Teching It Easy is proud to present you the October 2007 edition of the Windows Vista QuickStart Guide and FAQs for getting up and running quick and easy. Now available as a downloadable document in both Adobe PDF and Microsoft XPS you can read in your own convenience offline. The Guide covers the common basics for getting Vista on your PC, from system requirements to advance topics such as dual booting/partitioning your system.
Download the XPS version of the Vista QuickStart Guide and FAQ
Download the PDF version of the Vista QuickStart Guide and FAQ
Once in while I run into problems connecting to a local SQL express instance. This time I was installing an application that needed an SQL express instance to handle its data.
While installing this application it kept having problems connecting to the local SQL instance. A test as pointed out on the applications website stated to run sqlcmd -S
and see if sqlcmd was able to connect. This gave the following result;
HResult 0x2, Level 16, State 1
Named Pipes Provider: Could not open a connection to SQL Server [2].
Sqlcmd: Error: Microsoft SQL Native Client : An error has occurred while establi
shing a connection to the server. When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failu
re may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not
allow remote connections..
Sqlcmd: Error: Microsoft SQL Native Client : Login timeout expired.
The obvious solution is to enable client and server protocols in SQL Server Configuration Manager.
But after that sqlcmd still couldnt connect to the local SQL instance.
The solution to this problem is changing port number in the TCP/IP protocol (the error states a named pipe issue)
Check for the portnumber SQL express uses in the SQL Server configuration manager;
In the left pane, SQL Server Network Configuration -> Protocols for SQL Express, in the right pane open the TCP/IP properties,
click the IP Addresses Tab and look at the bottom for TCP Dynamic Ports (Default is 1433).
Then in the leftpane under SQL Native Client Configuration, open Client Protocols and open the TCP/IP Properties, in the first row tou see the default port.
In my case this port was different then 1433 (a random 1510 in my case), and when changing this port to 1433 sqlcmd worked and this application installed succesfully.
After months and months without seeing any updates to the so called "cutting-edge programs", "innovative services" and "unique publications" that we like to call Ultimate Extras, users finally received a shred of hope for the long forgotten feature after the final version of Windows DreamScene appeared on Windows Update for those running Windows Vista Ultimate edition.
In the past months, Ultimate Extras have undergone mass criticism from users and the media due to the slow development and lack of releases. Ultimate Extras are considered the selling point for many, and are what encouraged many to dish out the extra $200 for the all-in-one, Ultimate, version. However, Extras turned out to be nothing but a series of disappointments. A mere four extras had been released since Vista's release, and users have been all but impressed, some have gone as far as to say they were conned.
Today, the gears are finally in motion after the Ultimate Extras team announced the release of the final version of Windows DreamScene. The final release now includes a total of eight "DreamScenes", three of which are new to today's release.
DreamScene Release Announcement
While some members of the Download Squad team may be math whizzes, some are lucky if they can find the Windows calculator. But once it's up and running, we're pretty sure that when you multiply 850 by 77.1, the answer should be 65,535. But for some reason when you perform the same calculation using Microsoft Excel 2007, you get 100,000.
Now, 100,000 is a nice round number. Generally speaking, we like it. But in this particular instance it's wrong. And that's not something we like to see in a spreadsheet application. As it turns out, any time you enter an equation that should result in 65,535, you'll get 100,000.
Microsoft has been made aware of the problem and is developing a fix. But it's a bit surprising that the software's been on the shelves as long as it has been without anyone discovering this flaw. Anyone find any other calculations that come up wrong?
Yesterday Microsoft announced the availability of Windows Server 2008 release candidate (RC)0 to the public. This RC0 release also includes the first public pre-release version of Windows Server Virtualization (WSV) codename Viridian. It also includes Windows Media Services 2008 as an optional supplement.
Paul Thurrott posted a WSV preview on his Windows SuperSite, and Mike Kolitz working on the Microsoft Virtualization Technologies department has some good tips on installing WSV under Windows Server 2008 RC0, so keep in mind that the WSV role is not available by default, you first have to do a couple of things.
You can find direct download links on Winbeta b.t.w. The download links for the various versions of Server 2008 RC0 contain both the 32-Bit and 64-Bit downloads. The Viridian hypervisor is included in the 64-Bit editions of Server 2008.
Also available: Windows Server 2008 Step-by-Step Guides and Windows Server 2008 Technical Overviews.
Nick White, Product Manager announced yesterday that the Beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released to a private group of Beta testers via connect. Brandon LeBlanc already installed it and has a review on the Windows Experience Blog. Nick also mentions that they released five reliability packages via connect, there packages consist of numerous improvements to Windows Vista based on user feedback. There packages will probably become available before the official release of SP1.
In his September newsletter, Mark Minasi explains how you can apply hotfixes to a WIM directly.
I'll offer a set of step-by-steps that you can use to put a hotfix onto a WIM without having to first apply it to a machine.
In brief, you need to:
* Download each month’s patches
* Expand them into their .msu package files, using the Windows expand command
* Mount the WIM that needs the hotfix to a folder, using ImageX's /mountrw command
* Run the peimg command (which you'll find in the Windows Automated Installation Toolkit) twice on the .msu files
* Unmount the image with ImageX /commit /unmount
(continue at source)
TEugene Siu writes: This is a well hidden trick in Outlook. Not sure why this needs to be hidden. You can open Connection Status window by holding CTRL + right-clicking on the Outlook system tray icon on the Task Bar.
I want to highlight a couple features:
* Reset all connections by clicking on Reconnect. It helps resolve some problems
* Diagnose some Outlook problems by checking Req/Fail, Status and Conn columns.
I am using RPC over HTTPS to connect to my Exchange server, and most connections are good (Established). Despite Established, there are a few intermittent connection failures shown on Req/Fail, which warrant some investigation.
This hidden tool should become your friend as you troubleshoot Outlook.
Server Message Block (SMB) traffic is an application-level network protocol typically used for file and print sharing. Microsoft implements SMB in Windows operating systems through the Workstation and Server services; the client and server components respectively. Although our Networking team supports and troubleshoots issues dealing with SMB itself and the Server and Workstation services, we work with customers on many issues relating to the behavior of Windows Explorer and the Shell.
By default, Windows Explorer generates a lot of SMB traffic - which can result in poor file server performance in some circumstances. However, some of this traffic is superfluous and can be reduced.(continue at source)
Join Bill Gates and Jeff Raikes as they kickoff the worldwide Unified Communications Launch 2007 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on October 16, 2007. This free, day-long event includes a keynote with demos, a series of technical sessions, the Unified Communications Starter Kit (kit includes a free copy of the full version of Office Communications Server Standard Edition and Office Communicator 2007, a value of over $500) and a partner pavilion.
Click here to register and use the following registration code: UCLTBL18
Also, check out the OCS team blog at http://communicationsserverteam.com/default.aspx.
You can edit the registry of a VM without having to power it up. A rough guide is below:
* Use VHDMOUNT.EXE to mount the VHD: vhdmount.exe /m /f Harddisk.vhd
* Mount the registry: reg load HKLM\VHD c:\mount\windows\system32\config\software
* Use Regedit and make your changes - browse to HKLM\VHD
* Close Regedit.exe
* Unmount the registry: reg unload HKLM\VHD
* Unmount the VHD: VHDMOUNT.EXE /U ALL
If you have not heard of PowerShell you must be living under a rock. If you have heard about PowerShell, then you must have been wondering how and if PowerShell is secure. I saw PowerShell for the first time about 4 years ago at an MVP conference. With all of the effort and sweat that has gone into PowerShell, it had better come with some advanced security. Well, it does! PowerShell is not just your routine scripting language. There are built in security features, as well as some additional security you can configure once in PowerShell.(continue at source)
If you have been around since the days of Windows NT, then you are probably all too familiar with Kernel-mode Print Drivers and the devastating effect that problems with those drivers can have on system stability. In the majority of environments, these kernel-mode drivers have been supplanted by user-mode drivers. However, there are still many environments where applications use legacy printers that rely on kernel-mode drivers. So what is the future for those environments and drivers?
If you think about print drivers in the simplest terms, there are two parts to all Win32 Print Drivers - one part which performs the rendering of the print job, and one part which is provides configuration options for the user. Although the configuration piece has always run in user-mode and normally in the context of the user requesting the printing, the rendering part has moved between user mode and kernel mode. In Windows NT4, GDI drivers for both printing and video ran in the Kernel space for performance reasons - namely that the video drivers suffered a performance hit when switching back and forth between user and kernel mode. However, although the video drivers benefited from the move to the Kernel space, printer drivers did not. If a printer driver experienced an error (such as a crash), the entire machine would bugcheck which resulted in stability and availability issues.(continue at source)
My good friend Anders was the first to note that the Resource Kit tools for Operations Manager 2007 have been released to web:
SC Ops Mgr 2007 Resource Kit – Operations Manager Inventory
>SC Ops Mgr 2007 Resource Kit – Operations Manager Cleanup Tool
SC Ops Mgr 2007 Resource Kit – AEM Validation
SC Ops Mgr 2007 Resource Kit – Active Directory Integration Sample Script
SC Ops Mgr 2007 Resource Kit – AEM Management Pack
SC Ops Mgr 2007 Resource Kit – Effective Configuration Viewer
SC Ops Mgr 2007 Resource Kit – Action Account Tool
SC Ops Mgr 2007 Resource Kit – Sample Vista Gadget
Brian Madden writes: This morning at VMworld, Microsoft and Citrix flipped a bird to VMware at their own conference and announced that they will be standardizing their platform virtualization efforts on Microsoft's VHD disk image file format. In the same announcment, Microsoft said that they would base future versions of their SoftGrid application virtualization product on VHD files, and Citrix said they would be integrating the VHD format into Citrix Desktop Server.
So, what does this mean? Regarding platform virtualization, Citrix and Microsoft have essentially united in a Beta vs. VHS battle with VMware. This is probably good news for the industry, since it will probably lead to a feature war. I imagine it will also work to drive prices down for the enterprise versions of these products.
Regarding Citrix Desktop Server integration, this is likely to include Citrix's Ardence OS streaming product, at least in part. What I picture is a broad solution where a VHD-based virtual machine can be streamed via Ardence, loaded via XenSource or Viridian, or delivered via Citrix Desktop Server. In a model such as this, servers or workstations can be provisioned based on various needs, including hardware capabilities or connection type.
Read the full contents of the press release here.
Authentication is the process of verifying someone’s identity. (Not to be confused with authorization the process of verifying what a user is allowed to do). Although these terms have been used interchangeably there are slight differences.
Authentication has been a process that has challenged IT professionals for decades. Passwords have always been the de facto standard when authenticating users to almost any environment. Passwords are used to keep our systems safe and on many occasions are the only control standing between unauthorized access and access to highly sensitive data. When the correct passwords are typed in, the right of entry to the system in question is granted.
Over the past few years a consensus has been reached that more needs to be done to keep systems and data more secure. Security professionals are finding that passwords are easily cracked and if they are too complex users write them down and then it’s a matter of reading them and retyping them to gain access. (continue at source)
Scott Hanselman:
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. If it saves me time, and seamlessly integrates with my life, it's the bomb. Many/most are free some aren't. Those that aren't free are very likely worth your 30-day trial, and perhaps your money.
Here are most of the contents of my C:/UTILS folder. These are all well loved and used. I wouldn't recommend them if I didn't use them constantly.
A few weeks ago we posted our initial walkthrough on Windows Server 2008 Server Core - getting the OS installed and joining the server to a domain. Today we're going to continue getting our Server Core implementation and turn the machine into a functional Print Server.
(continue at source)
What is Jalasoft and why would people want to deploy it with Operations Manager 2007? Jalasoft provides extensions which allow OpsMgr to monitor routers & switches as well as Unix based operating systems. The full list includes:
* APC UPS
* Availability (ICMP only)
* Cisco PIX/ASA
* Cisco Routers
* Cisco Switches
* Cisco VPN Concentrators
* Cisco Wireless
* F5 Big Ip
* Generic Network Device
* HP Procurve Switches
* Linux MySQL
* Linux Servers
* Solaris Servers
* VMWare ESX
* VMWare Virtual Center
(continue review at source)
Last Friday Winbeta.org announced that Microsoft is planning on releasing Windows Server 2008 RC0 to the public soon.
Virtualization.info later announced that this new version will contain a first preview version of the new Microsoft hypervisor Windows Server Virtualization (WSV), codename Viridian. According to Alessandro the hypervisor will come as a server role, for Server Core and complete installations of Windows.
Andy Malone mentions that RC0 has already been released to TAP, so it probably means that the general public will have access to beta 1 of Viridian within the end of this year or early 2008.
At the end of last week, Chris Stirrat announced that System Center Virtual Machine Manager (also known as SCVMM or Carmine) has been officially released.
With this announcment he also mentioned that in a next release of SCVMM Microsoft will be adding support for non-windows virtualization environments, specifically VMWare and Xen.
Microsoft also released a VHD which you can use to have a look at SCVMM for yourself in a Virtual Machine environment (sounds strange doesn't it)
Tony Soper also has a lot of "nice to know" bits on his weblog. And MS also released a SCVMM troubleshooting guide on Technet.
There is a lot more news on SCVMM, but this should give you a point to start from i hope.
Yesterday Chris Jones, vice president of the Windows Live Team announced the availability of a new installer for the Windows Live Suite (beta). With this installer the user has the ability to install specific Windows Live applications on their pc.
In the Windows Live Suite you have the ability to install: Hotmail, mail, Messenger, Search, Toolbar, Gallery, Spaces, SkyDrive, Photo Gallery, Writer, OneCare Family Safety (90-day free trial) and Windows Live Home.
Brandon Le Blanc made a nice video demonstrating the installation of the Windows Live Suite, and Paul Thurrott has a screenshot gallery on his Windows Supersite.
Unfortunately the new shared installer for the Windows Live betas does not suppot 64-bit. However, full 64-bit support is expected when the installer RTM's with all the Windows Live apps.(see the Release Notes)
Install the Windows Live Suite installer beta
Windows Vista SP1 is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also addresses some management, deployment, and support challenges.
Download Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta Overview PDF | XPS
Here is a nice tip from Daniel Petri:
Through several registry modifications, you can create an enhanced “right-click” menu for the Recycle Bin. The new options will allow you to delete the temporary files in the following two directories: %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Temp and %SystemRoot%\Temp. Additionally, another menu will be created that will allow you to run the disk cleanup utility.
Clive Eastwood writes: Four converted MP's released to the MP Catalog - WINS 2003, RRAS 2003, ISA 2004-2006, MSDTC 2003
Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bf9bd..
Windows Routing and Remote Access Server (RRAS) - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7eb0..
Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA) - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=6bf3..
Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC) - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=10e..
The Management Pack catalog (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/mom/catalog/catalog.aspx?vs=2007) will be updated shortly to contain these MP's.
Hey - if you're trying to install the 120 day eval of the RTM of SCCM 2007, and you happen to be one of those RARE folks that has a public IP address on your corporate network and therefore - no proxy server installed - you're going to get an error in downloading the pre-req's for installing SCCM 2007. There is a simple workaround - go into your browser and turn on "auto-detect proxy".
More information..
