windows 2003, 2008, R2 how tos
If you need to add a registry entry to a Windows PC most often techs will simply export the key and entries they want and then use the REGEDIT /S command to push that entry onto another PC. For example if you want to disable the Cortana bar (but not Windows Search), you save the following into a file named DISABLE-CORTANA.REG Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search] “AllowCortana”=dword:00000000 Then you simply put that file…
We often talk about editing or creating new registry entries in Windows but we seldom talk about removal. If you want to delete an existing registry entry you simply set the entry value to a hyphen ( – ). For example, we recently needed to delete: HKLM > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Run > InstallWindowsUpdates = DWORD AA To do this we simply set “InstallWindowsUpdates”=- Specifically, the DELUPDATES.REG file looked like: Windows…
Over the years we have produced many instructions on how to add files or add drivers to a .WIM image file, but they are all outdated because they are command line. There is now a free GUI front end for DISM made by Mike Celone. To get DISM GUI to work you need two things: .NET 4.0 which can get from Microsoft HERE in unlikely event you don’t have it already Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) that…
If you have already got a deployment image in your Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) then you likely will want a CAPTURE IMAGE so you can collect the Operating System from a SysPreped PC. This is easy to do:Launch WSUS Expand your server > BOOT IMAGES Right click on the appropriate boot image (i.e. Windows Setup (x64) – 1803) and select CREATE CAPTURE IMAGE On the METADATA AND LOCATION screen click the BROWSE button, select…
If you are trying to SysPrep a Windows 10 PC and see: Sysprep Failure Unable to Validate Windows Installation and then see in the log: [0x0f0070] SYSPRP RunExternalDlls:An error occurred while running registry sysprep DLLs, halting sysprep execution. dwRet = 0x3cf2 You likely have some Win10 apps that are installed per person. Things like the calculator and paint may be installed by default but they are installed per person and not allowed to be sysprepped. …
If you want to set your modern Windows (Win 10, Server 2016, Server 2019…) to not download and install updates automatically, there is a simple Group Policy Object you can create: GPO To Stop Windows From Automatically Updating: Expand COMPUTER > POLICIES > ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS > WINDOWS COMPONENTS > WINDOWS UPDATE Set CONFIGURE AUTOMATIC UPDATES to ENABLED and select a CONFIGURE AUTOMATIC UPDATING option from the drop down We like #3 AUTO DOWNLOAD AND NOTIFY FOR…
If you installed the DELL SAN HEADQUARTERS ‘SERVER’ on a new server and are connecting to it from your desktop (or another server), you will likely want to get delete the old server in SAN HQ. The problem is REMOVE SERVER is not an option. Fortunately the solution is easy: REMOVE A SERVER FROM DELL SAN HQ Launch Dell SAN HQ Right click on your NEW server (not the old one) Select MAKE THIS DEFAULT…
As you likely already know, because you have found this page, the GPO to disable the MICROSOFT STORE app was set to be ineffective on Windows 10 Pro after build 1511. This annoying change meant that you could only block the store using a GPO if you were running Windows 10 ENTERPRISE or EDUCATION and that made admins cranky. The solution was to block the store app through a SOFTWARE RESTRICTION GPO as we explained…
If you track the problem down to an IIS issue in which the WSUSPOOL keep stopping, you likely need to expand the memory limitation and the recycle time: Launch IIS Click on APPLICATION POOLS Click on WSUSPOOL Click ADVANCED SETTINGS (action pane on right side) Scroll down and increase the PRIVATE MEMORY LIMIT and decrease the REGULAR TIME INTERVAL. The screen shot below shows the setting we are using at one of our clients: …
If you repeatedly see RESET SERVER NODE in your Windows Server Update Servers (WSUS) console we have found three things that resolve it: Reduce The Number Of Approved Updates This should not be a problem, but I have seen it be a problem repeatedly. You should reduce the number of updates by DECLINING large numbers of updates, for instance: If you have no ARM CPU based products, search for ARM then select all of the…
If you have problems with Internet Explorer like: IE will not launch IE crashes frequently IE will not refresh IE will not connect IE will only run when using RIGHT CLICK, RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR … We will go through the fixes from easiest and fastest to more technical solutions: Clear Temp Files: CONTROL PANEL > INTERNET OPTIONS > BROWSING HISTORY button > check all of the options that you would like, but ensure you have…
If you have a Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server and you find some of the PC’s on your network are showing updates stuck at 0% Downloading, the problem may be with the WSUS server. After performing all the usual fixes for WSUS (restarting WSUS and BITS services, reboot, SERVER CLEANUP WIZARD, scripts to fix WSUS SQL…), I called Microsoft Tech Support and worked with “Neha B.”. We found that the WSUS server had a…
When you see error 0x80244022 in Windows update or in the Windows Update log, it relates to a networking error. If you are using WSUS, it could be an indication that the IIS AppPool running your WSUS has stopped and needs to be started: Start IIS Manager Expand APPLICATION POOLS If WSUSPOOL is stopped, right click on it and select START Share This With Your Friends Now:
What Is the Windows Internal Database: Microsoft introduced the Windows Internal Database (WID) with Server 2008 and it has been included with every version of Windows Server since. It is designed to be used exclusively for use by Microsoft products and can not be purchased or downloaded separately. During its development it was codenamed “Yukon” (which was SQL 2005) and the discussed publicly as “SQL Server Embedded Edition”. The Windows Internal Database (WID) actually supports more than…