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Online image editing with iPiccy
by lunarg on November 4th 2011, at 14:50

Online image editing was never this easy, and it's entirely free and requires no registration:

http://ipiccy.com/

Pretty handy indeed!

 
Moving the WSUS database (in SBS2008/2011)
by lunarg on November 4th 2011, at 14:06
In SBS2008 and 2011, there's a wizard allowing you to move the WSUS repository to another partition/disk. However, it does not move the state database, which, over time, can grow a bit large. Luckily, one could manually move the database by stopping WSUS, detaching the database, move the files, reattaching it, and finally, starting WSUS again.

First of, stop the required services (WSUS and IIS Admin Service)

net stop "update services"net stop w3svc

Next, detach the database:

sqlcmd -E -S np:\\.\pipe\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##SSEE\sql\query -Q "sp_detach_db 'SUSDB'"

Move the SUSDB.mdf and SUSDB_log.ldf to their new location. Then, reattach the database:

sqlcmd -E -S np:\\.\pi  ...
 
Deleting old versions of Google Chrome
by lunarg on November 3rd 2011, at 14:20

Each time Google Chrome gets updated, it leaves behind the old version of Chrome. While this comes in handy when you have to downgrade, it also builds up (precious) hard disk space. You can, however, manually remove the old installation files.

Google Chrome is installed by default in your local profile folder, at:

Location
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application

In that folder you will find the main executable (don't remove that) and the different versions of Chrome.

You can simply delete the lower version numbers so that only the highest version remains. This clears out on average 80-100 MB per folder (although it could very well be much more).

 
Lock-n-Roll for Pidgin
by lunarg on November 3rd 2011, at 14:07

A neat plugin for Pidgin is Lock-n-Roll.

Download here: http://csammisrun.net/blog/2009/06/lock-n-roll-11/

It automatically sets your status to Away, and sets a predefined status message, upon locking your computer (or when it gets locked via screensaver).

 
Location of all user's desktop and start menu in Windows 7 / 2008R2
by lunarg on October 18th 2011, at 17:38

Just so you (and especially I) don't forget:

  • All user's desktop: C:\Users\Public\Desktop\
  • All user's start menu: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\
 
Office 2007 documents download as ZIP in IE7/8
by lunarg on October 13th 2011, at 14:34
The problem is related to incorrect hinting of the webserver, tricking IE7/8 into believing you are in fact downloading a ZIP-file, rather than an Office 2007/2010 file. The reason for this is because these files are in fact XML-files, compressed to a ZIP, but have a different extension, indicating it's not a regular ZIP-file.

There are two ways to fix this. The best way would be to change the webserver (if possible, ask the administrator of the webserver you are downloading from) to add the correct MIME-types, so the webserver provides correct hinting. How this is done, depends largely on which webserver is being used.

When using Apache2, there are two ways to resolve the issue. Either ad  ...
 
Access 2003 open MDB via Explorer does nothing
by lunarg on October 13th 2011, at 11:15
There's an obscure issue with Access 2003, not being able to open an MDB from a network location via Explorer. It outright refuses to open the file, so when attempting, nothing seems to happen.

This is caused by security measures in Access 2003, where you normally have to confirm to open the file, which fails. However, I'm guessing this is not by design that it does not open at all.

A workaround is to create a shortcut to said file, then edit the shortcut so it reads:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\MSACCESS.EXE" /NOSTARTUP "MyFile.MDB"

Adjust the installation path and file location to your needs.

This way, Access gets started first, with the file as parameter, so it gets op  ...
 
World Community Grid
by lunarg on October 12th 2011, at 17:44

If you have some CPU time to spare and wish to donate it for a good cause, check out:

http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/

 
Hotfixes for Windows 2003 VSS issues
by lunarg on October 10th 2011, at 16:37

In case you have issues on your Windows 2003 concerning VSS, Microsoft has an update rollup available for download to fix certain issues with VSS:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940349

 
iPhone 4S or iPhone 5, what's in a name...?
by lunarg on October 10th 2011, at 15:54

Ever since the official announcement of the iPhone 4S, I'm reading basically everywhere on how disappointed the fans were about the iPhone 5 not being announced, but instead the iPhone 4S was...

To all those sites and fans (which in my opinion aren't really fans): why are you nagging about the iPhone 5? There never ever was an official announcement or rumour about the iPhone 5 ever being announced or released. The iPhone 4S is the next generation of the iPhone. So what's it's not called the iPhone 5? It's only a name, invented by those spreading rumours in the first place. It never was announced by Apple at all. So cut the cr*p and move on...

 
Windows SBS 2011 Server Backup cannot add additional disks to backup
by lunarg on October 3rd 2011, at 12:01
When adding additional backup disks to your Windows SBS 2011 server backup, you may get an error stating:

Quote
The filename, directory name, or volume label is incorrect.

The problem occurs with the SBS console and when running the Server Backup snap-in.

You can work around this issue by manually adding the backup disks via the wbadmin command line tool.

Connect the disk you wish to add to the system. Open up a command prompt.

Fetch a list of available backup targets by running:wbadmin get disks

You need the DiskID displayed of your backup disk.

Add the disk to the backup pool by running:WBADMIN ENABLE BACKUP -addtarget:"{DiskID}"

Replace the DiskID with the one you have,   ...
 
Time sync with an NTP server using w32time
by lunarg on October 3rd 2011, at 11:37
The following was tested on a Windows 2003 R2 with SP2, but it should work on every system with w32time installed.

Open up a command prompt (start, run, cmd.exe, you know).

Then punch in these lines:

net time \\your-server-name /setsntp:some-ip-or-pool.ntp.orgnet stop w32timenet start w32time

The way NTP works, the sync does not occur immediately, but it should be visible within a few minutes after w32time has started again.

Notice
If it doesn't work for you, check whether your time zone is correct, and whether the time of your server and the real time differs with over 3600 seconds. Ntpd would not sync if the difference was over an hour.

To query the current NTP servers  ...
 
Quick Launch bar in Windows 7
by lunarg on September 28th 2011, at 16:59
Since Windows 7, the Quick Launch bar has been removed from the taskbar, and the pinning of applications has been introduced as a replacement. Not everyone likes this new feature, or perhaps you want to have the old Quick Launch bar back anyway. Well, it can be restored, albeit with a bit of a workaround.

The Quick Launch bar in earlier versions of Windows in fact nothing more than a folder containing shortcuts. With this in mind, it's in fact quite easy to add the Quick Launch bar, in this case as a regular folder.

First, unlock the taskbar. You need this to move over the Quick Launch bar once it's added, and to access its settings to actually make the toolbar look like the old Quick Laun  ...
 
Use diskpart to extend NTFS partitions in Windows 2003
by lunarg on September 28th 2011, at 12:48
When running virtual Windows 2003 systems (e.g. in VMware), it's sometimes necessary to increase the size of the disks to add more storage to your machine. Starting from Windows 2008, you can perform an online increase of NTFS partitions using Storage Manager. In Windows 2003, it's also possible to perform an online extend by using diskpart from the command line.

First, make sure to extend the physical volume (e.g. by increasing the virtual disk size in VMware). Then open a command prompt and run diskpart without parameters.

To extend, you have to select the physical disk and volume. To know what to select, you can view the available disks and volumes.

List and select the physical disk:

  ...
 
Postfix: block SMTP access by IP
by lunarg on September 28th 2011, at 12:23
If you wish to restrict SMTP access via IP addresses or a network range, one way to do it would be via Postfix configuration. You can set up restrictions using a Postfix hash-table or via a cidr file. You can choose one or both methods to perform the restrictions. The end-result will be the same.

Create a text file with the addresses you would like to reject. You can choose whatever file name you wish. E.g.: /etc/postfix/smtp_client_access

Its content should be something like:

192.168.0.1 REJECT Stop mailing us192.168.0.2 REJECT Stop mailing us192.168.1 REJECT Stop mailing us

Next, postmap it by running:

postmap /etc/postfix/smtp_client_access

Then add/edit this in your main.cf:

smtpd  ...
 
Disable IP autoconfiguration (APIPA) in Windows
by lunarg on September 28th 2011, at 10:56
IP autoconfiguration (also known as APIPA) configures a network interface with an IP address if no fixed IP has been specified, and there's no DHCP server on the network. In this case, an automatic IP will be assigned out of a private range (usually 169.254.x.x). APIPA exists on all Windows version (safe Windows NT).

In case you wish to disable APIPA on a certain interface, you can use the Windows registry to do this. By default, APIPA is enabled on all interfaces, unless it is explicitly disabled.

Fire up regedit. Navigate to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\adapter clsid, where adapter clsid is the ID of your adapter. If you only h  ...
 
Show desktop and Window switcher in Windows 7
by lunarg on September 24th 2011, at 15:53

For those using the Quick Launch bar in Windows 7 and have "misplaced" their Show Desktop and Window Switcher icons, can download the shortcuts in the attached archive to replace them.

 
Public (guest) access to Synology shares
by lunarg on September 9th 2011, at 14:22

When running a Synology, take care when you require (or don't want) public (a.k.a. guest) access to shares.

To allow access, first check whether the guest account is not disabled. I found out it was disabled after joining the device in a Windows domain. Disabling the account is a good way to effectively cut off all public access.

If you require guest access on some shares but not on all, be sure to set the ACL for Guest in Privileges Setup to No Access for shares that have to be locked down. Not explicitly setting this will allow public access on that share.

 
Running WordPerfect 9 on Terminal Server
by lunarg on September 8th 2011, at 14:03

If you're planning on running WordPerfect 9 on a Terminal Server, be sure to provide full access for your users on the registry key HKLM\Software\COREL (64-bit: HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\COREL).

This fixes the Cannot initialize error when starting WP as a regular user.

 
Burning an install DVD of Mac OS X Lion
by lunarg on September 2nd 2011, at 13:01
Apple has decided that the latest release of their OS, Mac OS X Lion (10.7), is no longer available as an install media. New systems have a recovery partition (called a Recovery HD) with the installation files, and those with earlier versions of the OS (Leopard and Snow Leopard) have to buy it via the App Store as a download.

The last scenario is in fact a hassle if you ever want to reinstall your Mac: prior to installing Lion, you have to install Snow Leopard, then all the updates, before finally downloading Lion. It would be so much easier if one could just install Lion from scratch.

Luckily, there's a way to create an install DVD yourself very easily: the install image is available insi  ...
 
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