Windows – Disable the ‘Lock Screen’
Lock Screen KB ID 0000670 Problem Also See: Stop Windows Servers ‘Locking’ with Group Policy The Windows lock screen is all well and good if you have a slate/tablet, but I don’t see the point of it on a Desktop PC or Laptop, (it just adds to login time). Note: don’t get this confused with Stop Windows Asking For Password After Sleep / Standby Lock Screen: Solution 1. Bring up the Windows run command (Press Windows Key+R)....
Windows Crashes and Reboots when Unlocked
KB ID 0000145 Problem This is seen on Windows 7 Clients, when logged onto a domain, after unlocking the machine. If you inspect the Event Log you will see Event ID 1015 “A critical system process, C:Windowssystem32lsass.exe, failed with status code 255. The machine must now be restarted.” Solution I put up with this for a while, and did a lot of Internet searching, some people suggested power settings and a host of...
Windows – Minimised Windows Don’t Restore/Maximise
KB ID 0000155 Problem I’ve seen this a couple of times with various applications, I don’t know it ifs a Windows problem, or simply the code in the application that faults, anyway it affected mRemote which I use on a daily basis, so I needed to fix it (Note: I’ve seen this on Java based applications as well). At first I assumed it was a multiple monitor problem, I use dual monitors in the office and thought the...
Windows – Create ‘Multiple Version’ Install Media(x32 and x64 bit)
KB ID 0000164 Problem When Microsoft released Windows Vista and Server 2008 they had the brilliant Idea of putting all the versions you would require in the same install media. With Windows 7 they have changed their approach, and the install media is specific to the version that is going to be installed. Well actually that’s not true the version is decided by a file in the installation media called ei.cfg and all versions are...
Windows: How To Remove the ‘Shortcut Arrow’
KB ID 0000178 Problem Whenever I build a new machine, one of the first things I do, is open Regedit > Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT > lnkfile and remove the “IsShortcut” Value, and voila! the annoying shortcut arrows are gone. DONT DO THAT! If you do, you will notice that you can no longer add shortcuts to the “Windows Explorer Favorites” (well you can but you can’t see them), also it disables (Grays...
Windows Deployment Services (On Server 2008 R2) Deploying Windows 7
KB ID 0000180 Problem It’s been a while since I posted run through’s on WDS – they were on Server 2003, and were for deploying Windows XP. I’ve completely re-written this page and shot a series of videos to make the process a little easier to understand. Solution Step 1 Notes 1. If the WDS Server is NOT the DHCP server then do NOT tick both the DHCP options, (as stated in the video), on your DHCP scope...
You cannot upgrade this prerelease version of Windows 7
Performing an upgrade from Windows 7 Pre-Release KB ID 0000188 Problem If your running the “Pre Release” version of Windows 7 it going to stop working 28/02/10, and when you try and upgrade it you will see this error. There is no direct upgrade path, from the Pre-Release, however all its not lost, simply do the following. Note: This will only work if your upgrading to Windows 7 Ultimate (All the Pre-release versions are...
Windows – “GodMode”
KB ID 0000189 Dtd 01/03/10 Problem Sadly this mode does not enable you to turn water into vodka, the term was more coined by bloggers than the developers at Microsoft. Most posts quote creating a folder simply called. GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} But you can call the folder anything you want.. Solution 1. Right Click Your desktop > New > Folder. 2. Rename the folder. 3. Call the Folder...
Installing Windows From USB
KB ID 0000191 Problem This weekend I needed to install Windows 7 on my shiny new Acer HTPC, but having no internal CD/DVD drive I needed to do this via USB. Quite a few times now I’ve needed to install Windows (Particularly Server 2008), on a machine that has no DVD Drive. You can now install both products from a bootable USB drive by doing either of the the following. Note: You will need a USB Drive with enough free space on it...
Windows – USB to Serial Port Converter Drivers
KB ID 0000211 Problem You don’t have a serial port on your laptop so to console into some network equipment you need a USB/Serial Adaptor, I did have some hassle getting drivers for my old Vista Laptop but thankfully I found these ones. {vista-prolific-chip-driver-for-serial-adapters 1.8Mb} But they wouldn’t load on Windows 7. Solution 1. Run the same drivers above, but in compatibility mode for Vista. Right Click the...