December 2007 - Posts
Back in Nov-2006 I wrote about a free script (WaRmZip) you could download to be used for deleting old log files. That script includes a lot of features and flexibility.
Here's a simpler script that does a similar cleanup of old log files that you might find useful. It includes a .vbs backend script plus a simple one line .bat batch file script that can be added to your SBS scheduler.
1. You can download a zip file from my website that contains the .vbs file, a sample .bat file and a sample log file. To keep things simply, I store these files on my SBS server's in a C:\scripts folder.
2. The .vbs file does not need any editing at all. It is designed to search, starting at a specified folder, plus all sub folders below it. Howerver, if you wish to play it safe while testing, you can edit the .vbs file and remark out the file.delete line located on line 37 near the end of the script.
3. The .bat file will define the starting folder and the age of files to be deleted, and will create a log file so you can track the files deleted. This batch file can then be scheduled to run daily, weekly or whatever. You can either create separate batch files or just add additional cscript lines to this one batch file.
Here's an example of the batch file IU use to cleanup IIS log files over 30 days old:
cscript c:\scripts\deloldfiles.vbs c:\windows\system32\logfiles 30 >> c:\scripts\iis.log
And here is part of the corresponding log file it creates:
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.6
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1996-2001. All rights reserved.
Today:12/29/2007 8:32:06 AM
Started deleting files older than :11/29/2007 8:32:06 AM
________________________________________________
Deleting Files under the Folder:C:\WINDOWS\system32\LogFiles
__________________________________________________________________________
Deleting C:\WINDOWS\system32\LogFiles\IN071105.log last modified: 11/5/2007 7:18:34 PM
Deleting C:\WINDOWS\system32\LogFiles\IN071110.log last modified: 11/10/2007 3:47:43 PM
Deleting C:\WINDOWS\system32\LogFiles\IN071118.log last modified: 11/18/2007 11:55:00 AM
Deleting C:\WINDOWS\system32\LogFiles\IN071123.log last modified: 11/23/2007 11:43:26 PM
__________________________________________________________________________
Completed deleting files older than :11/29/2007 8:32:06 AM
________________________________________________
Enjoy!
First, I wish everyone a very safe, joyous and wonderful Christmas holiday.
Thanks for everyone's words of encouragement to me this past year as I suffered through several physical problems and illnesses. On my road to recovery, I decided to step away from my full time position I"ve had for the last 4 years and return to working for myself, selling and installing SBS wherever I can.
I close out my month of Christmas songs with a fairly new Christmas song (1984) written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Green called "Mary, Did You Know". It's been recorded by many people, but IMHO Kathy Mattea's version is the best. I recently found a video of Kathy Mattea performing this song (with the words appearing on the bottom of the screen).
I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas.
-kw
Well, here it is ... Christmas eve! And whether or not you celebrate Christmas, it's still a wonderful time of the year to reflect on all the good things that people have done for us this past year. The movie Pay It Forward from a few years ago showed how doing one good deed to another human being could change that person's life. Let's take time to give thanks to those people who have been generous to us, especially to all those who support the SBS newsgroups.
Today's song is one of the traditional Chrisitmas hymns. I remember (and still love) singing it in Latin (Adeste Fideles). Enjoy!
O Come, All Ye Newsgroups
aka O Come, All Ye Faithful
O come all ye newsgroups,
Filled with all our problems
O come ye, O help us now with Microsoft
Please come and show us,
Pleads the hot fix chorus
O come let us install it
O please don't let it crash now
O come let us reboot now ... yes, it's up!
O come, all ye newbies,
SBS is rocking
Post, all the MVP's are waiting to help
Susan is blogging
Microsoft is list'ning
O, come we should upgrade now
We hear that R2's great now
And Cougar in '08, wow
Sixty four bits!
-kw
I love finding non-traditional Christmas songs that include a universal message of joy and peace, no matter what your particular religious or spiritual slant may be. We have just a short time on this earth, and we should strive to make it a better place for the coming generations.
John Denver penned this song over 30 years ago for the baby (Zachary) that he and his wife adopted. It's simple and yet has a special charm and feel about it. I'm not going to change the words to the song at all. I hope you enjoy it!
And here's a video link of Chris Westfall performing this song.
A Baby Just Like You
John Denver, J. Henry (c) 1975
The season is upon us now
A time for gifts and giving
And as the year draws to its close
I think about my living
The Christmas time when I was young,
The magic and the wonder,
But colors dull and candles dim,
And dark my standing under
O little Zachary, shining light
You've set my soul to dreaming
You've given back my joy in life
And filled me with new meaning
A Savior King was born that day,
A baby just like you,
And as the Magi came with gifts,
I come with my gift too
That peace on Earth fills up your time,
That brotherhood surrounds you.
That you may know the warmth of love,
And wrap it all around you
It's just a wish, a dream I'm told
From days when I was young
Merry Christmas, little Zachary
Merry Christmas, everyone
Merry Christmas, little Zachary
Merry Christmas, everyone
-kw
The long awaited "what comes after Vista" OS from Microsoft has finally been released, and is receiving tremendous reviews.
What do they say about the grass always being greener?
Enjoy.
-kw
Well as I check the weather this morning, here's what I see for the forecast highs today: Seattle 38F, Sacramento 29F, Omaha 24F, Dallas 56F, New York 36F, New Orleans 63F, and Tampa 57F.
And for our non-US readers, we have: London 46F/7C, Munich 25F/-4C, Brussels 44F/7C, Sao Paulo 79F/26C, Sydney 66F/19C, Aukland 63F/17C, Singapore 79F/26C, Ottawa 27F/-3C, Edmonton 1F/-17C
You get the picture ... it's cold in most places, and warm in other places. But wherever we are, hopefully we have a chance to put a smile on someone's face. So go out and do something nice for someone ... surprise them!
And while we do it, we can be singing this favorite Christmas carol, Let It Snow. And here's Andy Williams version of the song to listen.
Just Say No!
aka Let It Snow!
Oh the server's been running fine now
But I've got this patch to load now
But since I didn't backup last night
Let It Go! Let It Go! Just Say No!
My boss now wants to by an iPhone
And he wants to have it syncing
Though the commercials make it look so good
Let It Go! Let It Go! Just Say No!
When I finally leave tonight
How I'll hate going out to the mall
All of the stores will be jammed up tight
With people wanting to buy it all
The server is slowly dying
And, I fear, I'm really not trying
I'd rather be at home right now
So Let It Go! Let It Go! Just Go Home!
I just finished watching "The Polar Express" with my daughter tonight. It's become a family tradition to make some hot chocolate and drink it while watching Tom Hanks sing the "Hot, Hot, Hot Chocolate" song in the movie.
We all have our own traditions and ways to celebrate with family and friends. I'm reminded that the world does not revolve around computers, although computers (not love) may make the world go 'round!
So, let's get into the Christmas spirit and join in a song that children and adults love to sing!
Windows, the Red-Nosed Software
aka Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You know Unix and Office
And Outlook and Google
Adobe and Quicken
And Linux and Apple
But do you recall
The most famous software of all?
Windows, the red-nosed software
Struggled from the very start
And when you tried to use it
Others asked if you were smart
All of the other software
Used to laugh and call it names
They never thought that Windows
Was good for anything but games
And one dreary Christmas Eve
Bill Gates came to say
Windows with your code so tight
Why can't you just shutdown right?
Then all his software coders
Working straight thru New Year's Eve
Said they could make it work right
But still I get a BSOD!
One of my top three Christmas albums of all times is Bing Crosby's White Christmas, first released in 1945. If you want to know my other top two Christmas albums, keep reading past the song lyrics. Bing and the Andrews Sisters, a cup of hot chocalate, and family and friends around ... make for a wonderful Christmas event.
One of the songs from this album is Christmas in Killarney. Here is a link to an Irish version of the song. Hopefully everyone will have a delightful and wonderful holiday with family and friends. But we all fear the phone call late on Christmas Eve ...
Christmas At The Office
aka Christmas In Killarney
The network's down, with no e-mail
The ugliest scene I can recall
It's Christmas at the office
And not with the folks at home
It's tough, you know, to kiss your beau
And leave her under the mistletoe
'Cause when the server's down, of course
It's gonna be time to go
The door's already open
The boss is pacing the hall
And your ISP before you're done
Will claim it's not their fault
How grand it feels to click your heels
And join in the fun of the jigs and reels
I'm handing you no blarney
The likes you've never known
It's Christmas at the office
While everyone's still at home!
Oh, my other favorite Christmas albums?
One is John Denver and the Muppets A Christmas Together. and the other is Kathy Mattea's Good News Christmas album. Then, running close behind these are Christmas albums from Harry Connick Jr, Kenny G, and Steve Wariner. Finally, if you want to hear a wonderful a capella group from Minnesota that put out a fabulous Christmas CD and DVD, check out Tonic-Sol-Fa
Merry Christmas!
-kw
For those of you using Office/Outlook 2007, here's a Microsoft add-on that hasn't gotten much press ... it's called the Calendar Printing Assistant for Outlook 2007 -- or CPAO for short (kapow!).
After installing it, you might have trouble finding it -- I certainly did. You won't find it in Outlook. Instead, click on All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools and you will find the link for CPAO.
My take? For what it does, it does nicely. It gives you a variety of templates (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly). But the level of customization available is very limited. In other words, it is not a replacement for those using Calendar Creator! But perhaps there will be a version 2.0. We can only hope!
I've been beta testing Lookeen for several months. It's a 3rd party Outlook 2003/2007 search tool that is a wonderful replacement for those who have previously used LookOut, and a step up from what Microsoft supplies. They have officially launched version 1.0 today!
Check it out at www.lookeen.com
Although the words to Deck the Halls, as we know it, were written in the 19th century, the melody is a Welsh tune from the 1700's. It is truly amazing how universal music is, and can be. Hopefully, it does bring us closer together, and perhaps the Christmas greeting of "Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward all" can be a reality in our lives this year.
Enjoy!
Wreck Your Disks
aka Deck The Halls
Wreck your disks with lots of spyware
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
'Tis the reason for the bloatware
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Booting up we go to safe mode
Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la.
Troll the disks for all that cr*p code
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
See the crashing screen before us.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Call for help, and join the chorus.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Follow us in all these newsgroups.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
While you learn to jump through more hoops.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Fast away, install the patches.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Hail the new year, let's kick some *sses
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Sing we joyous, all together.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Server's up and running better.
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
What do you want for Christmas this year --- more presents? or more patches from Microsoft?
For children of all ages, Christmas can be a time of excitement and wonder.
For Christians, Christmas celebrates the birth of the Son of God.
For computer geeks, Christmas means new electronic toys and games
For computer professionals, Christmas means customers calling us to tell us they just bought an iPhone and wanting to know why we can't hook it up to Exchange?
For all of us, the anticipation of a new service pack or hot fix can either be an answer to prayer or a call to arms! So, let's get on with today's song:
What Patch Is This?
aka What Child Is This?
Audio: http://www.soundclick.com/util/streamm3u.m3u?id=2993726&q=hi
What patch is this, that I received,
From Microsoft this morning?
Whom newgroups greet with bated breath
While blogger posts are scorning?
Is this their latest patch
Why did Microsoft rush it out?
Haste, haste it came about,
The Patch, that caused my problems.
Why lies my server in disarray
The boss and users complaining?
Good God, I fear, with others here,
A better patch we're needing.
Is this their latest patch
Why did we have to install it now?
Haste, haste we're in a rush,
The Patch, that caused my problems.
-kw
Here in Florida, we had a cold front come through last night ... dropping the temperature from the 90's(F) to the 30's (F) yesterday. Now, we're ready to start talking Christmas and fireplaces and roasted chesnuts. And, along with all the festivities and fmaily gatherings, there's a lot of computers and electronics being pushed. Did you know you can't find a cassette player any more in the department stores? And just a few years ago, plasma/LCD TV's were too expensive ... but now we have to have one in every room of the house!
So, as you go about your work and wondering what Santa will bring you, you can hum to this tune.
You can listen to Andy Williams' version of this song on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2urlriwjcg
It's the Most Digital Time of the Year
aka: It's the most wonderful time of the year
It's the most digital time of the year
With the kids wanting cell phones
And Mom wants an iPhone, you better beware
It's the most digital time of the year
It's the crab-crabbiest season of all
With the holiday traffic, the stores make me so sick
And crowds at the mall
It's the crab-crabbiest season of all
There'll be laptops to order
And maybe Home Servers
Connected to TV's and more
There'll be digital cameras
And wireless new hubs
Oh where will all of this go?
It's the most digital time of the year
There'll be much power draining
Those batteries charging
As we turn on our gear
It's the most digital time
It's the most crabbiest time
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
:-) kw
Oh, boy ... only 10 more shopping days 'til Christmas! Generally, I wait until Dec 23rd to start my shopping. The way I see it, by waiting until the end, then all the shelves are fairly empty, which makes selecting a gift that much easier :-)
So, to help us get away from the computer and emails for a few minutes, here's a song to put a bounce into your step. This song is celebrating it's 75th birthday, being written in 1932 and performed in 1934 on the old Eddie Cantor radio show.
Microsoft is Changing Its Mind
aka Santa Claus is Coming To Town
You better not doubt
You better not lie
IPOD's not out
I'm telling you why
Microsoft is changing its mind
They're looking at Mac,
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out if Linux is nice.
Microsoft is changing its mind
They know that Windows' flaky
They see the blog you wrote
They know that it might sound 'bit crazy
But Ubuntu might offer hope
Oh, you better be cool
You better learn quick
Vi's the tool
When you edit a fix
Microsoft is changing its mind
Microsoft is changing its mind
OK, we're going to give you a break from my bad Christmas parodies. Chris Pirillo has his own selection of Christmas song parodies. He one-ups me by doing it bt creating his own MP3 recording. The song I selected is his take of the Eliv Presley's hit, "Blue Christmas".
Here's his recording: http://media.thechrispirilloshow.com/mp3/BlueVista.mp3
Here is his blog and video clip of the song: http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/10/19/christmas-music-parody-blue-vista/
And here are the lyrics to the song. Merry Christmas, and a big thanks to Chris Pirillo!
I’ve had a blue desktop with Vista.
I’ve been so blue. XP, I’ve missed ya.
Dialogs popping up thanks to UAC.
Just ain’t the same, dear. At least it’s not ME.
And with those blue wallpapers with white text
I can… wait a minute… that’s not a wallpaper.
What the hell’s a STOP ERROR. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL?
And I had a blue, blue blue blue screen.
Oh, Windows Vista… why ya gotta do this to me?
Cancel or allow? Of course I want you to allow.
If I didn’t want you to allow, I wouldn’t have done it in the first
place.
Step on my blue suede shoes if you wanna, I don’t care.
Just get better, please. Please?!
You’ll be doin’ all right, with your Leopard in sight,
But I’ll have a blue, blue Vista.
-kw
The streets and stores are already busy with holiday shoppers. Some stores had Christmas decorations up even before Thanksgiving. Can you believe that it was a year ago when many wanted to know when Vista would be released? So, today's song is dedicated to Vista. Oh, when will Vista SP1 be available?
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Vista
aka It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
WAV clip of Bing Crosby singing this song:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/dmusic/media/sample.m3u/ref=dm_sp_smpl?ie=UTF8&catalogItemType=track&ASIN=B000W0B0CA
It's beginning to look a lot like Vista
Everywhere you go
Take a look in the Best Buy store,
They're stacked high on the floor,
With hopes and prayers that Vista sales will glow
It's beginning to look a lot like Vista
Installed in each PC
But the prettiest sight to see is when it's running right for me
On my own T.V.
A pair of SATA speed drives and a 4 gig thumb drive
Is the wish of your Mom and Dad
Laptops that run and will never shutdown
Just in case that Bill Gates goes mad
It's beginning to look a lot like Vista
Everywhere I go
It's installed on my home machine, but doesn't run very clean
Perhaps it needs more memory, you know
It's beginning to look a lot like Vista
Soon the sales will soar
And the thing that will make them ring, is the Service Pack you bring
When you come to their door.
Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas", from the movie of the same name, is a traditional favorite of mine. It reminds me to not take for granted the blessings that we enjoy each and every day. And for this holiday, perhaps a new Windows Home Server will be under the Christmas tree.
Home Server
aka White Christmas
I'm dreaming of a Home Server
Just like the one Bill Gates now owns
With those disk drives spinning
and iPods loading
I sure would like one for my home
I'm dreaming of my new server
And all the fun I'll have that night
When it's up and running, I'll write:
And may all your Home Servers work right!
Not all songs during Christmas are religious or spiritual in nature. The holiday season is also a time to remind us of good memories and friends who are there for us through thick and thin. In the seven years I have been lurking around the SBS public newsgroups, I have met so many wonderful people -- people that I can truly call "friends". And you realize that life is more than just computers and service packs, but making a difference in the world today.
So, with all the sentimental stuff behind, let's get to the Christmas song of the day. God bless Mel Torme who wrote this song:
Make Yourself a Very Stable Backup
aka: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Make yourself a very stable backup,
Since your disks may fail;
If you don't your troubles
will be worse than jail.
Did you find that latest backup tape now?
Where could it have gone?
Find it now, or else you
will be up 'til dawn
Here we are as in younger days,
Those DOS golden days of yore,
Floppy disks that just worked for us
Never failed for us, I'm sure
Through the night
We all will stick together
That's what friends are for,
Ask us all your questions,
You'll get help, and more
Then grab yourself
A merry nap right on the floor!
Here in Florida the temperature is 70 degrees F (21 C) - not quite the right temperature for snow to fall or to build a snowman.
Instead of my usual parody today, I came across a great version of the Christmas song, 'O Little Town of Bethlehem', sung to the tune of 'There is a House in New Orleans'. Listen to it ... it really is a great, upbeat version. (If anyone is offended by using a secular melody for a hymn, keep in mind that several traditional hymns we know are actually based on secular songs.)
Link: http://www.bobrivers.com/player/player.asp?atype=tunes&ID=704&Speed=3
O Little Town of Bethlehem (Parody of The House of The Rising Sun by Eric Burdon)
with kudos to The Bob Rivers Show, KZOK 102.5FM, Twisted Tunes
Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
For December 2nd we go to a song whose words were written by Charles Wesly in 1739, but the melody for the song as we know it came from Felix Mendelssohn almost 100 years later (1840).
Help! My Server Just Now Crashed
(aka Hark! The Herald Angels Sing)
Help! my server just now crashed
Error codes, the logs are trashed
Users scream, they're going wild
Where's my mail, and all my files?
Fear and panic, what to do?
Turn for help from this newsgroup
"Read the book", Marina yells
"Uninstall the patch from h*ll"
Server's up, and all is fine
Hurrah to all these friends of mine!
:-)