Obscurum per Obscurius

Explaining the obscure by means of the more obscure

How to Configure and Use a PowerShell Profile

When you open a PowerShell window to perform some work all the aliases, functions and variables you...

Date: 11/19/2014

PowerShell Script to Query UserAccountControl Flags

One of the services I provide as a Premier Field Engineer is performing health and security...

Date: 03/30/2014

List of Rollup Updates for Windows 8/8.1 & Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2

I put this list together for a couple of customers who were asking for the latest Service Pack for...

Date: 02/03/2014

The Best MMC Keyboard shortcut ever!

I was reading an internal email thread today and one of my peers mentioned he used to use a keyboard...

Date: 01/03/2014

How to Modify Security Inheritance on Active Directory Objects using PowerShell

A couple of weeks ago I was working with a customer analyzing a number of user accounts affected by...

Date: 12/30/2013

How to update the list of Name Servers on a DNS Zone with a Script

I was working with a customer this week doing some Active Directory cleanup tasks. We were...

Date: 12/16/2013

How to find user accounts with Kerberos preauthentication disabled.

One of my duties as a Premier Field Engineer is to perform Active Directory Risk Assessments (aka...

Date: 10/28/2013

Understanding and Managing the Certificate Stores Used for Smart Card Logon

Recently I was onsite helping a customer clean up some certificates related to smart card logon. One...

Date: 10/18/2013

How to Determine Which DNS Server(s) Have Scavenging Enabled Using PowerShell

One of my duties as a Microsoft Premier Field Engineer (PFE) is to make sure the products a customer...

Date: 08/03/2013

How to run DCDIAG and NETDIAG on Multiple Computers Using a Batch File

I was onsite with a customer this week reviewing their Active Directory configuration. During the...

Date: 03/07/2013

Windows 8 Start Screen–Don’t Panic and Don’t Believe the Hype

I work as a Microsoft Premier Field Engineer (PFE). Every week I'm at a different customer...

Date: 12/14/2012

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8 Available

The RSAT tools for Windows 8 client are now available here:...

Date: 11/28/2012

Windows Compatibility Center

Use the link below to visit the Windows Compatibility Center to determine which hardware devices...

Date: 11/06/2012

Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro

For a Limited Time – download Windows 8 Pro for $39.99! To upgrade to Windows 8 Pro, you must be...

Date: 11/05/2012

The story behind the Windows Phone 8 Start screen

I ran across a great article this weekend that describes the decisions that went into the Windows...

Date: 11/05/2012

Free ebook: Introducing Windows 8

  Free PDF version of the ebook “Introducing Windows 8: An Overview for IT Professionals...

Date: 11/02/2012

Windows Server 2008–Sync DSRM with Domain Account

I stumbled across this KB article recently and thought it looked interesting.  I need to try...

Date: 10/07/2012

WSUS Update to Enable Patching of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012

A new update has been released that will allow existing WSUS 3.0 SP2 servers to patch our latest...

Date: 08/24/2012

How to Determine GPO Precedence When Using GPMC/GPRESULT

A question I get from customers time to time is “which GPO has the highest precedence”...

Date: 08/22/2012

Windows 8 Enterprise Features

I read a good article today on Windows 8 Enterprise features on the Windows Team Blog.  I’m...

Date: 08/08/2012

KMS Update to Support Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012

There is an update available that allows your KMS server to activate Windows 8 and Windows Server...

Date: 08/06/2012

How to Query Active Directory to Determine the Schema Version

You can query Active Directory to determine the schema version as shown below. Replace...

Date: 07/03/2012

Active Directory Replication Status Tool

Microsoft has released a nice free utility named “Active Directory Replication Status Tool”. ...

Date: 06/23/2012

New SkyDrive Application is Available

The new SkyDrive application was released today.  I was part of the beta test group and I can...

Date: 04/23/2012

Backing Up MMC Settings

One of the things I hate about switching computers is losing all my customized MMC settings...

Date: 02/01/2012

How to Back Up Active Directory Objects Using LDIFDE

There are times when you need to modify or delete objects in Active Directory (AD) in order to...

Date: 01/08/2012

How to Create Custom Active Directory LDAP Searches

A nice feature in Windows Server Active Directory is the ability for an administrator to create...

Date: 10/24/2011

Testing Global Catalog Server Connectivity

Occasionally I'll run into a situation where a workstation hangs or fails when trying to retrieve...

Date: 01/28/2011

Windows Phone 7 - So far so good....

The reviews are coming in and so far the reviews have been positive. Most of the positive press is...

Date: 10/23/2010

Windows Live Essentials 2011 is Now Available

Windows Live Essentials is a collection of free programs you can download to enhance your Windows 7...

Date: 10/03/2010

Windows Phone 7–Released To Manufacturing!

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

Date: 09/02/2010

ZDNet Likes Windows Phone 7

I read a very informative article on ZDNet tonight written by Matthew Miller. Matthew was given a...

Date: 07/19/2010

Windows 7 Taskbar / Progress Bar

This morning I was re-introduced to a feature I had forgotten about. The icons on the WIndows 7...

Date: 05/23/2010

Customizing "SendTo" Context Menu

I spend a lot of time helping people troubleshoot problems. In many cases the work consists of...

Date: 01/31/2010

Windows 7 GodMode?

I came across an interesting article on CNET today about some undocumented tweaks available in...

Date: 01/07/2010

WIndows 7 Tips & Tricks - A Few more

I found a few more features I think people will find useful: Win+Tab activates the "ferris wheel" of...

Date: 12/23/2009

Windows 7 Tip and Tricks - A Must Read!

As a Microsoft employee I have been using Windows 7 since the early internal betas. I have been...

Date: 11/19/2009

Favorites syncing on Windows Live Toolbar temporarily turned off... Missing Favorites? Don't Panic! (resolved, sync enabled)

More information can be found at this link -...

Date: 11/08/2009

Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials released yesterday. Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download...

Date: 09/30/2009

Windows 7 Release is Less than a month Away...

Windows 7 officially goes on sale October 22, 2009. Many people installed the beta and RC versions...

Date: 09/27/2009

Who Is Logged In?

A few months back one of my customers was trying use RDP to connect to a large number of desktop...

Date: 08/09/2009

Cool Gadget - USB to Ethernet Network Adapter

I was traveling last week and found myself without Internet connectivity in my hotel room. If there...

Date: 06/20/2009

Windows 7 Release Candidate: Download instructions

The Windows 7 Release Candidate is available for download "free" (see previous post). In Microsoft...

Date: 05/20/2009

Like the NRBQ Song Says - "Ain't No Free"

I saw this post on the Genuine Windows Blog site today Pirated Windows 7 RC builds a botnet. So let...

Date: 05/19/2009

Script Disclaimer

The sample scripts provided here are not supported under any Microsoft standard support program or...

Date: 05/15/2009

How To Burn ISO Images to Media Using DVDBURN and CDBURN Utilities

Sites that distribute software like MSDN and TechNet make it possible to download ISO images of...

Date: 05/07/2009

Hyper-V Error "cannot connect to the virtual machine because the authentication certificate is expired"

This error appeared on one of my Hyper-V servers this morning. A search of TechNet revealed that...

Date: 05/04/2009

Group Policy Resources

In the last couple of weeks I have been working with customers on GPO implementations. One of the...

Date: 04/30/2009

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