Extracting the SMS Installer Download on a Workstation

Posted by Ali on July 5, 2007 2 comments

Extracting the SMS Installer-ISU integrated download (or, just the standard SMS Installer) requires that a SMS site server be present on the network connection. When the extraction intiates is asks for a valid server name and will check to see if its available.

Say, you downloaded SMS Installer from home on a dial-up connection, what do you do then? Wait until you are in the office?

Do this:

On your workstation, change the data value in the following key:

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftSMSSetup
Data: Type
Data Value: dword:00000001

Usually this is set to 00000004 on a workstation

You can download a compiled exe with the above fix here SMS Installer Reg Key Fix

Categories: General, SMS, Windows 2000, Windows 2003.

I’m performance testing a proposed server configuration. To save disk space, I turned on circular logging and started running the Exchange Server Load Simulator (LoadSim) 2003 against my test servers, but I ended up with several dozen log files on each server. Why isn’t circular logging working?

Posted by Ali on July 1, 2007 No comments

If you read the Microsoft article “XADM: How Circular Logging Affects the Use of Transaction Logs” (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=147524) carefully, you’ll see that circular logging is working just fine. When it’s enabled, Exchange can reuse log files instead of creating new ones. Under typical circumstances, Exchange will create no more than five logs when you enable circular logging; however, Exchange will create additional log files, if needed, during surge conditions of high activity–such as when you run LoadSim to create a bunch of sessions and messages. After Exchange creates those log files, Exchange won’t delete them until you purge the files by doing a full backup with an Exchange-aware backup utility. Exchange will reuse the first log files, but they’ll stay in place across reboots until you purge them.

Categories: Exchange, General.

How can I prevent someone from accessing event logs on my server through the network?

Posted by Ali on July 1, 2007 No comments

Windows automatically limits access to the Security log to only those users who have the Manage auditing and security log user right. However, guests can access the System and Application logs. To disable guest access to these logs, open a Group Policy Object (GPO), go to ComputerConfigurationWindows SettingsSecurity SettingsEvent LogSettings for Event Logs, and enable Restrict guest access to system log and Restrict guest access to application. In Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP, these policies are named Prevent local guests group from accessing system log and Prevent local guests group from accessing application log, respectively. Other users will still be able to view these logs provided they possess the Access this computer from the network user right. Windows doesn’t offer a more granular way to control access to the logs.

Categories: General, Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows XP.

Can you give me a good explanation of the differences between assigning someone as a delegate and giving him or her permission to a folder?

Posted by Ali on July 1, 2007 One comment

The main difference is that using Tools, Options and setting permissions on the Delegates tab also grants the delegate Send On Behalf Of permission on the mailbox in Active Directory (AD). The user can then send messages as if he or she were the mailbox owner, and the From line on such messages will read From <sender> on behalf of <mailbox owner>. If you want to allow only folder access, without letting the user send on behalf of the mailbox owner, right-click the folder, choose Properties, and set access on the Permissions tab. You also need to use the Properties dialog box when you want to allow access to any folders other than Inbox, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Journal, or Notes.

Categories: Exchange, General.

When I open Windows Explorer, it takes a few seconds before it displays information. How can I eliminate that delay?

Posted by Ali on May 21, 2007 No comments

I fixed this problem by simply removing invalid entries from my system path. When Windows Explorer starts, it traverses the PATH variable, and invalid entries can extend the time necessary for Windows Explorer to initiate. To solve the problem, you need to ensure that each item in your PATH variable exists. To do so, open the Control Panel System applet, and access the Advanced settings (on the Advanced tab). Click the Environment Variables button. Under System Variables, view the PATH variable and check each entry that makes up the path. (Entries are separated by a semicolon.) Remove any incorrect entries, and click OK. Click OK on the main Environment Variables dialog box.

Categories: General, Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows XP.

How can I quickly check whether a folder contains a certain type of file?

Posted by Ali on May 21, 2007 No comments

You can pass the test-path cmdlet a wildcard expression to see whether any matching file exists. For example, to see whether a folder has any MP3 files, you can use

test-path d:temp*.mp3

Categories: General, Scripting.

Can I upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 from Exchange Server 5.5?

Posted by Ali on April 14, 2007 5 comments

No. You can’t introduce Exchange 2007 into an existing Exchange organization while an Exchange 5.5 server still exists in the organization. If you run Exchange 5.5, you must first upgrade to Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003, effectively Exchange native mode. After you move the mailboxes to an Exchange 2000 or Exchange 2003 organization, you can move the mailboxes to Exchange 2007 via the Exchange 2007 GUI if Exchange 2007 and the Exchange 2003/2000 installation are in the same organization or by using the Power Shell Move-Mailbox command for cross-organization migrations.

Categories: Exchange, General.

Can I run ESEUTIL on a machine other than the Exchange Server system?

Posted by Ali on April 14, 2007 No comments

You can copy Exchange server 2003’s ESEUTIL to another machine, along with the database to run. First, create a temporary folder on the computer that you want to run the defrag on. Then, copy the eseutil.exe, ese.dll, jcb.dll, exosal.dll, and exchmem.dll files from the Exchange 2003 computer’s ExchsrvrBin folder to the temporary folder, along with the database and streaming files. At a command prompt, change the directory to the temporary directory folder you created and copied the files to. Finally, run the Eseutil command from this folder against any databases that you copied from the Exchange 2003 computer.

Categories: Exchange.

Do I need to enter a product key during Windows Vista installation?

Posted by Ali on March 15, 2007 3 comments

No, the Vista installation differs from earlier versions in that the image contains all the versions of Vista. When prompted for a product key, you can just click Next. When you click Next, you’ll be prompted to enter whether you want to enter a key. Click No.

A list of all the images in the installation image are displayed. You need to select the version to install, then confirm that you selected the edition you purchased and therefore have a key for.

After the installation is complete, you can enter the final product key to use to activate. If you don’t enter the key, after 30 days the system will no longer operate and will be in lock down mode.

Categories: General, Vista.

How do I enable the Aero Glass UI?

Posted by Ali on March 15, 2007 No comments

f you upgrade your video hardware and have previously been running Windows Vista Basic, your system will not automatically switch to Aero. To enable the new UI, perform these steps:

  1. Right-click the desktop and select Properties (or select Personalize from the Control Panel).
  2. Click the “Windows Color and Appearance” link.
  3. Under the Appearance tab, change the “Color scheme” to “Windows Aero,”
  4. Click OK

Categories: General, Vista.
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