Windows – Monitor Display ‘Turned Sideways’
KB ID 0000884 Problem I bit the bullet and said ‘Yes’ when prompted to upgrade to Windows 8.1 the other day. Post upgrade, I was beavering away working on the site when the display rotated ninety degrees; I’ve seen this happen with client in the past and pressing CTRL+Shift+Up Arrow (or the left or right arrows) usually fixes the problem, (but not in this case). I guessed Windows 8.1 was detecting movement on my laptop and...
Windows 8 – Empty Explorer.EXE Window Opens on Boot
KB ID 0000893 Problem After cleaning an infected Windows 8 machine, I was faced with an empty Explorer.EXE window with just a warning triangle like this every time the PC booted. Solution It was being caused by a piece of junk that was left in the registry. 1. Press Windows Key+R > type regedit {Enter} > The registry editor will open. 2. Navigate to; HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWindows 3. Check the...
Windows 8 – Putting Shutdown / Log Off / Restart on the Start Menu
KB ID 0000902 Problem I’ve written before about How to shutdown Windows 8 (or 8.1). But if you actually want those options on your Start screen this is how to do it. Note: If you are feeling especially lazy, you can download the shortcuts and skip straight to the pinning shortcuts to the start screen section. Solution 1. On a free area of your desktop > Right click > New > Shortcut. 2. You will need to create a...
Windows – Cannot Manage Active Directory Certificate Services
KB ID 0001037 This article is from long time site supporter: Daniel Newton Problem On my laptop today I installed the RSAT Tools for Remote Management. I went to do some PKI Work in my Test Environment and Came with the Following Error: “Cannot Manage Active Directory Certificate Services. The specified service does not exist as an installed service. 0x424 (WIN32: 1060 ERROR_SERVICE_DOES_NOT_EXIST)” I thought it would automatically...
Windows 8/8.1 Stop The New User Animation
KB ID 0001078 Problem After spinning up quite a few Windows 8 virtual machines over the past few days, it struck me how annoying the new user account animation was. It’s only setting up a user profile, why on earth does it take so long? Solution To Disable New User Animation On A Stand Alone Machine 1. Press the Windows Key and launch gpedit.msc. 2. Navigate to;</p? Computer Configuration > Administrative Tools >...
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...
Windows – Quicklaunch Toolbar
KB ID 0000202 Problem Got a new work laptop yesterday, and while I was in the process of copying my stuff over from the old one, I remembered I’d have to setup Quicklaunch again, so I though this time I’d take a bit of time to document the process. Quicklaunch was a nice feature in Windows XP,but Microsoft hid it in Vista and have continued this trend with Windows 7,8,10. As it’s a feature I rely on all the time,...
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...
Windows 8 – ‘Test Mode Windows 8 build 9200’
KB ID 0000281 Problem Also seen on Server 2008. Solution 1. Click Start, in the search box type cmd > then right click the cmd icon and select “Run as administrator”. 2. At command line issue the following command, Bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING OFF 3. Then Reboot the PC. Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links Original Article Written...