Miko's Tech Blog

Most tech-savvy users know how to select multiple files: Hold down the Ctrl key while clicking each individual file. Of course, that can get a little tricky if you're working with a long list and/or a lot of files: It's too easy to mis-click and "lose" all your selections.

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Have you ever noticed that many of the hotfixes listed in the Microsoft Help and Support knowledge base aren't actually available for download unless you contact support? What you might not know is that there is a secret form on the MS site that allows you to fill out a request for that specific hotfix… it's just not easily accessible.

Click here for more info

• Issue: Some images do not appear when you view the sent item. The user has set her mail to use HTML format for messages. This happens with some images and not others. All images are local to the machine, not links to images online.

• Solution: There is a registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Outlook\Security. It contains a key called "OutlookSecureTempFolder ". When I deleted that key, all images began to show.

Outlook doesn't support creating calendar items that countdown (or count up) to a specific date. You'll need to create each item individually and the easiest way to do this is outside of Outlook and import the file to the Calendar.

Full set of instructions

Per Microsoft, copy the following text into a text file and rename the extension “.cmd” and you’ll have yourself a cmd file that you can pass around:
***********************************
@echo off

REM RegisterAdminPak.cmd
REM (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

set filelist=adprop.dll azroles.dll azroleui.dll ccfg95.dll
set filelist=%filelist% certadm.dll certmmc.dll certpdef.dll certtmpl.dll
set filelist=%filelist% certxds.dll cladmwiz.dll clcfgsrv.dll clnetrex.dll
set filelist=%filelist% cluadmex.dll cluadmmc.dll cmproxy.dll cmroute.dll
set filelist=%filelist% cmutoa.dll cnet16.dll debugex.dll dfscore.dll
set filelist=%filelist% dfsgui.dll dhcpsnap.dll dnsmgr.dll domadmin.dll
set filelist=%filelist% dsadmin.dll dsuiwiz.dll imadmui.dll lrwizdll.dll
set filelist=%filelist% mprsnap.dll msclus.dll mstsmhst.dll mstsmmc.dll
set filelist=%filelist% nntpadm.dll nntpapi.dll nntpsnap.dll ntdsbsrv.dll
set filelist=%filelist% ntfrsapi.dll rasuser.dll rigpsnap.dll rsadmin.dll
set filelist=%filelist% rscommon.dll rsconn.dll rsengps.dll rsjob.dll
set filelist=%filelist% rsservps.dll rsshell.dll rssubps.dll rtrfiltr.dll
set filelist=%filelist% schmmgmt.dll tapisnap.dll tsuserex.dll vsstskex.dll
set filelist=%filelist% w95inf16.dll w95inf32.dll winsevnt.dll winsmon.dll
set filelist=%filelist% winsrpc.dll winssnap.dll ws03res.dll

for %%i in (%filelist%) do (
echo Registering %%i …
regsvr32 /s %%i
)

echo.
Echo Command Completed
*********************************

Microsoft KB Link

After writing yesterday's article about creating a shortcut to the Safely Remove Hardware dialog, a number of readers mentioned to me that they'd like create a shortcut to immediately eject a specific drive, so we'll cover that here.

Using the built-in Windows dialog is more powerful and probably would suffice for most people, but for those of us that want complete control there's a small freeware utility called USB Disk Ejector.

Note: This utility only works for ejecting USB devices, so if you need to eject another type of device you'll have to use the Windows method.

Using USB Disk Ejector from the GUI

This utility is really quite slick… launch it and then either double-click or press enter on the usb device you'd like to eject. There's literally nothing else to it.

If you assign a hotkey to the executable through a shortcut, you can operate the entire thing from your keyboard. Quite useful for keyboard ninjas!

Full Article

Speed Up Network File Copying While Playing Audio in Windows Vista SP1

Windows Vista restricts network traffic to 10 packets per millisecond while playing multimedia to prevent skipping. Unfortunately this causes network speed to be pitiful on a gigabit network, especially during file copies over the network.

Service Pack 1 includes a new registry tweak that can be used to change the throttling percentage so you can at least partially fix this problem, but you should be careful to test it out, because you don't want your audio to skip either.

Note: This setting is only really useful if you are on a gigabit network - the default values should be fine for a Wireless network.

Full Article

Dual Monitors: Use a Different Wallpaper on Each Desktop in Vista or XP

One of the most popular articles around here has been the article I wrote a year ago about using different wallpapers on each desktop using Active Desktop in Windows XP. The problem with that article is that it didn't work in Windows Vista… but now we have a great solution that is also free.

Instead of paying money for software to use separate wallpapers, or creating a wallpaper in Photoshop, Jon Tackabury has created a Free piece of software that lets you easily set separate wallpapers for each desktop.

Once the software is installed, you'll notice a new tray icon. Clicking the Desktop Wallpaper item from the menu will open up the dialog where you can set the wallpaper.


You can click on each desktop in the display, and set display settings differently for each monitor, or span the wallpaper across the two.

Full Instructions

Whenever a new version of a service pack for XP is released I always run it through the slipstreaming procedure to see if everything works as expected. Service Pack 3 (SP3) is the latest release so it was time for another round of testing. For those of you that have a copy of SP3 and want to give it a try the procedure I used is presented below. I experienced absolutely no problems with the procedure based on an original Gold Edition XP Professional CD. The slipstreamed CD booted and installed perfectly to a freshly formatted hard drive.

http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp3_cd.htm

vLite is a tool for customizing the Windows Vista installation before actually installing it.

Main features are:

• hotfix, language pack and driver integration
• component removal
• unattended setup
• tweaks
• split/merge Vista installation CDs
• create ISO and burn bootable CD/DVD

Windows Vista from Microsoft takes a lot of resources, we all know that. vLite provides you with an easy removal of the unwanted components in order to make Vista run faster and to your liking.

This tool doesn't use any kind of hacking, all files and registry entries are protected as they would be if you install the unedited version only with the changes you select.

It configures the installation directly before the installation, meaning you'll have to remake the ISO and reinstall it. This method is much cleaner, not to mention easier and more logical than doing it after installation on every reinstall.

http://www.vlite.net/index.html

What is a Stencil?

Microsoft Definition: A collection of masters associated with a particular Microsoft Visio drawing type, or template. By default, stencils that open with a template are docked on the left side of the drawing window. You can open stencil (.vss) files independently of a template.

Basically, a Stencil contains Shapes that are used to create a diagram. The Shapes can range from simple flow chart boxes or lines to more complicated Shapes like Servers, Racks or anything else that needs to be represented in a graphical form.

Download them here http://www.visiocafe.com/index.htm

Use AcctInfo.DLL to reset passwords and find the last good logon for users on your Windows 2003 systems.

Question: How can I find out the last time that the user's password was set and the last good logon on our Windows 2003 domain?

Answer: The easiest way to find out such additional account information is to install the acctinfo.dll that's part of Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit. When you install acctinfo.dll, it extends the functionality of custom Microsoft Management Consoles (MMCs) by adding a tab to the user account Properties in Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) console.

http://mcpmag.com/columns/article.asp?EditorialsID=1050

The Sysinternals web site was created in 1996 by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell to host their advanced system utilities and technical information. Microsoft acquired Sysinternals in July, 2006. Whether you’re an IT Pro or a developer, you’ll find Sysinternals utilities to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications.

Welcome to the ISO Recorder download page. ISO Recorder is a tool (power toy) for Windows XP, 2003 and now Windows Vista, that allows (depending on the Windows version) to burn CD and DVD images (DVD support is only available on Windows Vista), copy disks, make images of the existing data CDs and DVDs and create ISO images from a content of a disk folder.

Go here for the download and instructions

To authorize a DHCP server in Active Directory:

netsh dhcp add server

Where:

  - is the DNS domain name of the DHCP server.
      - is the IP address the the DHCP server.

Example:

netsh dhcp add server jsi001.jsiinc.com 216.144.1.25

To unauthorize a DHCP server in Active Directory:

netsh dhcp delete server

To list the authorized DHCP servers in the Active Directory:

Netsh dhcp show server

For additional help:

netsh dhcp add /?

netsh dhcp show /?

netsh dhcp delete /?

What is a portable app?

portable - carried or moved with ease
app - a computer program like a web browser or word processor

A portable app is a computer program that you can carry around with you on a portable device and use on any Windows computer. When your USB flash drive, portable hard drive, iPod or other portable device is plugged in, you have access to your software and personal data just as you would on your own PC. And when you unplug the device, none of your personal data is left behind.

No Special Hardware - Use any USB flash drive, portable hard drive, iPod/MP3 player, etc

No Additional Software - Just download the portable app, extract it and go

No Kidding - It's that easy

Download it now!

If you've worked on a network with Windows servers, you've encountered this error message at least 37,000 times:

"The terminal server has exceeded the maximum number of allowed connections. The system can not log you on. The system has reached its licensed logon limit. Please try again later."

Follow the instructions here

Open up Control Panel, and type in user account into the search box. You'll see the link for "Turn User Account Control (UAC) on or off". Click it. Uncheck the box, and reboot your computer. You should be done with obnoxious prompts!

Link

This page contains a collection of Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 Active Directory related articles, tips & tricks, whitepapers, useful tools and more.

http://www.petri.co.il/ad.htm

The How To section of Outlook Tips will show you how to use many of the features in Outlook and attempts to explain the reasoning behind some of the features.

http://www.outlook-tips.net/howto/

adminfoo.net: Windows Perfmon: The Top Ten Counters