Category Archives: Microsoft

Reset Shell Folders Default Paths

Windows stores the location of per-user special folders under the following registry key:

Turn Off Low Disk Space Checks

This will prevent Windows Vista from checking the space on your hard drive and popping up the notorious “Hey, you”re running out of space!” warning balloon.

Hack User Account Control

Windows Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) is the new operating system’s most universally reviled feature. Sure, it helps protect you, but it also annoys you to no end.

NoDriveTypeAutoRun and AutoPlay

This registry hack will control what happens to AutoPlay when you put a CD into the drive caddy. Researching NoDriveTypeAutoRun, reminds me of a tip that I was given for playing chess; when you find a good move, look for an even better one. Previously I had known about plain AutoRun, but now I have found a more… Read More »

Automatic Daily Defrag

Defragmenting your hard drive is a simple way to improve disk access and improve the overall zip of your PC. The only downside is that it can take several hours to run. Also, it’s not something that most people remember to do on a regular basis.

Quickly Checking FSMO Role Locations

Here is a quick tip to finding out where the FSMO roles for a domain are located. When dealing with Active Directory on a domain that is unfamiliar, you may be placed in a situation where you have to verify the location of the domains FSMO roles.

Editing the DNS Root Hints Files

DNS Root Hints are essential for the location of records that takes place during DNS recursion. Here are a couple of quick tips regarding DNS Root Hints.

Forcing Group Policy to Run at Startup

Group policy can be quirky in the way it runs at startup, often taking two or three reboots before it actually applies to a machine. Here we are going to look at the cause of this and how to fix it.

How to tell who is currently logged on to a domain

A frequently asked question concerning Active Directory-based networks is, How can I tell who is currently logged on to my network? Unfortunately Active Directory itself has no built-in functionality to determine this, but there is a free tool from Microsoft that can help in this regard.

Change Management Using AGPM

Keeping track of Group Policy changes can be a daunting task if done manually. Luckily, Microsoft’s AGPM utility makes this process a whole lot easier.