Thursday, August 14, 2008

Check the Capabilities of your Processor

SecurAble probes the system's processor to determine the presence, absence and operational status of three modern processor features: .

  • 64-bit instruction extensions.
  • Hardware support for detecting and preventingthe execution of code in program data areas.
  • Hardware support for system resource “virtualization.”

http://www.grc.com/securable.htm

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Network adapter priority in Vista


If you have multiple network cards in your Vista machine it is recommended to configure the wired domain network card as the first in the list.


On the Advanced menu, on Advanced settings, you can change the order which Vista uses different adapters.

To access the Advanced Settings, go to the Network and Sharing center, click Manage Network Connections - 5th down under task on the on the left then press ALT to make the menu appear.

Information and link to: http://blogs.technet.com/jamesone/archive/2007/04/03/network-adapter-priority-in-vista.aspx

Monday, May 12, 2008

Group Policy - preferences

Microsoft's Group Policy preferences includes the ability to control and configure a great deal more, from a central point, than regular Group Policies can. Some preference settings actually overlap with “real” policy settings, but in that case you have a choice between a policy and a preference. So, you might ask: what’s the difference? Well, a “policy” is something you enforce and which cannot be changed by the user – a “preference” is a setting you would prefer the user takes on, but the user can still change it.

Preference can be set to apply only once and from that point in time the user is free to do whatever he/she wants – or to apply every time the Group Policy is refreshed (default ever 90 to 120 minutes on clients).

Preferences can be used to amongst other things, map network drives, manage environmental variables, registry entries, creating folders/files and short cuts.

For a more detailed information: Windowssecurity.com

How to access Group Policy - preferences:
Windows Server 2008 server or a single Windows Vista SP1 with the downloadable, “Remote Server Administration Tools” (RSAT) toolkit installed. RSAT will include GPMC version 2 and updated versions of the administrative tools we had in the “Administration Tools Pack” for earlier Windows Server systems.


Enabling Group Policy, preferences on Client Workstations

To enable client workstations to use Group Policy preferences you need to install Group Policy Preference Client Side Extensions on the workstations.

Group Policy Preference Client Side Extensions are now available for download.

The GPP CSEs are included in Windows Server 2008 RTM, but can now be downloaded for: Windows XP SP2+ (32/64 bit) Windows Server 2003 SP1+ (32/64 bit) Windows Vista RTM+ (32/64 bit)
These are the links:
GPP CSEs for Windows Vista (KB943729)
GPP CSEs for Windows Vista x64 Edition (KB943729)
GPP CSEs for Windows Server 2003 (KB943729)
GPP CSEs for Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition (KB943729)
GPP CSEs for Windows XP (KB943729)
GPP CSEs for Windows XP x64 Edition (KB943729)

Additional information including installing the extension can be obtained from the following blog: heidelbergit

Monday, April 28, 2008

Windows Server Core - CoreConfigurator to the rescue

UPDATED
If you need to configure Server Core to get your installation up and running but you're not a command-line expert then check CoreConfigurator. The download link from this page has now been blocked, click here for the reason.

Guy Teverovsky, Windows Server MVP, comes to rescue with a simple GUI utility to do all the hard work for you.

CoreConfigurator Features:
  • Product Activation
  • Configuration of display resolution
  • Clock and time zone configuration
  • Remote Desktop configuration
  • Management of local user accounts (creation, deletion, group membership, passwords)
  • Firewall configuration
  • WinRM configuration
  • IP configuration
  • Computer name and domain/workgroup membership
  • Installation of Server Core features/roles

Here's a screenshot of the main screen:




Use this site for instructional video and download.
http://www.netometer.com/video/tutorials/2008-server-core-dcpromo-coreconfigurator/index.php

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Microsoft ISA 2006 and Publishing an SSL Website on an internal server

Microsoft IIS Server configuration

  1. If using manually created Certificates, install Certificate Services on the IIS Server.
  2. Configure Certificate Services using the internet published Domain name.
  3. On Web Site Properties and Web Site tab, ensure the site has the correct IP address of the Server and the correct SSL port 443.
  4. In Directory Security, select Edit under Authentication and access control. In Authentication Methods ensure only Integrated Windows Authentication is selected.
  5. On the folder and files containing the web site ensure the appropriate user group has Read & Execute (Domain users, Domain Staff etc.) permissions.
  6. Ensure the web server is setup with a Default Gateway IP address of the ISA sever.

Microsoft ISA Server 2006 configuration

1. Import the SSL Certificate onto the ISA Server that was created on the IIS Server.

2. Publish a secure web site with Microsoft ISA 2006.

3. Ensure the sections of the published secure web site firewall policy rule are:

  • General tab – name and enabled.
  • Action tab – Allowed and Log requests matching this rule.
  • From tab – the traffic from these sources – Anywhere.
  • To tab – published site – The public domain name of the site. (The public domain name is registered to the internal IP address of web site by the HOSTS file. – see later in the guide.)
    Forward the original host header and also select Requests appear to come from the ISA Server.
  • Traffic tab – The following protocol should be HTTPS, do not select Require 128-bit encryption and Require SSL Client Certificate.
  • Listener tab – Select Properties
    i. Networks tab – External selected (All IP Addresses)
    ii. Connections tab – only Enable SSL (HTTPS) on port 443
    Leave Advanced setting to default – unlimited.
    iii. Certificates tab – Use a single certificate for this Web Listener and select the correct Certificate.
    iv. Authentication tab – client Authentication method select HTML Form Authentication and Authentication Validation Method as Windows (Active Directory)
    Click Advanced – select Require all users to authenticate, SSL Client Certificate timeout – 300s and Validate credentials every – 300s.
    Select the correct Domain Name.
    v. Forms tab – Deselect Use customized HTML forms, in Display the HTML form in this language select Match user browser settings, deselect both password management settings. Click Advanced.Leave the defaults.
    vi. SSO tab – Do not enable Single Sign On.
  • Public Name tab – This rule applies to: select Requests for the following Web sites.
    In the Web site box enter in the public domain name.
  • Paths tab – External Path should be , Internal Path should be /*
  • Authentication Delegation tab – select NTLM authentication.
  • Application Settings tab – do not select Use customized HTML forms, in Logon type provided to the Exchange server – select As selected by user (public or private.)
  • Bridging tab – Ensure Web server is selected and Redirect requests to SSL port: 443.
  • Users tab – ensure the user set is All Authenticated Users is selected.
  • Schedule tab – the schedule should be Always.
  • Link Translation tab – do not select Apply link translation to this rule.

4. In the Network configuration – Web Chaining, setup a bypass rule to retrieve requests directly from the specified destination. In the To tab add in the Internal Domain Name and website IP address.

5. Edit the ISA servers HOSTS file (C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts)Add a line at the bottom with the Internal IP address of the IIS Web server and the host name of the publicly registered domain name. (This is the public domain name that the ISA publishing rule uses.) – You may need to repair the network connection, or restart the server.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Ubuntu – Linux installation

Installing Ubuntu 7.10 on a Toshiba Portege A100 laptop

Installation seized / locked up:
Selected F6 from the boot menu
Then added:
noapic nolapic
Then pressed enter to continue installation.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootOptions

VMWare Tools
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/VMware/Tools

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Windows PE 2.0 and a USB flash drive

Windows PE is a version of the Windows OS that runs without installation entirely in memory (no harddisk required) and boots from a cd-rom or the network

Getting started
Download and install the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) it is available as a download. It's a big download. Burn it to a cd or mount it using some ISO/IMG mounting tool and install it.

The Windows PE Tools Command Prompt
Open up the Windows PE Tools Command Prompt from the Start Menu and make sure to Run as Administrator: (Run as Administrator is only required on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008)

Alternatively, you can change the shortcut's properties, Advanced..., Run as Administrator to run it everytime elevated as an administrator.


Building your Windows PE
In order to build your custom Windows PE, follow the next steps:

  1. Run copype.cmd as follows: copype.cmd x86 d:\winpe_x86
    This makes a copy of the Windows PE files to the specified folder. Alternatively, you can specify amd64 for 64-bit machines.
  2. You can customize the Windows PE image (using the Windows Imaging Format, (WIM)) using ImageX:You can mount a WIM file to a folder using the following command:
    imagex /mountrw d:\winpe_x86\winpe.wim 1 d:\winpe_x86\mount
    This works through a file system driver called WimFltr (see sc queryex WimFltr).
  3. Add all apps you like to add to the image in the mounted folder. Windows PE is based on packages that can be added to the image at will. This is done through peimg, using: peimg /list /image=d:\winpe_x86\mount\Windows
    to show a list of all images.
    Next, you can add packages by using the command:
    peimg /install=package d:\winpe_x86\mount\Windows
    where package is either * (all packages) or one from the list shown by invoking peimg with the /list switch.
    The packages are :
    WinPE-HTA-Package = HTML Application support
    WinPE-MDAC-Package = Microsoft Data Access Component support
    WinPE-Scripting-Package = Scripting (VBS, WSH) Support
    WinPE-WMI-Package = Windows Management Instrumentation Support
    WinPE-XML-Package = Microsoft XML (MSXML) parser support
  4. To copy various deployment tools into the Windows PE image, type:
    xcopy "C:\Program files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\*.*" "D:\WinPE_x86\Mount\Program Files\Tools" /s
    and then press ENTER.
    When prompted about a file or directory name, type D.

    Or other tools type XCopy “C:\Tools\*.*” “D:\WinPE_x86\Mount\Tools” /s, and then press ENTER. When prompted about a file or directory name, type D.

    You could add drivers and language packs as well, please see the notes lower in this blog or the help documentation that comes with the WAIK.
  5. When you're done with the image customization, run peimg with the prep switch: peimg /prep d:\winpe_x86\mount\Windows
    and unmount the image using ImageX:
    imagex /unmount d:\winpe_x86\mount /commit
    and copy the created .wim file to the ISO folder:
    copy d:\winpe_x86\winpe.wim d:\winpe_x86\ISO\sources\boot.wim
    Answering Y to agree to the file being overwritten.

Create a bootable Windows PE ISO Image

You can create an ISO file for the image using oscdimg:

oscdimg -n -bd:\winpe_x86\etfsboot.com d:\winpe_x86\ISO d:\winpe_x86\winpe_x86.iso

where the -b flag specifies the El Torito boot sector for the ISO to be created. It just takes a few seconds to complete.

Create a Bootable Windows PE USB Flash disk

Finally, it's time to put the whole thing on a USB Flash key or to burn the ISO created in the previous step to a cd-rom. Open up diskpart and execute the following commands.

WARNING! Make sure to select the right disk in step 1; you can view all disks using the "list disk" command. In the steps below, all data from the USB Flash disk will be removed!

This is completed from a computer running Windows Vista. Windows Server 2003 version of diskpart does not display flash memory drives.


1. select disk 1
2. clean
3. create partition primary
4. select partition 1
5. active
6. format fs=fat32
7. assign
8. exit

Now copy to the d:\winpe_x86\ISO folder contents to the USB disk (which I assume has letter E: assigned)

xcopy d:\winpe_x86\ISO\*.* E: /e /h

Now you should be able to boot from the USB Flash disk. Make sure to select the right boot device during the boot cycle or to change the boot order in your computer's BIOS.

NOTES:

  • Shutting down Windows PE - use wpeutil shutdown.
  • Adding a driver
    drvload.exe x:\lan\atl01_xp.inf
    Online - the drvload.exe command allows the driver to load after starting WindowsPE. Ideal for rarely used drivers.

    peimg /inf=c:\lan\atl01_xp.inf D:\WinPE_x86\Windows
    Offline - the peimg /inf command for adding a driver in the image. Suitable for frequently used devices, e.g. network card. Only specifying the path to the folder is not sufficient, but you have to enter the full name of the driver file (if you do not do this, the erorr 0x80070002 will appear) #
  • Change the language and location settings.
    The standard image has the QWERTY keyboard layout. Go back to step 2 to mount and do the following on the mounted image using intlcfg:
    intlcfg -inputlocale: -image:d:\winpe_x86\mount
    intlcfg -syslocale: -image:d:\winpe_x86\mount
    intlcfg -userlocale: -image:d:\winpe_x86\mount
    where is replaced by the locale you want (e.g. nl-be for Belgian Period keyboard).

Links:

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Blank page or page cannot be displayed when you view SSL sites through ISA Server

SUMMARY

If Microsoft Internet Explorer is configured to reference a server that is running Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server as a Web proxy server, when you try to view a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Web site on the Internet by using a port other than 443, a blank page may appear with "Page cannot be displayed" in the title bar. Or, you may receive the following error message:
Page cannot be displayed

For ISA Server 2000

The following Visual Basic Scripting Edition script (VBScript) is an example of how to add ports to the tunnel port range:

set isa=CreateObject("FPC.Root")
set tprange=isa.Arrays.GetContainingArray.ArrayPolicy.WebProxy.TunnelPortRanges
set tmp=tprange.AddRange("SSL 84443", 8443, 8443)
tprange.Save


Restart the Microsoft ISA Server Control service after you run the script.


For ISA Server 2004

Displaying the Existing Tunnel Port Ranges

The Microsoft Visual Basic® Scripting Edition (VBScript) code in ShowTPRanges.vbs retrieves the collection of tunnel port ranges defined in the containing array, iterates through the collection, and displays the names and port ranges for the tunnel port ranges. This script must be run on an ISA Server 2004 computer with the Microsoft Firewall service installed, but it can be modified to run on a remote management computer.

Usage: CScript ShowTPRanges.vbs

Script Listing: ShowTPRanges.vbs

' Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
' THIS CODE IS MADE AVAILABLE AS IS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE
' RISK OF THE USE OR THE RESULTS FROM THE USE OF THIS CODE REMAINS WITH THE
' USER. USE AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THIS CODE, WITH OR WITHOUT MODIFICATION, IS
' HEREBY PERMITTED.

' This script retrieves the collection of tunnel port ranges defined in the
' containing array, iterates through the collection, and displays the names
' and port ranges for the tunnel port ranges.

Sub ShowTPRanges()

' Create the root object.
Dim root ' The FPCLib.FPC root object
Set root = CreateObject("FPC.Root")

' Declare the other objects needed.
Dim isaArray ' An FPCArray object
Dim tpRanges ' An FPCTunnelPortRanges collection
Dim tpRange ' An FPCTunnelPortRange object

' Get references to the array object
' and the collection of tunnel port ranges.
Set isaArray = root.GetContainingArray()
Set tpRanges = isaArray.ArrayPolicy.WebProxy.TunnelPortRanges

' If at least one tunnel port range is defined in the
' collection, display the names and port ranges for all
' the tunnel port ranges.
If tpRanges.Count > 0 Then
For Each tpRange In tpRanges
WScript.Echo tpRange.Name & ": " & tpRange.TunnelLowPort & _ "-" & tpRange.TunnelHighPort
Next
Else
WScript.Echo "No tunnel port ranges are defined."
End If
End Sub

ShowTPRanges



Creating a New Tunnel Port Range

The VBScript code in AddTPRange.vbs includes a subprocedure that creates a new tunnel port range containing a single user-specified port to allow clients to send requests, for example, SSL requests, to that port. This script must be run on an ISA Server 2004 computer with the Microsoft Firewall service installed, but it can be modified to run on a remote management computer.

Usage:
[CScript] AddTPRange.vbs RangeName TunnelPort

RangeName specifies the name of the new tunnel port range.
TunnelPort specifies the single port to be included in the new tunnel port range.

Example: CScript AddTPRange.vbs "SSL 8443" 8443

Note that the fResetRequiredServices parameter is set to True to restart the Firewall service.

Script Listing: AddTPRange.vbs

' Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
' THIS CODE IS MADE AVAILABLE AS IS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE
' RISK OF THE USE OR THE RESULTS FROM THE USE OF THIS CODE REMAINS WITH THE
' USER. USE AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THIS CODE, WITH OR WITHOUT MODIFICATION, IS
' HEREBY PERMITTED.

' This script creates a new tunnel port range containing a single user-specified
' port to allow clients to send requests, for example, SSL requests, to that
' port.
' This script can be run from a command prompt by entering the
' following command:
' CScript AddTPRange.vbs RangeName PortNumber

Option Explicit

' Define the constants needed.
Const Error_TypeMismatch = &HD
Const Error_AlreadyExists = &H800700B7
Const Error_OutOfRange = &H80070057

Main(WScript.Arguments)

Sub Main(args)
If(args.Count <> 2) Then
Usage()
Else
AddTPRange args(0), args(1)
End If
End Sub

Sub AddTPRange(newRangeName, newTunnelPort)

' Create the root object.
Dim root ' The FPCLib.FPC root object
Set root = CreateObject("FPC.Root")

'Declare the other objects needed.
Dim isaArray ' An ISA Server array object
Dim tpRanges ' An FPCTunnelPortRanges collection
Dim newRange ' An FPCTunnelPortRange object
Dim port ' An Integer

' Get a reference to the array and to
' the collection of tunnel port ranges.
Set isaArray = root.GetContainingArray()
Set tpRanges = isaArray.ArrayPolicy.WebProxy.TunnelPortRanges

' Create a new tunnel port range.
On Error Resume Next
port = CDbl(newTunnelPort)
If Err.Number = Error_TypeMismatch Then
WScript.Echo "A number must be entered for the port to be included."
WScript.Quit
End If
Err.Clear
Set newRange = tpRanges.AddRange(newRangeName, port, port)
If Err.Number = Error_AlreadyExists Then
WScript.Echo "A port range with the name specified already exists."
WScript.Quit
ElseIf Err.Number = Error_OutOfRange Then
WScript.Echo "The range of permissible ports is from 1 through 65535."
WScript.Quit
End If
On Error GoTo 0

' Save the changes to the collection of tunnel port ranges
' with fResetRequiredServices set to True to restart the Firewall service.
tpRanges.Save True
WScript.Echo "Done!"
End Sub

Sub Usage()
WScript.Echo "Usage:" & VbCrLf _
& " " & WScript.ScriptName & " RangeName TunnelPort" & VbCrLf _
& "" & VbCrLf _
& " RangeName - Name of the tunnel port range to be added" & VbCrLf _
& " TunnelPort - Port to be included in the new tunnel port range"

WScript.Quit
End Sub



Deleting a Tunnel Port Range

The VBScript code in DelTPRange.vbs includes a subprocedure that deletes the tunnel port range having the name specified by the user. This script must be run on an ISA Server 2004 computer with the Microsoft Firewall service installed, but it can be modified to run on a remote management computer.

Usage:
[CScript] DelTPRange.vbs RangeName

RangeName specifies the name of the new tunnel port range to be deleted.

Example:
CScript DelTPRange.vbs "SSL 8443"
To delete the tunnel port range with the name specified by the user

Note that the fResetRequiredServices parameter is set to True to restart the Firewall service.

Script Listing: DelTPRange.vbs

' Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
' THIS CODE IS MADE AVAILABLE AS IS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE
' RISK OF THE USE OR THE RESULTS FROM THE USE OF THIS CODE REMAINS WITH THE
' USER. USE AND REDISTRIBUTION OF THIS CODE, WITH OR WITHOUT MODIFICATION, IS
' HEREBY PERMITTED.

' This script deletes the specified tunnel port range.
' This script can be run from a command prompt by entering the
' following command:
' CScript DelTPRange.vbs RangeName

Option Explicit

' Define the constant needed.
const Error_FileNotFound = &H80070002

Main(WScript.Arguments)

Sub Main(args)
If(args.Count <> 1) Then
Usage()
Else
DelTPRange args(0)
End If
End Sub

Sub DelTPRange(rangeName)

' Create the root object.
Dim root ' The FPCLib.FPC root object
Set root = CreateObject("FPC.Root")

'Declare the other objects needed.
Dim isaArray ' An ISA Server array object
Dim tpRanges ' An FPCTunnelPortRanges collection

' Get a reference to the array and to
' the collection of tunnel port ranges.
Set isaArray = root.GetContainingArray()
Set tpRanges = isaArray.ArrayPolicy.WebProxy.TunnelPortRanges

' Delete the specified tunnel port range.
On Error Resume Next
tpRanges.Remove(rangeName)
If Err.Number = Error_FileNotFound Then
WScript.Echo "The tunnel port range specified could not be found."
WScript.Quit
Else
WScript.Echo "Removing the tunnel port range specified ..."
End If
On Error GoTo 0

' Save the changes to the collection of tunnel port ranges
' with fResetRequiredServices set to True to restart the Firewall service.
tpRanges.Save True

WScript.Echo "Done!"
End Sub

Sub Usage()
WScript.Echo "Usage:" & VbCrLf _
& " " & WScript.ScriptName & " RangeName" & VbCrLf _
& "" & VbCrLf _
& " RangeName - Name of the tunnel port range to be deleted"
WScript.Quit
End Sub


Links to detailed information:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283284/en-us
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/isa/2004/plan/managingtunnelports.mspx

Monday, January 21, 2008

Help and Support service not running

When I go into Manage Your Server and then click on 'More Tools', it gives me an error message.
It says that Windows cannot open Help and Support because a system service is not running.
It says to fix the problem, start the service named 'Help and Support'. When I go into Services, there is no such service name listed.

Answer:
How to add Help and Support service back into Service Manager

  1. Open a command prompt.
  2. Navigate to %windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries
  3. Run “start /w helpsvc /svchost netsvcs /regserver /install
  4. Once this command completes the Help and Support service should now appear in services.msc
  5. Start the Help and Support service

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

MMC Snap-in error in SQL 2000

Problem:
I get an error from SQL 2000 Enterprise Manager's MMC Console when I right-click on database properties for any database shown in the Enterprise Manager list, and Enterprise Manager freezes requiring me to close it and re-launch it.

Possible reason:
Only one SQL DMO dll can exist on the server and it has been replaced by the new SQL2005 version.

Solution:
Re-register sqldmo.dll fom the SQL Server 2000 directory.

regsvr32 "c:\program files\Microsoft SQL Server\80\Tools\Binn\sqldmo.dll"

Friday, December 07, 2007

Login Scripts, Mapping drives and VISTA

Problem:

By default Group policy service executes scripts in an elevated mode. There are some scripts like 'Map network drives' that would need to be run in UAPmode. In order to launch such scripts in a UAP context from an elevated process, you can leverage the Task scheduler API.

The logon script uses the Net use command to map network drives.It works fine for standard users, but not to domain admin users.

Additional information can be obtained from the section "Group Policy Scripts can fail due to User Account Control" from the link in part 1 of the solution.

Solution:

  1. Get launchApp.wsf from the MS documentation http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/5ae8da2a-878e-48db-a3c1-4be6ac7cf7631033.mspx?mfr=true
  2. Created Vista_Check.vbs that isset as the login script in Group Policy.
  3. When I cut and pasted launchApp.wsf the formatting put an extra carriage return in part of the script that I had to remove.

    Call rootFolder.RegisterTaskDefinition( _strTaskName, taskDefinition, FlagTaskCreate, _,, LogonTypeInteractive)

You didn't have to change anything in the actual login.vbs


Vista_Check.vbs==============

Dim isVista
Dim wshShell
Set wshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
GetOS
If isVista = True Then
runLaunchApp
Else
runLoginNormal
End If

Sub runLaunchApp
wshShell.Run "cscript \\\launchapp.wsf \\\login.vbs"
End Sub
Sub runLoginNormal
wshShell.Run \\\login.vbs
End Sub

Sub GetOS
strComputer = "." Set objWMIService =GetObject("winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" & strComputer &"\root\cimv2")
Set colOSes = objWMIService.ExecQuery("Select * fromWin32_OperatingSystem")
For Each objOS in colOSes
osCaption = objOS.Caption
If instr(osCaption, "Vista") Then
isVista = True
End If
Next
End Sub

link: http://www.developersdex.com/asp/message.asp?p=593&r=5431945&page=2

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Microsoft Intellipoint Mouse and TAB Instant Viewer

Something to note is that although the default setting for the middle-click within the Intellipoint software is to open the Instant Viewer, you can still retain the middle-click behavior for Internet Explorer to open a new tab when clicking on a link:
  1. Open the Microsoft Mouse software and check the box labeled "Enable program-specific settings" on the first tab - this enables the settings button
  2. Click on settings, click on add and select iexplore.exe
  3. Change the "Wheel button" setting to Middle-click instead of Instant Viewer
  4. Hit OK and then OK again.

Now when you use IE you can use the Middle-click option on a link to launch a new tab.

However, this will negate the ability to use the Instant Viewer with the middle-click as program-specific settings will override the general settings.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Monday, November 05, 2007

Publishing in ISA 2006

Just some basic requirements:

  1. The request must be for the exact name included on the Public Name tab. For example, if the users wants to go to www.msfirewall.org, the name on the Public Name tab must be http://www.msfirewall.org/
  2. The certificate must have the same common/subject name as the name on the Public Name tab. So, if the users are going to http://www.msfirewall.org, then the common/subject name on the Web site certificate bound to the Web listener must be http://www.msfirewall.org/
  3. The name used in the To tab must match the name on the Web site certificate bound to the actual Web site on the Internal network. So, if the name on the certificate is www.msfirewall.org, then I must enter www.msfirewall.org on the To tab.
  4. The ISA firewall must be able to resolve the name on the To tab to the actual IP address of the site on the Internal network. So, if I had www.msfirewall.org on the To tab, then the ISA firewall must be able to resolve www.msfirewall.org to the actual IP address of the site on the Internal network (you can use DNS or HOSTS file entries for this)
  5. Make sure you forward the original host header if you're not using the same name from end to end (like you can with a properly configured split DNS or with a HOSTS file)
  6. The Web site is setup with a Default Gateway.
  7. ISA server is set so that the Web site is included in a Upstream proxy bypass rule, so that the ISA server accesses the Web site from the internal network. (If upstream proxy is used.)

Pasted from
http://forums.isaserver.org/m_230059800/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm#230059811

Monday, September 24, 2007

Stop Browser Caching Using Meta Tags

To stop browsers from storing a version of your web page in its cache, use the meta tag, Pragma:No-Cache, that is,

<meta http-equiv="PRAGMA" content="NO-CACHE">

This meta tag needs to be included between the head tags of your html page.

<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="PRAGMA" content="NO-CACHE">
</head>
<body>

Unfortunately, the Pragma:No-Cache meta tag does not work all the time. Work arounds are needed for Internet Explorer because of the way it handles caching.

Work Around for Internet Explorer

For Internet Explorer 5, you would need to add an additional Expire:-1 meta tag, that is, <meta http-equiv=”EXPIRES” content="-1"> along with the Pragma:No-Cache meta tag. Both meta tags need to be included at the top and bottom of the page as with the work around for Internet Explorer.

<html>
<head>
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

How to configure Internet Explorer to open Office documents in the appropriate Office program instead of in Internet Explorer

In Windows XP

To configure Internet Explorer to open Office files in the appropriate Office program by using the Folder Options tool:

  1. Open My Computer.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
  3. Click the File Types tab.
  4. In the Registered file types list, click the specific Office document type (for example, Microsoft Excel Worksheet), and then click Advanced (or Restore).
  5. In the Edit File Type dialog box, click to clear the Browse in same window check box.
  6. Click OK.

Additional information: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/162059

Thursday, August 30, 2007

AMD PCnet network card drivers for VMware

Additional drivers are required when using Windows Deployment Services to deploy Windows Vista, while using VMware Workstation.

Two locations for AMD PCnet drivers:
  • VMware NIC driver. The easiest way is to start up a VMware session and choose the “Install VMware Tools” option. Don’t worry if you already have them installed—all this does is mount a VMware Tools installation CD (which may autorun to perform an installation, for which you may just press “exit”). In the CD that appears in your VMware session, go to: E:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools\Drivers\vmxnet\win2k\ and copy these files to your host system. Now we can use the peimg utility to mount the driver.
  • http://www.amd.com/us-en/ConnectivitySolutions/ProductInformation/0,,50_2330_6629_2452%5E2454%5E2486,00.html
    Use the Windows XP signed.

Update the WDS boot image to include the new third-party network driver

To do this, follow these steps:

Note: The following procedure assumes that the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) is installed on the WDS server.

  1. On the WDS server, click Start, click Run, type wdsmgmt.msc, and then press OK.
  2. Under your WDS server, double-click Boot images.
  3. Right-click the boot image that you want, and then click Disable.
  4. Right-click the same boot image, click Properties, and then click General.
  5. Note the name and location of the boot image that is displayed in the File name box.
  6. From the Windows PE Tools Command Prompt, type the following:
    C:\program files\windows aik\tools\petools\copype.cmd x86 e:\windowspe-x86
    Note: Keep this command prompt window open for the next step.
    Imagex /info Drive:\remoteinstall\boot\x86\images\boot.wim
    Notes:
    Drive:\remoteinstall represents the path at which the Remoteinstall folder is installed.
    Boot.wim is the name of the boot image.
  7. Note the boot index number of the bootable image that is displayed. To identify the boot index number, locate the line that contains "boot index: X."

    Note: X is the boot index number. The number indicates that image number X is marked as bootable and that the image is to be updated. The second image is the default image that you would typically modify. However, always verify which image is marked as bootable.
  8. At a command prompt, type the following:
    Imagex /mountrw Drive:\remoteinstall\boot\x86\images\boot.wim 2 mount peimg /inf=driver.inf mount\Windows
    imagex /unmount /commit mount

    Notes:
    Drive:\remoteinstall represents the path at which the Remoteinstall folder is installed.
    Driver.inf is the name of the third-party driver.
    The Imagex /mountrw command mounts the specified image, with read/write permissions, to the specified directory.
  9. Enable the boot image on the WDS server. To do this, follow these steps:
  • On the WDS server, click Start, click Run, type wdsmgmt.msc, and then click OK
  • Under WDS server, double-click Boot images.
  • Right-click the boot image that you want, and then click Enable.

    Link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923834

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

VMware Workstation 6 - PXE boots slow

Problem:
I'm trying to use Microsoft's WDS to do PXE boots.
But it's taking literally 20 minutes to download the 167MB boot file.

HOST: Windows XP or Vista / Vmware 6.0
Guests: Windows 2003 / Vista and "pxe boot client / no operating system"

Fix:
Close VMware before making changes to the .vmx file.
Setting ethernet0.virtualDev = "vlance" in the .vmx file will switch to the AMD PCnet 32 from the e1000

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Dcdiag - checking DNS

Dcdiag.exe is a command-line tool that most administrators know about. It's great for troubleshooting various domain and domain controller (DC) issues, and in Service Pack 1 for Win2003, it has picked up some new capabilities.

Run Dcdiag /TEST:DNS to test the health of AD's DNS infrastructure. By default, this tests both basic DNS functionality, forwarders or root hints, delegation, dynamic updates, record registration, external name resolution, and Internet host resolution (it checks for http://www.microsoft.com/ by default). This is a great one-command test to see how your entire DNS infrastructure is working.

A second is Dcdiag /TEST:CheckSecurityError, which looks for basic security problems.
As always, you can run Dcdiag right on a domain controller or from your client workstation (although you'll need to specify a server or naming context so that Dcdiag knows what to test; use the /s: argument to specify a DC server name).

Tool Location
The Dcdiag command-line tool is included when you install Windows Server 2003 Support Tools from the product CD. For more information about how to install Windows Support Tools, see Install Windows Support Tools (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=62270

To install Windows Support Tools

  1. Insert the Windows CD into your CD-ROM drive.
  2. Click No if you are prompted to reinstall Windows.
  3. When the Welcome screen appears, click Perform additional tasks, and then click Browse this CD.
  4. Go to the \Support\Tools folder.
    For complete setup information, refer to the Readme.htm file available in this folder.
  5. Double-click suptools.msi.
  6. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.