Create a CustomPowerSave using PowerCFG (*.BAT)

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This set of commands will create a new powersaving mode in XP with the name “CustomPowerSave” and set it as default. This has not been tested in Windows 7. You can drop this code below into a “CustomPowerSave.bat” file and run. This will also need some tweaking and testing to get working correctly.


POWERCFG /CREATE CustomPowerSave
POWERCFG /CHANGE CustomPowerSave /monitor-timeout-ac 5
POWERCFG /CHANGE CustomPowerSave /disk-timeout-ac 10
POWERCFG /CHANGE CustomPowerSave /standby-timeout-ac 20
POWERCFG /CHANGE CustomPowerSave /hibernate-timeout-ac 0

POWERCFG /GLOBALPOWERFLAG off /OPTION RESUMEPASSWORD
POWERCFG /SETACTIVE CustomPowerSave

Get switch options using:
cmd -> powercfg /?

“The RPC server is unavailable” when joining to domain

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Everytime you try to connect to the domain (from workgroup) it would say “The RPC server is unavailable”

First thoughts directly point to DNS… which was some of the problem. The Router was dishing out DHCP rather than Windows Server 2003 SBS.

Why?? I asked?? Was there any advantage of this? not really… If this is setup within a small company then people will be server based users anyway so probably unable to operate without it, even if the web/DHCP was available on the router.

The client tries to resolve the internal domain.local using the router on the external DNS. That’s not going to work! not unless you bodge it and manually add the SBS Servers DNS into the DHCP the router dishes out so the clients can resolve it. Not the best fix, but it works.

Better still add DHCP on the SBS2003!

Getting this one fixed I could now do the following:

  1. Ping the server
  2. Ping the FQDN of the server (fixed the issue in the first link)

But I was still experiencing the annoying “The RPC server is unavailable” why was this??

Finally finding the problem!! “NORTON INTERNET SECURITY” those three words made into a dirty acronym “NIS”

Disabling the firewall and BAMM! The client could be connected to the domain and fully working.

 

 

Google Contacts Sync on Nokia 2700

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Settings -> Configuration -> Personal config. settOptions -> “Add new” -> Synchronisation

  • Account Name: Google
  • Server Name: https://m.google.com/syncml
  • User Name: <email>
  • Password: <Password>
  • Contacts Database: (Database Address: “contacts” | Username: BLANK | Password: BLANK)

http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=98230&cbid=-w48waez3uf7e&src=cb&lev=topic

Microsoft Common Issues

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This is basically links to common issues that I have come across, but forget the solution or don’t need to blog:

  • FSMO placement and optimization on Active Directory domain controllers (223346)
  • How to back up Hyper-V virtual machines from the parent partition on a Windows Server 2008-based computer by using Windows Server Backup (958662)
  • Reliability Monitor displays no information in Windows Server 2008 and in Windows Server 2008 R2 (983386)
  • Managing Active Directory FSMO Roles: here
  • Download Locations for SQL Express 2008 R2

Sophos Autoupdate (Greyed out)

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The sophos update settings are greyed out when a domain policy is in place. This is a problem when testing settings and debugging…

Settings can be changed by editing the iconn file:

  • Windows 7: C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\Config\
  • Windows XP: C:\Program files\Sophos\AutoUpdate\Config\

Open iconn.cfg and change “AllowLocalConfig = 0” to  “AllowLocalConfig = 1”

[PPI.WebConfig_Primary]
AllowLocalConfig = 0
AutoDialTimeout =
LocalPath =
DownloadGranularity =
ConnectionAddress = \\SERVERNAME\SophosUpdate\CIDs\S000\SAVSCFXP\
PortNumber =
UserName = domain\AVUpdate
UserPassword = ********************
ConnectionType = UNC

Just a tip for other Sophos issues, you can check connectivity to Sophos by confirm the following links work:

http://dci.sophosupd.com/
http://d1.sophosupd.com/
http://d2.sophosupd.com/
http://d1.sophosupd.net/
http://d2.sophosupd.net/

NK2 Files & Import

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NK2 File locations in Windows XP / Windows 7

  • Windows XP: Start -> Run -> “%userprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook”
  • Windows 7: Start -> Run -> “%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook”

Import Outlook nicknames from .NK2 file to Outlook 2010 Profile

  1. Copy *.NK2 to %appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook
  2. Change name of .NK2 file to match the Outlook profile name (This can be checked using “Mail” in control panel)
  3. Start -> Run -> “outlook.exe /importnk2” (This imports the NK2 file into the profile)
  4. Once imported the .nk2 file should get renamed automatically with . file extension
  5. Import of Contacts will merge with current cache (not overwrite)

Automatic tool to do this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980542

Enable Network Discovery Server 2008 R2

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Need to enable network discovery in Windows Server 2008 R2?

The Problem is that after you have enabled this it simple turns off again so you need to enable the following services. I changed the startup type to automatic.

Start the following services:

net start "DNS Client"
net start "Function Discovery Resource Publication"
net start "SSDP Discovery"
net start "UPnP Discovery"

You still may not see the contents of “network places” populate with all the computers across the network so you will need to “enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP” from the network card adapter properties.

Control Panel > Network Connections -> Right click Properties on network card -> Select TCP/IP Settings -> Click Properties -> Advanced -> WINS tab -> enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP

enable_netbios_over_tcpip

This is usually configured within DHCP for clients, however in my situation I was enabling this feature on a server, therefore a fixed IP address not pulled from DHCP.

Source: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/windowsserver2008r2general/thread/e1cc2310-b4f7-4de5-818a-352d8f792de5

Exchange 2007 | Message Size Limits

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Want to check the message size limits in Exchange 2007 (GUI)?

Exchange Management Console:

SENDING

  • Organization Configuration > Hub Transport > Send Connectors Tab, Go to the properties of that send connector. In the General Tab will see a box with a check mark: Maximum Message Size (KB) [update to desired size]
  • Organization Configuration > Hub Transport > Global Settings Tab, Go to the properties of the Transport Settings. In the General Tab will see a box with a check mark: Maximum Send Size (KB) [update to desired size]

RECEIVING:

  • Organization Configuration > Hub Transport > Global Settings Tab, Go to the properties of the Transport Settings. In the General Tab will see a box with a check mark: Maximum Receive Size (KB) [update to desired size]
  • Server Configuration > Hub Transport > Receive Connectors (Lower box). Update all of your receive connectors: Properties, General Tab: Maximum Receive Size (KB) [update to desired size]

Exchange Powershell:

  • ?

I received the following bounce from the local server due to email size limits.

Delivery has failed to these recipients or distribution lists:

This message exceeds the maximum message size allowed. Microsoft Exchange will not try to redeliver this message for you. Please make the message smaller — by removing attachments, for example — and try sending it again, or provide the following diagnostic text to your system administrator.
Sent by Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
Diagnostic information for administrators:

Generating server: exchange.domain.com
email@domain.com
#550 5.3.4 ROUTING.SizeLimit; message size exceeds fixed maximum size for route ##

Original message headers:

Received: from exchange.domain.com ([127.0.0.1]) by exchange
([127.0.0.1]) with mapi; 31 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0100
Content-Type: application/ms-tnef; name=”winmail.dat”
Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary
From: Sender
To: “Recipient”
Date: 31 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Reference: http://www.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2007/management-administration/exchange-2007-message-size-limits.html

Camera, Shutter, Aperture & DOF

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SHUTTER

The Cameras shutter controls the length of time the sensor is exposed to light.

Shutter speeds normally operate somewhere between 30 seconds and 1/100 of a second.

Fast shutter speeds (over 1/250 sec) freeze action.

Slow shutter speeds (1 sec – 30 secs) make photography possible in very low light.

For hand held photography a minimum shutter speed of about 1/30 sec is required, below this some means of steadying the camera is required.

APERTURE

The lens aperture controls the quantity of light reaching the cameras sensor.

In dim or gloomy conditions the sensor needs a bigger aperture to let in more light.

In bright conditions a smaller aperture is required.

Aperture is measured in f-stop numbers.

The normal range of apertures is from f/2.8 – f/22

F/2.8 is a BIG aperture letting in more light (in =
gloomy conditions)

F/22 is a SMALL aperture letting in less light (in bright conditions)

DEPTH OF FIELD

Changing the aperture will also control the depth of field.

A big aperture (f/2.8 – f/5.6) will give a small depth of field. This effect will be increased by using a zoom lens, the longer the zoom the shorter the depth of field.

A small aperture (f/16 – f/22) will give a large depth of field. This effect will be increased by using a wide angle lens.

Use big apertures (f/2.8 – f/5.5) for portraits and still life where you want to blur the background.

Use small apertures (f/16 – f/22) for landscapes ar any photo where you want foreground, mid & background sharp.

SCENE MODES

Your cameras scene modes will select shutter and aperture for you depending on the scene mode selected.

If you select ‘portrait’ or ‘macro’ (close-up), the camera will assume a short depth of field is best and choose a big aperture.

If you select ‘sport’ the camera will choose a fast shutter speed to freeze the action.

Selecting ‘landscape’ mode will give a setting with a larger depth of field.

Default Passwords

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AMD RAIDXpert

  • Username: admin
  • Password: admin
  • http://localhost:25902/amd/screen.jsp

APC UPS:

  • Username: apc
  • Password: apc

Draytek:

  • Username: <blank>
  • Password: admin

HP Proliant DL160 – Windows Storage Server 2003

  • Username: administrator
  • Password: hpinvent

HP Proliant Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)

  • Username: administrator
  • Password:

IBM Management Module Interface (MMI)

  • Username: USERID
  • Password: PASSW0RD
  • Default IP: DHCP then 192.168.70.125 255.255.255.0

IBM Raid Manager

  • Username: administrator
  • Password: <blank>

 

 

 

Popup Test

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I was using this to test GPOs were run at user login. if the popup displayed then i knew the object had been executed.

bat: START CMD /C "ECHO Popup Test && PAUSE"

exe: popup-test.exe

vbs (will call and execute the exe from the specified location):

Set wshShell = WScript.CreateObject ("WSCript.shell")
wshshell.run "%userprofile%\desktop\popup-test.exe", 6, True
set wshshell = nothing

Groups in AD | Domain Local, Global, Universal

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Domain Local: groups can contain users, global groups and universal groups from anywhere in the AD forest, but can only be used to secure resources within the same domain.

Global: groups can contain only users and groups from within the same domain, but can be used to secure resources anywhere in the forest.

Universal: groups can contain objects from anywhere in the forest, and can be used to secure resources anywhere in the forest.

Group Scope Can Contain Usage
Domain Local
  • User account from any domain in the forest
  • Global or universal from any domain in the forest
  • User accounts, global or universal groups from a trusted forest domain
  • Other domain local groups from the same domain
  • Resources in local domain
Global
  • User accounts in the same domain
  • Other global groups from the same domain
  • Any domain in the forest or trusted forests
Universal
  • Users. Global groups or universal groups from any domain in the forest
  • Any domain in the forest or trusted forests

You can only convert from the following and this will only take place if the correct “member of” groups are related:

  • Domain Local to Universal
  • Global to Universal
  • Universal to Domain Local & Global

BACKUP!

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DO A STANDALONE BACKUP NOW!

This is something we all overlook and it makes life so much easier if you have a copy just dumped to a network share!

GPO Backup:

GPO Restore:

DHCP Backup:

 

Forward mail to a Public Folder | EMC PowerShell

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This will forward mail to the public folder

Set-Mailbox "NAME.SURNAME" -ForwardingAddress "email@domain.com"
Set-Mailbox "NAME.SURNAME" -ForwardingAddress "email@domain.com" -DeliverToMailboxAndForward $true

Source: Exchangepedia how to forward mail to a public folder.

Subnet Mask Reference Sheet

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Subnet Mask Reference Sheet

  Subnet Mask Hosts
/30 255.255.255.252 4
/29 255.255.255.248 8
/28 255.255.255.240 16
/27 255.255.255.252 32
/26 255.255.255.248 64
/25 255.255.255.128 128
/24 255.255.255.0 256
/23 255.255.254.0 512
/22 255.255.252.0 1024
/21 255.255.248.0 2048
/20 255.255.240.0 4096
/19 255.255.224.0 8192
/18 255.255.192.0 16384
/17 255.255.128.0 32768
/16 255.255.0.0 65536

Site Search (Google)

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Woo i’m posting more that I did! Thought i’d give the Google search builder a go.

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Bridgehead Servers, Intersite Links and RepAdmin

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Bridgehead Servers

A bridgehead server is a domain controller in each site, which is used as a contact point to receive and replicate data between sites. For inter-site replication, KCC designates one of the domain controllers as a bridgehead server. In case the server is down, KCC designates another one from the domain controller. When a bridgehead server receives replication updates from another site, it replicates the data to the other domain controllers within its site.

Repadmin Sync: (Synchronizes DC with replication partners)

repadmin /syncall

Bridgehead Servers: (Displays bridgehead servers)

repadmin /bridgeheads

Troubleshooting:

Seeing a number of KCC replication errors in the event log, no doubt there is something not configured correctly in “Site-&-Services”  This Microsoft document should give you a few tips. Troubleshoot with Repadmin

Continue reading →

HP Proliant Microserver (N36L) | HTPC Overview

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So here it is the HP Microserver. Many people will have snapped up one of these with the £100 cashback deal, making the cost around the £110 mark. I particular like the HP sales image below, if only all servers were located in a nice comfy clean office (with loads of space) with a handy pad of paper to let us write those long command lines down before we enter them into the computer, hmm OK so not very true to life, but it’s a nice thought.

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The intention for this unit was to replace my Acer Aspire Revo 3600 and run it as my dedicated HTPC using Windows 2008 R2 as the base OS, XBMC installed and a couple of VM machines using Hyper-V ontop. Making the most of win2008r2workstation.com to tweak some changes. A lot you may ask of from a little system, but it seems to handle a lot… (at the moment)…

Why Windows 2008 R2 as the base OS? Basically due to Hyper-V and dreamspark.com

I found a nice little comparison for the CPUs of the Acer Aspire Revo3600 (Same as the Acer H340) (AMD Athlon II Neo N36L 1.3Ghz) and HP Microserver (AMD Athlon II Neo DualCore 1.30GHz) here:

http://www.tenniswood.co.uk/technology/windows-home-server/hp-microserver-vs-acer-h340-performance-comparison/

HP Microserver Upgrades:

Memory: Running a number of VMs and taking the system to the max was the dredded (costly) memory upgrade. This blows the socks off the original unit cost with nearly double for 8GB of Crucial DDR3 ECC. Not much too it, other than putting it in. This is really straight forward, the perfect thing with this unit is that it is “a server” the door opens (like an invitation) for you to undo the self explanatory screws and cables in order that you can slide the MB out on its little tray. No fiddling with little screws and working out how climps come off like with your laptop or desktop case!

Graphics: Did someone say “GRAPHICS for HP Proliant MICROSERVER” This proved to be a little bit more tricky… Searching the internet for a while I managed to come up with the options available with the main issue being that the unit needs a 1 x 16PCI-E low profile card. The good aspect of this is that at least it limits your choice! (Once you have some)

The range of cards I found (Jan 2011) (Hey Dom! you do know this will go out of date in 6months time and this will be obsolet!) is as followed…

Hopefully this will give you some idea of whats available offering low profile and HDMI output, there are low profile cards available without HDMI (not listed), but for the HTPC we really need the sound output, otherwise there’s the extra cost of a 5.1/7.1 digital sound card.

ATI Radeon HD 4350 Series

  • SAPPHIRE ATI HD 4350 Series
  • XFX ATI HD 4350 Series

ATI Radeon HD 4550 Series

  • SAPPHIRE ATI HD 4550 Series
  • XFX ATI HD 4450 Series

ATI Radeon HD 5450 Series

  • SAPPHIRE ATI HD 5450 Series
  • XFX ATI HD 5450 Series

NVidia Geforce GT210 Series

  • XFX Geforce GT 210
  • Gigabyte Geforce GT 210
  • Asus Nvidia Geforce GT 210 (LP but Fan wont fit in case, see artical below)

NVidia Geforce GT220 Series

  • XFX Geforce GT 220 (NOT LP)
  • Gigabyte Geforce GT 200 (NOT LP)
  • Asus NVidia Geforce GT 220

Fans/Heatsinks/Power

Although there is room for a large heat sink within the case you need to take into account that the expansion slot is on the right handside nearer the side of the case than the PCI-E x1 slot therefore very close to the rails that the Motherboard slides into, this doesn’t leave much room for a large heatsink. I learnt this lesson the hard way after I took a gamble on the MSI N210-MD512H (Nvidia GeForce 210 512MB DDR2 Low Profile HDMI) Graphics Card (which didn’t actually come with the low profile bracket) and didn’t fit in the case due to the heatsink size…

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High rails for motherboard so the large MSI heatsink wont clear it.

My second option was to go down the AMD chipset route instead (and a slight increase in DDR). This is the HD5450 chipset and manufactured by Sapphire which fits nicely inside the case. There are other manufacturers however Sapphire seemed to be fairly cheap and included a smaller heatsink (rather than fan) that other brands offer.

Sapphire HD 5450 1GB DDR3

The physically works of the card are fine, however I will move onto issues i’m experiencing with running this card on Windows Server 2008 R2 and performance outputting to a Sony 37″ LCD TV…

The temperatures don’t run too hot, but then again I haven’t put it under much stress. Constantly running 2 x Hyper-V systems with 3GB of RAM allocated for around 127hours (as of this update).

hp-microserver-system-temps_atiradeon5450-Medium1

Windows Server 2008 R2 output to ATI Radeon 5450 as HTPC.

OK. So I know what everyone is thinking. Why the hell are you using Windows Server to host an HTPC environment. Well as I said before I then have the functionality of Hyper-V on the same box. Yes you could use VMWare Player or Virtual PC on Windows7 but it’s not such a nice intergrated solution that Hyper-V offers.

The benchmarking of this Graphics card and Server 2008 is not as expected. I’m sure if I was working on Windows 7 with the latest drivers then this should fly through the MKV and DVD files, but alas it doesn’t… I just need to work on it to see what the main issue is… More that likely lack of specific Windows 2008 x64 server drivers, however I can’t see how this would differ from Win7 x64/Vista x64 ones. Other aspects I need to look at are outputting to a 37″ HD display which could give the card a pounding, but I’m still not sure the Acer Aspire Revo 3600 would be able to cope when running with a Nvidia ION.