How to Backup & Restore Outlook Express emails,Addressbook,mail accounts

Outlook Express backup and restore is not as simple as it is in Ms Outlook. The following procedure will help you with a step by step procedure on backup and restore of Ms Outlook Express. This should work on Outlook Express 5 & 6 and as you are aware there is no Outlook Express 7.

The procedure involves

1. Backing up emails

2. Backing up (export) Address Book

3. Backing up (export) Mail Accounts

Backup EMails

Backup the outlook Express mails to a seperate folder by doing the following:

1. Open Outlook Express, click Tools and then Options.

2. Click the Maintenance tab then Store Folder.

3. Copy the storage location path.

4. Click Cancel, Cancel to close the dialog box.

5. Now, Click Start - Run, paste the path copied and click OK.

6. Once the folder opens, copy all the files in the folder [.dbx file] and paste then onto a new folder [say MailBackup] on the C:\ drive.

Backup Address Book

Export the Address book in the CSV format to the MailBackup folder by doing the following:

1. Open Outlook Express, click File - Export and select Address Book.

2. Select Text File (Comma Separated Values) and click Export.

3. Browse and select the MailBackup folder as the backup location and name the file[say as, BackupAdd.CSV].

6. Click Next.

7. Select the fields that you want to export, and then click Finish.

8. Click OK and then Close.

Backup Mail Account

Backup the Mail Account onto the MailBackup folder by doing the following:

1. Open Outlook Express, click Tools then Accounts.

2. Click the Mail tab, then the mail account to export, and click Export.

3. In the Save In box, locate the Mail Backup folder and click Save.

4. Repeat these steps for each mail account that you want to export.

5. Click Close.

Backup News Account: Backup News accounts (if any) using the above procedure where in Step 2, click the News tab instead of the Mail tab.

With this the Backup completes. Now, proceed with the following to restore the Outlook Express mails. All the data backed up needs to be restored back using the Import function. If there are multiple identities from which Backup has been done then each identity has to be created seperately and the following procedure should be repeated for each account.

Restore Email messages

1. Open the Outlook Express, click File, Import, and click Messages.

2. In the Select an e-mail program to import from box, click Microsoft Outlook Express 5 or Microsoft Outlook Express 6, and click Next.

3. Click Import mail from an OE5 store directory or Import mail from an OE6 store directory, and then click OK.

4. Click Browse, and then click on the Mail Backup folder on your system.

5. Click OK, and then click Next.

6. Click All folders, click Next, and click Finish.

Restore Address Book:

1. Open Outlook Express, click File, Import, and then click Other Address Book.

2. Click Text File (Comma Separated Values), and then click Import.

3. Click Browse.

4. Locate the Mail Backup folder on your system, click the address book .csv file, and click Open.

5. Click Next, and then click Finish.

6. Click OK, and click Close.

Restore Account Settings:

1. Open Outlook Express, click Tools, Accounts.

2. On the Mail tab, click Import.

3. In the Look In box, locate the Mail Backup folder on your system.

4. Click the mail account that you want to import, and then click Open.

5. Repeat these steps for each mail account that you want to import.

6. Click Close.

Restore Newsgroup Account:

Restore the Newsgroup account the same way as above where in Step 2, Select news tab instead of the Mail tab.

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


Dnscmd.exe – DNS Server Command Line Utility for Windows DNS

8:26 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

DNSCmd.exe is a Command Line Interface utility to display and modify Windows DNS (Domain Name System)servers. DNSCmd.exe is an equivalent to the DNS Server snap-in from the MMC (Microsoft Management Console).

Dnscmd is enhanced version of the dnsstat.exe utility in Windows NT which infact was replaced by Dnscmd.exe utility itself later on.

Dnscmd.exe can be used to display and edit the properties of DNS servers, DNS Zones and Resource Records. Dnscmd.exe can also be used to force replaication between DNS Server memory and DNS database and data files. Dnscmd.exe is also useful for the fact that it can run on the local server systems and on remote servers running DNS Server software.

The Syntax for Dnscmd.exe is

dnscmd <SERVER> Command [Command Parameters]

For a list of commands that can be run using the dnscmd utility, click here

Example:

To display a Complete list of Zones on a DNS Server

dnscmd example.com /enumzones

Enumerated zone list:
Zone Count = 6.

. 0 DS Up=0
0.0.10.in-addr.arpa 0 DS Rev Up=1
0.in-addr.arpa 1 file Rev Auto Up=0
255.in-addr.arpa 1 file Rev Auto Up=0
example.com 1 DS Up=0
host.example.com 1 file Up=1

Command completed successfully.

Delete Records in a node

dnscmd example.com /nodedelete host.example.com node /tree

Are you sure you want to delete node's subtree? y

DNS Server example.com deleted node at node.host.example.com:
Status = 0 (0×00000000)
Command completed successfully.

For more examples, click here

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


How to Rename a Computer from Command Line in Windows

We can rename a computer from command-line on Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP in a domain environment with Active Directory. In Windows XP, we need to install the Windows XP support tools and in Windows Server 2003, we need Administrators pack installed.

To download the support tools for Windows XP SP2, click here

To download the Administrator pack for Windows Server 2003, click here

To rename a computer attached to a Domain:

C:\Users\Administrator> netdom renamecomputer SAI /newname:SAIBABA /userD:hq\Administrator Passwordd:**** /usero:hq\Administrator /passwordo:***** /reboot

This renames the computer and reboots for the changes to take effect.

The syntax is

netdom renamecomputer <CurrentName> /newname:<NewName> /userD:<Domain Admin User> Passwordd:domainpass /usero:<localAdmin> /passwordo:localpass /reboot

In the above, if you enter "*" instead of the password then it will prompt for the respective user password.

The UserD & PasswordD options allows to make connection to the domain controller

The UserO & passworO options allows to make connection to the local host. This could be the same as the Domain Admin.

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


DHCP & Static IP Settings in Windows Registry

8:09 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

Have you ever wondered where the network configuration settings like IP Address Subnet mask or the same settings provided by your DHCP server (propably your home broadband router) on a network interface or a wireless interface are stored on your computer?

Undoubtedly, these are stored in the Windows registry. While there is no need to change any of these values from Windows Registry as it is good enough to make the changes network settings, it is still good enough to where they are and what the related registry keys are.

Let's look at the registry keys first and then look at the case of the static IP settings and DHCP based IP settings.

To view the registry keys:

1. Click Start - Search (Start - Run in Windows XP/2003) and type "regedit". This launches the WIndows Registry.

2. In the registry, navigate to the following registry key

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet
\Services
\Tcpip
\Interfaces
\<Interface GUID ex: {1BBA2BE4-D734-47DF-AEDC-6167F60E278D}>

Every network interface in your PC or server will have a unique Interface GUID as above. Click on them to find the one appropriate to be checked.

Case 1: DHCP

Now, we know where the entries are. Lets now look at what the keys are.

DhcpIPAddress

This key holds the IP Address provided by the DHCP server to your PC. (In the screenshot shown, it is 192.168.0.3)

DhcpSubnetMask

This key holds the Subnet mask for the IP Address, again provided by the DHCP server. (In the screenshot it is 255.255.255.0)

DhcpDefaultGateway

This holds the IP Address of the Default Gateway for the network. (here 192.168.0.1)

DhcpServer

IP Address of the DHCP Server itself (192.168.0.1 here)

DhcpNameServer

Nameserver (DNS) IP Address (192.168.0.1 here)

DHCP IP Settings

DHCP Settings in Registry

Case 2 Static IP Address

In this case, its not the DHCP tha provides the IP Address Nameserver, default gateway etc its manually configured by hand from the network connection settings.

IPAddress

This key holds the IP Address provided by the DHCP server to your PC. (In the screenshot shown, it is 192.168.0.3)

SubnetMask

This key holds the Subnet mask for the IP Address, again provided by the DHCP server. (In the screenshot it is 255.255.255.0)

DefaultGateway

This holds the IP Address of the Default Gateway for the network. (here 192.168.0.1)

NameServer

Nameserver (DNS) IP Address (192.168.0.1,192.168.0.2 here)
Static IP settings

Static IP settings in registry

Technorati : , ,
Del.icio.us : , ,
Zooomr : , ,
Flickr : , ,


How to Add a DHCP Server from Command line in Windows Server 2008

8:04 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

In Windows Server 2008, we can setup the DHCP Server role and configure DHCP paramters including Scope, IP Range etc and the startup type all from command line. This is especially useful, if you are using Windows Server Core installation.

The following step by step procedure should help you just do that:

Install DHCP Server role

The following command from the command prompt should add the DHCP Server Role.

C:\Users\Administrator>start /w ocsetup DHCPServer

In Windows Server 2008 Core, the Role name is "DHCPServerCore". So, in Windows Server 2008 Core installation, it is

C:\Users\Administrator>start /w ocsetup DHCPServerCore

Set DHCP Service to be Automatic

By default, after the role is enabled, the Service is still disabled. Hence Set the type to Auto as follows

C:\Users\Administrator> sc config dhcpserver start= auto

Start the DHCP Server

C:\Users\Administrator>net start dhcpserver

Add DHCP Server and Authroize in AD

If the DHCP server is installed in an Active Directory domain, you must authorize it in Active Directory. Now, let's use the netsh commands to setup the server and configure the relevant parameters.

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh dhcp add server dc1 192.168.0.5

Adding server dc1, 192.168.0.5

Command completed successfully.

Where DC1, is the DHCP Server and the IP Address follows it

Add DHCP Scope

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh dhcp server 192.168.0.5 add scope 192.168.10.0 255.255.255.0 Scope1 Scopevlan10

Command completed successfully.

In the above the

DHCP scope - 192.168.10.0 255.255.255.0

Scope1 - Scope Name

ScopeVlan10 - Comment for the scope

Syntax is

netsh dhcp server 192.168.0.5 add scope <Subnet> <Subnet mask> <ScopeName> <Scope comment>

Set Scope IP Range

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh dhcp server 192.168.0.5 scope 192.168.10.0 add ipra nge 192.168.10.1 192.168.10.254

Changed the current scope context to 192.168.10.0 scope.

Command completed successfully.

Here the IP range is 192.68.10.1-192.168.10.254 for the scope 192.168.10.0

Syntax is

netsh dhcp server <Server> scope 192.168.10.0 add iprange <StartIP> <EndIP>

Add Exclusion Range

Add any IP Exclusion ranges if any.

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh dhcp server 192.168.0.5 scope 192.168.10.0 add excluderange 192.168.10.1 192.168.10.25

Changed the current scope context to 192.168.10.0 scope.

Command completed successfully.

Here the exclusion list has the range between 192.168.10.1 to 192.168.10.25

Syntax is

netsh dhcp server <Server> scope <Scope> add excluderange <StartExclusion> <End-Exclusion>

Set Option Code 003 for Default Routers

Set the option Code 003 and specify the Gateways

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh dhcp server 192.168.0.5 scope 192.168.10.0 set optionvalue 003 IPADDRESS 10.1.1.1 10.1.1.2

Changed the current scope context to 192.168.10.0 scope.

Command completed successfully.

Here the gateways are 10.1.1.1 & 10.1.1.2

Syntax is

netsh dhcp server <Server> scope 192.168.10.0 set optionvalue 003 IPADDRESS <Gateway1> <Gateway2>

Set Option Code 006 for Default DNS Servers

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh dhcp server 192.168.0.5 scope 192.168.10.0 set optionvalue 006 IPADDRESS 192.168.0.5 192.168.10.1

Changed the current scope context to 192.168.10.0 scope.

Command completed successfully.

Here the DNS Servers are 192.168.0.5 & 192.168.10.1

Syntax is

netsh dhcp server <Server> scope 192.168.10.0 set optionvalue 006 IPADDRESS <Primary DNS> <Secondary DNS>

Activate DHCP Server Scope

Now, the relevant DHCP settings are complete. Lets activate the Scope

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh dhcp server 192.168.0.5 scope 192.168.10.0 set state 1

Changed the current scope context to 192.168.10.0 scope.

Command completed successfully.

This should help you up and running with DHCP in less than 5 minutes. You can always modify from command line or by using DHCP MMC later on!!!

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


How to join a Server/Computer to a Windows Domain from Command Line

8:02 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

You can join a Computer or a Member server from the command line usinf the the "netdom" command. This I should say is simpler than the right-click my computer thing. Just one single command will do…

The following procedure should work in Windows Server-2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows XP. Although, you need the Administrator pack/Support Tools to be installed to get the netdom utility in Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP.

To download the support tools for Windows XP SP2, click here

To download the Administrator pack for Windows Server 2003, click here

1. Click Start - Run (in Windows Server 2008/Vista, Start-Search and type "Run")

2. From the command prompt type

C:\Users\administrator> netdom join client1 /domain:hq.wr.com /userd:administrator /passwordd:******

Syntax is

netdom join <ComputerName> /domain:<DomainName> /userd:<UserName> /passwordd:*****

Where:
ComputerName is the name of the server that is running the Server Core installation.
DomainName is the name of the domain to join.
UserName is a domain user account with permission to join the domain.
NOTE: Ensure you have the primary DNS server set to your Domain Controller

3. When prompted to enter the password, type the password for the domain user account specified by UserName.

4. Restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

C:\Users\administrator> shutdown /r /t 0

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


Winver command to find the version of Windows

7:57 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

This isn't a big step by step guide for something, just a quick one liner for anyone to find the version of Windows in Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 & Windows Server 2008.

Winver is the command that one can run to find the version of Windows.

1. Click Start - RUN (In Windows Vista/Server 2008, Start - Search RUN), type "winver" and press enter.

This should show the "About Windows" with Windows Version and Build.

Windows Version in Windows Vista

Windows Vista - Windows Version

Windows Version in Windows Server 2008

Windows Server 2008 - Winver

Hope this comes handy!!!

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


How to set Static/DHCP IP Address from command line

7:53 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

In Windows Server 2008 Core installation, the only way to setup IP Address eithe Static or DHCP is from the command line. The following procedure helps setting the IP Address from the command Line using "netsh". This procedure works in Windows Server 2008 (No core installation as well), Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista.

To setup Static IP Address:

From the command prompt:

1. Type

C:\Users\Administrator> netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces
Idx Met MTU State Name
- - -- ---- -------
1 50 4294967295 connected Loopback Pseudo-Interface 1
10 20 1500 connected Local Area Connection

This should show the Network Connections. We are looking for the name here. On mine, I have one LAN interface and is named as "Local Area Connection"

2. To set a static IP Address type the following command

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh interface ipv4 set address name="Local Area Connect
ion" source=static address=192.168.0.5 mask=255.255.255.0 gateway=192.168.0.1

The syntax is

netsh interface ipv4 set address name="<ID>" source=static address=<StaticIP> mask=<SubnetMask> gateway=<DefaultGateway>

Where:
ID is the name of the LAN Connection
StaticIP is the static IP address that you are setting
SubnetMask is the subnet mask for the IP address
DefaultGateway is the default gateway

3. Now set the DNS Servers one at a time with the followind command. For each DNS server, increase the index number.

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name="Local Area Conne
ction" address=192.168.0.1 index=1

C:\Users\Administrator>netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name="Local Area Conne
ction" address=192.168.0.10 index=2

The syntax is

netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name="<ID>" address=<DNSIP>index=1

Where:
ID is the name of the Network Connection
DNSIP is the IP address of your DNS server

This should do. To confirm, do an "ipconfig"

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1D-09-D4-2C-8F
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.5(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
192.168.0.10
127.0.0.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Set IP through DHCP Server

To set the DHCP Server, from the command line

C:\Users\Administrator> netsh interface ipv4 set address name="Local Area Connection" source=dhcp

Syntax is

netsh interface ipv4 set address name="ID" source=dhcp

where ID is the name of the Network Connection

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


How to setup and configure DNS from Command line in Windows Server 2008 & Core

7:50 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

With the coming of Windows Server 2008 Core, its time to go back to the good old days of command line. We can add the DNS Server role and add manage DNS Server including setting up Forward and Reverse Lookup zones from the command line.

The following procedure should help you to setup and Configure a DNS server in Windows Server 2008 & Windows Server 2008 Core installation:

Add DNS Server Role

C:\Users\Administrator> start /w ocsetup DNS-Server-Role

In Windows Server 2008 Core it is as follows

C:\Users\Administrator> start /w ocsetup DNS-Server-Core-Role

That installs the DNS Server role. We can now configure the DNS Server using the "dnscmd" utility.

Here we'll see the basic configurations. For more detailed instructions of DNSCMD, click here

Add a Forward Lookup zone

For the primary domain, add a forward lookup zone as follows:

C:\Users\Administrator> dnscmd PRIMARY /zoneadd hq.wr.COM /primary /file hq.wr.COM.dns

Add a Reverse Lookup Zone

C:\Users\Administrator> dnscmd PRIMARY /zoneadd 0.168.192.in-addr.arpa

Add an "A" record for the domain

C:\Users\Administrator> dnscmd PRIMARY /recordadd hq.wr.COM @ A 192.168.0.5

Add Records

C:\Users\Administrator> dnscmd PRIMARY /recordadd hq.wr.COM dc1 CNAME hq.wr.COM

That should get you up and running on the DNS Servers. Refer to the above mentioned DNSCMD manual page for more advanced setup and configuration information.

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


Hyper-V: How to create a new Virtual Machine

7:45 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

Once Hyper-V Role is enabled on your Windows Server 2008, new Virtual Machines can be created from the Hyper-V Manager. The list of guest operating systems supported on Hyper-V at the moment are

The following guest operating systems are supported on Hyper-V:

Windows Server 2008 x64/x86

Windows Server 2003 x86/x86

Windows 2000 Advanced Server / Server SP4

Windows HPC Server 2008

Windows Vista x86 (Business, ultimate & Enterprise) SP1 x86/x64

Windows XP Professional SP2/3 x86/x64

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 with SP1/2 x86/x64 Edition

Although, only SUSE Linux Enterprise Linux is officially supported, openSUSE works just fine as a Guest OS.

To add a new Guest Virtual Machine, Launch Hyper-V Manager from "Administrative Tools" and connect to the server with the Hyper-V Role (if not the localhost).
In the Actions Menu on the right, click "New". Click Next on the "Before you begin" wizard introduction window.
new-vm1
In the Specify Name and Location window, Enter the name of the Guest Operating System. If you do not want to save the Virtual Machine in the default location then check the box for "Store the Virtual Machine in a different location" and browse and locate your new location. Once done, click Next.
new-vm21
In the Assign memory window, set the memory for the Guest OS and click Next. Default is 512MB.

new-vm3

In the Configure networking window, Select the Virtual Network (should have been created at the time of enabling the Hyper-V rols or can be done later on). If you choose the connect to the Virtual network later, select "Not connected" and click Next.
new-vm4
In the Connect Virtual Hard Disk window, create a new Virtual Hard disk and set its size. Default is 127GB. Here again, you can choose to save the disk in a different location than the defaults. Also, if you already have a Virtual Disk and want to use it, you can do so or choose to attach a Virtual Hard Disk later. Once, Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) is created, click Next.
new-vm5
In the Installation Options window, choose the media to perform the installation. This could be your physica CD/DVD drive or an ISO image on the system or Floppy disk or even from a Network installation server. Choose the installation option and click Next.
new-vm6
In the Summary window, check your options and click Finish if all is good to go. Here you can choose to Start the Virtual Machine immediatly after it is created. Default is to keep the VM OFF.
new-vm7 new-vm8
Now, you can see the new VM under the Virtual machines box in the Hyper-V Manager. When you click on it, in the bottom left, you can check the options specific to this virtual machine. The Settings option allows you to change any parameter like memory set at the time of creating the VM. One of the key thins to note is the "Integration Services" found under Management in the left pane. Integration services run under the guest operating system to provide some level of "integration" between the host and the guest OS like time sync, Guest OS backup etc.
new-vm101
Click Start under the VM or rigt-click and select Start to start the Virtual OS. This starts and runs in the background. Click Connect to actually, open a console session with the Guest OS. Depending on your Host system performance level you can run multiple Guest OSs at any given time.
new-vm9

Technorati :
Del.icio.us :
Zooomr :
Flickr :


Hyper-V: How to clone a Virtual machine (VM)

7:43 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V virtualisation doesn't offer an out of the box option to clone an existing Virtual Machine (VM) into a new one. However, this doesn't mean it is not possible or is very difficult. In fact, its quite easy and simple to clone a Virtual Machine in Hyper-V

There are two ways you can clone a VM in Hyper-V.

1. Using the import/export VM feature available in Hyper-V

2. Copying a Virtual Hard Disk and create a new VM using that Hard Disk.

1. Import/Export feature to clone a VM in Hyper-V

This is a simple and easy way to clone a Virtual Machine (VM). But, the only low side of it is that the import of VM will only work on any VM which was exported from a Hyper-V Virtual system.

Export VM

From the Hyper-V Manager, right-click on the VM and select Export. Choose a location where the exported VM will be saved. It is important to note that when you import this VM back from that location, its Virtual machine and virtual Hard Disk location will be set as this location and not the default location.

vm_export

While exporting a VM, you can choose to export only the VM and not its Virtual hard Disk (VHD). This can be particularly useful when you want to create a new VHD and perform fresh install.

vm_export2

Import VM

To import the Virtual Machine (VM), click "Import Virtual Machine" from the Action menu in the right of the Hyper-V Manager. Browse to the location where the VM was exported to and then click Import.

vm_import

vm_import2

Again, it is important to note that the location is the exact location to where original VM was exported to and not any of its sub-directories.

Once, the VM is imported, you can change the settings as you would with any other VM. If you bring this VM online in the same Virtual Network as that of the original VM and that the original VM is still live on that network then it would be ideal to disable the network on this newly imported VM and change the hostna,e,IP Address settings from within the VM to avoid any network issues.

2. Copy VHD and Create new VM

This is quick and dirty way doing a clone on a VM. Simply make a copy of the VHD from the original VM and use it when creating a new VM instead of creating a new VHD for that VM.In the wzard, when you hit the "Connect Virtual Hard Disk" window, select the option "Use an existing virtual Hard Disk" and select the location of the copied VHD.

This will do!!!

Technorati :
Del.icio.us :
Zooomr :
Flickr :


Hyper-V:No Network when installing Windows Server 2008 Core as Guest OS

7:39 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

When you install Windows Server 2008 as a Guest OS on a Windows Server 2008 running Hyper-V role, you may find this guest OS without any network when booted up. This could happen if the Integration Services is not installed on the Guest OS. The Integration Services installs the Guest OS components as in any other virtualization system like VMWare or VirtualBox.

Before going through the process of installing the Integration Services on the Guest OS lets do some basic checks. Check if the VM guest is actually connected to a Virtual Network (should have already been created).

In the Hyper-V Manager, click the VM and then its settings button in the bottom right of the window. From the settings window, check if the network adapter is listed in the leftpane. If found, click on it to confirm the network connection and the MAC Address settings. Default is to assign Dynamic MAC Address but I rather prefer using a statiC MAC-Address for the reason it can avoid confusion during network troubleshooting.

network_adapter

If this looks good then let us proceed to install the integration services for the Guest OS.

While the VM is running, from the VM window menu, click Action and click "Insert Integration Services Setup Disk". This should mount the VMGuest.iso as a CD/DVD drive. On mine, it mounted on drive D:

integration_services vmguest

Browse to the drive on which it is mounted (D: here) and open the Support folder and then x86 or AMD folder based on your platform (x86 here) as follows:

C:\Users\Administrator> D:

D:\> cd support\x86

D:\support\x86>setup.exe

Here, you should find a setup.exe file, yes you guessed it, run the setup program to install the integration services. Click OK when prompted to confirm. Once installation is complete, reboot your VM and should find the Network available.

integration_services_install integration_services_install2

If this still doesn't work, shutdown the Guest Windows Server 2008 Core and click settings then click "Add Hardware" then select "Legacy Network Adapter" and click Add. This should add a Legacy Network adapter in the leftpane, click on it and again select a Virtual Network, set MAC Address (if using static) and click OK. Reboot the Guest Windows Server 2008 Core installation and should find the network.

legacy_network legacy_network2

Technorati : , ,
Del.icio.us : , ,
Zooomr : , ,
Flickr : , ,


Install & Configure Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 (64-bit) Core install

7:34 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

Installing and enabling the Hyper-V role in Windows Server 2008 Core installation (64-bit) takes a few commands from the command-line. Click here for a step by step procedure to install and configure on a Windows Server 2008 Full installation. If you have installed your Windows Server 2008 from a recent media download or shipped by microsoft then chances are that you already have the Hyper-V Role installed on your system but not enabled yet.

To confirm run the following command and look for KB950050:

C:\Users\Administrator> wmic qfe list

If the update is not installed, download and install the KB950050 update as follows:

C:\Users\Administrator> wusa.exe Windows6.0-KB950050-x64.msu /quiet

Once installed, reboot your server and add the Hyper-V role as follows:

C:\Users\Administrator> start /w ocsetup Microsoft-Hyper-V

This should add the Hyper-V role onto your Windows Server 2008 Core installation. Reboot the server as follows for the Hyper-V installation to succefully complete and configure.

C:\Users\Administrator> shutdown /r /t 0

Remote Administration of Hyper-V

The Windows Server 2008 Core running the Hyper-V role now needs to be configured for remote administration so they can be remotely controlled from a Windows Vista or another Windows Server 2008 (32-bitor 64-bit) installation where the Hyper-V Management tools are installed.

The remote user should be a Local Administrator on the local system to administer the server. Add a user to the system and to the Administrator group as follows:

C:\Users\Administrator> net localgroup administrators /add <domain>\<user>

Firewall Rules to allow WMI

From an elevated command prompt (Run As admin, if not an administrator) type the following command:

C:\Users\Administrator> netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)" new enable=yes

DCOM permission for remote User

Modify the DCOM permissions as follows to provide access to the remote user:

C:\Users\Administrator> net localgroup "Distributed COM Users" /add <domain_name>\<user_name>

where <domain_name>\<user_name> is the domain name and the username of the remote user.

Modify Authorization Policy

Log on to the computer on which you will run the Hyper-V management tools, using a domain account that is a member of the Administrators group on the computer running a Server Core installation.

Click Start, click Start Search and type azman.msc.

In the left pane, right-click Authorization Manager and click Open Authorization Store. Make sure that XML file is selected and type:

In the left pane, click Hyper-V services, and then click Role Assignments. Right-click Administrator, point to Assign Users and Groups, and then point to From Windows and Active Directory. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, type the domain name and user name of the user account, and then click OK. Close Authorization Manager.

WMI Permissions for CIMV2 & Virtualization Name spaces

Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Computer Management. From the action menu, select the option "Connect to another computer" and connect to the server running Hyper-V role.

In the rightpane, click Services and Applications, right-click WMI Control, and then click Properties.

Click the Security tab. Click Root and then click CIMV2. Below the namespace list, click Security. In the Security for ROOT\CIMV2 dialog box, check to see if the appropriate user is listed. If not, click Add. In the Select Users, Computers, or Groups dialog box, type the name of the user and click OK.

On the Security tab, select the name of the user. Under Permissions for <user or group name>, click Advanced. On the Permissions tab, verify that the user you want is selected and then click Edit. In the Permission Entry for CIMV2 dialog box, modify three settings as follows:
• For Apply to, select This namespace and subnamespaces.
• In the Permissions list, in the Allow column, select the Remote Enable check box.
• Below the Permissions list, select the Apply these permissions to objects and/or containers within this container
only check box.

Click OK in each dialog box until you return to the WMI Control Properties dialog box.

Repeat the process for the Virtualization namespace

Restart the server for the changes to take effect.

Now, you are all set, install the required update package as follows based on your operating system from which you would want to connect to the Hyper-V Server.

For Windows Server 2008 (seperate versions available for 32-bit & 64-bit), click here

For Windows Vista 32-bit, click here

For Windows Vista 64-bit, click here

Technorati : , ,
Del.icio.us : , ,
Zooomr : , ,
Flickr : , ,


Prompt for password of network drive after reboot in Windows 7

If you have a Network drive mapped onto your Windows 7 system, it may prompt you enter the password everytime the system is rebooted even if the "Save Password" is selected.

This is a known problem from previous versions of Windows (seen in Windows XP as well)

To resolve (rather workaround) the problem try the command line option as follows:

net use z: "\\server\path\to\share" /persistent:no /user:<username> <password>"

where for Z: is the drive to which it is mapped to.

For instance,

C:User\sai> net use z: "\\server\path\to\share" /persistent:no /user:winref_user mypassword"

This should help. This should also work on Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008/2003.

Technorati : , ,
Del.icio.us : , ,
Zooomr : , ,
Flickr : , ,


How to Create an additional domain controller in win server 2003

8:19 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

The Windows Server 2003 operating system supports multi-master replication-all of a domain's domain controllers can receive changes made to objects and can replicate those changes to all other domain controllers in that domain. By default, the first domain controller created in a forest is a global catalog server, which contains a full replica of all objects in the directory for its domain and a partial replica of all objects stored in the directory of every other domain in the forest.

Replicating Active Directory data among domain controllers provides benefits for information availability, fault tolerance, load balancing, and performance. In this step-by-step guide, you can take advantage of the greater fault tolerance provided in the multi-master model by installing multiple domain controllers. In the event a domain controller stops working, the availability of Active Directory is not compromised.

If you want to create an additional domain controller in win server 2003 follow this procedure

Note:-Before doing this procedure you need to make sure you have domain controller setup in your win server 2003 with DNS and you need to install DNS server and don't configure anything where you are going to add an additional domain controller.

  • Click Start, click Run, and then type dcpromo click ok
  • If you want to open the Active Directory Installation Wizard with the option to create an additional domain controller from restored backup files.

dcpromo /adv

  • On the Operating System Compatibility page, read the information and then click Next.

If this is the first time you have installed Active Directory on a server running Windows Server 2003, click Compatibility Help for more information.

  • On the Domain Controller Type page, click Additional domain controller for an existing domain, and then click Next.
  • On the Copying Domain Information page, do one of the following:

•Click Over the network, and then click Next.

•Click From these restored backup files, and type the location of the restored backup files, or click Browse to locate the restored files, and then click Next.

  • On the Network Credentials page, type the user name, password, and user domain of the user account you want to use for this operation, and then click Next.

The user account must be a member of the Domain Admins group for the target domain.

  • On the Database and Log Folders page, type the location in which you want to install the database and log folders, or click Browse to choose a location, and then click Next.
  • On the Shared System Volume page, type the location in which you want to install the Sysvol folder, or click Browse to choose a location, and then click Next.
  • On the Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password page, type and confirm the password that you want to assign to the Administrator account for this server, and then click Next.
  • Use this password when starting the computer in Directory Services Restore Mode.
  • Review the Summary page, and then click Next to begin the installation.
  • Restart your server now.

Technorati : , ,
Del.icio.us : , ,
Zooomr : , ,
Flickr : , ,


GNU utilities For Windows with Unix Utils

8:08 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

If you want to use some Linux/Unix Commands in Windows like grep,egrep,find,dc,dd,cp and many more then you are looking for this small utility called Unix Utils

Here are some ports of common GNU utilities to native Win32. In this context, native means the executables do only depend on the Microsoft C-runtime (msvcrt.dll) and not an emulation layer like that provided by Cygwin tools.

Download GNU utilities For Windows from Here

Sample screenshot

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


Hyper-V – Install & enable on Windows Server 2008 (64-bit)

8:00 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

If you have installed your Windows Server 2008 from a recent media download or shipped by microsoft then chances are that you already have the Hyper-V Role installed on your system but not enabled yet.

To confirm this, click Start - Control Panel - Programs and Features - Installed Updates and look for "Update for Microsoft Windows (KB950050)". If not found, click here to download and install the update.

Once installed, reboot your server and add the Hyper-V role as follows:

1. Click Start - Administrative Tools - Server Manager.

Add Hyper-V Role

Add Hyper-V Role

2. Click Roles in the leftpane and click "Add Roles" from the rightpane.

3. Click Next in the before begin window. Select "Hyper-V" role from the list in the Server Roles window and click Next.

hyperv-3

4. Click Next on the Hyper-V introduction window. In the next "Virtual Networks" window, select the Network Adapters to which a Virtual Network will be created. For every, Network Adapter (if more than 1 is found) selected, a Virtual Network will be created to which Virtual Machines created later can be attached to. The Virtual Networks can also be created or modified at a later time.

hyperv-4 hyperv-5

5. Click Install on the confirmation window. Once the role is successfully added, the server requires a reboot. Click the "You must restart this server to finish the installation process" link in the results window to reboot the server or click Close and restart the server at a later time.

hyperv-6 hyperv-8

6. Once the server is restarted, the server continues configuring the Hyper-V role and when the installation is successfully completed, click Close.

hyperv-9 hyperv-10

7. This puts the Virtual Network created under "Network Connections" and the Hyper-V Manager under Administrative Tools. Click and launch the Hyper-V Manager under Administrative Tools.

hyperv-11 hyperv-12

From here you can create and modify the Virtual Machines, edit the Virtual Network Settings, general Hyper-V Settings, import Virtual Machines etc. One can also, stop and start Hyper-V services and check Virtual Disks.

hyperv-13

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


Create RAID1 with system and boot partition in Windows Server 2003

7:56 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

This step-by-step article describes how to mirror the system and boot partition in Windows Server 2003. This scenario is based on the assumption that the system and boot files are located on disk 0 and that disk 1 is unallocated space.

Requirements

• At least two hard-disk drives; IDE, small computer system interface (SCSI), or mixed architecture is permissible.

• The second drive must be at least the size of the volume on which the operating system boot and system files reside to permit mirroring.

• The Windows Server 2003 system and boot files must reside on the same volume to be mirrored.

Set up the disk management system

  • Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Computer Management to open the Computer Management console.
  • Expand the Storage node and Click Disk Management.
  • On the View menu, point to Top, and then click Disk List.In the right pane, the attributes of each disk in the system are displayed.
  • On the View menu, point to Bottom, and then click Graphical View.

Upgrade to dynamic disks

RAID systems require dynamic disks in Windows Server 2003. Any disks that you are upgrading must contain at least 1 megabyte (MB) of free space at the end of the disk for the upgrade to succeed. Disk Management automatically reserves this free space when it creates partitions or volumes on a disk, but disks with partitions or volumes that are created by other operating systems may not have this free space available.

Note:- You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.

To upgrade a basic disk to a dynamic disk, follow these steps

  • Before you upgrade disks, quit any programs that are running on those disks.
  • Right-click the gray disk description panel, and then click Upgrade to Dynamic Disk.
  • If the second disk is not a dynamic disk, follow these steps to upgrade it to a dynamic disk.

Mirror the boot and system volume

In this scenario, disk 1 is the disk on which the image of disk 0 will be mirrored.

Note:- Partitions are referred to as volumes when the disks are dynamic.

  • Disk 1 must be unallocated space before you can proceed with mirroring.
  • Right-click disk 0 (which contains the boot and system files), and then click Add Mirror.
  • A dialog box opens in which any disk on your system that is available for mirroring is displayed. Select the disk of your choice (in this example, it is disk 1), and then click Add Mirror.

Both disk 0 and disk 1 will now have the same color code, the same drive letter, and the volumes will have the status note "Regenerating" displayed while the information is being copied from the first disk to the second disk. The system will automatically size the volume of the new mirror to the same size as that of the original boot and system volume.

  • If you now want to boot from the new mirrored disk, you have to change the Boot.ini ARC path that points the computer to the partition in which the system files are located.

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


Internet Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts

7:50 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments
You can use shortcut keys to view and explore Web pages, use the Address bar, work with favourites, and edit.These shotcuts are very useful in daily use.

Viewing and exploring Web pages

F1


Display the Internet Explorer Help, or when in a dialog box, display context help on an item

F11


Toggle between Full Screen and regular view of the browser window

TAB


Move forward through the items on a Web page, the Address bar, and the Links bar

SHIFT+TAB


Move back through the items on a Web page, the Address bar, and the Links bar

ALT+HOME


Go to your Home page

ALT+RIGHT ARROW


Go to the next page

ALT+LEFT ARROW or


BACKSPACE


Go to the previous page

SHIFT+F10


Display a shortcut menu for a link

CTRL+TAB or


F6


Move forward between frames

SHIFT+CTRL+TAB


Move back between frames

UP ARROW


Scroll toward the beginning of a document

DOWN ARROW


Scroll toward the end of a document

PAGE UP


Scroll toward the beginning of a document in larger increments

PAGE DOWN


Scroll toward the end of a document in larger increments

HOME


Move to the beginning of a document

END


Move to the end of a document

CTRL+F


Find on this page

F5 or


CTRL+R


Refresh the current Web page only if the time stamp for the Web version and your locally stored version are different

CTRL+F5


Refresh the current Web page, even if the time stamp for the Web version and your locally stored version are the same

ESC


Stop downloading a page

CTRL+N


Open a new window

CTRL+W


Close the current window

CTRL+S


Save the current page

CTRL+P


Print the current page or active frame

ENTER


Activate a selected link

CTRL+E


Open Search in Explorer bar

CTRL+I


Open Favourites in Explorer bar

CTRL+H


Open History in Explorer bar

CTRL+click


In History or Favourites bars, open multiple folders

ALT

Open tool bar in IE7

Using the Address bar

ALT+D


Select the text in the Address bar

F4


Display the Address bar history

CTRL+LEFT ARROW


When in the Address bar, move the cursor left to the next logical break (. or /)

CTRL+RIGHT ARROW


When in the Address bar, move the cursor right to the next logical break (. or /)

CTRL+ENTER


Add "www." to the beginning and ".com" to the end of the text typed in the Address bar

UP ARROW


Move forward through the list of AutoComplete matches

DOWN ARROW


Move back through the list of AutoComplete matches

Working with favourites

CTRL+D


Add the current page to your favourites

CTRL+B


Open the Organize Favourites dialog box

ALT+UP ARROW


Move selected item up in the Favourites list in the Organize Favourites dialog box

ALT+DOWN ARROW


Move selected item down in the Favourites list in the Organize Favourites dialog box

Editing

CTRL+X


Remove the selected items and copy them to the Clipboard

CTRL+C


Copy the selected items to the Clipboard

CTRL+V


Insert the contents of the Clipboard at the selected location

CTRL+A


Select all items on the current Web page



Technorati : ,

Del.icio.us : ,

Zooomr : ,

Flickr : ,


How to Display a list of Started Services in Vista/XP

7:44 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

To interact with the services panel from the command line, Windows provides the Net utility. From the command prompt, you can use this utility to start, stop, pause and continue services.

Net Command Syntax

net start

Output from my machine as follows

AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic Guard
AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic Scheduler
Apple Mobile Device
Application Layer Gateway Service
Automatic Updates
COM+ Event System
Computer Browser
Cryptographic Services
DCOM Server Process Launcher
DHCP Client
Distributed Link Tracking Client
DNS Client
Error Reporting Service
Event Log
Fast User Switching Compatibility
Help and Support
HID Input Service
iPod Service
IPSEC Services
Logical Disk Manager
Machine Debug Manager
Network Connections
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
Plug and Play
Print Spooler
Protected Storage
Remote Access Connection Manager
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
Security Accounts Manager
Security Center
Server
Shell Hardware Detection
SSDP Discovery Service
System Event Notification
System Restore Service
Task Scheduler
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Telephony
Terminal Services
Themes
User Profile Hive Cleanup
WebClient
Windows Audio
Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
Windows Management Instrumentation
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration
Workstation

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


How to enable Autologon in Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008

7:35 PM by Yash Kalra 0 comments

Autologon in Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 ( not recommended though on a server) as in any other version of Windows or even any other operating system allows a user to logon direct into his Windows desktop without having to enter the password. However, this can be possible for only one user on the and multiple user cannot have this feature enabled.

To enable Autologon in Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008,

1. Click Start, search for "control userpasswords2″ and press enter.

autologon1

2. Select the user from the list and uncheck "User must enter a user name and password to enter this computer" and click Apply and OK.

autologon
That should do. The next time, when you start the computer, you should be logged straight into your desktop.

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,


How to Rename Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller

If you want to rename your win server 2008 domain controller after server migration you can do this using netdom.exe utility.You need to make sure you have an additional domain controller before proceeding with this procedure.This utility is builtin in to the win server 2008.

Note:- Domain Controllers running Microsoft's Certificate Authority services (CA) can never be renamed.

Procedure to Follow

Open Command Prompt fro Start>Run>cmd type the following command

netdom computername CurrentComputerName/add:NewComputerName

This command will update the service principal name (SPN) attributes in Active Directory for this computer account and register DNS resource records for the new computer name. The SPN value of the computer account must be replicated to all domain controllers for the domain and the DNS resource records for the new computer name must be distributed to all the authoritative DNS servers for the domain name. If the updates and registrations have not occurred prior to removing the old computer name, then some clients may be unable to locate this computer using the new or old name.

Ensure the computer account updates and DNS registrations are completed and now type

netdom computername CurrentComputerName/makeprimary:NewComputerName

Restart your windows server 2008

Open Command Prompt fro Start>Run>cmd type the following command

netdom computername NewComputerName/remove:OldComputerName

Options in Detail

CurrentComputerName :- The current, or primary, computer name or IP address of the computer you are renaming.

NewComputerName :- The new name for the computer. The NewComputerName must be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

OldComputerName :- The old name of renamed computer.

Technorati : ,
Del.icio.us : ,
Zooomr : ,
Flickr : ,