WSUS Fails Initialization
Windows Server Update Services fails to start with a fairly generic error message.
- Run elevated Command Prompt and issue the following command:
"C:\Program Files\Update Services\Tools\wsusutil.exe" postinstall /servicing
- Restart “WSUS Service”
Enable Windows PIN Sign-In
If a Windows 8.x/10 computer is joined to an Active Directory domain then the User Account “PIN sign-in” option is disabled (not Configured) by default. You can set it in either a domain or local Group Policy Object (GPO). It can also enabled on a local computer via a registry key setting.
For Local Group Policy run [Win+R] gpedit.msc and under Local Computer Policy
expand the tree to:
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Logon
Change the Turn on convenience PIN sign-in setting to Enabled.
(more…)
Dynamic Distribution Groups and Exchange Hybrid Problems
DirSync does not replicate Dynamic Distribution Groups between the cloud and the on premise servers.
dynamic distribution groups not showing on Office 365 users GAL
Microsoft NPS with Cisco Equipment Using RADIUS
See this article: Integrating Cisco devices CLI access with Microsoft NPS/RADIUS
Should be cheaper than Cisco’s ACS or ISE systems for small to medium 50-1000 user/computer organizations.
Think about PCI/DSS (3.0) when analyzing cost/risk/liability/brand reputation.
Dell Wyse Cloud Connect
This is the Dell “PC-on-a-Stick”: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/cloud-connect/pd?~ck=anav
Use the Dell Cloud Client Manager server for $22 a year per device: https://www.cloudclientmanager.com/
Cisco Unified Communications and VMware Tools
Please see this documentation for the installation of VMware Tools on Cisco Unified Communications (UC) servers.
Customer Service & Support Software
Customer Service & Support Software
NoReplyAll Outlook Add-In
The Outlook Add-In can be download from this page: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/60860f41-88ab-4bb4-8104-765feca9cfed/default.aspx
The primary function of this add-in is to add a few buttons to the Outlook ribbon to prevent people from replying to all the recipients of your message or forwarding it, etc. The add-in uses a facility built into Outlook and Exchange that is more lightweight than information-rights management but is not exposed in the existing UI. The add-in also includes a check for common email errors, such as omitting attachments or subject lines.
Windows Deployment Information
These are some old and new link for managing business/enterprise Windows system deployment.
I hope to maintain and expand this list/page.
Uninstall System Center 2012 DPM Agent From The Command Line
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2756127
To uninstall an update, run the following command:
Note The <RTMProductCodeGuid> placeholder represents one of the following GUIDs:
Server | 7348450D-5558-4CA6-8E71-044720D304F2 |
Console (amd64) | 95241780-B772-4A42-A1F0-8FA951FAF619 |
Console (x86) | 4FC5546F-AD4A-4C76-9B48-DF11F946EDD0 |
Reporting | A1A61449-81E0-4C25-82DD-92B0A3CB4E77 |
WebConsole (amd64) | 20F530CC-FD73-43FE-ABD3-138D140A77A9 |
Agent (amd64) | 5155DCF6-A1B5-4882-A670-60BF9FCFD688 |
Agent (x86) | D14AAC0-B9A1-4CEF-B507-23755C1EBE3A |
Agent (IA-64) | 16499EB-B3D8-4473-9EF4-AB72FDDECD4B |
Gateway | 7032CF7-3861-4150-8EDD-4DE2540C6E7B |
Cisco VPN on Windows 8
I have run across this issue when installing both the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client and the traditional Cisco VPN client. Once the client is installed and you attempt to establish the VPN connection you might get one of the following messages: “Unable to establish VPN” or “The VPN client driver encountered an error.”
The fix is you need to change the “Display Name” in the registry. Open the following registry key and take out the extra INF stuff at the front of the “Display Name” data. The different VPN clients use different Registry keys.
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vpnva\DisplayName
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CVirtA\DisplayName
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CVPND\DisplayName
Powershell: Rename Computer, Join Domain, and Reboot
From a “Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog” post.
An alternative to using the NETDOM command line program to rename and join computers to an Active Directory Domain is to use these Windows PowerShell 2.0 command:
(Get-WmiObject win32_computersystem).rename("newname") add-computer -Credential iammred\administrator -DomainName iammred.net Restart-Computer
In the first command, I use the Get-WmiObject cmdlet to retrieve the Win32_ComputerSystem Windows Management Instrumentation class. (The Get-WmiObject cmdlet has an alias of gwmi, and it will also take credentials if required.) Because this class returns only one instance, I can use my group and dot trick (see My Ten Favorite Windows PowerShell Tricks) to directly call the Rename method to rename the computer.
After I rename the computer, I use the Add-Computer cmdlet to join the computer to the domain. The Add-Computer cmdlet allows me to specify the credentials that have rights to add computers to the domain, in addition to the name of the domain to join. Although I did not do it in my example, there is also an ou parameter that allows you to specify the path to the OU that will contain the newly created computer account.
The last command, Restart-Computer, appears without any parameters. This means that the computer will restart within one minute, and it will attempt to cause processes to politely exit (generally a good thing). For emergency type of situations, there is the Force switch that will cause the computer to immediately restart, and not wait on processes to politely exit. The use of this optional parameter can lead to data loss in some situations.
SCCM Recognized Return Codes
Some System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) recognized return codes:
Success:
0
Failed / Reboot:
1604
1641
3010
3011
Failed / Retry:
4
5
8
13
14
39
51
53
54
55
59
64
65
67
70
71
85
86
87
112
128
170
267
999
1003
1203
1219
1220
1222
1231
1232
1238
1265
1311
1323
1326
1330
1618
1622
2250
Restart Web Interface for Cisco Call Manager 8.x
If the Cisco Call Manager web administration interface is running slow, or failing to respond, you can restart the Tomcat web service from the server’s SSH CLI shell.
SSH to the server and use the OS Administration username and password to log on. At Cisco’s limited CLI “admin:” prompt type the following command:
utils service restart Cisco Tomcat
Reset Windows Offline Files Cache Database (CSC)
Use this command line to set the registry flag that controls flushing/reformatting of the Windows Offline Network Files Cache Database when Windows boots up:
REG ADD “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\NetCache” /v FormatDatabase /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
Cisco Unified Attendant Console Overflow
Since I keep forgetting where the settings are for changing the Cisco Receptionist/Auto-Attendant timers and overflow are I decided to post it here for future reference.
The Attendant Console is the Windows based server application that is part of the Cisco Call Manager v8.x system.
This is setting is on the Attendant Console server (web interface http://attcon/webadmin/) under “User Configuration -> Queue Management — Overflow — Wait time to overflow”.