Carpe Diem: Flaphead@Home

small service outage lastnight / this morning .. .My server Blue Screened, rebooted and was waiting at the good olde Windows Shutdown Event Tracker screen. So cleared that and then my blog vm has the same so sorted that two.  Found this blog, so the damm screen doesn't come back any more :-| How to: Disable the Shutdown Event Tracker in ...

Sarad showed me this and I have been using it ever since. When we upgraded to Exchange 2007 to Service Pack 1, I RDPed to the server to perform the upgrade.  I knew it would take an age on an SCC mailbox cluster, and I didn't want to wait around in the office for it to finish. So I left and went home.  Once at home I RDPed to the ...

Paul sent me this so I could put an Exchange server in to a Lag AD site.  It is very cool! http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/reskit/regentry/55956.mspx?mfr=true Create the following reg key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netlogon\Parameters Key: SiteNameDataType: REG_SZValue: ...

Every day is a school day, and this make some light reading for a Monday Morning.  Time to start up perfmon on my Exchange Mailbox Cluster Source: http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2007/12/14/what-is-the-page-file-for-anyway.aspx ... So, in simplistic terms, the page file is used by Windows to hold temporary data which is swapped ...

So Microsoft release two Vista hotfixes last week. An update is available that improves the performance and reliability of Windows Vista http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=938979 An update is available that improves the compatibility and reliability of Windows Vista http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=938194 Well 938979 caused vista to restart ...

Ohh this looks like a nice replacement for adsiedit Source: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/adexplorer.mspx  Active Directory Explorer (AD Explorer) is an advanced Active Directory (AD) viewer and editor. You can use AD Explorer to easily navigate an AD database, define favorite locations, view ...

Jane bloged this last week (http://blogs.technet.com/janelewis/archive/2007/05/18/yet-another-desk-top-manager-3d-cool.aspx) it is a very sweet desktop manager and makes things look a bit more like OS X You can download it from here (http://chsalmon.club.fr/index.php?en/Download)    The cube thing is nice, but I especially like ...

This is an interesting post from the performance team blog ... bottom line, if your copying a really large file use eseutil. yup that's right, eseutil!!!http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2007/05/08/slow-large-file-copy-issues.aspx

This is a neat trick that Matt showed me today. I installed a based build OS with Windows 2003 R2 and SP2 on it.  Then started my exchange install and forgot about IIS. So I go an install IIS and it asked for the SP2 disk.  Damm, where did I put that. Matt showed me that I didn't need the SP2 disk as the files are already on the OS in ...

Ben you are the dogs whatits. This is just an awesome post on how to 1) Make ad admin simpler and 2) How to create your own pseudo-cmdlets.http://blogs.technet.com/benp/archive/2007/04/10/creating-an-ad-shell.aspxNow tie that in with some of Dmitry’s PowerBlog and you can fully manage an AD using Windows ...

So I would just like to thank Simon, Chris, Iain, Sam, Neil and Keith for getting the beers in tonight! You might not think it but it means a lot to me. thanks guys bans see you soon

What richard says is true! This man knows what he blogs! Source: http://blogs.technet.com/richard_macdonald/archive/2007/04/02/How-to-Interpret-Windows-Installer-Logs.aspx If you have a problem with the Windows Installer or an MSI package you're installing, it's a sure bet that you will be told by some smart person to ''enable logging''. That's ...

So I'm creating 3 Windows 2003 VPC's today and windows update told me I needed SP2.  As usual every day is a school day, and I didn't know that Microsoft provided an ISO of SP2 (x86 and x64), which is very handy when creating virtual machines! http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsserver/sp2.mspx

I saw this in computing magazine and wantted to share it. so vista does have some good points! Source: http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2186708/college-uses-vista-save-power Bockenhurst College is installing the Microsoft Vista operating system to reduce energy consumption and save money. Machines running Vista will automatically ...

Now this could be an issue that the PowerShell guys have shared .... its good to talk! Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/powershell/archive/2007/03/19/windows-server-2003-sp2-upgrade.aspx Because of the nature of the Windows Service pack (SP) releases, all the windows updates are consumed by SP upgrade. So once you upgrade to a new SP all the ...

I am playing virtual tennis with Shawn today and he scored his first point with this (the game is at 15-40) In the past I have used ScriptomaticV2 or wbemtest to test WMI or get vbscript to dump WMI data.  Shawn showed me WMIC and I am very impressed.  It's not as good as using Windows PowerShell, but it is good. So if you using a ...

I have noticed that I am ''loosing'' disk space and couldn't for the life of me work out why. So after some major ranting, Shawn shut me up with treesize free. For some reason windows\ServiceProfiles\AppData\Local\Temp\TfsStore\Tfs_DAV has nearly 5gb of what looks like office docs in it?  WHY? Oops deleted them .. Ahhh all that extra ...

I have updated my Tube Gadget so it works with the new TFL website. You can get it here: http://gallery.live.com/LiveItemDetail.aspx?li=16b8a96d-021e-41a1-bc59-cf6d769c423e   Let me know what you think and/or of you have any isssues

Is this REALLY worth it ... 10% off! ... <http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2007/03/20/purchasing-additional-windows-vista-licenses.aspx> For customers who acquired a full or upgrade version of Windows Vista from retail or pre-installed, we've got a pretty sweet deal.  We're announcing the Windows Vista ...

Richard posted this the other day.  Check it out, it has load of interesting links. Source: http://blogs.technet.com:80/richard_macdonald/archive/2007/03/12/Virtually-Everything-About-Microsoft-Virtualisation-Technologies.aspx For a recent customer presentation on Virtual Server, I created a handout CD that contained a lot of tools, ...

Nooooooooooooooooo Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932132 This article lists the hotfixes that have been repackaged to make them compatible with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2). Certain hotfixes have been repackaged to replace earlier versions that are incompatible with Windows Server 2003 SP2. To install Windows ...

Ohh baby, baby. Source: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsserver/sp2.mspx Whats new? well these bits are! Clustering A new event log event has been created to address certain situations in which the Cluster service account becomes excessively restricted by domain policy. Data access components XmlLite is new with Windows ...

You might have seen me moan about my Netgear SC101 and how rubbish it is.  Well the straw that broke the camels back happened last weekend when I ''lost'' one of my two SC101s and potentially all the data on it.  I have switched both of them off and will try and get the data off them next week. In the mean time I have just purchased a ...

Two things about this ... first off I have been accepted into Beta 2 .. yippy and they next one is the new Windows Home Server Drive Extender.  This rocks .. I wonder if this will be an update to Vista?  I suppose the only issue is space in your server to actually add more drived :-| Source: ...

Ohhh.  With the steady flow of DST information is starting to trickle down to more manageable levels.  MSIT has finally release some additional DST 2007 Guidance. ·         MSIT DST Assessment Checklist (5 page PDF) ·         MSIT DST Enterprise Response ...

If you love Windows PowerShell then you must already read Marc Blog.  BUT this is just the dogs whatits! Source: http://thepowershellguy.com/blogs/posh/archive/2007/02/09/ad-infrastructure-management-with-powershell.aspx Being able to query the AD with just a few PowerShell commands if just awesome.  Check it out and try it now .. ...

Check this out and they are letting you sign up for the next trial! Source: http://blogs.technet.com/homeserver/archive/2007/02/12/beta-2-is-go.aspx Sign up: http://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer Good news!  Windows Home Server has reached the Beta 2 milestone!  While previous releases have been tested by 1000+ Microsoft ...

WHAT YOU MUST BE JOKING ... a newer patch! http://support.microsoft.com/?id=931836  So companies have been testing the ''old'' one and now have to do it all again! Starting in the spring of 2007, daylight saving time (DST) start and end dates for the United States will transition to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. DST dates in ...

Found this on the download site today ... looks interesting.  Source: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bf9eb3a7-fb91-4691-9c16-553604265c31&DisplayLang=en The Microsoft Cluster Configuration Validation Wizard, a.k.a. ''ClusPrep'', is a validation tool that does a complete system inventory and runs focused tests on ...

Okay so back to the saga of my Elonex eXentia.  I left you yesterday with a shagged media centre machine as Vista decided to stuff up my TV Card driver. So as if by magic the Windows XP drivers from Avermedia's website seem to have done the job and I setup it all up last night and everything is okay. Now all I need is my DVD drive to ...

Okay so after yesterdays data loss, I thought I had learnt my lession. Doh I was VERY wrong.  It also seems that I have become very bitter and twisted over the last few weeks :-| So at home I have an Elonex eXentia Media Centre PC, which I upgraded to Vista Ultimate a while back.  So I get home last night and start up Windows Update and ...

Okay so today is launch day, and Vista decided to install some updates on my laptop. This is okay, but then WITHOUT a big centre of screen popup saying I am going to reboot it does .. and it does it really well, by terminating programs that are running and so ignoring the ''save this document'' dialog. THANKS TO WINDOWS VISTA and MICROSOFT ...

Well you can see that today is release day, as the updates are flowing.  Also I see two Ultimate Extras this morning!   Technorati tags: flaphead, vista, ultimate

This is quite funny.  While looking for the outlook DST20007 patch I discovered a few vista patches.  Wonder why that would be?  Oh, it's released today!  Windows Update will do the job of downloading them for you! Source: ...

Received my TechNet Flash today and it said: The Windows Server code-named ''Longhorn'' beta program will be kicking off soon, and that means it's time to pre-register to get your hands on the next generation of the Windows Server operating system. When you Register for Windows Server code-named ''Longhorn'' beta through the Beta Central program, ...

Okay some more information for you.  Interesting how this coule be a one off as ''Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete'' UPDATE #1: Just found this too. it would seem that TWO calendar update tool are going to be avaialble.  It looks like the ...

I wonder how much the marketing people at Microsoft get paid to come up with inovative product names? Source: http://www.msblog.org/2007/01/16/longhorn-server-to-be-named-windows-server-2007/ An unnamed Microsoft official just confirmed to ActiveWin.com that the new Windows server succeeding Windows Server 2003 will be named Windows Server 2007, ...

Jane blogged this ..very interesting! Source: http://blogs.technet.com/janelewis/archive/2007/01/04/useful-tips-for-troubleshooting-group-policies.aspx ... I have been spending some time up with our GTSC support department here in the U.K. and it has been fascinating. These Guys and Girls really rock and know their stuff ! While I was there ...

<RANT ON> So I have an Elonex eXentia at home that was running Windows XP Media Centre and it worked like a dream. Then for some stupid reason I thought it would be good to blat the box and install Vista Ultimate. The install was a but funny, as half way into the install my DVD drive disappeared?! Strange, but I have an external drive so ...

This was something Joe asked me yesterday and I done some digging and wanted to share it with everyone! Basically it would seem that the plan is for Microsoft to have a predicable release cycle alternatiing “major” and “update” releases.  From what I can gather, the update release will be every 1 to 2 years and major ...

This makes an interesting read Source: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2006/12/05/windows-recovery-environment.aspx … with a new feature called Windows Recovery Environment or Windows RE.  Windows RE is a combination runtime environment, diagnostic tool and repair system that basically tries to do about ...

More vista stuff There is a free Microsoft eLearning clinic here: https://www.microsoftelearning.com/eLearning/courseDetail.aspx?courseId=60546   There is a really good Technet page, which makes an excellent starting point for network admins and IT Pros: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/default.mspx This is the MSDN Webcasts ...

Yeah baby – two down ony Exchange 2007 to go! It’s official – It’s time! REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 8, 2006 — As Windows Vista is released to manufacturing (RTM) today — a significant milestone for Microsoft and its partners Windows Vista has achieved a number of remarkable firsts, a very small sampling of which ...

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/security/guide.mspx The guide documents the major security-related countermeasures available in Windows Vista, the vulnerabilities that the countermeasures address, and the functionality considerations related to implementing them. Vulnerability, risk, and exposure analyses inform you of the ...

Shawn showed me this http://www.microsoft.com/technet/try/vhd/default.mspx Using the power of virtual machines, you can now quickly evaluate Microsoft and partner solutions through a series of pre-configured Virtual Hard Disks (VHD). You can download the VHDs and evaluate them for free in your own environment without the need for dedicated ...

I just love this Source: http://www.alibutt.com/?p=279 When you receive a STOP error, Windows displays the STOP on a Blue screen, hence the name BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death). If you prefer a Red screen with White text, or any other color combination that is easier for you to see: 1. Open %SystemRoot%\SYSTEM.INI in Notepad.exe. 2. Locate ...

I’m sure you all know about this!?! http://www.microsoft.com/technet/support/ee/ee_advanced.aspx

Check this out from Bharat, very cool! http://www.exchangepedia.com/blog/2006/09/addremove-windows-components-and-other.html I love the hibernate one! %windir%\system32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState Hibernate So I have been doing some hunting too and found these: Applications Active Directory Users & ...

This poped up in my mailbox over night: Zune™ is almost here. So, thanks for registering to learn more. Hope you enjoyed what we have shown so far. We have a lot more going on. Zune.net went live today. Check it out to learn more. Plus, Coming Zune is evolving into Zune Arts. Go see it at www.zune-arts.net. It's a place for ...

Oh er misses. Found this and wanted to share it: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/servicepacks.mspx SP3 for Windows XP Professional is currently planned for 1H CY2008. This date is preliminary.

Been looking for some documents on booting an exchange server from a SAN.  Wamted to share these: Boot from SAN in Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/wss2003/techinfo/plandeploy/BootfromSANinWindows.mspx This white paper describes boot from SAN technology in a Windows environment, the ...

Download it and check it out: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/default.mspx

I didn’t know this existed, so I thought I would share it! Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/895092 This article describes the hotfixes and the updates that we recommend that you install on each node of a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based server cluster. When you update your Windows Server 2003-based server cluster, you help ...

Free eBooklet, you just need to register.  You get 28 pages of PDF Source: http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/EBMPS.htm Forget batch files and set your VBScripts aside: There’s a new scripting and automation kid on the block and its name is Microsoft® PowerShell™. Designed from the ground up to be powerful, flexible, ...

Greg pointed me to this .. with a note that this is big news for Exchange 2007 CCR Clusters!  Ah the penny has dropped I understand now!! Source: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=921181 This article describes an update that you can apply to add the following two new features to a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 ...

You know the problem when you get a new PC.  You have to remember all the stuff you installed and the tweaks you make. This was one I liked and I found again.  Check out this KB: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315420&sd=tech To configure Windows so that the build number is displayed on the desktop: ...

Humm, I have just run WindowsUpdate on my Tosh M400 with Windows XP and I get offered this as an “Optional” update!  Not played with it yet, but it could be interesting Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914440 Network Diagnostic Tool (KB914440) Date last published: 6/27/2006 Download size: 634 KB ...

It’s up and ready for you to dowload … BTW it might take a long time! Source: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/default.mspx and http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx 32bit vista is only 3.5gb

Oh okay, so they are going to ship 6 versions of vista.  3 for home users, 2 for business and 1 for emerging markets.  They are going to release the 2 business version on time, but delay the home versions, which make sense really, as the home versions need to be bullet proof! Source: ...

Hummmm, I didn’t this had crept out! Source: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d22ec2b9-4cd3-4bb6-91ec-0829e5f84063&DisplayLang=en The ISA Server Best Practices Analyzer is a diagnostic tool that automatically performs specific tests on configuration data collected on the local ISA Server 2004 computer from ...

Humm, interesting Mr Bond! This was kept quite Source: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/wss2003/productinformation/newsreviews/stringbean.mspx Published: March 3, 2006 Microsoft Corporation today announced that it has acquired the WinTarget technology from String Bean Software, a privately-held company based in Montgomery ...

6 different versions … GREAT! .. well actually I supose it’s 12 as they will come in 32-bit or 64-bit! Source: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/feb06/02-26WinVistaProductsPR.mspx REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 26, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the product lineup of its upcoming Windows Vista™ ...

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/news/bulletins/ADvision.mspx On Feb. 14, 2006, Microsoft Corporation announced the vision and roadmap for Active Directory, which includes expanded capabilities that customers will see in future versions of Microsoft Windows Server, starting with the release code named ...

Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/906100 If you perform one of the following actions, the default SMTP Virtual Server snap-in does not appear in Internet Information Servers Manager Console: You remove Internet Information Services (IIS) components You remove and then reinstall Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) components ...

My buddy Lars told me about this last night and I have never heard of it before, so its time to share with you all. Check out: http://www.searchurl.net/ Basically, you can create some keys under: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl You can then do quick searches in Internet Explorer or even windows explorer. So you ...

Evan blogged this on Friday, with a link to http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/guides/DROpsGuide/2493c2d6-618c-4c49-9cb1-fff556926707.mspx This topic describes how to move all of the Exchange Virtual Servers from a production Exchange 2003 cluster to a standby Exchange 2003 cluster. This process can be used when recovering ...

I need this today and thought I would share! Source: http://support.microsoft.com/?id=838671 This article describes how to turn off the beep sound that a virtual machine generates every time that an operating system event occurs. For example, if you try to log on to a virtual machine by using incorrect credentials, the virtual machine ...

Here is another one of Brett’s docs! In a CMD prompt type ROUTE PRINT, you will see something like the following for a machine that two NIC’s, The bits in red don’t change – they are static from machine to machine (the GW and Interface will change) but the Network and Subnet Mask’s won’t. The reason there are two 0.0.0.0 and 224.0.0.0 is ...

My buddy Brett came across this and I thought I would share it! Here are some useful pointers on the ICMP errors – this helps decipher whether the problem lies in: DNS \ Name resolution Network issue   The key (common ones) are in bold Also remember, a Request Timed Out could mean two things: A packet could get to the ...

Okay so I have been playing a bit and I have found a magic little feature that Windows 2003 SP1 adds to IIS.  Now if you have had to troubleshoot IIS at all, then you might know that it’s not too nice.  So with Windows 2003 SP1, they have added some “retail” debug logging. This debugging uses a tool called logman, it is really quite ...

Source: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032276552&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US Start Time: Tuesday, September 13, 2005  9:30 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) : 17:30 UK Time End Time:   Tuesday, September 13, 2005 10:30 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US ...

Hummmm So I wonder if the server product will be called this too? Source: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/jul05/07-22LHMA.mspx REDMOND, Wash., July 22, 2005 — Today Microsoft Corp. announced the official name of its next-generation Windows® client operating system, formerly code-named “Longhorn.” Video of the name announcement ...

Brett sent me this today and said file it away for a rainy day .. so I thought I would share it! Something to file away. http://support.microsoft.com/?id=840001 I know it is slightly out of our remit BUT we should be aware of the consequences on having to do an AUTH RESTORE on AD OU’s with regard to User a/c’s that have mailboxes and ALSO ...

Huh? Microsoft have just released the Windows XP Irish Language Interface Pack Source: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=ga&FamilyID=0db2e8f9-79c4-4625-a07a-0cc1b341be7c Here is a little bit more information: Irish is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland (with English being a second one). ...

This looks interesting. Not used it yet? Has anyone? Source: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=09115420-8c9d-46b9-a9a5-9bffcd237da2&displaylang=en Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003 Performance Advisor is the latest version of Server Performance Advisor, which is a simple but robust tool that helps you diagnose the ...