General
Windows 7: Install
OK, so the install was pretty much like all other installs of Vista. Since I was moving from a 32-bit (x86) environment to a 64-bit (x64) implementation, I was not able to perform an in place or other upgrade. Fresh, or clean install it is!
Upon booting off of the DVD, Vista users will recognize the familiar screen…
Unable to browse My Network in a 2008 Domain
As Windows Server 2008 takes it’s place in more data centers, serving as a domain controller, design changes are starting to impact end users.
One of these notable changes effects a workflow most users have picked up: browsing the network to find file servers and shares.
We have seen more and more customers call in with an error similar to below (wording may differ from client to client):
SharePoint Search problems on Server 2008?
After installing WSS3 SP2 on a clean install of Server 2008 x86 SP2 STD, and using SQL 2008 SP1 as the backend, I could not get any search results. The setup is about as simple of a farm installation you can get, it is for a small number of users, and demonstration purposes, so everything is installed on a single machine virtualized on an HP server running VMware ESXi 3.5. There are two site collections using different application pools, one enabled for anonymous access, and the other not.
The search service is common to both, but the crawl account (data access) is unique.
SharePoint SP2 Bug
!IMPORTANT!
All installations of Microsoft Office Server 2007 that have installed SP2 for SharePoint Services are affected by the following bulletin. In short, it has reset your license key putting the product in trial mode, and it will expire in 180 days without notice. See the below article for the resolution, and more details.
WSUS 3.0 SP1 Computers with no status
The setup: Server 2003 R2 SP2, DC & DNS Roles, WSUS SP1 Fresh install, default website (80).
The issue: No status reported by clients (Servers and workstations), Event ID 13042 in the Application logs on the WSUS server Self-update is not working.
After researching, I came across these 2 forums:
The articles were close, but both addressed installing SP1 POST a typical WSUS 3 install, mine was a fresh install at the customer’s site. Continue reading →
Did you know that most primetime television programming can be viewed online for free?
Just go to:
www.hulu.com (NBC Shows, USA Network, Fox, PBS, Comedy Central, G4, Disney and Movies)
www.fox.com (Fox Shows)
www.abc.go.com (ABC Shows)
www.tv.com (CBS and various shows)
http://beta.sling.com/ (Various Shows & Movies)
Even our own local Public Access Channel is in on the action @ urtvweb.com.
Customers with Verizon and ATT DSL can access live and delayed sporting events via espn360.com
Advantages:
1. No cable TV bill.
2. Can watch/pause/stop @ anytime.
3. Minimal commercials for the most part.
Disadvantages:
1. Not all TV programs are available online.
2. Most programs do not appear until the day after.
3. Not all programs shown in entirety (for example, Saturday Night Live will generally have missing skits)
4. Not many shows in High Definition online.
5. Can’t view shows using dialup.
6. Can’t view shows on your big screen TV.
Want to get a glimpse of the future of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer?
You can download the latest Release Candidate of Internet Explorer 8 here for free, http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/worldwide-sites.aspx
Not happy with Internet Explorer? There are now more choices than ever for internet browsing!
Firefox by Mozilla: www.getfirefox.com (available for OSX as well)
Safari by Apple: www.apple.com/safari/
Chrome by Google: www.google.com/chrome/
Firefox also lets you personalize your browser with add-ons.
Here are some of my favorite Add-ons:
Adblock Plus: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865 : This blocks most of a websites adverts and popups as well as banner ads with inappropriate content.
Forecast Fox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/398 : Get a weather report of any location from a toolbar/statusbar in your browser, can also have it display a mini-radar picture.
Foxmarks: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2410 : Install Foxmarks on each computer you use and it works silently in the background to keep your bookmarks and (optionally) passwords backed up and synchronized. If you’re away from your computer, Foxmarks allows you to access your bookmarks online by logging into my.foxmarks.com.
AD DS Security/Distribution Groups
With Exchange 2007 SP1, and Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services, you may want to enable users to send emails to your security groups. The dilema is that security groups will not show up in the Global Address List (GAL). In order to mail-enable an AD DS security group, you must perform two steps:
1) Change the group properties to ensure that the group is a Universal, and not a Global group. Otherwise Exchange 2007 will not see the group in order to mail-enable it.
2) Perform the following steps from within the Exchange Management Console:
1. Start the Exchange Management Console.
2. In the console tree, expand Recipient Configuration, and then click Distribution Group.
3. In the action pane, click New Distribution Group. The New Distribution Group wizard appears.
4. On the Introduction page, click Existing Group, and then click Browse.
5. In Select Group dialog box, select the group that you want mail-enable, and then click OK.
6. Click Next.
7. On the Group Information page, complete the following fields:
· Display name By default, the display name is the same as the group name. You can modify the name in this field.
· Alias By default, the alias is the same as the group name. You can modify the name in this field.
8. Click Next.
9. On the New Distribution Group page, review the Configuration Summary. To make any configuration changes, click Back. To create the new distribution group, click New.
10. On the Completion page, the Summary states whether the distribution group was successfully created. The summary also displays the Exchange Management Shell command that was used to create the distribution group.
11. Click Finish.
Now, your users will be able to send notifications, etc. to their colleagues via their Outlook client and the GAL.
SharePoint User Group
If you haven’t heard, there is now a SharePoint user group for WNC! It meets at the Grove Arcade in Asheville, and is open to end users, developers, and administrators free of charge. Find out more @ http://www.wncsug.com