Prerequisite updates for Internet Explorer 11

Prerequisite updates for Internet Explorer 11

Keyboard Shortcut to Change Screen Rotation

Screen Rotation Keyboard Shortcut

Ctrl+Alt+[arrow  key]

• Ctrl+Alt+Up - rotate up
• Ctrl+Alt+Down  - rotate down
• Ctrl+Alt+Right - rotate right
• Ctrl+Alt+Left - rotate left

Quite a common support call

Refresh Hosts file without rebooting

Tried this with Windows 8.1 and it is easier than you would think as it a command you should be very familiar with.

IPCONFIG /FLUSHDNS

PowerShell determine what version is installed

What version of PowerShell is installed on a machine

Open PowerShell and type Get-Host

Windows 7 – version 2.0

Windows 8 – version 3.0

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb978526.aspx

Update GPO templates to manage Windows 8

You’ve added some Window 8 PCs and possibly Windows Server 2012 to your existing Windows Server 2008 R2 enterprise … okay so how do you access the additional features with Group Policy?

Looking at a Group Policy setting in Windows 8 Windows 8 GPO Blocking Connection Accounts … I got to thinking … I’m doing this from Windows Server 2012 … more realistically I will be adding Windows 8 machines to a Windows Server 2008 environment.

How do I update the group policy template files?

My only caveat … I have still to do the testing … will the new templates work with the old admin tools.

Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 Group Policy Central Store

Administrative Template files for Windows 8 & Windows Server 2012

Upgrading the ADMX Central Store files from Windows 7/2008R2 to Windows 8/2012

Enable GodMode in Windows 7 and Windows 8

Want all your admin features in one place. Really useful if you are transitioning from Windows 7 to Windows 8. Think it has been around since Windows Vista.

Create a folder on your desktop and rename it

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

 

Your folder will be remained GodMode and inside will be all the good stuff an Admin God would want.

GodMode folder Windows 7

GodMode folder Windows 8

Windows 8 elevated command prompt

Working with Windows 7 I found the quick way to an elevated administrators command prompt was Windows key + R to open the Run box, type cmd then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter. In fact I used this method for most thing I wanted to run as administrator.

This method does NOT appear to work with Window 8 … this is where the Windows 8 haters start to scream … but the solution is as simple.

There are several ways to elevated command prompt in Windows 8 my preferred method from the Desktop is:

Press the Windows key to return to the start screen.

Type cmd

Command Prompt will return already selected

You now press Ctrl+Shift+Enter

Say yes to the UAC prompt

You are returned to the desktop with an elevated command prompt in no more time than it took in Windows 7.

It would be nice for the transition from 7 to 8 if Windows Key + R then Ctrl+Shift+Enter worked or did I miss the memo and it should!!!

Windows 7 Network Tracing

Tools for Troubleshooting using Network Tracing in Windows 7

MSDN: Using Netsh to Manage Traces

MSDN: Using Network Monitor to View ETL Files

TechNet: Netsh Commands for Network Trace

Using Certificates for IPsec Authentication

In a previous post IPsec Overview there is an example of securing Telnet with IPsec. This link to a TechNet Video takes the Telnet example further by using Certificates for IPsec Authentication.

TechNet Video: Using Certificates for IPsec Authentication

Useful NetSH IPv6 commands

Here is a link to some useful commands for working with IPv6 from the command line using NetSH.

Useful Windows 7 IPv6 netsh commands

One I would add is to include a rule in Windows 7 Firewall to reply to ping requests ... useful when testing as Windows 7 does not reply to ping by default.

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="All ICMP V6" protocol=icmpv6:any,any dir=in action=allow

I was working on a Microsoft IPv6 lab and they would have appeared to have omitted this step before requesting you to ping the client.

Messing about with NetSH AdvFirewall

Reset Firewall to Default

If you are going to mess about with your firewall the first thing you want to know is how to reset it to default

netsh advfirewall reset

Export/Import Settings

The second thing you should know is probably the last thing you would have though about. If you are going to mess around with an already successfully configured firewall then you may want to save the current settings and reimport them.

netsh advfirewall export "c:\wfconfig.wfw" 
netsh advfirewall import "c:\wfconfig.wfw"

It’s not a bad idea if you are messing about with NetSH in general to export the configuration. Not all “learning” is done with easily revertible test VMs … most of the important lesson we learn tend to be on live systems.

Firewall Off & On Test

If I switch the firewall off will this work … NO … better switch it back on then.

netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off
netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state on

Useful WMIC Queries

WMI using the command line, WMIC is a utility that allows you to interact with WMI from a WMI-aware command-line shell.

Here are a couple of useful links

TechNet: Ask the Performance Team Blog

WMIC - The Windows secret weapon

Windows Denial of Service by IPv6 RA Packets

Any version of Windows with IPv6 installed and running is vulnerable to a DoS attack by sending thousands of Router Assignment (RA) packets.

 

To prevent a “Script Kiddies” attack have a look at this link.

Overclocked Techies: Windows Denial of Service by IPv6 RA Packets

http://samsclass.info/ipv6/proj/flood-router6a.htm

TechNet: Test Lab Guides

Test Lab Guides (TLGs) allow you to get valuable hands-on experience with new products and technologies using a pre-defined and tested methodology that results in a working configuration. When you use a TLG to create a test lab, instructions define what servers to create, how to configure the operating systems and system services, and how to install and configure any additional products or technologies.

A challenge in creating useful TLGs is to enable their reusability and extensibility. Because creating a test lab can represent a significant investment of time and resources, your ability to reuse and extend the work required to create test labs is important.

TechNet: Test Lab Guides

DirectAccess Deployment Guide

This link describes deployment of DirectAccess in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Discusses such things as Corporate Connectivity Detection.

DirectAccess Deployment Guide

Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.6

The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) version 5.6 contains the necessary tools and documentation to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying Windows 7®, Windows Vista®, a Windows Update, or a new version of Windows Internet Explorer® in your environment.

What caught my eye. If you enable compatibility logging for Internet Explorer if ACT is not installed then some event ids in Event Viewer lack descriptions. I installed it to add functionality to Event Viewer

Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.6

Check firewall not blocking shared printing

Couple of quick ways to check if the firewall is blocking a shared printer.

From a remote machine open an command prompt and use

Net View \\print-server-name

This should return a list that includes the name of the shared printer generally you can now eliminate the network or firewall as an issue.

or download PortQry from Microsoft and check the required ports are open on the computer sharing the printer.

Use PortQry or PortQueryUI to check TCP ports 445 & 139

If computers are not on the same LAN segment don’t just check the print server firewall ensure their is not another firewall between the computers.

Remote Desktop printing add additional drivers

I run Hyper-V with a mix of 32bit/64bit operating systems and would like to print from any of the remote session to my local printer.

My ancient HP LaserJet 1200 has the default Windows 7 32bit driver installed but I cannot get the additional 64bit driver to install.

I seem to remember a similar situations in the past with a network printer where the resolution was the printer had a different name in the 32 bit inf than the 64 bit. I hacked the 64 bit inf file and ensured the names matched exactly … with success.

Did not want to go through that again and thought that I would try the HP Universal Printing PCL 5 drivers installed from the command line with PNPUTIL.EXE … why … never used it and wanted to try it.

• Downloaded both versions of the driver from HP
• Installed the 32 bit driver from an elevated command prompt
• pnputil –a c:\<path>\*.inf
• and did the same with the 64 bit
• opened the printer properties, advanced tab and switched the driver to the HP Universal Printer PCL5

As I did not intend blogging this I forget whether I had to go to the share tab and add the additional drivers or whether it was smart enough to find it for itself.

Painless and I can now print from 64bit VMs

Print spooler must be running on server and client

Read something like this … “In order to print to a server based printer the print spooler must also be running on the client” … time to experiment … It is the same with a Remote Desktop session and a locally attached printer?

Did an experiment, I used Remote Desktop from a Window 7 machine to a Windows 7 VM. Remote Desktop is setup allow the remote session to use the local printer.

Succeeded in printing from notepad on the remote machine to the redirected LaserJet on my local machine.

Shut down the spooler on the remote session with

net stop spooler

and tried to print from notepad got this error and

everything disappeared the from Select Printer except Add Printer

restarted using net start spooler

all the printer came back.

Remote/Shared printing … the spooler must be running on both machines not just the box the printer is plugged into.

Server 2008 R2 core remotely edit group policy.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Core remotely edit group policy.

I have a Windows 7 computer that I use to manage Hyper-V on Windows 2008 R2 core. Both machine are in the same workgroup.

On Windows 7

Start, In Search Programs and Files enter MMC

When the Microsoft Management Console starts open File, Add/Remove Snap-in…

Select “Group Policy Object Editor” click Add > button.

Click Browse  button

Select Another computer and type the name or IP of remote machine

Click OK then Finish and you should now be able to View\Edit the Local Group Policy on the remote server