Updating all Local Administrator passwords across the domain

14 May 2012 by

Scenario

You used to use startup scripts to update all Local Administrator passwords throughout your domain, but now that you think logon scripts are the Devil’s work, you need another way of doing it.

I mean, look at the code…it’s not heavenly is it:

Set SatanNet = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Network")
strComputer = "."
Set LuciferUser = GetObject("WinNT://" & strComputer & "/Administrator,user")
LuciferUser.SetPassword "PASSWORD'o'HELL" ' Enter new password between brackets
LuciferUser.SetInfo

Here’s a nicer, flame-resistant solution:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Microsoft Tagged With: ,

How to create a Group Policy Central Store

3 May 2012 by

Scenario

You have downloaded or created your own Group Policy Administrative Templates, and would like them to be stored centrally, opposed to individually on each Domain Controller.

Here’s how to create a Group Policy Central Store:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Microsoft Tagged With: ,

Cannot remove partitions using Windows Disk Management after using HDDs for VMware ESXi

30 April 2012 by

Scenario

You’ve used a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) to install VMware ESXi on. It worked perfectly, but now you need to reuse the HDD for other purposes. You start to install a Windows Operating System like Server 2008 R2, only to find that the installation routine fails as you cannot remove the partitions made by ESXi.

Here’s how to remove the partitions, and restore peace to your troubled server:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Microsoft, VMware

Windows cannot locate the server copy of your roaming profile and is attempting to log you on with your local profile

30 April 2012 by

Problem

Several users were recently getting the following error when logging into one of our Terminal Servers:

Windows cannot locate the server copy of your roaming profile and is attempting to log you on with your local profile. Changes to the profile will not be copied to the server when you logoff.

Solution

Go into the Group Policy Editor on the Terminal Server (gpedit.msc) Computer Config > Admin Templates > System > User Profiles > Only Allow Local Profile – Enable.

Filed Under: Microsoft Tagged With: , , ,

Cannot find pushprinterconnections.exe to deploy printers via GPO to WinXP PCs

17 April 2012 by

I was onsite with a customer the other week, and noticed that they installed print drivers individually on each PC to print direct to the printer. Not good, as the maintenance and management must have been a nightmare; the customer was a medium-sized school.

Usually I see shared printers being used, but better still are shared printers deployed via Group Policy. I started preaching to their IT guy about the wonders of centrally managed printing, and decided to set this up for him.

Unfortunately, after a while I gave up as I couldn’t find the necessary pushprinterconnections.exe file I needed for the solution to work with their Windows XP clients. It’s usually in %WINDIR%\System32 on the server, but not this time.

Here’s a link to the file if you ever struggle finding it too: pushprinterconnections

Instructions on Deploying Printers via GPO can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc722179(v=ws.10).aspx

Filed Under: Microsoft, Printing Tagged With: ,

How to setup a Javascript Auto-Proxy script for Internet Explorer

17 April 2012 by

Scenario

You have a Main Office and several Branch Offices in your company. You use proxy servers (like Squid) in every office to save bandwidth and increase browsing performance.

However, your mobile users often call in reporting they cannot access the internet when outside the office.

You once again remind them how to untick the “Use a proxy server for your LAN” setting in Internet Explorer; all the while dreaming of a better solution.

Here’s one such solution:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Microsoft, Programming Tagged With: , ,

Reliability Monitor not showing data in Server 2008 R2

16 April 2012 by

I like using the Reliability Monitor to easily show the stability of the server over time. However, sometimes no data is shown at all:

Here’s how to fix it:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Microsoft Tagged With: , ,

BlackBerry Users cannot send or receive emails after Exchange reboot

16 April 2012 by

Scenario

You have restarted your Exchange server after applying some updates, and now your BlackBerry users are complaining that emails are not coming through. Even though emails they send from their BlackBerrys seem to send fine, the recipients are not receiving them either.

Solution

Restart the BlackBerry Enterprise Services (BES) server or individual services.

What happens after rebooting an Exchange server is that BES loses the MAPI connections, and cannot reconnect when the Exchange server comes back online.

Read more here to automate this process: http://blog.mohsinabbas.com/2011/02/16/bes-services-to-restart-automatically-after-exchange-reboot/

Filed Under: Exchange, Mobile Tagged With:

How to find out the Service Pack and Update Rollup versions in Exchange 2007 2010

13 April 2012 by

To find out the version and build number of Exchange 2007/2010, you can do one of the following:

  1. Run the Get-ExchangeServer | fl name,edition,admindisplayversion cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell (EMS):
  2. Navigate to Server Configuration in the Exchange Management Console (EMC):

This will give you the major version and service pack version numbers – in my case it major version 8 (aka Exchange 2007) and Service Pack 3.

To find out the Update Rollup version, navigate to Control Panel > Programs > View Installed updates on your Exchange Server:

Filed Under: Exchange, Microsoft Tagged With: , ,

Using GPO to control Local Administrators group

12 April 2012 by

I read an excellent article on how to populate the Local Administrators group via Group Policy Objects (GPO): http://www.grouppolicy.biz/2010/01/how-to-use-group-policy-preferences-to-secure-local-administrator-groups/

However, after following the instructions to the letter, I could only populate the Local Administrators group with the builtin\administrator user account; the other groups I specified were simply ignored.

Here’s how I fixed the issue:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Microsoft Tagged With: ,
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