Getting a Servers Serial Number (Remotely)
KB ID 0001493 Problem If you have an iLO/iDRAC/EMM, then logging into these will give you the servers serial number, but what if they are not setup/connected, or you don’t know username or password? Then you can use WMI to discover the serial number. Solution From PowerShell; Get-Ciminstance -classname win32_bios -computername {Server-Name} | format-list serialnumber Or if you have RDP/Console access , then from an...
Windows Administrator “Lost Password” / “Password Reset”
KB ID 0000159 Problem You have forgotten your password, or the administrators password fo your Windows machine. Note: You can also ‘Blank’ or reset the DSRM (Directory Services Restore Mode) password on a Domain Controller (Tested on 2012 R2, by blanking the password). Using this method. Lost Password : Fix Lost Password Software Download Links Password Reset CD Image (3.5Mb) Note: This is a .iso file – you need to...
How to Tell if Windows is 32 or 64 bit
KB ID 0000153 Problem If you want to know what version (x64 or x86) of Windows you are running, then this is the simplest way to find out. Solution Under accessories run system information; Under System Type: If it says x86 then it’s 32 bit. However if it says x64 then it’s 64 bit. Windows XP and Server 2003 1. Click Start > Run > sysdm.cpl {enter} > General Tab. Windows XP x32 (x86) and Windows XP x64 Windows...
Windows Update Fails
KB ID 0000359 Problem There are a LOT of different reasons for Windows Updates to fail, I can’t cover every eventuality, but there a a few common steps to try. Solution 1. As soon as the updates fail you should get an Error Message, that should point you in the right direction. Update Error Code 80200011 2. If you error code matches one of these… Code Error Description 0x80070002 ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND The system cannot find...
Windows – Lost / Forgotten Password?
KB ID 0000755 Problem There are many reasons why you might want to do this, someone has managed to change a user password and that person is not available, you might simply have forgotten it. Or you might have been given a machine, or bought one from ebay that has come without a password. Also there have been a few times when a user has looked me in the eye and said “I’m typing my password in, but it’s not...
Using a KMS Server
KB ID 0000582 Problem Given the amount of deployments I do, it’s surprising that I don’t use KMS more often. Like most technical types, I find a way that works for me, and that’s the way I do things from then on. However these last few weeks I’ve been putting in a new infrastructure for a local secondary school. Their internet access is through a proxy server, that refuses to let Windows activation work....
Exchange – Failed to mount database(hr=0x80040115, ec=-2147221227)
KB ID 0000664 Problem The Exchange server on my test network stopped working, the mailbox database was not mounted. When I attempted to mount it: ——————————————————– Microsoft Exchange Error...
IIS: Move WWWRoot Folder
KB ID 0001487 Problem I migrated an IIS website I use for hosting files this week, and realised I’d forgotten how to relocate the wwwroot directory from it’s default install location on C:\inetpub\wwwroot. Solution Firstly, I’m assuming you have instilled the IIS role and you already have a wwwroot folder on your C: Drive, (in the above location). If so you can simply copy this folder to your new partition/drive (in...
Windows USB Install Error 0x80070026
KB ID 0001485 Problem Now physical servers don’t really come with DVD drives any more, Im forever deploying Windows, ESX, or some other Linux OS via a bootable USB drive. I generally use Unerbootin, and just point it at the .iso file and away we go, which I did this week when trying to deploy Window Server 2016. However when I did that, this happened; Windows cannot open the required file {Drive}:\Sources\install.wim. Make sure...
How to Transfer Files from PC to iPhone Wirelessly
KB ID 0001481 Written by Tag Jones When it comes to transferring files from PC to iPhone and vice versa, the most obvious choice is to use iTunes. However, it has been found that many users don’t like working with this application. Bloated and ponderous, iTunes continues Apple’s ongoing trend of having lost its design mojo. Luckily, we have other options. One of the easiest ways is to use Wi-Fi Direct Transfer. With this...