God Mode In Windows 7
There's not much that can be done from the desktop of windows 7. by defualt it is a minimal in functionality for configuration options and settings. It is a clean interface by design and done for simplicity. Most everything needed for configuration and support can be found from the control panel of windows 7 as with previous operating systems from Microsoft. However, through control panel won’t allow you to see and easily use all those nested settings included in the main options. Did you know that you can become a God? Well, at least on Windows 7!
One of the less known options on Windows 7 is the God Mode feature. Basically, it lets you have every setting and option right in front of you, ready to be used without having to browse among different settings before getting what you are looking for.
Here is how to enable it:
Right click on any bank space on your desktop.
Click new from the menu and create a New Folder.
Rename the folder as follow: GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
DO NOT use this trick on Vista and Windows 7 64X. It will cause your Windows to crash! (read comments below)
This simple command will create a special shortcut to the God Mode option letting you access all Windows 7 functions via a handy GUI!
GodMode also works on Windows Vista!
[credit: stadt-bremerhaven.de]
Labels: control panel, microsoft, settings, windows 7
Test URL for Activesync 2007 Exchange
Test URL for Activesync 2007 Exchange
A useful URL to know and keep track of for future use is one that allows you to check on an Exchange 2007 server's activesync functionality. This is a particularly useful link to have and use for testing when you don;t actually have a windows mobile phone to test with. The URL is simple but has changed from Exchange 2003 server. In Exchange 03 it was /oma or OMA.
To use the test URL, just open a new browser window and enter https://owa.{yourdomain.gr}/Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync/ in the browser's address bar and lick go or hit enter.
If Microsoft activesync is working on the exchange server you are connecting to properly, you should get an error message. The error message displayed in the browser should be Error 501/505 - Not implemented or not supported. This error message is normal for when a browser reaches the activesync web site. Depending on server configuration, https may not be required. A URL using only http without the s may be sufficient.
Labels: 2007, Activesync, Exchange, mobile, oma, Test, URL, Windows
Action When Virtual Server Starts Greyed Out
The option to change the behavior of the virtual server when the host server is restarted or if the virtual server services are stopped and restarted. The option is greyed out if the virtual server is currently running. You have to turn off the guest OS before you can make changes to this area of the virtual server configuration.
Labels: 2005, Action, microsoft, R2, server, Virtual
The RDP protocol component "DATA ENCRYPTION" detected an error.
The following entry is logged in event viewer on a windows 2003 server when trying to connect using RDP from another server or XP desktop:
The RDP protocol component "DATA ENCRYPTION" detected an error in the protocol stream and has disconnected the client.
Source: TermDD , Event ID: 50
This is a known issue and can be resolved with a simple registry change. below is an image of a registry change made on a server. Unable to connect to the server using RDP, this registry change allowed the connection. The registry key is circled. Below the certificate entry in the right window pane, is the certificate entry that was originally there and was renamed - hence the double dash (--) in front of the name. The registry change was made and no reboot was required. Just tried connecting again from another server and the new certificate entry was entered automatically into the registry on the server.
The old and new entries in the registry to fix the RDP problem look the same but the data value does differ. The string is a long entry that's not shown in the image. All the way to the right the numbers/characters start to change.
This is a known issue:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;323497
Link to this port, add to favourites...
Labels: 2003 server, RDP, terminal server, Windows, XP
E_BLOCKMODEL_NO_RANKED_RESOURCES_FOUND
Vista Desktop Resource Monitor
Just click on any of the graphs to expand the related section for more information.
Vista has some surprisingly interesting and sometimes useful new features. One such feature I stumbled across is the desktop resource monitor. This is a nifty little tool whose access was added through task manager. Task manager is a tool I use religiously on every desktop I operate and even those that I don't regularly use but I'm in a position to have to clean up malware or other bad programs or solve other problems. In fact, I have task manager running minimized at all times on my computers (hide to tray option) to enable me to watch CPU usage on my desktop or laptop.
One of things that I have found in Vista to be useful but required third party monitoring type applications on XP for the same purpose is Vista's resource Monitor. A nice step beyond just task manager, Vista's desktop resource monitor reveals more information in an instant that can be useful for those of us that need that kind of information. Information such as what programs are communicating on the network and with what remote computer. Although there are command line tools in both XP and Vista that can display a list of applications that are listening on the network and also talking, having this information at the ready through a GUI interface I find to be much more handier.
Though not common, a useful effect of having it in GUI form through resource monitor is if there is a need to show a regular user some information about their computer, they will understand the pretty GUI side more easily than they would the command line output on the desktop even if it showing essentially the same information.
Resource manager can be found simply by starting windows task manager on the desktop or laptop. Then click on the performance tab and then at the bottom click on the resource manager button. This new button when clicked open resource manager on the desktop and a world of more information about what the desktop or laptop is doing.
In a quick glance, you are able to see some vital information and insight to what your computer is doing. CPU, disk, network and memory information are all at fingure tips reach. The one I find useful now and would have liked to have had this in XP over the years is the the network resource overview.
The network resource monitor will show all the running programs that are "talking" on the latop to the network. This is a useful view of what's going on in that if there is a network latency at a glance, this resource view may be able to give a way an application on the desktop or laptop that is using too much bandwidth or that should not be using any at all.
Why waste time travelling to a location to provide computer support or even worse in many cases, trying to talk a person through steps on the remote computer through the phone. This is, in my opinion, even worse that going to the location unless of course the place where the computer, desktop,server, or laptop is located is too far away.
Talking people through troubleshooting steps is a very painful task. A simple process that could take an experienced person several minutes to maybe ten can turn into an hour with a person on the remote side that has no idea of how to perform the actions or functions that you are requesting or have never even seen a command line.
Remote support is the best alternative and solution to make more efficient use of computer skills and efforts.
Labels: computer, desktop, laptop, manager, monitor, remote support, resource, support, task, vista
Supporting tech-nol-O-gy. Yip, that's a computer aw'right.
This is a very uncommon error. If your receiving this error in an application like Captaris RightFax, then the solution may be as simple as a directory or file rights/permissions modification.
Check that the services that may be writing files for Captaris' services, and there are several of them, have the necessary rights to write to the folders the software writes to when creating or updating the index file stored and used for file retrieval and archival on the system during send and receive.
The error is not limited to the index file permission but also the pdf or tif files that are created with each receive (incoming). Especially if you are routing the incoming to folder locations based on the user who is to get them.
Check the this site/blog for further information:
Event Log AFD:Error (13) - Path Problem
Desktop, Server and Network Management
Labels: desktop, helpdesk, Kaseya, network, server, support
Desktops, Servers, and Networks, oh MY!: RAID - Not Just for Servers Anymore
RAID, once found only in network server and on a very rare occasion, and on a very expensive desktop computer system. Any desktop years ago that had true hardware RAID installed was a very expensive and rare site to see. often, it was for someone who had way too much money and needed something to brag about. In legit cases however, if there were a desktop with hardware RAID installed it would also be acting as a server in some capcity or the user was just paranoid and didn't want to save anything in public space such as a network server.
Labels: desktop, RAID, SAS, SATA, vista, Windows
With the cost of RAID redundancy coming of age in terms of pricing, it's no wonder that there are more desktops sold with the option of RAID redundancy. Due to the successfully change from the IDE standard many years ago to SATA and SAS, RAID at the desktop level is much more consumer friendly in terms of price and therefore many more desktops are shipping with redundancy hard drive redundancy and fail over being built into them. RAID is no longer only for servers.
I think this is great and wish it could have been so inexpensive to add RAID to desktops many years ago. I know that it would have saved many people a lot of pain as their computers took a dive and the hard drive they stored much of their data on was never backed up.
What prompted me to add this post is during a recent installation of Vista Ultimate edition on a desktop computer system, I noticed a button on the installation drive selection window. It said load drivers and so out of curiosity, I clicked it. Behold, an option to add third party disk drivers to Vista. This was once a part of the text based installation of XP and Windows 2000, but now it's been nicely GUI-fied.
Oddly enough though, when you click the button to add disk drivers to the Vista installation, you are asked to insert a diskette containing the drivers. So just as it's becoming common place to see RAID installed in desktops, it becoming just as rare to see floppy drives installed on new systems.
Desktops, Servers, and Networks, oh MY!: RAID - Not Just for Servers AnymoreLabels: desktop, microsoft, RAID, SATA, vista
VMware Boot From ISO Image
VMware-boot-from-iso-image-2One of the nice features, and VMWare has many great features, of VMWare Workstation is the ability to select an ISO image to boot from. If the ISO is the installation media for a guest operating system then the installation for the operating system begins.
In the case of Vista fo example, it comes often on DVD. If the user of VMWare worksation doesn't own a DVD player on their computer and their budget is tight, they are left with trying to borrow one or have the DVD image converted to an ISo. Once they have the ISO image, the file can be compied to a network drive or stored on the local hard-drive. Throuhg VM's interface, the ISO image can be selected to boot from and the installation begins.
Labels: boot, computer, desktop, guest, guest os, ISO, pc, vista, vmware, workstation
Conferencing & Collaboration With LiveMeeting
Supporting Technology with Technology
Microsoft LiveMeeting has a new version and some great new features to go with it.
Sign-up for a demo:
LiveMeeting Demo
Read White Paper:
Conferencing and Collaboration White Paper
Computer Support - Adventure (Rated PG): Supporting tech-nol-o-gy. Yep, that's a computer alright. - Powered By Bloglines
I saw the post on hardware reviews, they're not bad. They're not fluffed up with an angle to sell and computer or network hardware or having been sponsored by anyone to say good or bad things on particular hardware or software computer devices or applications. It seems that person is really a technician or engineer that support the computer software, applications and networks hardware (and other computer desktop hardware - can't leave out the printing wows that everyone has gone through). It really seems that person really works in the tech field and is posting for real stuff from a regular technician's or hardware and software integrator perspective.
A site that has some honest reviews of software and hardware is http://www.bloglines.com/blog/puppet/ . The writer isn't a tech writer, you'll realize that right after the first reading but does have a flair and natural ability to write. That is important because as the reviews or computer desktop and server hardware is written about, the author isn't trying to play to any audience, isn't getting paid by anyone to write about their computer or network products, the author is just writing about the things they have experienced while working and applying computer desktop, server, backup and network technologies.
Other opinionated article and site regarding computer and networking technologies can be found that may have an opinion about computer and software and other such topics but if you notice they'll be commercial sites with commercial adds about computer desktop or server and networking hardware and software on the pages and more often the writers are paid to write about some product.
So you want an opinion from someone who was paid to provide it? Does that make sense? The writers on article sites or promotion (PR) sites often promote sites or products have a vested interest in what they are writing they've been often paid to say good things and in many cases to even just talk about the product.
Another site that's not a paid opinion site. The author hasn't been paid to say things about the product (at least not from what I can tell - the site doesn't seem commercialized)
http://remotesupport.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!4332AD0A933BC068!166.entry
http://remotesupport.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!4332AD0A933BC068!166.entry
For software that will enable remote desktop support and online server remote support through the web - Desktop Remote Support Software
Netgear PS121 Print Server - USB to LAN
The Netgear PS121
Easy to Use: The external USB interface makes connecting as close to a no-brainer as one can get. The ports, ethernet, the USB, and the power and none of them look similar enough to each other for home users to even connect cables to the wrong ports. The Smart Wizard install assistant makes it fast and simple to install on all latest and popular versions of Microsoft Windows. You can manage the print server or servers remotely with an easy, Web browser interface. Once setup, you can share a USB printer on your LAN without ahving to share your computer.
Ordering Part Number (United States) : PS121NA
The Netgear PS121
Printer Compatibility List - http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/n101216.asp
Sorry for such a long delay since my last post. I know many of you have been wondering what happened. I have a simple answer, I had to work in the Hawaii islands for a customer and unfortunately, after work hours were not spent blogging about computer components and my experiences with them. The project I was working on in the Hawaaii Island went great.
Yes, you heard right, Hawaii - it was ... awesome.
So back to the regular old stuff, not like there wasn't any of this in Hawaai but it's different there. A sustomer had gone tot he local retailer and picked out a print server for his USB printer. Well, actually picked it our for him online and told him what to get next time he was at the store. That's neither here not there.... So he has this print server from Netgear, the PS121 model, that's to replace the HP JetDirect that took a dive. That jet direct lasted a long time. It's one of the old dark grey 3 port jet directs.
The PS121 has dhcp enabled to pick up an ip address automatically once plugged into the network and to power. Now you may be thinking, if you've done enough of these little dopey devices, how am I going to find the ip address to connect to it. Well, Netgear has done the right thing. They provide on the cd a neat little utility to find the ps121 and it does very well in fact. Once found on the LAN, you can configure it with a static ip address. The Netgear utility that comes on the cd finds the netgear ps 121 print server and connects to it allowing a reconfiguration of the ip address.
The other really nice thing I liked about how netgear thought this little printer server gem out, was that you can configure the computer that's going to use the printer over the network with a local tcp/ip port. Yes, aside from the first computer, I did not run anything from the ps121 installation cd. That was great. I just added the printer to all the other computers in this small office and was done.
Netgear PS121 Print server. So, if your looking for a print server for your USB printer, look no further. For about 40 to 50 bucks (that's USD bucks, please check you local currentcy rate exchnage for your costs...) , you can have any printer on the LAN. Take the the USB cable out of the computer and plug it into this little network printing wonder.
For PC Remote Support Software - http://www.4remotesupport.com/ Desktop Support Software - http://www.4remotesupport.com/ Computer Remote Support Software - http://www.4remotesupport.com/
Labels: ethernet, LAN, netgear, port, print, print server, ps121, server, tcp port, tcp/ip, usb
VoIP Qos through Sonicwall Firewalls
I often find myself having to troubleshoot or install VoIP applications for customers. During the course of both installing or troubleshooting the voice quality, I get to see what various networking equipment manufacturers are doing to support this rapidly growing technology and tool for office to office communication and often office to customer communication.
Some networking equipment vendors have embraced the voice of data networks technology and have increased support for their product lines to accommodate it by building in the tools to make the technology work. Others have introduced product lines and offer special support including remote support to help the end-users or VARS deliver the best quality of voice.
One of the vendors which I just had the pleasure of troubleshooting network voip issues on was Sonicwall. The model the customer is using is the TZ170.
They have the enhanced firmware (operating system) installed version 3.2 which supposedly has QoS features and VoIP features in built into the system. They do indeed have some VoIP features, functionality, and configurable items built in but they are mostly designed for SIP and H.323. These are standard protocols that are commonly used in voice over data systems. One of the problems I found with the built-in features was theat mostly were designed to assist in voice data packets getting through the firewall and NAT routing features. But what if the voip solution is designed to work through a VPN? They completely missed that part. These features were useless in the site to site VPN such as the one I was working with.
This customer has multiple tunnels from their main location which has a PBX switch to several of their remote offices that also have PBX switches. They can transfer calls between the phone system and also of course be able to call each other saving money on toll calls. One of the most annoying things I found with these the TZ170 firewalls is while configuring the unit through the web GUI or even just viewing, any page refresh causes the current voice streams to choke. The quality of the sound deteriorates while working on the system itself. I already mentioned that their features for voice over data are useless in a vpn to vpn environement and their bandwidth management is awkward and clumsy.
Enterasys 1800 series routers
I've posted ab out Adtran Netvanta and cisco routers in the past. I'd like to add another manufacturer to small b ut prestigious list of router manufacturers that I've posted my 2cents about.
I recently had to configure two Enterasys 1805 branch routers that were to be installed by the customer in a point to poi nt configuration. This customer had just recently added another office a state away and was looking to get that new office on the main corporate LAN. They also have a VoIP application so not only was their regulate end-user data going to be connected b ut also their ip based phone systems .
The Entarasys was ordered and purchased by the customer and shipped to my office to be configured. Once configured, they were to be shipped back to the customer and they would do the physical cabling and installation.
The model was heavy in weight which I tend to like in networking equipment because it gives a feeling that the device is not just a cheap peice of plastic garbage. Although, I must add that lightness does not mean the the device will not work or is junk. I'm just a little old school and like the feel and sense of reliability from the weight of metal. An example of light not necessarily meaning not effective or reliable is the Adran NetVanta 3200 series. That device is very light but works very well.
The interface is industry standard which means that it looks and feels like Cisco. Con configuration of the WAN interfaces differed slightly and took a little adjusting to get going . The 1805 come with a fixed LAN interface and a NIM slot that can handle to Network Modules. I of course in each of the two routers used up one for the point to point connection. They have firewall and VPN features of which I used neither. They have SNMP for monitoring and their speed was very decent. While looking o nether web site , I found the data sheet for the using and one of the things that I found interesting and have not easily found from other manufacturers is the MTF (Mean Time Before Failure). for this unit it was rated at 72 ,000 hours - not bad at all.
It was a very inexpensive router and fairly easy to configure and get going. The only complain I have for this unit is the no shutdown command did not have the desired results. What I was looking to do and I'm fairly certain that I've done it on Cisco routers before , is issue a no shut command on the router's interfaces so that after they've been shipped back to the customer they could plug them into a live T1 and the interface and protocol would come right up as active. The routers did not do this so the customer had to login using the provided console cable and run the command.
Overall I give the router a thumbs up.
I found this a site that provides an online remote support solution:
Wait...before you click away. I know everyone knows the name brands of remote support software that provide you with computer remote access over the web, but this one although it doesn't have an IT household name does the job like the others. In fact, it let let's technical support and IT pros provide remote assistance software for their end-users on the cheap. No, it's not just another executable with an IP address compiled into it for downloading. They have a bit more dynamic on-demand remote support system that let's you make changes to your own configuration if you need to.
So let's say you get one of the other brands of computer remote control packages for remote tech support software that works over the web that has a static configuration and then you change ISP providers. Your out of luck. Sure you could have Dynamic DNS setup and that's good to but that's another piece of software running on your system and other id to maintain and another point of failure. Yes, point of failure. If you switch from cable, let's say, to DSL or visa versa, you have to get a new program. One can argue that you do not because of DDNS, but what if you want to provide online computer remote support software from another network. Now you have to get that same service running on the other network and the next and the next. Their system, although it works just fine with DDNS, it doesn't need it.
When you sign-up for an account you get a login to their site, not unfamiliar as many site have this, and a user page. On that user page you configure your networks settings. That's right, for many of you who have looked into software like this it's the same information you provide to the other site that have a static remote support solution. But the big difference here is that you don't wait for your pc remote support executable to be changed and of course to get charged again. It's on the fly. Change you config and instantly the same customer that you had provided on-demand pc remote support for just a while ago from another network now is connecting to the new network. You may be thinking that you need to have all your users go to their site to get remote assistance over the web from you. No, not at all. They have an executable program too that you get at no additional cost and it's dynamic too. Pretty Cool!!
I'm going to work with it some more and post back with more information.
Labels: computer, desktop, email server, laptop, microsoft, support, vista, Windows, XP
Adtran Netvanta 3200 Routers
I configured a few more Adtran Netvanta 3200 routers this past week.
I know I already have a post about these routers but I have to do it again. It's been some time since the last post and several firmware and software updates have made their way into this excellent product by Adtran since then.
I had to replace two Cisco routers with the Adtrans for reasons I won't go into because it really not important. These Netvantas came with firmware version 13.2. I thought the last batch at version 12 were good, Adtran topped it with some nice additions and the GUI, at least at that time, seemed to work even faster than before. I sus[past there were some hardware Updates as well like CPU and supporting ASICs.
They have some really nice features and I noticed that BGP was listed as a protocol plus HDLC protocol which means they can inter-operate with Cisco routers using Cisco proprietary protocol. Their live stats are great too. Although through command line you would have to keep repeating the command, through the GUI they just refresh and the data is actually good important information. They even display the operating temperature. They are a breeze to configure and get up and running. I was able to do both of them within an hour. I was swapping out live routers in a point to point configuration.
This customer didn't;t require QoS even though there was VoIP going over the T but the last time I had an encounter with these networking units it was for QoS purposes and VoIP and they really did the job.
Good work Adtran!!
Oh, did I forget to mention they cost a fraction of what comperable Cisco networking gear costs and you get support too - in english.
Re: Mail server report - another desktop email trojan.
The guys who program viruses and trojans and all other sorts of malware and adware are very clever. Don't get me wrong, I don;t condone what they do and actually despise it. It's a thorn in my side as I try to about my job, every now and then I'll get someone who has just polluted their computer system with one of the adware type of programs that either creates pop-ups gallery or has slowed down their desktop so bad they could barely do anything productive.
Some of the worst one out there make the computer almost useless.
These types just don't make sense to me. If they have the talent or skill to put together software that could download to systems automatically and open browsers and go to web pages they want the unsuspecting computer users to go to, why make a computer useless with junk. Make money with this talent. Why annoy people?
The latest incanation I've seen was just today. It's not actually a new one but a variation of the same old tired method of trying to infect desktops all around the world. It's the simple email a zip attachment that contains a computer virus routine. What makes this and other like it interesting is that the subject and body of the messages are made to look like they are really legitimate. This one had a subject that read:
Re: Mail server report
Well, this matches the usual bland email subject found in most server based or monitoring type applications and could fool many users. The body could also get people ot believe that it's a legitimate email. It mentioned things about risk and your computer should be updated and the attachment had a name that was similar to a Microsoft Knowledgebase file name. All of these coupled together has probably got a lot of people running the attachment thinking it's going to help them.
I believe there should be some real penalties for people who are caught doing these things. There must be some liability for the actions they take. They hurt people by spreading these types of programs around.
Labels: adware, email, email server, print server, trojan, virus
