Information Technologies

Using Hyena to attach to Windows domains other than your own

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What tripped me up about this procedure is that I had incorrectly assumed that it was a one-time operation when in fact it must be done each time Hyena is launched. Right-click the domain in question in the tree pane. Select "Set source Domain Controller". If this is your first time, you *may* have to enter the FQDNs of your DCs here. They always show up in my dialog automagically though and I simply click Okay as soon as the dialog pops up. That's all there is to it. Now expand the tree and see all the goodies.

Master Boot Record (MBR) explained

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A very good article on how the MBR works can be found here.

Historically, in Microsoft-land, the MBR has been repaired using a DOS boot floppy and the command fdisk. However, the command fdisk is incompatible-with-Windows NT/2000/XP.

In walks "MBR Fix". It's free and it works from Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 command prompt, and so is perfectly suited for use in removable operating systems (ERD Commander, BartPE, WinPE, etc.) You can download it here.

IBM Software Installer

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The IBM Software Installer is the only package which requires manual installation on a Windows 2000/XP Thinkpad. It will acquire all other necessary packages, drivers and updates.

Unattended Windows installations

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The Microsoft Software Forum Network has a very detailed section entitled Unattended Windows which gives a very good breakdown of how to produce automated Windows OS and application installation, configuration and tweaking.

 

Keywords: windows software application install installation msi ris automated unattended

Windows apps crash more when this checkbox isn't checked

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...which is why we didn't bother to check it for you by default.

This would have been useful to know for the past couple years:

"If you regularly work with a large number of folder windows at the same time, you can quickly and easily improve the stability of your PC. By default, each folder you open occupies the same area of RAM. This means that Microsoft Windows XP has to do a great deal of shuffling as you flick between windows, potentially leading to crashes. In the Control Panel, double-click Folder Options and move to the View tab. Scroll down the list in the lower portion of the dialogue box and tick ‘Launch folder windows in a separate process'. Click OK." 

Taken from Microsoft Windows XP: The Official Magazine - 50 Best Tips Ever.

Windows Explorer hangs for so many reasons

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Explorer can hang for minutes at a time, often taking other applications or your whole system with it. I have now seen this on at least a dozen installations. I have spent many an hour trying to track down what the root of the cause was. Here are some of the many possible causes compiled in a quick list so you don't have to suffer what I've suffered:

Exchange disaster #6829: Self-mail-enabling Public Folders are not possible to "mail-disable"

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After reading the subject line, you are undoubtedly saying to yourself, “…What?” And with good reason I might add.

It turns out that viewing the properties of a Public Folder from the Exchange 2003 ESM (Exchange System Manager) which was created in Exchange 5.5 and migrated to Exchange 2003 will automatically cause the folder to become mail-enabled — even if you “Cancel” out of the properties window and made no changes at all! What’s better? Now you can get cryptic serialized names showing up in your GAL that look like this one I found today (exact copy and paste, no embellishment): 2708b030-d58a-42c0-8764-ff90f8735656. What’s better is the string of phone calls and emails that pour in from executives who are wondering why this is happening and are not only unsympathetic to your plight as an Exchange sys-admin (who lobbied from the get go to never install Exchange in the first place) but are also entirely incapable of comprehending that there is no possible way to remove this known and documented Microsoft Exchange issue.

How to update Veritas (Symantec) Backup Exec for Windows Servers

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Ways of updating Backup Exec:

  • You can navigate the Veritas/Symantec support site for the Support: Backup Exec for Windows Servers page entitled Software Updates & Downloads.
  • You can use the Veritas Update feature of Backup Exec.
  • Update: The following method was not usable as of 2006-11-07, when I discovered that many (if not all) of the needed subdirectories are now restricted. -sigh-
    My preferred method: You can FTP to ftp.support.veritas.com, navigate to /pub/support/products/Backup_Exec_for_WindowsNT/ and sort the directory by date in descending order. Then you can grab the latest driver or software update which is listed nearest to the top of the list. You can even go straight to the relative support article by typing the number from the file into the Veritas/Symantec support site search field.

 

VMS UCX ping

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How to ping from a VMS box with UCX installed on it:

ucx ping {hostname|ip}

The three L's: Liabilities, logon banners & legal disclaimers

When Googling, the keywords you need to try (in various combinations) are:
  • banner
  • legal
  • disclaimer
  • logon
  • login
Also try restricting the search with "site:*.gov" or "site:*.org".

On the Pomona Unified School District network, computers splash this banner:

"All software, hardware, and data are for the sole use of the Pomona Unified School District.  Your connection may be subject to monitoring, key logging, and other security measures without further notice to you. This account may only be used by the person to whom it is assigned. Any unauthorized use is subject to prosecution. Continuing beyond this point signifies your agreement to these policies and those of the School Board. Thank you for your cooperation."