Windows – Location Based Printing with con2prt
KB ID 0000510 Problem Yes these days we would prefer to use GPO or GPP to do this, but some printers simply refuse to be farmed out this way, and a lot of clients don’t want to install their network printers in that manner. Con2prt is a very old piece of software it’s part of the Windows NT4 ZAK (Yep it’s that old!). Its purpose in life is to connect clients to printers. So how can we do that based on location? We...
Windows – Force into Safe Mode or”Cannot Boot into Safe Mode”
KB ID 0000521 Problem With modern PC’s, the boot time is a LOT less than it used to be. There was a time when you would have a few seconds to press F8 when a Windows machine started and it would boot to “safe mode”. Now even with the reflexes of a fighter pilot, you are hard pushed to press the key before it says “Starting Windows”. Solution 1. Boot Windows normally, and in the search/run box type...
Windows Server – DHCP Service Starts then Stops again
KB ID 0000617 Problem Saw this last week on an SBS 2011 Server. When attempting to get the DHCP service running it span up then stopped straight away. Solution A quick look in Event Viewer showed me what the problem was, Event ID 1054 The DHCP/BINL service on this computer is shutting down. See the previous event log messages for reasons Fair enough lets see the previous error on the same server; Event ID 1053 The DHCP/BINL service...
Windows – Get a List of all Installed Programs (and Updates)
KB ID 0000619 Problem I needed to get a list of installed programs from a server I was having problems with, so I could compare the results with another server. Note: This will work on Windows client OS’s as well. Solution 1. On the machine in question launch a command window. 2. To display all the installed programs execute the following two commands; WMIC product get name,version 3. To export all the installed programs to a...
Windows – Using the Same Keyboard and Mouse Across Multiple Machines
KB ID 0000621 Problem Here’s the setup I have on my desk at home, When I’m working from home and my laptop is docked (as shown). I wanted to use my main keyboard, (Logitech G15) and mouse (Cyborg R.A.T. 9), to control both the main PC and my work laptop. As it turned out when I finished I could also use the laptop keyboard and touch pad to control the main PC as well, and I could drag and drop files between desktops....
Windows – System Hung applying updates ‘Stage 3 of 3 Preparing to configure Windows…’
KB ID 0000640 Problem I installed a classroom full of PC’s today, after setting them all updating, and rebooting, I went to lunch, and came back to find them all displaying this, Stage 3 of 3 Preparing to configure Windows. Don’t turn off your computer. I went and did another room, came back, and there was no change. Solution It turns out this is a known problem if you are installing KB2533552, to get round the problem...
Windows Update Error – 80243004
KB ID 0000643 Problem Seen on Server 2008, when attempting to run Windows update. Code 80243004 Windows Update encountered an unknown error Solution Without a doubt the strangest fix I’ve ever seen! 1. Right click the Taskbar > Properties > Taskbar Tab > Customize. 2. Tick the box that says “Always show all icons and notifications on the taksbar” > OK. 3. Retry your Windows updates. Related Articles,...
Mapping Printers based on Computer OU (via Script)
KB ID 0000645 Problem Location based printing has long been a pain. In the past I’ve tackled it with Group Policy Preferences, and I’ve even gone ‘old school’ and mapped printers with con2prt. A few months ago I put in a new network at a school, they were using a vbs script to deploy all their classroom printers, and I had a quick (unsuccessful) attempt to do the same. But time was against me and I used GPP...
Enable Aero for RDP “One or more of the themes has been disabled by Remote Desktop Connection settings”
KB ID 0000647 Problem If you have enabled Aero on your remote machine, when you connect to it via RDP you will see this error, (if you try and change the theme to Aero). One or more of the themes has been disabled by Remote Desktop Connection settings Solution 1. Close your RDP session, and launch the RDP client software again > Options > Experience > Place a tick in “Menu and window animation”. 2. Reconnect to...
Finding Out the Last Time Domain Users have Logged in
KB ID 0000682 Problem Active directory keeps a log of the last time a domain user has authenticated to the domain (from server 2000 onwards) , the drawback with 2000 is that this value didn’t replicate so you had to query each domain controller and cobble the results together. After 2003 this value was replicated (after convergence,) to all domain controllers. Solution Update Here’s a much better way of showing who logged...