Category Archives: Windows

Upgrading a Windows NT domain

This section explains the recommended steps for upgrading a Windows NT domain to Windows 2000 and Active Directory. Plan and implement a namespace and DNS infrastructure Because the Domain Name System (DNS) is required for Active Directory, ensure that you have designed a DNS and Active Directory namespace and have either configured DNS servers or are planning on… Read More »

How to Erase a Tape with NTBackup

When inserting a tape for the next week’s rotation, the tape must first be erased. This procedure must be performed manually through the Graphical User Interface of NTBackup, and is not scriptable. If the tape is not first erased, there will not be enough room on the tape for the backups in the coming week. The following steps… Read More »

Automatically Kill Programs At Shutdown

Don”t you hate it when, while trying to shut down, you get message boxes telling you that a program is still running? Making it so that Windows automatically kills applications running is a snap. Simply navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop directory in the Registry, then alter the key AutoEndTasks to the value 1.

No Forwarding or Root Hints on Windows 2000 DNS server

If no DNS servers were detected during the initial configuration of Windows 2000 DNS, the system will typically designate the new DNS server as a “root server”, which is the ultimate authority for all naming resolution activities. As a result, the new DNS server will not be able to forward any name resolution queries that it is unable… Read More »

Remove Patch Uninstall Folders To Clean Hard Drive

Hard drives are cheap and people typically have more space than they know what to do with these days. But, that is no reason to just waste it. When you install Windows patches, hidden folders are created which contain the uninstall data. Viewing the hidden data on my computer, I found 50 or so patch uninstall folders taking… Read More »

Protect Wireless Access Using MAC Address Filters

Wireless networks add a significant level of convenience for many users. The ability to roam at will and access the network without adding wires is quite useful. But you need to do so securely. There are a number of basic steps you should take to protect your wireless network and filtering MAC addresses is one more way to… Read More »

Can’t Access Your Shadow Copies?

If you are unable to access the configuration of the Volume Shadow Copy service remotely, there may be a good reason why.One of the great features of the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is that you can access this services configuration and the backups it creates without being interactively logged into the server it is activated on.

Naming Printers

Be careful naming your printers if you want to be able to manage them! Ever deployed a printer and then tried to open its properties from the print server and found the Security tab missing or some of the buttons on the property sheet not working? You may have given your new printer a name that contains a… Read More »