I was onsite with a customer this week reviewing their Active Directory configuration. During the visit the system admin I was working with mentioned he needed to run DCDIAG and NETDIAG on every domain controller (DC) in his domain and collect the output...

I work as a Microsoft Premier Field Engineer (PFE). Every week I'm at a different customer performing some type of Risk Assessment or helping them solve a problem. As a PFE a my job is to make sure people are happy with the products they own now. Not...

The RSAT tools for Windows 8 client are now available here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28972

Use the link below to visit the Windows Compatibility Center to determine which hardware devices work with Windows Operating Systems.  There is a drop list in the top-right corner of page to select Windows RT, Windows 8 or Windows 7. http://www.microsoft...

For a Limited Time – download Windows 8 Pro for $39.99! To upgrade to Windows 8 Pro, you must be running Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. Windows 8 is built on the rock solid foundation of Windows 7, but it's been improved on all fronts. You...

I ran across a great article this weekend that describes the decisions that went into the Windows Phone Start screen. You can even get a peek at Steve Ballmer's Start Screen. http://blogs.windows.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/archive/2012/11/02...

  Free PDF version of the ebook “Introducing Windows 8: An Overview for IT Professionals (Preview Edition)” http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2012/10/23/free-ebook-introducing-windows-8-an-overview-for-it-professionals.aspx

I stumbled across this KB article recently and thought it looked interesting.  I need to try this.   A feature is available for Windows Server 2008 that lets you synchronize the DSRM Administrator password with a domain user account http://support...

A new update has been released that will allow existing WSUS 3.0 SP2 servers to patch our latest operating systems.   An update for Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 is available (KB2734608) http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2734608

A question I get from customers time to time is “which GPO has the highest precedence” when viewing linked GPOs in the GPMC. Since I can never remember I decided to test it and document it once and for all. Notice order of GPOs being applied...

I read a good article today on Windows 8 Enterprise features on the Windows Team Blog.  I’m testing the “Windows To Go” this week so I’ll let you know how it works.   Windows for your Business Blog http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/business...

There is an update available that allows your KMS server to activate Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 operating systems. An update is available for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS hosts to support Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 http:/...

You can query Active Directory to determine the schema version as shown below. Replace “dc=domainname” with your information: dsquery * cn=schema,cn=configuration,dc=domainname,dc=local -scope base -attr objectVersion The PowerShell...

Microsoft has released a nice free utility named “Active Directory Replication Status Tool”.  This tool can be used to manually check the replication status on your domain controllers.  When you click the Refresh Replication Status button the...

The new SkyDrive application was released today.  I was part of the beta test group and I can tell you the new application is great.  When it is installed it creates a folder named SkyDrive in your profile that synchronizes automatically to...

This week I was working with my teammates troubleshooting an App-V server issue. The App-V service is getting hung and prevents any client connections. The fix the customer was using was to reboot the server because stopping/starting the App-V service...

One of the things I hate about switching computers is losing all my customized MMC settings especially the Saved Queries configured in Active Directory Users & Computers (ADUCs). A few days ago I switched cubes at my customer site and proceeded to...

There are times when you need to modify or delete objects in Active Directory (AD) in order to perform some level of cleanup. In a perfect world, you would always have a good backup and the restore would work flawlessly. Just in case, I always export...

A nice feature in Windows Server Active Directory is the ability for an administrator to create saved queries in Active Directory USers % Computers to return common information within the Directory. The queries you can create through the GUI are pretty...

Occasionally I'll run into a situation where a workstation hangs or fails when trying to retrieve information from Active Directory (AD). In some cases the problem presents itself when running DSQUERY to query for Active Directory data. In other cases...

The reviews are coming in and so far the reviews have been positive. Most of the positive press is around the new user interface. Nick Bilton of the New York Times has a nice round of of recent reviews on his blog .

Windows Live Essentials is a collection of free programs you can download to enhance your Windows 7 experience. There are a number of programs available for download including: · Mail · Messenger · Photo Gallery (with facial...

It won’t be much longer until the Windows Phone 7 hits the streets!  More details can be found at the Windows Phone Blog .

I read a very informative article on ZDNet tonight written by Matthew Miller. Matthew was given a Windows Phone 7 device to use for a couple of weeks loaded with a "technical preview" (beta) version of the mobile OS. Matthew gives us a very in depth look...

This morning I was re-introduced to a feature I had forgotten about. The icons on the WIndows 7 Taskbar can also act as a status indicator for the minimized programs. Below is a screen snip of my Taskbar showing the Back/Restore prgram icon with 1/3 shaded...