDK, Space
Complete integration with our GUI front-end (coming soon)
60 Day esXpress Pro Intelligent Delta plug-in demo
As far as I understand after 60 days only the Intelligent Delta plug-in will be disabled granting a complete backup solution for free (if I misunderstood please advice).
Download it here.[Via virtualization.info]
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158690
Important ESX 2 installation Tip!
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Sh*t, we just setup our ESX enviroment in December.I’ll need to check on this Friday.
If you are installing ESX 2.x today and at some point in time want to upgrade to ESX3, make sure you do not do a default installation. ESX2.x creates by default a 50mb boot partition, but ESX3 will require a 100mb boot partition. If you do not have a boot partition of 100mb, you will […]
[Via http://www.run-virtual.com] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158691
How to deploy applications to your Terminal Server
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
In the article Terminal Server Environment Basic Concepts I already described the basic concepts/rules necessary to have a stable and controllable Terminal Server Infrastructure. Two of the described concepts in that article are chronology of the installation order and the 100% equality of all the servers in the Farm. To accomplish this you should use silent setups and a deploy mechanism to install applications on your servers. In this article we are going to detail how to install and deploy those applications with the above mentioned concepts in mind.
[Via MSTerminalServices.org] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158692
Deploying a Pre-Configured Citrix Client using Active Directory
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Jason Conger has written another fine article on deploying a pre-configured Citrix ICA-Client using Active Directory.
"This article will show you how to create a pre-configured Citrix Client and leverage Active Directory to deploy the client. You may ask, "Why would I want to use Active Directory to deploy the client. Doesn’t Citrix offer the Auto Client Update?" The answer is yes, Citrix does provide an auto client update feature, but there are limitations such as:
If a workstation already has a Citrix client that was installed from an .msi package, then you cannot use the Auto Client Update feature."
Read more here. [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158693
101 free apps, sites, and services
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
PC World has published an article called 101 Fabulous Freebies which is a round-up of
apps, web sites, and services that you can use for free. Their "outrageously useful" tools are broken up into
categories like "Tune Up," "Find It," and "Lock It Up," and they’re fairly well-chosen,
though I’m sure most readers could think of at least a couple things they’ve left out. It also includes some welcome
round-ups of RSS readers, webmail, blogging tools, and video sharing sites. Probably not the last freeware round-up
we’ll see this year (nor even, if memory serves, the first), but worth a look.
[Via Download Squad] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158694
Command-line reference A-Z
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
this is great! I use both kix and batch files for startup scripts
Command line plus description and associated switches.Link: Microsoft
[Via Two Mad Geeks] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158695
Image Windows XP with Ghost and Sysprep
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Clear instructions on how to use Ghost and Sysprep to create a universal disk image of Windows XP that will restore onto any computer. No more reinstalling necessary after making this.
Link: Hisham?€™s Blog
[Via Two Mad Geeks] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158696
Security Lockdown: Utilizing Standard Microsoft Tools to Secure Your Network
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
A few webcast on MS security.
Learn about tools that enable end users in your organization to lock down
their own environment and help protect their desktops. Find webcasts and virtual
labs that provide policy strategy, tips and tricks, and prescriptive guidance to
help strengthen your organization’s security, without sacrificing network
performance and flexibility.blockquote>
[Via Bink.nu]
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/learning/securitylockdown/all/default.mspx -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158697
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158698
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158699
Exchange Activesync Error Codes
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Whilst at MEDC a few folks have asked where they can find a good list of Activesync Error Codes…
One of my UK colleagues Paul Flaherty has a great article on his blog describing them all!
http://blog.flaphead.dns2go.com/archive/2005/11/21/3202.aspx
[Via Jason Langridge’s WebLog – MR Mobile!] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158683
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158684
Creating Images Of Your Linux System With SystemImager
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
This is the sort of software that will enable Linux to truly become viable in the workplace. SystemImager can really help out with automating Linux installs and software upgrades, things like that. While there will always be other issues that need to be addressed with hardware and definitely with more than one sound card, Linux continues to look more and more viable with each passing day….
Direct and Related Links for ‘Creating Images Of Your Linux System With SystemImager’
[Via Flagged Items] -
May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158685
5 Steps to a Secured Active Directory
by jason · about 17 years, 11 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I have a new article in the April edition of Windows IT Pro: 5 Steps to a Secured Active Directory. In it, I cover the fundamental things system administrators must do to ensure a basic level of security with Active Directory. Often people concentrate on more advanced security issues such as defending against root kits, but ignore the basics like providing physical security or implementing secure administrator practices. If you can do the things in this article, you’ll be better off than most.
[Via Flagged Items]
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158686
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158687
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158688
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May 22, 2006 at 2:23 pm #3158689
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May 24, 2006 at 12:12 am #3146231
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May 28, 2006 at 4:12 am #3158065
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May 29, 2006 at 10:38 pm #3156218
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May 31, 2006 at 10:46 pm #3157135
Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Certificate-Based Authentication Tool
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
During some recent customer customer meetings I’ve had a few customers asking for details of how to enable Certificate based authentication for Windows Mobile.
The Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Certificate-Based authentication tool provides several utilities to assist an Exchange administrator in configuring and validating client certificate authentication for Exchange Server ActiveSync.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=82510E18-7965-4883-A8C3-F73F1F4733AC&displaylang=en
[Via Jason Langridge’s WebLog – MR Mobile!] -
May 31, 2006 at 10:46 pm #3157133
Windows Unattended CD Creator
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Feature:
Creation of a bootable ISO image
Integration of service packs
Creation of user accounts
Integration of:Drivers
Hotfixes
Patches
Software
http://www.vitaligraf.de/en/index.htm
[Via Windows Shell/User (MSN & OneCare Too)] -
May 31, 2006 at 10:46 pm #3157134
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June 1, 2006 at 10:40 pm #3165656
WSUS SP1 Readme
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Looks like SP1 for WSUS was released….. here’s some details.
This document describes known issues affecting Windows Server Update Services Service Pack 1 (WSUS SP1)
[Via Microsoft Download Center] -
June 4, 2006 at 6:31 pm #3165905
More Games!!
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I added 5 new games to the FlashGames part of the site. That means the leaderboard is wide open for those games. I’ll let you dig around and find them.
Have fun and remember if you have any questions or comments about the games, I have a section in the forum dedicated to the games.
later,jb
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June 10, 2006 at 1:25 am #3143409
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June 10, 2006 at 1:15 pm #3143292
Thomas Reskit Version 2.0
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Thomas Koetzing has updated his Citrix4GE Resource Kit:
Three years ago I released a Resource Kit for Server-based Computing. The Reskit was downloaded 25.000 times! Today I release the version 2.0 of my Resource Kit with more than 100 Programs and Utilities. The size has grown up to 30MB and was the reason why you can now download single tools from the Reskit.
New in the Kit: A FREE PDF Printer Driver, Fiddler an HTTP debugging proxy, Install Tailor, FlexProfileKit, MAC Finder, Notepad++, Command Line Builder for MSI, eolWTScom, Headless App, MedEvac…
Download it here.
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
June 10, 2006 at 5:23 pm #3143262
Freeware Tools for the Terminal Server Infrastructure (Part 1)
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Beside the standard tools provided in the product there are also many wonderful tools available for the Terminal Server field. In this article I will describe the most used favorite tools and software, which are available for free.
[Via MSTerminalServices.org] -
June 11, 2006 at 1:14 am #3143174
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June 12, 2006 at 9:56 am #3145695
To remove OEM wallpaper
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
<FONT face=Arial color=black size=2>1. Open Regedit on the server.
<FONT face=Arial color=black size=2>2. Go to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop.
<FONT face=Arial color=black size=2>3. Look for the Wallpaper value in the right-hand pane. It willprobably point to C:\WINDOWS\system32\DELLWALL.BMP (in the case of a Dell).
<FONT face=Arial color=black size=2>4. Double-click on the Wallpaper value.
<FONT face=Arial color=black size=2>5. Delete the contents and click OK.
<FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>6. Close Regedit.
[Via Windows Server Clustering & PCNews] -
June 14, 2006 at 1:16 am #3164559
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June 22, 2006 at 7:47 am #3268849
User Profile Best Practices For MetaFrame Presentation Server
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
An excellent, must-read Citrix support article on user profile best practises for Presentation Server: An effective design of user profiles can make a significant difference in the performance and manageability of a MetaFrame Presentation Server environment. Many of the issues commonly seen in large or complex MetaFrame Presentation Server environments—including slow logon, loss of user settings, profile corruption, and excessive administration effort–are often the result of sub-optimal user profile designs. A solid design and implementation of user profiles can maintain the integrity of user settings, eliminate issues requiring administrator intervention, and ensure high-performance user logon.
This white paper will present Citrix’s [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
June 22, 2006 at 11:40 pm #3269468
Links for 2006-06-22 [del.icio.us]
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
- Chris McCafferty » AutoIT
- Adobe – Acrobat Solutions for IT professionals: Deploy Adobe Acrobat and Reader
- Shakti-Software Network Analyzer Network Monitor
- Talisker Switch Port Mirroring
- How to change the binding order of network adapters in Windows XP and in Windows 2000
- Free Image and Video Hosting – Photo Image Hosting Site : Photobucket.com
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June 23, 2006 at 11:51 pm #3270287
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June 24, 2006 at 3:41 pm #3143022
ESX 3.x And VirtualCenter 2.x Upgrade Guide
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Mike Laverick of RTFM Education has written an “upgrade” guide to ESX 3.x and VirtualCenter 2.x. The guide is pitched at someone who know ESX 2.x and VirtualCenter 1.x very well – and wishes to quickly update their skills to the new release. It?’s a 1.1 release so will need some work on it (which I will do in the next two weeks). Additionally, this release was based on the Release and Beta Candidates. I will be working on the full product from now on. I also hope to cover adding iSCSI support with Fedora Core 5 and Windows with Stringbean [more …]
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
June 24, 2006 at 3:41 pm #3143023
Freeware Tools For The Terminal Server Infrastructure (Part 2)
by jason · about 17 years, 10 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
A new article on MSTerminalServices.org by Wilco van Bragt on Freeware fools For Terminal Server enviroments:
"Beside The standard Tools provided in The product There are also many wonderful Tools available For The Terminal Server field. In this article I will describe The most used favorite Tools and software, which are available For free. In Part 2 of this article series I continue the discussion on the best freeware tools, focusing on Security, Troubleshooting, Policies, Profiles, and more."
Read part two here.
[Via Thincomputing.net] -
June 25, 2006 at 12:09 am #3142963
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June 27, 2006 at 1:03 am #3112346
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June 30, 2006 at 5:37 pm #3112836
Demo: Altiris SVS for application virtualization
by jason · about 17 years, 9 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
Altiris published a Windows Media Format demo of its application virtualization product, Software Virtualization Solution (SVS), used for virtualizing several programs on a clean system.
Check it here.[Via virtualization.info]
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June 30, 2006 at 8:37 pm #3112773
Surviving the Windows Server 2003 Cluster Bomb, Part II
by jason · about 17 years, 9 months ago
In reply to Benway Net
I’m posting this for others to learn and for myself. If we ever have issues with our clusters, these notes will be a lot of help.
later,jb
I can’t believe it. Just when you think it’s safe to go back to reading the web… Part II? of the worst clustering article of all time is out. Back in July (http://msmvps.com/blogs/clustering/archive/2005/07/21/58509.aspx) I wrote how bad Part I was. Several months later Part II came out and I missed it. A former ClusterHelp.com student asked what?Russ?and I thought of Part II.
Russ, summed it up nicely (http://msmvps.com/blogs/clusterhelp/archive/2006/06/23/102671.aspx) and I won’t restate what I wrote about Part I – even though it still fits. Let’s just say I hope there is not going to be a Part III.
[Via Windows Server Clustering & PCNews] -
July 1, 2006 at 12:36 am #3112744
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