Windows Server - Networking

Changing Office 2007 CD KEY without Re-install it.

Richard — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:39:00 GMT

I found the following solution on the Internet. This describes an other error, but it gave me the ability to reenter a new Product Key.

Follow these steps:

Close all Microsoft Office applications.
Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
Locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration

Note You may also find another subkey that resembles the following subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration\{91120000-0011-0000-0000-0000000FF1CE}
If you find additional subkeys that reference Microsoft 12.0 registration, open each subkey, and then identify the product by the ProductName entry.
For example: ProductName=Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007
When you find the subkey for the product from which you want to remove the existing product license key, delete the following entries:
- DigitalProductID
- ProductID
Exit Registry Editor.

The next time that you try to run an Office application, you will be prompted for a new product license key. Then, you can enter the product license key.

Network and Sharing Center Operations Guide

Richard — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:57:00 GMT

Another guide reviewed by me:

Network and Sharing Center Operations Guide

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/7bd38516-8d1c-4eb5-aaed-cf9369c4a0611033.mspx

Acknowledgments

Produced by: Microsoft Windows Server User Assistance team

Project Writer: Dave Bishop, L. Joan Devraun

Project Editor: Scott Somohano

Technical Reviewers: Sen Veluswami, Alvin Tan, Amit Pethe

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Reviewers: Richard Wu, Wai Ho

Telnet Operations Guide

Richard — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 05:19:00 GMT

Telnet Operations Guide

haha! I help Microsoft to review their Telnet Operation Guide before. Now, it was published!

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/0bd3aaf1-3475-4676-b85d-7fd5531a9cbc1033.mspx?mfr=true

Look at the bottom of that page, you will see:

Acknowledgments

Produced by: Microsoft Windows Server User Assistance team

Project Writer: Dave Bishop, L. Joan Devraun

Project Editor: Scott Somohano

Technical Reviewers: Jeff Gollnick, Shamit Patel, Shanmugam Kulandaivel, Jay Munro

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Reviewers: Richard Wu, Wai Ho

Changing local admin password?

Richard — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:28:00 GMT

Changing local admin password?

I just find a good method to change the local admin password of client PC remotely from MCPMAG. By using this method, you don't need to put the new password in script in order to make it work. You may reference this:

SysInternals offers a free too called PsPasswd
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/PsPasswd.html , which
allows you to remotely reset passwords on a range of computers
on your network. The tool will also report successes and
failures of changed passwords, and allows you to run a single
command against a list of computers. Since the password is just
included within the syntax of a command that you run, it will
never be stored as plain text in a batch or script file.

To use PsPasswd, you'll first need a list of all computers in
your domain. To enumerate all computer objects in a domain,
you could run this script:

LogFile = "C:\computers.txt"
Const ForWriting = 2
Const ADS_SCOPE_SUBTREE = 2

Set objConnection = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
Set objCommand = CreateObject("ADODB.Command")
objConnection.Provider = "ADsDSOObject"
objConnection.Open "Active Directory Provider"

Set objCOmmand.ActiveConnection = objConnection
objCommand.CommandText = _
   "Select Name, Location from 'LDAP://DC=mcpmag,DC=com' " _
   & "Where objectClass='computer'"
objCommand.Properties("Page Size") = 1000
objCommand.Properties("Searchscope") = ADS_SCOPE_SUBTREE
Set objRecordSet = objCommand.Execute
objRecordSet.MoveFirst

Set objFSO =
CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFile = objFSO.CreateTextFile(LogFile, ForWriting)

Do Until objRecordSet.EOF
   objFile.WriteLine objRecordSet.Fields("Name").Value
   objRecordSet.MoveNext
Loop

Note that the script will output to a file named "computers.txt"
on the C drive. This could be changed by editing the LogFile
variable assignment in the first line of the script. Note that
in your environment, you will also need to change the domain
referenced in line 12. In my example, I use mcpmag.com
(DC=mcpmag,DC=com).

Once you have a list of all computers, you can then run
pspasswd.exe to change the local administrator password on
all systems in the list. Here's the syntax that I used on my
test network:

pspasswd.exe @c:\computers.txt administrator P@ssword!

Following the @ symbol in the command syntax is the path to
the file containing all computer names. The next part of the
syntax is the name of the account whose password will be
changed, followed by the new password (P@ssword!).

Now here is the output that was generated from the command:

PsPasswd v1.21 - Local and remote password changer
Copyright (C) 2003-2004 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

\\PC1:
Error changing password:
The network path was not found.

\\BSODME:
Password for BSODME\administrator successfully changed.

Since the output will list both success and failures, you will
be able to note the systems in which the password was not
successfully changed. In my case, the system named PC1 was not
located. So I would have to ensure that PC1 was online and then
run the command a second time. (Note that PsPasswd can also be
run against a single computer.) Since the command relies on UNC
paths to connect to systems, you will need to ensure that the
target systems have File and Print Sharing enabled and that File
and Print Sharing is not being blocked by the system's firewall.
By default, the Windows XP Pro SP2 firewall does not allow File
and Print sharing. However, this can be quickly changed via
Group Policy.

As you can see, with a simple list of computers on your network,
remotely changing the local administrator password using PsPasswd
is a relatively painless process.

How to fix: Windows could not search for new updates Error Code 80245003

Richard — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 02:34:00 GMT

Here is the steps for solving the 80245003 error when you do Windows Update in Vista.

1. Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenence, then (under Windows Update) > Turn automatic updating on or off, then click "never check for updates"

2. Close Control Panel
3. REBOOT
4. Goto My Computer
5. Click on C: (or your Primary Drive)
6. Open the "Windows" folder
7. Rename the Folder called "SoftwareDistribution" to SoftwareDistributionOLD
8. Create a new folder named SoftwareDistribution
9. Close all windows and any running programs.
10. REBOOT
11. Go back to Step 1 (and back to > Turn automatic updating on or off), then turn the Automatic Updates back On.

12. Close all windows and any running programs.
13. REBOOT
14. then click on Start and type in Windows Automatic Updates
15. Click on the "Windows Automatic Updates" folder
16. Run Windows Automatic Updates.

Disable the Windows Update Service (Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services). Just stop the service.
Navigate to: C:\Windows (or whereever you Windows system is)
Find the folder named: “SoftwareDistribution”
Rename that folder to something like “SoftwareDistribution.old”
Create a new folder called “SoftwareDistribution”
Go back to your Services panel and start the Windows Update service
Rerun Windows Update

Sync GAL between Forest

Richard — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 18:00:00 GMT

I find a good guide on sync GAL between AD Forest.

Reference here:

http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/GAL-Sync-Identity-Integration-Feature-Pack-IIFP.html

HyperTerminal for Vista

Richard — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:58:00 GMT

Microsoft has removed HyperTerminal from Windows Vista, if you need to connect to a Cisco router through a local COM port, you can get HyperTerminal from Hilgraeve, the company that Microsoft licensed the application through.

You could also use the old XP Hyper terminal. Just extract two files hypertrm.dll and hypertrm.exe. You can put them anywhere on the disk, no installation required. Of course, for that you need to have XP to extract files from.

Besides, puTTY and SecureCRT are great too! I would prefer puTTY as it is FREE! :-p
PuTTY can now connect to local serial ports as well as making network connections!!!

Hilgraeve HyperTerminal for Personal Use
puTTY

Install/Upgrade UltraVNC v1.02 through Remote Desktop.

Richard — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:50:00 GMT

If you install VNC through Remote Desktop, you will face a problem that VNC Server can't run as a service even you choose the "Run As Services" option during the installation. To work around to this problem, I search through the net and find a solution which work on my server(W2K /w SP4):

1. Logon the Server by using Remote Desktop and install VNC, run the VNC Server by clicking it's icon in the VNC program group.(It may prompt you to configure the default password if it's a new installation. However, my case is not a new installation, so it don't prompt for configuring the default password).

Configure the default setting by clicking the "Show Default Settings" inside the UltraVNC program group(I configure my VNC password at that time) and click OK.

If it does not work, try copy the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ORL\WinVNC3\Password to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORL\WinVNC3\Default\Password

2. Then, created the registry value "AuthRequired" under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ORL\WinVNC3 and set it to 0 (a DWORD value). That enabled "passwordless" VNC access(Remark: It's DANGER to do so!!!)

3. Go to the services console and start the VNC service.

Now since VNC is hooking video as if we were sitting in front of a console rather than RDP's session stuff, we can attach to the newly started vnc service. Go to start->program files->Ultra VNC->Ultra VNC Server [folder]->Show Default Settings (Assuming everything is in the default places/names at least...)

Now set your password. Do a save and get outta there. Exit VNC client locally, and reconnect - now it prompts for password. Remove the "authrequired" key.

Logging User logon event.

Richard — Mon, 28 May 2007 16:39:00 GMT

If you want to keep track the user logon and logoff event to the domain, you can try this method:

Step 1: Create the following two files using Notepad or your favorite text editor:

------logon.cmd----
echo logon %username% %computername% %date% %time% >> \\dc1\share\logon.log

-----logoff.cmd-----
echo logoff %username% %computername% %date% %time% >> \\dc1\share\logoff.log

Step 2: Update Group Policy to run the appropriate batch file. In Group Policy, go to:
User Configuration-> Windows Settings-> Scripts (Logon/Logoff)-> Logon
User Configuration-> Windows Settings-> Scripts (Logon/Logoff)-> Logoff

Step 3: As users log on and off, your log file should look something like this:

logon Richard WS01 Tue 22/02/2005 10:39:51.12
logon Peter WS02 Tue 22/02/2005 10:42:01.07

logoff Richard WS01 Tue 22/02/2005 10:41:08.45
logoff Peter WS02 Tue 22/02/2005 10:42:46.81

For paid solution and better reporting, you can use the software from:
http://manageengine.adventnet.com/products/desktop-central/

Publish IIS 6 on ISA2004/2006 Server when they are on the same server.

Richard — Mon, 21 May 2007 19:35:00 GMT

If you want to publish the HTTP service in IIS which was installed on the same machine as ISA, you are require to disable socket pooling on it. Otherise, HTTP service will bind itself to all network interfaces which prevent ISA to listen for incoming request.

1. Install the Support Tools form the W2K3 Server installation disc. It was located in the SUPPORT\TOOLS folder.
2. Run "net stop http /y"
3. Run "net stop w3proxy" if you enabled the web proxy service.
4. Go to the Support Tools folder and Run "httpcfg delete iplisten -i 0.0.0.0"
5. Run "httpcfg set iplisten -i 192.168.8.8" where "192.168.8.8" is the IP of which HTTP service should be listen to.
6. Run "net start http"
7. Run "net start w3svc"
8. Run "net start w3proxy"

You can run "httpcfg query iplisten" to check which IP does the HTTP service is currently listening to.
You can also run "netstat -na | more" to check the active listening ports.

If you want to stop socket pooling on FTP service, you can do this:

1. cd c:\Inetpub\AdminScripts
2. net stop msftpsvc
3. cscript adsutil.vbs set msftpsvc/disablesocketpooling true
4. net start msftpsvc

If you want to stop socket pooling on SMTP service, you can do this:

1. cd c:\Inetpub\AdminScripts
2. net stop smtpsvc
3. cscript adsutil.vbs set smtpsvc/disablesocketpooling true
4. net start smtpsvc

You can also disable socket pooling for POP3 and IMAP4 services by changing the command:
cscript adsutil.vbs set imap4svc/disablesocketpooling true
cscript adsutil.vbs set pop3svc/disablesocketpooling true

Setting up Cluster on Virtual Server 2005 R2.

Richard — Thu, 17 May 2007 12:41:00 GMT

I find a very good article which teach you the steps to configure cluster in Virtual Server.
It's from RoudyBob. Let's share here:

http://www.roudybob.net/downloads/Setting-Up-A-Windows-Server-2003-Cluster-in-VS2005-Part1.pdf

http://www.roudybob.net/downloads/Setting-Up-A-Windows-Server-2003-Cluster-in-VS2005-Part2.pdf

Disable Mapped Drive Reconnect Warning (Windows 95/98/Me)

Richard — Wed, 16 May 2007 13:28:00 GMT

Open your registry and find or create the key below.

Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called "RestoreDiskChecked" and set it according to the value data below.

Exit your registry; you may need to restart or log out of Windows for the change to take effect.

User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Network]
Value Name: RestoreDiskChecked
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = disabled, 1 = enabled)

Error message when you try to install Windows Vista on a computer that uses more than 3 GB of RAM: "STOP 0x0000000A"

Richard — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:40:00 GMT

When you try to install Windows Vista, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

STOP 0x0000000A (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4)
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

This problem occurs if the following conditions are true:

•	The computer uses more than 3 GB of RAM.
•	The computer uses a storage system that is running the Storport miniport driver.
•	The computer uses a controller that uses 32-bit direct memory access (DMA).

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, install update 929777.

To install this update, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)

Visit: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929777/

Remove blue arrow on Icons in Vista?

Richard — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 18:43:00 GMT

You can use one for the following methods:

1. Use TweakVI
http://www.totalidea.com/content/tweakvi/tweakvi-index.html

2. Use Vista Shortcut Overlay Remover (FxVisor 1.0)
http://www.frameworkx.com/frameworkx/contentblogdetail.aspx?blog=57&id=512

3. Remove the shortcut arrow from your icons by doing the following:

Copy and Paste the following code into Notepad and save it as "Remove Shortcut Arrows.reg" (without the quotes)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile]
@="Shortcut"
"EditFlags"=dword:00000001
"FriendlyTypeName"="@shell32.dll,-4153"
"NeverShowExt"=""

Manual Installation of this tweak

1. Open Regedit (Start -> Run -> type "Regedit") (withoutquotes)
2. Navigate to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT -> lnkfile (LNKFILE)

3. Delete the following key "IsShorcut"
4. Close REGEDIT and Restart your computer.

After applying this tweak it is necessary for you to RESTART your machine so the new settings take effect.

Service overview and network port requirements for the Windows Server system

Richard — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:04:00 GMT

Thanks Jeepeepee for the link. I re-post the link in here:

Service overview and network port requirements for the Windows Server system
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=832017

I think it's very useful when doing diagnostic.

A List of the Windows 2000 Domain Controller Default Ports

Richard — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 11:20:00 GMT

**This article (Q289241) is no longer available via Microsoft Tech Net.

SUMMARY

This article describes the most common ports, protocols, and services that are opened on a Windows 2000-based server that is running Active Directory. The purpose of this article is to list the different services and their respective ports, not to explain how to configure the ports for either a firewall or a proxy.

MORE INFORMATION

21/TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) -- FTP

This File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server is part of Internet Information Services (IIS) and is administered from the IIS administration tool. FTP is a common method to transfer files between two networked computers and to enable the convenient use of remote file storage capabilities.

25/TCP -- SMTP

This Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service is administered from the IIS administration tool. SMTP is the protocol that is used to send e-mail messages by means of the Internet.

80/TCP -- HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the set of rules for exchanging files (for example, text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web (WWW). In comparison to the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols (that are the basis for information exchange on the Internet), HTTP is a program protocol.

88/UDP (User Datagram Protocol) -- Kerberos

Kerberos protocol is a network authentication method that is based on the key distribution model. This protocol enables entities that are communicating over networks to prove their identity to each other and at the same time this protocol can prevent eavesdropping or replay attacks. The Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) listens on this port for ticket requests. Port 88 for the Kerberos protocol can also be TCP/UDP.

119/TCP -- NNTP

Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) is the predominant protocol that is used by computers for managing the notes that are posted on Usenet newsgroups. NNTP servers manage the global network of collected Usenet newsgroups.

135/TCP -- RPC

Remote procedure call (RPC) is a facility that enables a program on one Windows-based computer (the client computer) to invoke the services of another program that is running on a separate Windows-based computer (the server) in a distributed network. RPC is a program-level protocol that can use the communications services of any of the Windows networking protocols, which includes TCP/IP.

137/UDP -- NetBIOS Name Server

The network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) Name Server (NBNS) protocol, which is part of the NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) family of protocols, provides a means for hostname and address mapping on a NetBIOS-aware network.

139/TCP -- NetBIOS Session Services

NetBIOS Session Services are part of the NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) family of protocols and is used for server message block (SMB), file sharing, and printing.

389/UDP -- LDAP

LDAP is the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. LDAP is designed to be a standard way of providing access to directory services. In Windows 2000, LDAP is the primary way that the operating system accesses the Active Directory database.

443/TCP -- HTTPS

Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) is a variant of HTTP that is used for handling secure transactions. HTTPS is a unique protocol that is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) underneath HTTP.

445/TCP -- SMB

The SMB protocol is used for file sharing in Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000. Windows 2000 enables you to run SMB directly over TCP/IP, without the extra layer of NetBT.

464/TCP -- Kerberos Password V5

The Kerberos change password protocol is used to deny an administrator from setting a password for a new user. This functionality is useful in some environments, and this proposal can be used to enable password setting. This protocol is used when users changes their passwords.

500/TCP -- ISAKMP

Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (ISAKMP) or IKE (for Windows 2000) is the key exchange mechanism for a virtual private network (VPN). ISAKMP manages the exchange of cryptographic keys and employs a two-phase process for establishing the Internet Protocol security (IPSec) connection between two gateways.

563/TCP -- SNEWS

SNEWS is secure NNTP.

593/TCP -- RPC over HTTP

RPC over HTTP is used for COM+ Internet Services and requires IIS to operate.

636/TCP -- LDAP over SSL

When SSL is enabled, LDAP data that is transmitted and received is encrypted.

1025/TCP -- Listen

The first port assigned to be used by any application..

1067/TCP -- Installation Bootstrap Service

The installation bootstrap protocol server.

1068/TCP -- Installation Bootstrap Service

The installation bootstrap protocol client.

1645/UDP -- IAS: Internet Authentication Service

This service is used for processing Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) authentication messages and is supported by IAS to provide backward compatibility with earlier RADIUS servers.

1646/UDP -- IAS: Internet Authentication Service

This service is used for processing RADIUS accounting messages and is supported by IAS to provide backward compatibility with earlier RADIUS servers.

1701/UDP -- L2TP

Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is a method for encapsulating standard Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) by means of a variety of media. The protocol also enables encapsulation of PPP by using UDP packets.

1723/UDP -- PPTP

PPTP is an abbreviation for Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol. It is an Internet protocol that is commonly used in VPN products. Windows NT supports PPTP server, and both Windows NT and Microsoft Windows 95 support PPTP client.

1812/UDP -- IAS Internet Authentication Service

This service is used for processing RADIUS authentication messages.

1813/UDP -- IAS Internet Authentication Service

This service is used for processing RADIUS authentication messages.

3268/TCP -- Microsoft Global Catalog

Active Directory global catalogs listen on this port.

3269/TCP -- Microsoft Global Catalog with LDAP/SSL

Microsoft global catalog SSL connections listen on this port.

3389/TCP -- RDP

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is the protocol that enables a thin client to communicate with the Terminal server over the network. This protocol is based on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) T.120 protocol, an international, standard multiple-channel conferencing protocol that is currently being used in the Microsoft NetMeeting conferencing software product.

What Is The Windows Vista Upgrade Secret?

Richard — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:57:00 GMT

I find a method from the internet on using the Vista Upgrade DVD to do a clean install:

"Well to be honest it is not exactly a big secret as you can find this information at other places online, and many Microsoft staff must also know about it as they created this process!
The "secret" is that the setup program (setup.exe) in Windows Vista's upgrade version will accept an installed copy of XP, W2K, or an un-activated copy of Vista itself as evidence of a previous installation.
...and it is this last option that enables you to perform a "clean install" of an upgrade version of Windows Vista to any formatted or unformatted hard drive! Basically you are installing Windows Vista twice to take advantage of this trick.

Is This Windows Vista Upgrade Secret Legal?

Probably not....
I am no legal expert but I am guessing this will violate some part of the Windows Vista EULA (End User Licence Agreement.)
BUT Microsoft have created this process.... It is not something you have to try and crack in their software or run a third party application to perform this process... Their development team created it. Which kind of begs the question WHY?
...and that is why I put this article here. I am not the only person to write about it, you can find many others talking about this "secret" online! Although I may remove this article without notice...
So I offer this information AS-IS, and I take no responsibility for what you do with this information!

Follow These Windows Vista Upgrade Steps.

#1) Grab your shiny new Windows Vista "Upgrade" DVD and "boot" your PC from it.

#2) Select "Install Now" button but DO NOT enter the Product Key from the yellow sticker on the Vista packaging that holds the DVD.
Also, make sure the "Automatically activate Windows when I'm online" box has NO tick in it!

In the next dialog box that appears, confirm that you really do want to install Vista without entering a Product Key.

#3) Now from the list on the next screen you must select the version of Windows Vista that you're installing: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate.

#4) On the next screen select the "Custom" install, not the "Upgrade" install option.

#5) Windows Vista will now copy all the files it needs so sit back and relax for a few minutes! Please note that the PC will reboot automatically several times.

At this stage of the installation DO NOT attempt to "activate" Windows Vista, that will come later. Now the installation is complete move onto the next step.

#6) We now need to install the the Vista upgrade files... To do this place the DVD in the drive again but DO NOT try to run the setup again from the DVD.
Instead logon to Windows Vista using the account you just created and from My Computer run the DVD's setup.exe program.

#7) On the screen that appears click "Install Now" but make sure that you also select "Do NOT Get The Latest Updates For Installation." - You will check for these updates lat a later time...

#8) On the next screen you CAN now enter the Product Key from the yellow sticker on the Vista DVD packaging. But make sure you TURN OFF the option "Automatically activate Windows when I'm online."

#9) Now on the next screen that appears you will need to select "Upgrade" and not "Custom" that you selected in an earlier stage...

#10) Wait while Windows Vista copies the files it needs and reboots itself, there is no action required on your part...
You will be asked to boot from the DVD - DO NOT do this!
Instead, wait a few seconds and the setup process will continue on its way. You will notice some character mode menus appear, just IGNORE them!
After a few seconds, the correct choice will run for you automatically...

#11) On the next screen to appear click the button labelled "Start", Windows Vista's login screen will then appear (this may take a few moments.)
Now just enter the username and password that you selected during the first install and you are finished upgrading to Windows Vista!

#12) All that remains is to activate Windows Vista within the next 30 days. Failure to do this will mean you will lose most functionality of Vista.
To activate Windows Vista simply click Show more details in the Welcome Center that automatically displays upon each boot-up, then click Activate Windows now.
If no Welcome Center appears, access by doing this: Start - Control Panel - System & Maintenance - System
...and that is it!"

Fix Windows Vista Help and Support problem in RTM

Richard — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 18:28:00 GMT

Info from Kristan Kenney

If you have been getting the dreaded "Internet Explorer cannot download / from help" error message when attempting to open Help and Support in Windows Vista, try this fix. It re-associates the .xml file type with its default settings. Once you've merged this into the registry, re-launch Help and Support and it should work.

You can download the fix at http://www.chris123nt.com/guides/RTM_Fixes/Fix_Help_and_Support.zip.

By the way, My friends and I did not get that problem after the installation of Vista RTM and Office 07 RTM. It's really strange!

How to get the Windows 2003 Admin Tools Working on Vista

Richard — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 18:09:00 GMT

Info from Steve Linehan

Out of the box, the Windows 2003 Adminpak tools do not run on Windows Vista. When they are loaded, MMC claims that "MMC could not create the snap-in.". This is due to some DLLs not being registered properly. To fix this, paste the following commands into a command prompt or batch file running with elevated privileges (right click and "Run as Administrator"):

regsvr32 /s adprop.dll
regsvr32 /s azroles.dll
regsvr32 /s azroleui.dll
regsvr32 /s ccfg95.dll
regsvr32 /s certadm.dll
regsvr32 /s certmmc.dll
regsvr32 /s certpdef.dll
regsvr32 /s certtmpl.dll
regsvr32 /s certxds.dll
regsvr32 /s cladmwiz.dll
regsvr32 /s clcfgsrv.dll
regsvr32 /s clnetrex.dll
regsvr32 /s cluadmex.dll
regsvr32 /s cluadmmc.dll
regsvr32 /s cmproxy.dll
regsvr32 /s cmroute.dll
regsvr32 /s cmutoa.dll
regsvr32 /s cnet16.dll
regsvr32 /s debugex.dll
regsvr32 /s dfscore.dll
regsvr32 /s dfsgui.dll
regsvr32 /s dhcpsnap.dll
regsvr32 /s dnsmgr.dll
regsvr32 /s domadmin.dll
regsvr32 /s dsadmin.dll
regsvr32 /s dsuiwiz.dll
regsvr32 /s imadmui.dll
regsvr32 /s lrwizdll.dll
regsvr32 /s mprsnap.dll
regsvr32 /s msclus.dll
regsvr32 /s mstsmhst.dll
regsvr32 /s mstsmmc.dll
regsvr32 /s nntpadm.dll
regsvr32 /s nntpapi.dll
regsvr32 /s nntpsnap.dll
regsvr32 /s ntdsbsrv.dll
regsvr32 /s ntfrsapi.dll
regsvr32 /s rasuser.dll
regsvr32 /s rigpsnap.dll
regsvr32 /s rsadmin.dll
regsvr32 /s rscommon.dll
regsvr32 /s rsconn.dll
regsvr32 /s rsengps.dll
regsvr32 /s rsjob.dll
regsvr32 /s rsservps.dll
regsvr32 /s rsshell.dll
regsvr32 /s rssubps.dll
regsvr32 /s rtrfiltr.dll
regsvr32 /s schmmgmt.dll
regsvr32 /s tapisnap.dll
regsvr32 /s tsuserex.dll
regsvr32 /s uddi.mmc.dll
regsvr32 /s vsstskex.dll
regsvr32 /s w95inf16.dll
regsvr32 /s w95inf32.dll
regsvr32 /s winsevnt.dll
regsvr32 /s winsmon.dll
regsvr32 /s winsrpc.dll
regsvr32 /s winssnap.dll
regsvr32 /s ws03res.dll

October Networking MVP Update

Richard — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:21:00 GMT

Networking MVP Highlights

Windows Server - Networking

Richard Wu

Home: Hong Kong SAR

MVP Award: since October 2005

MVP Public Profile

Blog: Richard Wu

· Windows Vista / Longhorn Blog

· Richard Wu(Microsoft Most Valuable Professional[MVP] and Community Star)

Hobbies/interests: I can tell you that I have lot of hobbies and interests, playing with computer should be the first one. (I start to play computer when I was 10, like many guys in HK, I started with computer games :-p)

I always read computer magazine in order to learn new technology. Tom's Hardware website is my favorite site for learning new hardware.

Comic, Animation from Japan, robot model are my other interests. I have lot of them in my home, my favorites including: Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, PATLABOR, Nero Genesis Evangelion, etc (Yes, all of them are Japan Animation).

I also like to watch movies and TV programs, X-File, 24, Lost, Prison Break, and Nip Tuck are all my favorites.

By the way, I like doggy! I like Huskey, Golden Retriever and Pomeranian. Although I do not have any one of them in my home, I always visit my friends if they feed dogs. And, I am the member of SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) in HKSAR.

Other technologies of interest/skill: Cisco Router and Switch are my other interests! Remember! I am a networking guy!

Besides teaching Microsoft MOC course in CTEC/MCLS, I teach CCNA course, too!

I find that teaching others to connect the network and computer is fun! That's why I choose trainer as one of my careers.

I am now seeking for more knowledge on Cisco networking and hope I can get CCIE in some day later.

What does it mean to be an MVP? Becoming a Microsoft MVP, I feel my technology knowledge on Microsoft products can be authenticated and proofed.

I feel I have entered another level of knowledge on using MS products. I also feel great as I find Microsoft appreciates my contribution to the communities.

Besides these, I feel I am now getting closer with Microsoft! Before being a MVP, I always think Microsoft is just a business company and doesn't care much about the IT Professional. I feel Microsoft is far from me. But! After becoming a MVP, I have more chances to meet MS guys. All of them make me feel warm and passion!

Now, I feel Microsoft is very close to me and I know Microsoft cares very much about the IT Pro communities!

What would be the one thing you would really want the Networking Product team to know? I appreciate what they are doing! They keep on improving our networking experiences!

I find that configuring network has become much easier than before! At the moment, the only one thing I want them to know is "multicast file transfer". I wish windows will have a feature which allow me to simplify right click files/folders and then let me choose to multicast those files/folder to which group of computers.

(Sure I will need permission to do so). With this feature, I can copy files/folder to my colleagues' computer much easier and decrease the bandwidth usage.

If there was change you could make in the area of networking what would that be? Make the network configuration job much easier! Many of my non-IT friends still always phone me for the steps to setup wire/wireless network at their homes or SOHO. If there is a unified interface which allows the users in windows to configure wire/wireless router connection setting (even difference brand), it would be great!

Why do you find networking so interesting? It makes our life much easier! Remember the old days, when networking is not so common, all colleagues need to stay at office in order to do their work! But now, we can do our work at home, collaborate with colleague with Live Messenger/Live Communicator, networking makes our life easier! By the way, networking shortens the distance between each others. We can get touch with our friends even they are staying at different corner of the world!

You friends look like just living next to you! I love networking!

If there was one problem to highlight around networking what would that be? Integrating different systems! I have a dream, which is installing a little application to Linux/Unix and then I can use Windows to control all of them! It should also include a simple interface to manage and migrate their resources. In this case, linux/unix guys will know Microsoft can make anything possible! We don't need linux/unix guys any more since Windows administrator can now control and manage their system now! haha!

As an MVP what type of engagements would you like to have with the Networking Product team? I would like to visit the office of Microsoft (even local one) in order to meet with the Networking Product team!

I want to learn from them and know the latest networking technology in Microsoft! Besides, more online chat or live meeting from the Networking Product team would be great for us!

Windows Server - Networking

Changing Office 2007 CD KEY without Re-install it.

Network and Sharing Center Operations Guide

Telnet Operations Guide

Telnet Operations Guide

Acknowledgments

Changing local admin password?

Changing local admin password?

How to fix: Windows could not search for new updates Error Code 80245003

Sync GAL between Forest

HyperTerminal for Vista

Install/Upgrade UltraVNC v1.02 through Remote Desktop.

Logging User logon event.

Publish IIS 6 on ISA2004/2006 Server when they are on the same server.

Setting up Cluster on Virtual Server 2005 R2.

Disable Mapped Drive Reconnect Warning (Windows 95/98/Me)

Error message when you try to install Windows Vista on a computer that uses more than 3 GB of RAM: "STOP 0x0000000A"

When you try to install Windows Vista, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

Remove blue arrow on Icons in Vista?

Service overview and network port requirements for the Windows Server system

Service overview and network port requirements for the Windows Server systemhttp://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=832017

A List of the Windows 2000 Domain Controller Default Ports

SUMMARY

MORE INFORMATION

21/TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) -- FTP

25/TCP -- SMTP

80/TCP -- HTTP

88/UDP (User Datagram Protocol) -- Kerberos

119/TCP -- NNTP

135/TCP -- RPC

137/UDP -- NetBIOS Name Server

139/TCP -- NetBIOS Session Services

389/UDP -- LDAP

443/TCP -- HTTPS

445/TCP -- SMB

464/TCP -- Kerberos Password V5

500/TCP -- ISAKMP

563/TCP -- SNEWS

593/TCP -- RPC over HTTP

636/TCP -- LDAP over SSL

1025/TCP -- Listen

1067/TCP -- Installation Bootstrap Service

1068/TCP -- Installation Bootstrap Service

1645/UDP -- IAS: Internet Authentication Service

1646/UDP -- IAS: Internet Authentication Service

1701/UDP -- L2TP

1723/UDP -- PPTP

1812/UDP -- IAS Internet Authentication Service

1813/UDP -- IAS Internet Authentication Service

3268/TCP -- Microsoft Global Catalog

3269/TCP -- Microsoft Global Catalog with LDAP/SSL

3389/TCP -- RDP

What Is The Windows Vista Upgrade Secret?

Fix Windows Vista Help and Support problem in RTM

How to get the Windows 2003 Admin Tools Working on Vista

October Networking MVP Update

Networking MVP Highlights

Windows Server - Networking

Service overview and network port requirements for the Windows Server system
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=832017