Clear Public Desktop
del /q c:\Users\Public\Desktop\*.*
Category Archives: Windows
User Logon Time
To find when a user last logged onto their PC (drop findstr to return account properties): net user “johnDoe” /domain | findstr /C:”Last logon”
PHP Manual Upgrade
Manually update PHP on Windows:
Get-Filehash
To verify a file checksum use get-filehash -path c:\older\file.ext
View Cellular MEID on Windows 10
Go to: Settings > Network & Internet > Cellular > Advanced Options
Offline install of .NET 3.5
If .NET 3.5 will not install use this by mounting the ISO that matches the current version of Windows and running as Admin: Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFX3 /All /Source:D:\sources\sxs /LimitAccess
Dropping RAID
If you need to drop RAID from a windows box follow these steps: Reset the Local account password Sysprep the box and shutdown Disable RAID from the drives or remove the controller Let the system boot and rejoin the domain This can be helpful if you plan the virtualize a windows box that is set to boot from… Read More »
Making PowerShell Interactive
Turn a Powershell script into an interactive application with: Out-GridView -PassThru | This code will pause your script and present you the data collected in a grid view. You can then select specific items in that view. When you hit OK at the bottom the script will proceed against just the selected items.
Windows updates via PowerShell
The script runs for a while at get-wulist Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -MinimumVersion 2.8.5.201 –Force Install-Module PSWindowsUpdate get-wulist get-wuinstall –acceptall –AutoReboot
Windows 10 1803 not installing
If the 1803 download gets stuck you can manually install it from here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 Do NOT choose download now.
Remote Connections
These PowerShell scripts list the remote IPs connecting on 443 , while filtering out local IPs and devices on ATT (107.77)
Carrier Network IPs
Cellular providers use specific IP ranges that can be filtered.
Default MS Store Apps
In Windows 10 the old (win8) tricks for removing Microsoft apps no longer work.Here are a number of useful powershell commands.
AnyConnect Password
The Cisco Any Connect Client does not allow you to save a password on the client. This code when saved as a .vbs file will let you get around this. Be warned that the client’s password is saved in clear text in the file. I hide the file in Drivers and create a shortcut to it with the… Read More »
VPN Interface MIA
If the Cisco VPN launches, but no window appears delete this file: C:\Program Files (x86)\Cisco Systems\VPN Client\vpnclient.ini
Exchange Permissions
You can list all users with Mailbox permissions with this in PowerShell: Get-Mailbox | Get-MailboxPermission | where {$_.user.tostring() -ne “NT AUTHORITY\SELF” -and $_.IsInherited -eq $false} | Select Identity,User | Export-Csv -NoTypeInformation mailboxpermissions.csv
Home Ed. in a Domain
You can connect a Windows home edition PC to a domain as follows: Change the PCs workgroup to the domain name (pre-Windows 2000) Change the local username and password to exactly match a domain account. The PC should now have full access to Outlook, network shares and printers without entering credentials.
Safe Mode from CMD
If you need to put a system into safe mode you can do this from cmd then reboot: This will set the safemode switch: bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal with networking: bcdedit /set {current} safeboot network to put back in normal mode via dos: bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot
Remote log off
I recently had a console session hang with just a white screen and no start menu on an Exchange Server. Not wanting to reboot the server and disrupt the entire office, I used the following to remotely log the admin out via PowerShell: (gwmi win32_operatingsystem -ComputerName $PCname).Win32Shutdown(4)
Issues Renaming a Domain Computer Part 1 of 2
If you get an error about multiple connections by the same user using different usernames; net use * /d
Issues Renaming a Domain Computer Part 2 of 2
So you have gone through part 1 and now get an error saying the directory service is busy! Is SQL Express or SQL installed? If so, from an elevated command prompt type: setspn -L computername Note any registered SPN in the format of MSSQLSvc/[Computer Name]:[Instance Name] Delete each of the SPN’s noted above. setspn –d [SPN Name] [ComputerName]… Read More »
Setup a Printer on Windows 10
Go to start > type Print > Choose Printers & Scanners Choose Add a printer or scanner
Win7 updates not running
Update services are running yet the windows update control panel says that they aren’t when you try to check for updates. Disable windows update service and then stop it. At this point go to Windows\SoftwareDistribution and rename the folder to SoftwareDistributionOld. Enable windows update service and start. You should be able to check for updates now.
C Drive filling up regularly
Windows/Temp filling with cab_XXXX files. Deleting the cab_xxxx files only resulted in regeneration. Checking \Logs\CBS folder I found lots of .log and (some) .cab files It seems, that windows wasn’t able to zip (makecab.exe) one of the .log files. Solution was: in \Logs\CBS folder delete the oldest .log file (you can also delete them all) in \temp folder… Read More »
Network XP & 10
Hopefully this doesn’t come up often but when it does… Windows 10 no longer supports SMB1. It can be enabled (it is also a big security hole) Powershell as administrator: Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName smb1protocol more on the topic in general here.
Photo Viewer for 10
Some users prefer to use the old Windows Photo Viewer. If the PC was upgraded it is still available. For a system that was clean installed use this registry hack. This also addresses the fact that Outlook is missing from the “Share Pictures” feature of the new photos app.
Reset Windows Update
Disable Windows Update service Rename the folder %windir%\SoftwareDistribution Restart the Windows Update service
7to10 Remote upgrade
Windows can be upgraded remotely with these steps. Verify MSP Connect is working on the PC. Download the ISO and copy the contents to C:\Win10\ Run the upgrade to Windows 10. After about 30 Min. access the PC with MSP Connect (RDP will not work yet) Answer the setup questions to complete the upgrade. Test RDP
Remove Windows 10 Bloatware!
Powershell to the rescue. https://www.howtogeek.com/224798/how-to-uninstall-windows-10s-built-in-apps-and-how-to-reinstall-them/
Windows Updates info: Win10 Part 2
Microsoft had changed the logging format for WU. run powershell command: Get-WindowsUpdateLog then type windowsupdate.log at the command prompt. Additional info can be obtained in c:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\ReportingEvents.log
Microsoft Update Catalog
Microsoft has a searchable catalog of all their updates located here: http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Home.aspx. You will find links to standalone installers and other resources.
Convert KMS to MAK
If Windows is setup for Key Management Services activation it can be converted to Multiple Activation Key. slmgr.vbs /ipk “MultipleActivationKey”
Exchange Email Format
In Exchange, emails sent outside the organization are converted and the format of these can be set per domain or for all domains. If messages are sent in text format, some recipients will have issues viewing attached images. ContentType should be MimeHtmlText not MimeText when running: Get-RemoteDomain |fl To update it run the following with either a domain… Read More »
Installing Windows 10
Windows is 10 is finally stable, but not easy to deploy. Here is what I have found:
Uninstall Office 2016
IMPORTANT: Before you start, you need to know removing Office manually is a long, complex process and might require that you reinstall the operating system if certain steps are done incorrectly.