Richard Sower

taking mifare card data and importing the UID into equitrac express

2014-04-01T00:33:00.001-07:00

So this is not really going to appeal to many people as its kind of specific, but at my work we use MiFare cards to log onto our printers and print out work. The printers are Ricoh machines and we use their software (equitrac) to run the system and database.

We needed a way to automatically assign the UID number from the card to the user that it is assigned to in the equitrac database. I wrote the code in AutoIt because its awesome.

Here it is

#include <ButtonConstants.au3>
#include <EditConstants.au3>
#include <GUIConstantsEx.au3>
#include <WindowsConstants.au3>
#include <MsgBoxConstants.au3>

; create GUI window
$Form1 = GUICreate("Test Gui", 269, 150, 193, 115)
;create two labels for the input boxes
GUICtrlCreateLabel("Card UID", 20, 16, 50, 21)
GUICtrlCreateLabel("Username", 20, 50, 50, 21)
; create two input controls
$Input1 = GUICtrlCreateInput("", 72, 16, 121, 21)
$Input2 = GUICtrlCreateInput("", 72, 50, 121, 21)
; create a button which says "press me"
$Button1 = GUICtrlCreateButton("Press Me", 96,80, 75, 25, 0)
; set the GUI to to show, so you can see it
GUISetState(@SW_SHOW)

While 1 ; loop until expression is false
    $nMsg = GUIGetMsg()
    Switch $nMsg
        Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE ; if the user clicks on X (closes the window)
            Exit ; the script will exit.
        Case $button1 ; the user clicks on the button
            $sString = GUICtrlRead($Input1);UID added to variable
            $username = GUICtrlRead($Input2);username added to variable
            $sString1 = StringStripWS($sString,8) ;remove spaces from UID
            $sReversed = StringRegExpReplace($sString1, "(.{2})(.{2})(.{2})(.{2})", "$4$3$2$1") ;rearrange the hex value

                    Local $iDec = Dec($sReversed, 2) ;convert hex to decimal
                    Run(@comspec & ' /c "c:\program Files\equitrac\Express\Tools\eqcmd.exe" -sSERVERNAME modify ur '& $username &' ! ! ! ! '& $iDec) ;run the command prompt to add to equitrac


    EndSwitch
WEnd; end of loop

So after the include section you have the part that builds the GUI. Then comes the code. What it does is take the UID, move it around, convert into hex and then add it into the database. The only bit you'll need to change is the line after the 'run' command where i've put SERVERNAME. You put your database server name in there (there is NO space between the -s and the name) and that's that.

Hope this help someone!

Letting users change their expired passwords through RDP when connecting to a Hyper-V Windows 7 Client

2013-03-18T08:35:00.003-07:00

We've had a problem at work where users could not log on when their passwords expired. These users are using thin clients (Microsoft Thin PC) and connecting to a server running Server 2008, with Hyper-V installed. Hyper-V is running Virtual PCs with Windows 7 professional as the OS. We require users to change their passwords once a year for security, but they were not even given the option to change their password.

After many, many, many weeks of searching we did finally find an answer to this. Its a simple registry key that needs changing and for all you lovely people out there, here it is

The location is HKey Local Machine -> System -> CurrentControlSet -> Control -> TerminalServer -> WinStations -> RDP-TCP

The registry key which needs changing to get the VM’s to change expired password is SecurityLayer =0

This should be changed on the Virtual PCs themselves and not the thin clients.

Hope this helps people

SOLVED - Group Policy Client Service Failed The Logon

2013-01-31T01:15:00.002-08:00

We've had this problem at work a few times now. When someone comes to log onto a computer it gives them a message saying "Group Policy Client Service Failed The Log on". Goggling this gave a lot of answers but none of them seemed to solve it. In the end we resorted to re-imaging the computer as it only took an hour. Most of the answers from Google revolved around deleting the corrupt local profile and then getting them to log back on. This never worked for us for some reason.

In the end we discovered that it was a permissions problem and not a corrupt profile problem. This is how we solved it.

1) First log on to the computer with an administrators account.

2) First make sure that 'Hide protected operating system files' is unticked in folder options. Then load up regedit

3) Click on the 'Users' Hive and then click 'File' at the top and choose 'Load Hive'

4) Browse to the users folder on the C drive and then into the profile of the account you are having a problem with. In here you will see a file called 'ntuser.dat' open this.

5) It will ask you for a name. Give it any name, it doesn't matter what it is.

6) You will now see the hive you just loaded with the name you gave it under the users hive.

7) Right click on this hive and choose 'Permissions'

8) In here you should see three accounts. System, Administrators and the user name of the person who's profile you are fixing. If ANY of these are not shown it will not work. You need to add all three and then give them full control in the permissions section. There may also be a user called 'restricted'. you can add this if you want but it will work without it. In the picture below you will see that a username is not there. You will need to add it.

9) Once you have added all three and given them the correct permission you can close it and then close the registry.

10) Log off

11) Get the user to log on and they should be fine!

windows cannot be installed on this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style.

2013-01-28T05:49:00.003-08:00

So I was asked to downgrade a Windows 8 Laptop to Windows 7. Having changed the BIOS options to allow me to install Windows I came across another problem. When asking where to install Windows 7, I selected the appropriate hard disk, but it through up "windows cannot be installed on this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition style". This was quite worrying as I had just deleted any OS already on the hard drive.

The solution though it pretty simple. When you have booted the CD into the Windows install and are waiting at the screen whowing the available hard drives..

First press SHIFT + F10

When the dos box comes up, type in DISKPART

Now type list and you will be given a list of hard drives available.

Type in select # where # is the disk number given in the list.

It should say "Disk 0 is selected" or words to that effect.

Now type in clean

This will wipe all the configuration information from the disk, including the stuff that tells it that it is a GPT partition.

Once this is complete type in exit

Then close the dos box and click on the refresh button under the hard drive options.

You should now be able to install to that hard drive.

If not, download G-Parted and use that to make the hard drive an NTFS drive.

Powershell script to mass import computers into MDT database

2012-06-01T07:02:00.001-07:00

So I'm setting up a new Windows Deployment Server with MDT and have decided to try out the database function on it. To get started all you have to do is install SQL express on the server and then while in the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit crate a new database and note down what its called.

Now if your running the same kind of network I am you've got hundreds of computers and adding them one by one into the database and then going into the details and further adding information into the hundred or so fields is just not realistic, so what can you do. Well this is a very nice script that I've knocked up and it will read the contents of a CSV file and import the settings into the database.

First things first. You need to download the modules and import them into powershell. You can download the modules from Microsoft from HERE. Once done create a folder called scripts or something and then extract the files to that folder. Now go into MDT and open up your database, click on 'Computers' and on the right choose 'new'. It doesn't matter if its real or not I just want you to see the details. Click on the details tab, and see all the options on the left hand side. These can all be headers in your CSV file. Now create your CSV file with the headers of Name, Mac, Assettag and continue with the headers from the details section when you add a new computer into the database. Once you fill in the CSV and saved it you can populate the database. Try it with just a couple of computers in the CSV file to start with. You can always delete them if it doesn't work.

First change the file extension on the CSV file to .TXT. So in the below example i've changed mine to 'machines.txt'

Now copy the below script into Notepad and save it as a .ps1 file. This will let you open it with powershell.

You'll need to change the SERVERNAME to your servers name and DATABASENAME to what ever your called your database.

Import-Module –name C:\Scripts\MDTDB.psm1

Connect-MDTDatabase –sqlServer SERVERNAME –instance SQLEXPRESS –database DATABASENAME

$machines = Import-Csv C:\scripts\machines.txt

For ($i=1; $i -le $machines.count; $i++)

{

   New-MDTComputer -macAddress $machines[$i-1].mac -AssetTag $machines[$i-1].AssetTag -description $machines[$i-1].description -settings @{

    OSInstall='YES';
    OSDComputerName=$machines[$i-1].Name;
    OrgName='My ORG'
    DomainAdmin=$machines[$i-1].DomainAdmin;
    DomainAdminDomain=$machines[$i-1].DomainAdminDomain;
    DomainAdminPassword=$machines[$i-1].DomainAdminPassword;
    JoinDomain=$machines[$i-1].JoinDomain;
    _SMSTSORGNAME=$machines[$i-1]._SMSTSORGNAME;
    AdminPassword=$machines[$i-1].AdminPassword;
    Home_page=$machines[$i-1].Home_Page;
    ProductKey=$machines[$i-1].ProductKey
    ServerA=$machines[$i-1].ServerA;
    TaskSequenceID=$machines[$i-1].TaskSequenceID;
    UserDomain=$machines[$i-1].UserDomain;
    UserID=$machines[$i-1].UserID;
    UserPassword=$machines[$i-1].UserPassword;
    KeyboardLocale=$machines[$i-1].KeyboardLocale;
    SystemLocale=$machines[$i-1].SystemLocale;
    UILanguage=$machines[$i-1].UILanguage;
    UserLocale=$machines[$i-1].UserLocale;
    SkipAdminPassword=$machines[$i-1].SkipAdminPassword;
    SkipApplications=$machines[$i-1].skipApplications;
    SkipBitLocker=$machines[$i-1].SkipBitLocker;
    SkipBitLockerDetails=$machines[$i-1].SkipBitLockerDeatils;
    SkipBuild=$machines[$i-1].SkipBuild;
    SkipCapture=$machines[$i-1].SkipCapture;
    SkipComputerBackup=$machines[$i-1].SkipComputerBackup;
    SkipComputerName=$machines[$i-1].SkipComputerName;
    SkipDeploymentType=$machines[$i-1].SkipDeploymentType;
    SkipDestinationDisk=$machines[$i-1].SkipDestinationDisk;
    SkipDomainMembership=$machines[$i-1].SkipDomainMembership;
    SkipFinalSummary=$machines[$i-1].SkipFinalSummary;
    SkipLocaleSelection=$machines[$i-1].SkipLocaleSelection;
    SkipPackageDisplay=$machines[$i-1].SkipPackageDisplay;
    SkipProductKey=$machines[$i-1].SkipProductKey;
    SkipSummary=$machines[$i-1].SkipSummary;
    SkipTaskSequence=$machines[$i-1].SkipTaskSequence;
    SkipTimeZone=$machines[$i-1].SkipTimeZone;
    SkipUserData=$machines[$i-1].SkipUserData;
    SkipWizard=$machines[$i-1].SkipWizard;


   }

}
You can customize this script all you want. Uts very easy. The main section simply lists all the headers i've chosen to import into the database. Make sure they are all in your CSV/TXT file or you'll have a load of missing information

Autoit - Output selection of drop down box to text file

2012-05-24T01:37:00.000-07:00

This one took me a little while as I had trouble outputting the selection to the text file, but its working now so here's the code

#include <ButtonConstants.au3>
#include <ComboConstants.au3>
#include <GUIConstantsEx.au3>
#include <StaticConstants.au3>
#include <WindowsConstants.au3>
#include <GuiComboBoxEx.au3>

$Form1 = GUICreate("Form1", 197, 66, 192, 124)
$Label1 = GUICtrlCreateLabel("Choose number:", 10, 12, 93, 17)
$Combo1 = GUICtrlCreateCombo("Choose here...", 106, 10, 81, 25, BitOR($CBS_DROPDOWN,$CBS_AUTOHSCROLL))
GUICtrlSetData(-1, "225|226|227|228|229|230")
$Button1 = GUICtrlCreateButton("Start", 50, 32, 97, 25)
Global $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 0)
GUISetState(@SW_SHOW)

While 1
    $chosen = GUICtrlRead($Combo1)
    $nMsg = GUIGetMsg()
    Switch $nMsg
               Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE
                    Exit
                Case $Button1
                $chosen = GUICtrlRead($Combo1)
                Switch $chosen
                Case "225"
                        $LogStore = FileRead($file)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 2)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 1)
                        FileWrite($file, "225 - "& @CRLF)
                        FileWrite($file, $LogStore & @CRLF)
                Case "226"
                        $LogStore = FileRead($file)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 2)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 1)
                        FileWrite($file, "226 - "& @CRLF)
                        FileWrite($file, $LogStore & @CRLF)
                Case "227"
                        $LogStore = FileRead($file)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 2)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 1)
                        FileWrite($file, "227 - "& @CRLF)
                        FileWrite($file, $LogStore & @CRLF)
                Case "228"
                        $LogStore = FileRead($file)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 2)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 1)
                        FileWrite($file, "228 - "& @CRLF)
                        FileWrite($file, $LogStore & @CRLF)
                Case "229"
                        $LogStore = FileRead($file)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 2)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 1)
                        FileWrite($file, "229 "& @CRLF)
                        FileWrite($file, $LogStore & @CRLF)
               Case "230"
                        $LogStore = FileRead($file)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 2)
                        FileClose($file)
                        $file = FileOpen('c:\ChangeMe.txt', 1)
                        FileWrite($file, "230 - "& @CRLF)
                        FileWrite($file, $LogStore & @CRLF)
    EndSwitch
Endswitch
WEnd

Opening a .pages file in windows

2012-05-24T01:20:00.003-07:00

This one is easy enough.

Simply right click on the file and choose 'rename'.

Delete the extension '.pages' and replace it with '.zip'

Then open it as you would any other zip file.

There should be a folder called 'Quickbooks' and in there is a PDF file which you can extract and open as normal.

Easy!

Autoit - Moving Computers in Active Directory

2012-04-19T02:06:00.003-07:00

We've just had a new building built, with lots of nice new rooms for members of staff to live in. Naturally current staff have already staked their claims to rooms, and as such its up to IT Services to move the computer equipment over to the new offices.

Obviously we've done this a few times before and we usually forget to change where the computers are in Active Directory. If you've got a structure based on room layout, then when a computer moves rooms or even to a different building then it needs moving in Active Directory as well. Like I said, we usually forget to move them, as we're normally very busy.

So I've been going round the net trying to find some free software that will pop up when one of IT log on to ask if we want to move the computer. Personally I didn't like any of them, so I decided to write my own in AutoIt.

This little program is based on the examples given in AD.au3 pack that I've talked about before. The program will start when a member of IT services logs on, and will initially ask if the computer they have logged on to has been moved. 'No' will exit the program, but 'yes' will taken them to a GUI with their Active Directory tree structure. If you then browse to the OU that you want the computer to be moved to and click 'Move Computer' it will move it for you. If you click Exit instead, the program will end. It will pop up with 2 confirmation boxes, the first checking that it is correct and the second will tell you either if its successful, or if it failed. Here's the code

#AutoIt3Wrapper_AU3Check_Parameters= -d -w 1 -w 2 -w 3 -w 4 -w 5 -w 6
#AutoIt3Wrapper_AU3Check_Stop_OnWarning=Y

#include <AD.au3>
#include <TreeviewConstants.au3>
#include <WindowsConstants.au3>
#include <GUIConstants.au3>
#include <GuiTreeView.au3>
#include <ButtonConstants.au3>
#include <GUIConstantsEx.au3>

_AD_Open()
Global $Reply = MsgBox(4,"Moved computer", "Have you moved this computer?")
If $Reply <> 6 Then Exit

Global $newOU = ""
Global $sTitle = "Move that stupid Computer v1.3"
Global $hMain = GUICreate($sTitle, 743, 683, -1, -1)
Global $IObject = GUICtrlCreateInput(_AD_SamAccountNameToFQDN(@ComputerName& "$"), 8, 30, 559, 21)

Global $hTree = GUICtrlCreateTreeView(6, 100, 600, 400, -1, $WS_EX_CLIENTEDGE)
Global $bExit = GUICtrlCreateButton("Exit", 624, 8, 97, 33)
Global $BOK = GUICtrlCreateButton("Move Computer", 624, 200, 97, 33)
Global $aTreeView = _AD_GetOUTreeView($newOU, $hTree)

GUICtrlCreateLabel("Object to move (FQDN or sAMAccountName):", 8, 10, 231, 17)
GUISetState(@SW_SHOW)

While 1
    Global $nMsg = GUIGetMsg()
    Switch $nMsg
        Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE, $BExit
            Exit
        Case $BOK
            Global $sObject = GUICtrlRead($IObject)

            $hSelection = _GUICtrlTreeView_GetSelection($hTree)
            $sSelection = _GUICtrlTreeView_GetText($hTree, $hSelection)
            For $i = 1 To $aTreeView[0][0]
                If $hSelection = $aTreeView[$i][2] Then ExitLoop
            Next
            $sOU = $aTreeView[$i][1]
            msgbox(1,"","Currently - "&$sObject&" target - "&$sOU)
            ExitLoop
    EndSwitch
WEnd

; Move object
Global $iValue = _AD_MoveObject($sOU, $sObject)
If $iValue = 1 Then
    MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions - Example 1", "Object '" & $sObject & "' successfully moved to '" & $sOU & "'")
ElseIf @error = 1 Then
    MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions - Example 1", "Target OU '" & $sOU & "' does not exist")
ElseIf @error = 2 Then
    MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions - Example 1", "Object '" & $sObject & "' does not exist")
Else
    MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions - Example 1", "Return code '" & @error & "' from Active Directory")
EndIf
_AD_Close()

Func _AD_GetOUTreeView($sAD_OU, $hAD_TreeView, $bAD_IsADOpen = True)

    If $bAD_IsADOpen = False Then
        _AD_Open()
        If @error Then Return SetError(@error, @extended, 0)
    EndIf
    $sSeparator = "\"
    Local $aAD_OUs = _AD_GetAllOUs($sAD_OU, $sSeparator)
    If @error <> 0 Then Return SetError(@error, @extended, 0)
    Local $aAD_TreeView[$aAD_OUs[0][0] + 1][3] = [[$aAD_OUs[0][0], 3]]
    For $i = 1 To $aAD_OUs[0][0]
        $aAD_Temp = StringSplit($aAD_OUs[$i][0], $sSeparator)
        $aAD_TreeView[$i][0] = StringFormat("%" & $aAD_Temp[0] - 1 & "s", "") & "#" & $aAD_Temp[$aAD_Temp[0]]
        $aAD_TreeView[$i][1] = $aAD_OUs[$i][1]
    Next
    If $bAD_IsADOpen = False Then _AD_Close()

    _GUICtrlTreeView_BeginUpdate($hAD_TreeView)
    Local $ahAD_Node[50]
    For $iAD_Index = 1 To $aAD_TreeView[0][0]
        $sAD_Line = StringSplit(StringStripCR($aAD_TreeView[$iAD_Index][0]), @TAB)
        $iAD_Level = StringInStr($sAD_Line[1], "#")
        If $iAD_Level = 0 Then ExitLoop
        If $iAD_Level = 1 Then
            $ahAD_Node[$iAD_Level] = _GUICtrlTreeView_Add($hAD_TreeView, 0, StringMid($sAD_Line[1], $iAD_Level + 1))
            $aAD_TreeView[$iAD_Index][2] = $ahAD_Node[$iAD_Level]
        Else
            $ahAD_Node[$iAD_Level] = _GUICtrlTreeView_AddChild($hAD_TreeView, $ahAD_Node[$iAD_Level - 1], StringMid($sAD_Line[1], $iAD_Level + 1))
            $aAD_TreeView[$iAD_Index][2] = $ahAD_Node[$iAD_Level]
        EndIf
    Next
    _GUICtrlTreeView_EndUpdate($hAD_TreeView)
    Return $aAD_TreeView

EndFunc

It should work for you, I see no reason why not, but please remember that this will change your Active Directory. Please make sure you test it first. I'm not being held responsible for messing up your AD.

Deploying a Windows 7 image with WDS and MDT 2010 - Part 3

2012-04-12T05:42:00.002-07:00

This is the final part of the installment. Here you will learn how to install software after you PC has been imaged. For part 1 click here and for part 2 click here

Adding Applications

You may want the server to install certain software automatically after you have installed the image. It may be because software is only needed in a certain room or you have a problem with the anti-virus connecting if you don’t install it after an image is deployed. I will run through this now.

First adding software to the application list.

Still in MDT workbench, right click on the applications box and choose New Application.

Choose the option most applicable to you but I normally go with ‘Application with source files’

On the next box fill in the appropriate information

On the next screen, browse to the software folder and click next

Next specify the name of the folder to be created

Next specify the command you wish to run. This will normally be setup.exe or install.msi. You can also specify command line parameters. You will have to check if any apply to the install file but normally /s will do silently etc. you may even be able to pass a command file to the executable to fill in all the information.

Then click next and finish. The computer will copy across all the files that are in the directory and you will be able to see it in the applications box in MDT.

Adding the software to a task sequence.

Click back onto the task sequence box in MDT and right click on the task sequence you wish to have install the software. Now choose properties. On the box that pops up choose the second tab called task sequence. What you see here is a complete breakdown of what the computer will do.

Under the sub folder ‘state restore’ there will be an option called install applications. If you click on this, you will have two options on the right. Choose ‘install single application’. You can then click on browse and choose which application you want.

In the above picture I have also added a restart computer command and then a second install application command. To do this you simply click the add button at the top of the task sequence and then choosing the option. I find it better to add a restart after it installs the software as most require a restart to work.

With all this done. You will need to update the deployment share. To do this you will need to go into the MDT workbench software, right click on ‘MDT DeploymentShare’ subfolder and then choose ‘update deploymentshare’. Leave everything as the default and click next, next and then finish. You should be able to see if the computer has updated the boot files. If it has then you will need to change them on the WDS software. I will go through this now.

Updating the boot file in WDS

Run the ‘windows deployment services’ program. On the left hand side click on the server and then the boot folder. In this you will be able to see all the boot files available. Right click on the boot folder and choose ‘Add boot image’

On the first box that comes up browse to the newly created lite touch boot image. These are normally stored under your 'DeploymentshareFolder\boot' folder and are called “LiteTouchPE_x86”. Then click next.

You can then change its name to something else (up to you), and then click next. Click next again and the boot image will be installed.

Once this is all done you are ready to deploy the image.

Reboot the computer and pxe boot to the boot images. Choose the one you want and let it load. It should ask you for authentication ( you will need to provide your root account details) and then the computer name. After this everything is automatically done and you should have no problems.

I hope you've found all this useful.

Deploying a Windows 7 image with WDS and MDT 2010 - Part 2

2012-04-12T05:27:00.002-07:00

This post will follow on from the previous part. You can find it here.

Creating a task Sequence

Open up MDT workbench and right click on the task sequence box. Then choose ‘new task sequence’.

On the first screen of the wizard add the task sequence ID (must be unique) and the task sequence name (so you know which it is) and click next.

On the next screen choose ‘standard task sequence’

On the next screen choose the basic windows 7 files.

On the next screen choose the second option and specify the MAK

On the next screen fill in the three text boxes with the appropriate information.

On the next screen, fill in the Administrator password

Finally choose next and then finish. Your task sequence will be created. The ID of this task sequence should be included in the’customsetting.ini’ file that we talked about earlier.

Ok, so that's part 2 over with. In the final part of this series you'll find out how to install software and how to finish it all off.

Click here for part 3

Deploying a Windows 7 image with WDS and MDT 2010 - Part 1

2012-04-12T05:17:00.004-07:00

This post will tell you about the process of deploying an image using WDS and MDT. It expects you have a set up and working WDS server, and the base Windows 7 OS already installed.

First log onto the WDS server as you will need to edit a few files first.

Go to the deployment share and go into the 'control 'folder.

The first file you will need to edit is ‘bootstrap.ini’. The correct text in the file should look like this.

[Settings]

Priority=Default

[Default]

DeployRoot=\\WDSSERVER\DeploymentShareFolder

SkipBDDWelcome=YES

SkipBDDWelcome – skips the welcome screen when you boot into winPE. This can be changed

DeployRoot – The path to the deployment share. This will need to be changed.

The second file is called ‘customsettings.ini’. The correct text should look like this.

[Settings]

Priority=Default

Properties=MyCustomProperty

[Default]

OSInstall=YES

SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES

skipBDDWelcome=YES

SkipCapture=yes

SkipAdminPassword=YES

SkipProductKey=YES

SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES

SkipCapture=YES

ComputerBackupLocation=\\WDSSERVER\deploymentshareFolder\Backup

BackupFile=MyCustomImage.wim

SkipAdminPassword=YES

SkipDeploymentType=YES

SkipDomainMembership=YES

JoinDomain=NameOfYourDomain

DomainAdmin=UserNameToJoinDomain

DomainAdminDomain=DomainName

DomainAdminPassword=PasswordOfUserToJoinDomain

SkipUserData=Yes

SkipTaskSequence=YES

TaskSequenceID=IDOfTaskSequence

SkipComputerName=NO

OSDComputerName=%SerialNumber%

SkipPackageDisplay=YES

SkipLocaleSelection=YES

UILanguage=en-UK

UserLocale=en-UK

KeyboardLocale=0809:00000809

SkipTimeZone=YES

TimeZoneName=GMT Standard Time

SkipApplications=YES

SkipBitLocker=YES

SkipSummary=YES

CaptureGroups=YES

SLShare=\\WDSSERVER\deploymentshareFolder\Logs

Home_page=HomePageForWebBrowser

_SMSTSORGNAME = Your Organisations Name

Most of these options (all of which are changeable) are self explanatory. I will point out TaskSequenceID. You will need to change this to which ever task sequence you wish to use. A list is provided in the MDT workbench.

All of the ones marked in red you will certainly need to change but you can change everything. Also note that the Locale is set up for UK and UK English. You'll need to change that depending on where in the world you are.

Remember to save both files when you finish editing them.

Now if you go back to the ‘control’ folder, you should see folders which have the names of the images you wish to deploy. If you choose the image you wish to deploy and go into the folder you will see 2 files. A ‘ts.xml’ and a ‘unattended.xml’. It is the ‘unattended.xml’ file you want to edit so open it up. This is where the computer gets the information from to set up the computer so you don’t have to stay there and provide it.

The windows system image manager should open up and in the centre pane will have a list of options.

Each one of these can be customized. You will need to go through each one of these to make sure it is customize to the image you will be using it with.

Continue to part 2

How to do a manual install of MySQL on Windows 7

2012-04-11T07:32:00.004-07:00

I've been having great problems with MySQL lately. It seems no matter what I do it throws up errors when ever I try to install it through the MSI file that it provides. I wont go into details here on the problems that I've been having. Simply put I'd had enough and I did it manually. Here's how I did it.

First download the zip file with the latest copy of MySQL in. You can get it here Remember, if there are two of them, you want the larger one.

Once downloaded you can unzip the files and place them in a folder on your C drive called 'mysql'.

Now, looking online there are several configuration methods available but I found the simplest way was to just create a new text document in the C:\mysql folder and rename it 'my.ini' There's tons of stuff you can put in it but I'll leave that up to you to tweak. For now all you need to put in it is -

[mysqld]
# installation directory
basedir="C:/mysql/"
# data directory
datadir="c:/mysql/data/"

OK, now we need to test that this has all worked. If you browse to the c:\mysql\bin folder and while holding down shift right click in the folder and choose 'open a command window here'. This will bring up a command prompt. type in -

mysqld

This should start the MySQL service. If the command prompt just hangs there, don't worry about it. Just close the windows and reopen another command prompt in the same location. Now type in

mysql -u root

This will bring up the command line tool for MySQL. One of the most important things you need to do now is change the root password. Type in -

UPDATE mysql.user SET password=PASSWORD("HereIsWhereUSpecifyANewPassword") WHERE User='root';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

You will need to make note of this as you will need it to use the command line tool again. Also don't forget the ; at the end of each line.

Still in the command prompt window type

exit;

You should now have a normal prompt again. I think its best to install MySQL as a service. This way you wont have to start it every time. To do this, in the same command prompt type in -

mysqld --install

You should get a response saying it has been successful. Don't forget to change the new MySQL service to automatic in the services menu for it to start automatically.

Sysprep and Capture a windows image using MDT and WDS

2012-04-05T06:50:00.003-07:00

Once your reference computer image has been created, tested and re-tested, from another computer remote desktop into your Windows Deployment Server

Go to the deployment share and then into the control folder. Here you will find two files that you will need to edit.

The first file is ‘bootstrap.ini’. The text that is in it should look like this

[Settings]

Priority=Default

[Default]

DeployRoot=\\WDSSERVER\DeploymentShare$

Where WDSSERVER\DeploymentShare$ is the name of your deployment server shared area

If it does not, copy and paste this into the file deleting anything else in there.

The second file is called ‘customsettings.ini’. The text should look like this

[Settings]

Priority=Default

Properties=MyCustomProperty

[Default]

OSInstall=Y

SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES

SkipCapture=NO

SkipAdminPassword=YES

SkipProductKey=YES

If it does not, copy and paste this into the file deleting anything else in there.

Remember to save both these files when closing.

Launch the Microsoft deployment toolkit (MDT) workbench and click on the task sequence section

In the above image you can see that the task sequence for ‘sysprep and capture ‘ has already been created. If you do not have it I will quickly run through creating it. If it is already there you can skip the next section.

SKIP THIS SECTION IF SYSPREP AND CAPTURE TASK SEQUENCE ALREADY EXISTS

Right click on task sequence in the left hand pane and choose ‘New Task Sequence’

Give the new sequence an ID and then a name

On the new menu from the drop down box choose ‘sysprep and capture’ and click next.

When choosing an OS to install with it choose the full windows 7 professional base files you should have in the list. It should be called something like “Windows 7 PROFESSIONAL in Windows 7 x86 install.wim”

Continue to fill in the questions, adding all available information you can. Then click finish. Don’t forget to update the deployment share by right clicking on ‘MDT deployment share’ and choosing update deployment share.

CONTINUE ON FROM HERE

Unlike previously you do not need to PXE boot to capture the image.

Go to reference computer (you will need to have connected it to the domain, but then log off and log on as the local administrator) and map a drive to \\WDSSERVER\DeploymentShare$\Scripts

It doesn’t matter what letter you use but you will have to use your account with domain level permissions

Next open a command prompt and go to that drive letter.

Once in the folder type in this command.

Cscript litetouch.wsf

The MDT Wizard Screens will launch and prompt for the information required to complete this task sequence. **Note – we will still process customsettings.ini for this task sequence. If you have modified customsettings.ini to skip wizard screens, those settings will be honored with this task sequence as well

On the first page choose the Sysprep and Capture task sequence

On the second page choose the capture option and specify the location to save it and the file name

On the third page put in your domain admin username and password with the domain name

Finally on the fourth page click begin and the deployment wizard should start. The computer will automatically go through the whole process without your input

Once the capture has completed, you can now import the captured image as a custom image file in MDT and use it for future task sequences. With MDT still open on the WDS server right click on “Operating systems” in the left hand pane and choose ‘Import Operating System’

Add new operating system and choose custom image file.

Point to the “Captures” path and move it to the to the deployment share.

Include the setup files for the OS which you are importing and complete the wizards. These again are the base windows 7 professional files

And there you have it. Your brand new image ready to roll out.

How to convert a WIM file into a VHD

2012-04-03T07:02:00.003-07:00

So you've been rolling out your Windows 7 image with all the software on, that you spent ages testing. Then you realise that you want to run this on a virtual machine, except you've spent ages setting this one up and testing and you don't want to have to do it all again. Well Microsoft have thought of this and provide a WIM to VHD convertor.

Before you go any further, I've had great success with this and never once had a problem. This doesn't mean you wont, so probably best to test with a copy of the original WIM file.

With that said, here's how you do it.

First, download and install the AIK from Microsoft. You can download it from here.

Now download the WIM2VHD Convertor. All it is is a WSF file.

Now, copy the folder that your custom WIM image is in (eg. browse to your deployment server and open \DeploymentShare\Operating Systems\ and copy the entire folder) and place it on the windows 7 PC.

Now on the windows 7 PC, run a command prompt as Administrator.

Browse to the folder where the WIM2VHD script is (WIM2VHD.wsf) and run the following command.

Cscript WIM2VHD.WSF /WIM:C:\source\custom.wim /SKU:Enterprise /VHD:C:\customwim.vhd

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The /WIM:C:\source folder is where your .wim image is stored. This is changed depending on the name of the file and where it is.”

“The /SKU:Enterprise section should be changed depending on what kind of windows 7 operating system the image is based on”

“The /VHD:C:\customwim.vhd part can be changed to where you want to save the new vhd file to. Its name can be changed to”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is all once sentence; only press enter at the end.

This should run the script and create you a VHD file.

Can my company read my emails?

2012-04-03T02:30:00.003-07:00

Recently I was asked to investigate a employees use of the work email system. Which lead me on to a the question of whether I could read employees emails as they may use it for personal business as well. Now our lawyers say that we can, as anything on the companies systems belongs to the company, but I decided to do a little research on my own and this is what I found out.

First of all your company should have an email policy. If it doesn't I would be very surprised. It should of also have made attempts to bring this to your attention.

The policy should:

set out clearly when you may or may not use work email for private business;
make clear what a reasonable use of private business is
explain why your employer monitors emails, the extent of the monitoring, and the means used;
outline the penalties you can expect if you breach the policy;

Now with that said the company can only look at certain emails in your inbox.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000) prevents anyone without "lawful Authority" from reading an email without the express permission of the sender and receiver.

BUT the Telecommunications Regulations Act (2000) Lists exceptions to this very general rule, which means that a company can monitor business emails, but only to

ascertain regulatory compliance
detect unauthorized use
prevent/detect criminal activity

Notice here that the key word is Business. These exceptions do not apply to personal emails. In fact an employer should take all reasonable steps to not read personal emails, including those sent from a work email address. In fact where ever possible the use of automated software should be used to scan emails for the above infractions.

Now as is usual in the law, step forward the Human Rights Act. Under the Act you have the right to a private life. This extends to a reasonable amount of personal time at work. Don't go crazy, you are getting paid to do work. But the Act has always given you some right of communication while at work. It used to be that you can make and received personal phone calls or write letters. This has been extended now to cover emails. Again, it is a reasonable amount of time. Don't over do it.

AutoIt - Add Users to Active Directory / Creating New Users

2012-04-02T05:04:00.000-07:00

So I'm progressing with Autoit quite nicely and I'm trying to get it to add new users to Active Directory. There isn't much info about this on google. I'm guessing that most people use professional software for this task. Well we're cheap here so I've had to come up with my own way of doing it.

So if you want to use the code below, the first thing you'll have to do is download the AD.au3 files and put them all in your 'include' directory.

Now this script will alter your active directory. Please test it first before you do anything. I'm not being held responsible for you messing up your AD.

As you can see in the code below, it takes a list of names from the 'c:\test.txt' file (each name should be on its own line). It then takes this list, creates each one a password and creates a userarea a network drive (I've used Z:\). Then outputs each user a text file containing a welcome message that you can edit, their username and their password. Finally it will add the user to Active Directory.

So here's the code

#include <file.au3>
#include <AD.au3>
#include <GUIConstantsEx.au3>
#include <WindowsConstants.au3>

_AD_Open()
   If @error Then Exit MsgBox(16, "Active Directory Script", "Function _AD_Open encountered a problem. @error = " & @error & ", @extended = " & @extended)
   Global $Reply = MsgBox(308, "Active Directory Functions", "This script creates a new user in the specified OU."  "Are you sure you want to change the Active Directory?")
If $Reply <> 6 Then Exit

$fileopen = "C:\test.txt"
$file = FileOpen($fileopen,0)

for $x = 1 to _FileCountlines($fileopen)
   Local $line = FileReadLine($file)
   _FileCreate("C:\"&$line&".txt")
   $pwd = ""
   Dim $aSpace[3]
   $digits = 8
   For $i = 1 To $digits
   $aSpace[0] = Chr(Random(65, 90, 1)) ;A-Z
   $aSpace[1] = Chr(Random(97, 122, 1)) ;a-z
   $aSpace[2] = Chr(Random(48, 57, 1)) ;0-9
   $pwd &= $aSpace[Random(0, 2, 1)]
   DirCreate("z:\"&$line&"\Application Data")
   DirCreate("z:\"&$line&"\My Documents")
   DirCreate("z:\"&$line&"\My Pictures")
   DirCreate("z:\"&$line&"\My Videos")
   DirCreate("z:\"&$line&"\My Music")
   Next

   local $WriteFile = FileOpen("C:\"&$line&".txt",1)
   $name = StringStripWS($line,8)
   FileWriteLine($writefile, "Welcome to WHAT EVER YOUR BUSINESS IS CALLED")
   FileWriteLine($writefile, "")
   FileWriteLine($writefile, "Username = "& $name)
   FileWriteLine($writefile, "Password = "& $Pwd)
   FileClose($Writefile)


      local $OU = "OU=Staff,OU=Active Users,DC=dcname,DC=local"
   Global $iValue = _AD_CreateUser($sOU, $name, $line)
If $iValue = 1 Then
MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions", "User '" & $line & "' in OU '" & $sOU & "' successfully created")
ElseIf @error = 1 Then
MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions", "User '" & $line & "' already exists")
ElseIf @error = 2 Then
MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions", "OU '" & $sOU & "' does not exist")
ElseIf @error = 3 Then
MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions", "Value for CN (e.g. Lastname Firstname) is missing")
ElseIf @error = 4 Then
MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions", "Value for User is missing")
Else
MsgBox(64, "Active Directory Functions", "Return code '" & @error & "' from Active Directory")
EndIf
Next
AD_Close()

Now a few things to talk about. First it doesn't set permissions on the users folders. You'll have to either write that bit in yourself or do it manually. Secondly it doesn't set the password on Active directory. I haven't worked out how to do this yet, let me know if you figure out how. Thirdly the active directory section, only fills in the basic information. If you look through the AD functions you'll be able to see what else you can add, but this should start you off.

Have fun and try not to break anything.

AutoIT RSS Feeder

2012-03-30T06:28:00.000-07:00

After my last post on how to get the Windows 7 RSS Feeder gadget to start on logon, I started to write my own RSS feed in Autoit. Im sorry to say that it was slightly more than I could do on my own so I had a bit of a Google on it. There were several good examples available and I found one that showed you the basic ways to do it using the XMLDomWapper.au3 file and the appbarhelper.au3 files.

Here's the code.

#include <GUIConstants.au3>
#include <GUIConstantsEx.au3>
#include <WindowsConstants.au3>
#include <inet.au3>
#include <array.au3>
#include <_XMLDomWrapper.au3>
#include <appbarHelper.au3>

Local $update_freq = 18000
Local $rss_source = "http://RESTOFTHEURLTOTHEXMLFILE"
Global $rss_gui = _AppbarNew("RSS FEED", "NEWS")

GUISetBkColor(0xFFFFFF)
Local $rss_text = _GetFeedData($rss_source)
Global $rss_label = GUICtrlCreateLabel($rss_text, -1, -1, @DesktopWidth, 40)
GUICtrlSetFont(-1, 14, 400, 2, "Verdana")
GUICtrlSetColor(-1, 0x000000)
GUICtrlSetResizing(-1, $GUI_DOCKLEFT + $GUI_DOCKTOP + $GUI_DOCKSIZE)
GUISwitch($rss_gui)
_AppbarSetDockingEdges(False, False, True, True)
_AppbarDock($rss_gui, $ABE_TOP, 40, 10)
GUISetState(@SW_SHOW, $rss_gui)
While 1
Sleep(200)
If Not isMouseOverRSS() Then
  Local $TempText = GUICtrlRead($rss_label)
  GUICtrlSetData($rss_label, StringTrimLeft($TempText, 1) & StringLeft($TempText, 1))
EndIf
WEnd
Func _GetFeedData($rss_source)
Local $strXML = _INetGetSource($rss_source)
_XMLLoadXML($strXML, "")

Local $title_node = "//rss/channel/item/title";
Local $title_array = _XMLGetValue($title_node)
Local $descr_node = "//rss/channel/item/description";
Local $descr_array = _XMLGetValue($descr_node)
Local $link_node = "//rss/channel/item/link";
Local $link_array = _XMLGetValue($link_node)
Local $feed_data = ""
For $i = 1 To $title_array[0]
  $feed_data = $feed_data & $title_array[$i] & ": " & $descr_array[$i] & " - "
  If $i = $title_array[0] Then $feed_data = $feed_data & " --END-- "
Next
Return $feed_data
EndFunc
Func isMouseOverRSS()
Local $mouse_info = GUIGetCursorInfo($rss_gui)
If $mouse_info[4] = $rss_label Then Return True
Return False
EndFunc

Its pretty simple really and I really should have been able to do it on my own. Still have fun playing with it.

Starting the Windows 7 RSS feed gadgets on logon

2012-03-23T05:58:00.000-07:00

I've been asked to look at starting the windows 7 RSS feed gadget on logon for staff members. The management believe its a better way for rolling out information about the company than using emails. I had a bit of a google and there wasn't that much on it, so when I found out how to do it I thought I would share it with everyone.

Its actually quite simple.

First take a test machine and in Internet Explorer add the RSS feed you want to run through the gadget. Then browse yourself to c:\users\USERNAME\appdata\local\microsoft\feeds. In here you will find a file with the name of the feed. Copy this file to a new location as you will need to copy this file to everyones local area.

Second, again on your test machine, launch the RSS feed gadget by right clicking on the desktop and choosing 'gadgets'. Then select the 'Feeds Headlines' gadget. This should launch in the top right hand corner. Open its settings and choose the rss feed you want to run as default under the heading "Display this Feed". Now, with it still open browse to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar. In here you will find a 'settings.ini'. You'll need to make a copy of this file as well.

Ok, now put these two files in a place that everyone has access to. The NETLOGON of your AD controller might be a good place. Now you can write a little bat file that will do the copying for you. eg....

echo off
xcopy \\SERVER\netlogon\rss\settings.ini "%userprofile%\appdata\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar\" /y
xcopy "\\SERVER\netlogon\rss\FILE FOR RSSFEED " "%userprofile%\appdata\Local\Microsoft\feeds\" /y
c:
cd "C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\"
sidebar.exe
exit

Then you can set your group policy to run this bat file on logon (USER config -> policies ->windows settings -> scripts -> logon) and that should be it. It will start everytime someone logs on and runs the default RSS feed.

AutoIt countdown timer

2012-03-19T03:30:00.000-07:00

So i've been playing around with AutoIt recently. Its a great little piece of software for writting automated programs. Its like a cross between C and python. But the best part about it is that as its comunity based anyone can write their own functions for it and add them to the site. Great!

Anyway, we've selected a few open access computers that are going to be used for electronic submission only. The higher manangement wanted a piece of software that would instruct the student logged on that they would have a maximum of 15 minutes on the PC, and then get logged off. After a bit of discussion I managed to get them to accept giving the students a warning that their time was up and then the counter would count backwards in big red writting.

So this is the code

#include <GUIConstants.au3>
#include <WindowsConstants.au3>
#include <StaticConstants.au3>
#include <EditConstants.au3>

$ms = 900250 ;This is the time in milliseconds Adjust as needed
$timer = TimerInit()
traysetstate(2)
$labeltext = "This computer is primarily for electronic submission. You will be automatically logged off after 15 minutes"
GUICreate("Electronic Submission", 350, 330, -1, -1, $WS_DLGFRAME, $WS_EX_TOPMOST)
$Label = GUICtrlCreateLabel($labeltext, 10, 10, 330, 200, $SS_CENTER)
GUICtrlSetFont(-1, 18, 400, $labeltext)
$Input = GUICtrlCreateInput("", 125, 150, 90, 40, BitOr($SS_CENTER, $ES_READONLY, $WS_CLIPCHILDREN))
GUICtrlSetFont(-1, 18, 400)
GUISetState (@SW_SHOW)
WinSetTrans("Electronic Submission","", 127)
While (TimerDiff($timer) < $ms)
   $seconds = TimerDiff($timer)/1000
   $diff = $seconds - ($ms/1000);
   $minutes = Int($diff / 60)
   $secondsRem = $diff - ($minutes * 60)
   $minutes = $minutes * -1
   $secondsRem = $secondsRem * -1
   $time = StringFormat("%02d", $minutes) & ":" & StringFormat("%02d", $secondsRem)
   GUICtrlSetData($Input, $time)
   WEnd

   Global $reply = MsgBox(1, "TIMES UP", &@UserName " you have had 15 minutes on this computer. If someone is waiting please let them use it. CLICK OK TO LOG OFF",30)
   If $reply = 1 then run("shutdown.exe -l")

   $Input = GUICtrlCreateInput("", 25, 125, 300, 100, BitOr($SS_CENTER, $ES_READONLY, $WS_CLIPCHILDREN))
   GUICtrlSetColor(-1, 0xff0000)
   GUICtrlSetFont(-1, 50, 400)

   While (TimerDiff($timer) > $ms)
   $seconds = TimerDiff($timer)/1000
   $diff = $seconds - ($ms/1000)
   $minutes = Int($diff / 60)
   $secondsRem = $diff - ($minutes * 60)
   $minutes = $minutes * -1
   $secondsRem = $secondsRem * -1
   $time = StringFormat("%02d", $minutes) & ":" & StringFormat("%02d", $secondsRem)
   GUICtrlSetData($Input, $time)
   WEnd
   run("shutdown.exe -l")

Its not the best code, but im just learning it. feel free to adjust and use it for yourselves.

Using custom XML to search Windows Event Viewer

2012-02-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

So nobody likes going through Windows event viewer. The latest version in server 2008 takes ages to load and filtering isn't fun. So I thought I would go through a few ways to customise the XML used to search it.

So you'll probably start with the XML looking like this

<QueryList>
  <Query Id="0" Path="file://C:\path\to\file.evtx">
    <Select Path="file://C:\path\to\file.evtx">*</Select>
  </Query>
</QueryList>

You can edit the contents of the select element to include something from the list below.

SubjectUserSid
SubjectUserName
SubjectDomainName
SubjectLogonId
TargetUserSid
TargetUserName
TargetDomainName
TargetLogonId
LogonType
LogonProcessName
AuthenticationPackageName
WorkstationName
LogonGuid
TransmittedServices
LmPackageName
KeyLength
ProcessId
ProcessName
IpAddress
IpPort

As an example - *[EventData[Data[@Name='YOUROPTION']and(Data='YOURVALUE')]
After the asterix in the above example you can change it to look like this

<QueryList>
  <Query Id="0" Path="file://C:\path\to\file.evtx">
    <Select Path="file://C:\path\to\file.evtx">
      *[EventData[Data[@Name='IpAddress'] and(Data='127.0.0.1')]]
    </Select>
  </Query>
</QueryList>

This will search all the logs for that specific IP Address.

You can even specify the Event ID

<QueryList>

<Query Id="0" Path="file://C:\path\to\file.evtx">

    <Select Path="file://C:\path\to\file.evtx">

*[System[(EventID="4771")]] and *[EventData[Data and (Data="username")]]

</Select>

</Query>

</QueryList>

The Above code will search for that specific event AND one that includes the name USERNAME.

Opening a Command Prompt in the Current Folder

2012-02-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

If your anything like me you'll hate having to browse to a specific folder, sometimes 5 folders deep, in a command prompt. Thankfully Microsoft have made it possible in Vista and Windows 7 to open a command prompt in a windows folder.

You just browse to the folder as you normally would in Windows, then holding SHIFT you right click in the folder and you'll see 'Open Command Windows Here' in the list. Choose this option and a command prompt will open with is directory in this folder. Wonderful!

If you want to do this in Windows XP you'll need to do a few things first.

In explorer, open Tools, Folder Options.
Select the File Types tab.
For Windows XP: Go to (NONE) Folder.
For Windows 2000: Press n to scroll to the N/A section.
For Windows NT/98/95: Press f to scroll to the Folders section.
Select the entry labeled Folder
For Windows 2000/XP: Press Advanced button.
For Windows NT/98/95: Press Edit button.
Select New
In the action block type "Command Prompt" without the quotes.
In the app block type "cmd.exe" without the quotes.
Save and exit Folder Options

Easy!

Find Out Who Is Logged Into A Server And Kick Them Off

2012-01-11T03:07:00.000-08:00

Every tried to log onto a server only to be told that there are too many people already logged on and you'll have to wait. Thankfully in server 2008 R2 this is taken care of by being able to kick them off! But for server 2003 you wont be told who is logged on or if they are even using it. But there is something you can do!

Log on to another server and run a command prompt.

Type in

query session /server:YOURSERVERNAME

Where YOURSERVERNAME is the name of the server.

And if you find out that someone has logged in and then left it, you can kick them off too - the above command will tell you each user's session id and you can use this to boot them off the box. 

rwinsta /server:YOURSERVERNAME 1

In the above example you can see that the session ID used is 1. Try it, and dont leave yourself logged on after!

Enabling scripts in Windows PowerShell

2011-12-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, so you've written your own script and now you want to run it to make sure that everything works fine. So you load up Powershell and try to run it but it gives you an error saying that the "execution of scripts is disabled" on your system. Now that's not very nice. But its ok, its very easy to fix.

First load up powershell as an administrator. Then type in

Get-Executionpolicy

What is should return is a value of Restricted

Now type in

Set-Executionpolicy unrestricted

And that's it. You can type in the get-executionpolicy again just to make sure but you should now have the ability to run scripts.

Deploying K-Lite Codec pack with Group Policy

2011-11-23T05:16:00.000-08:00

I was asked to deploy the K-Lite codec pack recently. Deciding that it probably wasn't the best idea to go round and install it on each computer individually I decided on using Group Policy.

Now K-lite doesn't come as a MSI file, so that route was out but luckly the makers have set up a way to run an unattended install. Here's how you can do it too!

1) Download the K-lite pack from Here

2) Once downloaded Run the downloaded exe-file with the -Makeunattended switch and follow the on-screen instructions exactly

3)You will see that the once you have followed the instructions you will have 2 new files in the same directory as the exe-file. It should be a .Bat file and a .ini file.

4)Now logging in to your AD server, create a new Group Policy and call it something obvious. Now open up the GPO go to Computer Configuration/Policies/Windows Settings/Scripts/Startup

5)Click add, and then browse. Now you need to copy the three files from earlier (the installer, the bat file and the ini file) to the folder that has just opened up. Then select the .Bat file and click open, ok and ok again.

6) Apply the GPO to the container with the computers in that you want it install on.

7) Go for a well deserved drink!

Print Spooler Service Keeps Stopping in Windows 7

2011-11-22T01:31:00.000-08:00

There have been a couple of instances at work of computers losing the ability to print. Not only this but they can not add or remove printers as well. The error that comes up may be familiar to some of you.

So we tried to restart the print spooler service, which it did without error, and then go back and add the printer again, and guess what... the same error popped up. Dont you just love computers.

After quite a lot of investigating we found the cause. In the registry there are duplicate enteries for the same driver. If you delete one of them the print spooler will be fine.

Note: Making changes to the registry can mess up your computer. Make sure you take a full backup of the Key you are changing before you make the changes!

So first, open command prompt with Admin priviledges and type in

net stop spooler

This will make sure that the print spooler service is stopped.

Next open the registry up and go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-3

Under this you will see a list of all the drivers currently installed on your system. If there are any duplicates you can just delete one of them.

Now go back to the Print key and below it you will see a Printers key. Under this are all the printers that are installed. Again if there are any duplicates, just delete one of them.

Now close the registry and go back to your command prompt. Type in

net start spooler

And this should have fixed your problem.