How To Create a Custom Power Plan for Windows 7 via GPO

How to Configure Power Settings for Windows 7 PCs via Group Policy

If server is Windows 2008 (R1) the following steps need to be taken:

1:  Copy the “Policy Definitions” folder on a Windows 7 PC from the C:\Windows directory to \\Domain.local\SYSVOL\Policies Folder.

2:  On a Windows 7 PC download and install RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) for Windows 7.

From a Windows 2008 R2 server or the Windows 7 PC with RSAT installed:

1: Create a New GPO.

2: Navigate to “Computer Configuration\Preferences\Control Panel Settings\Power Options”

3: Right Click and Create new “Power Plan (Windows Vista and later)”

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4: Change the Action to “New” and name the Policy.

5: Configure the power settings.

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6:  Make sure the Group Policy is applied to the correct OU.  Close the Group Policy Manger.

7:  From a Windows 7 PC.  Update Group Policy with the “gpupdate /force” command.

8:  Find the power scheme you just created by using the “powercfg /list” command. 

9:  Copy the GUID of the power scheme.

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10:  Open the Group Policy Management Console again and edit GPO you created for the Windows 7 Power Settings.

11:  Navigate to: Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System\Power Management\Specify a Custom Active Power Plan

12:  Enable the Policy and Paste your GUID into the Options.

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13: After Group Policy updates the PC’s Power Settings should look like this:

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Reset Password on ESX Server

Original Post – Here

 

How To Change Lost Password on Your ESX Server

 

You will need to have access to the serial console of the server which has your ESX installation, or access to keyboard and display attached directly to the same box.

To change the password, we’ll follow this procedure:

1) Reboot ESX server.

Unfortunately, if you don’t remember your root password, there won’t be a clean way to reboot your server. Try to shutdown all the VMs running on it, and then power-cycle the box running ESX.

2) Boot ESX server in single user mode

In this mode, you won’t be asked for a root password. When you see the following screen, press the "a" key:

… to change ESX kernel boot parameters. Your screen will look like this:

Now, simply type a space and "single" word, then press Enter:

Eventually, your ESX server will boot and give you a root command line prompt, which means you can do what you want from this moment on:

Assuming you want to change your root password, move on to the next step.

3) Change ESX root password to a new one

Simply type "passwd" and give your new password twice:

sh-2.05b# passwd
Changing password for user root.
New UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.

That’s it! You have changed the ESX password! Now it’s time to reboot the system and allow ESX server to come back up online.

4) Reboot ESX server once again

Type "reboot" and wait for the ESX server to come back online in a few minutes:

sh-2.05# reboot

Software Will Not Install Because It Expects Service Pack 1

Some applications expect Windows Service Pack 1 or 2 even though a higher service pack is already installed, such as SP3. The following registry key change will report SP2 as being installed instead of SP3.

 

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows – Edit CSDVersion – Change the value from 300 hex to 200 hex. Reboot the workstations.

Install the App then change the value back and reboot again.


Windows Variables List

Windows Environment Variables:

Microsoft Original Document

 

Variable

Type Description
%ALLUSERSPROFILE% Local Returns the location of the All Users Profile.
%APPDATA% Local Returns the location where applications store data by default.
%CD% Local Returns the current directory string.
%CMDCMDLINE% Local Returns the exact command line used to start the current Cmd.exe.
%CMDEXTVERSION% System Returns the version number of the current Command Processor Extensions.
%COMPUTERNAME% System Returns the name of the computer.
%COMSPEC% System Returns the exact path to the command shell executable.
%DATE% System Returns the current date. Uses the same format as the date /t command. Generated by Cmd.exe. For more information about the date command, see Date
%ERRORLEVEL% System Returns the error code of the most recently used command. A non zero value usually indicates an error.
%HOMEDRIVE% System Returns which local workstation drive letter is connected to the user’s home directory. Set based on the value of the home directory. The user’s home directory is specified in Local Users and Groups.
%HOMEPATH% System Returns the full path of the user’s home directory. Set based on the value of the home directory. The user’s home directory is specified in Local Users and Groups.
%HOMESHARE% System Returns the network path to the user’s shared home directory. Set based on the value of the home directory. The user’s home directory is specified in Local Users and Groups.
%LOGONSEVER% Local Returns the name of the domain controller that validated the current logon session.
%NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS% System Specifies the number of processors installed on the computer.
%OS% System Returns the operating system name. Windows 2000 displays the operating system as Windows_NT.
%PATH% System Specifies the search path for executable files.
%PATHEXT% System Returns a list of the file extensions that the operating system considers to be executable.
%PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE% System Returns the chip architecture of the processor. Values: x86, IA64.
%PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER% System Returns a description of the processor.
%PROCESSOR_LEVEL% System Returns the model number of the processor installed on the computer.
%PROCESSOR_REVISION% System Returns the revision number of the processor.
%PROMPT% Local Returns the command prompt settings for the current interpreter. Generated by Cmd.exe.
%RANDOM% System Returns a random decimal number between 0 and 32767. Generated by Cmd.exe.
%SYSTEMDRIVE% System Returns the drive containing the Windows XP root directory (that is, the system root).
%SYSTEMROOT% System Returns the location of the Windows XP root directory.
%TEMP% and %TMP% System and User Returns the default temporary directories that are used by applications available to users who are currently logged on. Some applications require TEMP and others require TMP.
%TIME% System Returns the current time. Uses the same format as the time /t command. Generated by Cmd.exe. For more information about the time command, see Time
%USERDOMAIN% Local Returns the name of the domain that contains the user’s account.
%USERNAME% Local Returns the name of the user who is currently logged on.
%USERPROFILE% Local Returns the location of the profile for the current user.
%WINDIR% System Returns the location of the operating system directory.

 

Windows 2008 R2 Group Policy Preference Process Variables:

Microsoft Original Document

%AppDataDir% UserAppDataDir
%BinaryComputerSid% The SID of the computer in hexadecimal format.
%BinaryUserSid% The SID of the current user in hexadecimal format.
%CommonAppdataDir% The "all users" Application Data directory.
%CommonDesktopDir% The "all users" Desktop directory.
%CommonFavoritesDir% The "all users" Explorer Favorites directory.
%CommonProgramsDir% The "all users" Programs directory.
%CommonStartMenuDir% The "all users" Start Menu directory.
%CommonStartUpDir% The "all users" Startup directory.
%ComputerName% The NetBIOS name of the computer.
%CurrentProcessId% The numeric identity of the main client process.
%CurrentThreadId% The numeric identity of the main client thread.
%DateTime% The current time (UTC).
%DateTimeEx% The current time (UTC) with milliseconds.
%DesktopDir% The current user’s desktop directory.
%DomainName% The domain name or workgroup of the computer.
%FavoritesDir% The current user’s Explorer Favorites directory.
%LastError% The last error code encountered during configuration.
%LastErrorText% The last error code text description.
%LdapComputerSid% The SID of the computer in LDAP escaped binary format.
%LdapUserSid% The SID of the current user in LDAP escaped binary format.
%LocalTime% The current local time.
%LocalTimeEx% The current local time with milliseconds.
%LogonDomain% The domain of the current user.
%LogonServer% The domain controller that authenticated the current user.
%LogonUser% The user name of the current user.
%LogonUserSid% The SID of the current user.
%MacAddress% The first detected MAC address on the computer.
%NetPlacesDir% The current user’s My Network Places directory.
%OsVersion% The operating system: Windows Server® 2008 R2, Windows® 7, Windows Server® 2008, Windows Vista®, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Unknown.
%ProgramFilesDir% The Windows Program Files directory.
%ProgramsDir% The current user’s Programs directory.
%RecentDocumentsDir% The current user’s Recent Documents directory.
%ResultCode% The client’s exit code.
%ResultText% The client’s exit code text description.
%ReversedComputerSid% The SID of the computer in reversed byte order hexadecimal format.
%ReversedUserSid% The SID of the current user in reversed byte order hexadecimal format.
%SendToDir% The current user’s Send to directory.
%StartMenuDir% The current user’s Start Menu directory.
%StartUpDir% The current user’s Startup directory.
%SystemDir% The Windows system directory.
%SystemDrive% The name of the drive from which the operating system is running.
%TempDir% The current user’s Temp directory as determined by Windows API.
%TimeStamp% The time stamp of the configurations being implemented.
%TraceFile% The path/name of the trace file.
%WindowsDir% The Windows directory.

Migrate From Exchange 2007 To Exchange 2010

Migrate Mailboxes to Exchange 2010 Server.

Move SSL Certificates to Exchange 2010 Server. Process is the same as Exchange 2007.

Migrate Public Folders. Process is the same as Exchange 2007.

Configure Offline Address Book on Exchange 2010 Server:

(continue reading…)


Recreate Offline Address Book (OAB) in IIS and Active Directory

From the Exchange Shell:

get-oabvirtualdirectory | format-list > c:\oab.txt

 

Open the oab.txt file. The Name field will be used in the “Identity” command below. The Internal and External URL will be used in the “InternalURL” and “ExternalURL” below.

 

Remove-OabVirtualDirectory -Identity "OAB (Default Web Site)"

 

A Virtual Directory named “OAB” must not exist in IIS, if it does it will need to be deleted before running this command.

New-OABVirtualDirectory -ExternalUrl http://mail.domain.org/oab  -InternalUrl http://mail.domain.org/oab


Upgrading virtual hardware in ESX 4 may cause Windows 2008 disks to go offline

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1013109

 

Symptoms

  • Upgrading virtual hardware in ESX 4 may cause Windows 2008 disks to go offline.
  • Upgrading virtual hardware from version 4 to version 7 may cause Windows 2008 disks to go offline.
  • Creating a new virtual machine on hardware version 7 may cause Windows 2008 disks to go offline.

Note: The first disk (C: drive) is not affected. Any additional disks may be affected and show marked as Offline within Disk Management.

Resolution

The default SAN Policy on Windows Enterprise is to not automount SAN disks, resulting in the disks being shown as offline. In comparison for Windows Standard Edition, the SAN Policy is online.

This can be resolved by changing the SAN Automount Policy on the system. See the Microsoft article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973834 to change the SAN Policy to online.

The SAN policy is defined within the VDS environment of the system and is represented by the following values:

  • VDS_SP_UNKNOWN = 0×0
  • VDS_SP_ONLINE = 0×1
  • VDS_SP_OFFLINE_SHARED = 0×2
  • VDS_SP_OFFLINE = 0×3

For more information, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb525577(VS.85).aspx.

On Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 Datacenter, the default SAN policy is VDS_SP_OFFLINE_SHARED. On all other Windows Server 2008 editions, the default SAN policy is VDS_SP_ONLINE.

To query current SAN policy from the command line, start DISKPART and issue a SAN command:

C:\>DISKPART.EXE
DISKPART> san
SAN Policy : Offline Shared
DISKPART> exit

Alternatively, you can set the disk to Online after the hardware version upgrade.

To set the disk to Online:

  1. Log in to your system as an Administrator.
  2. Click Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management.
  3. Right-click the disk and choose Online.

Users, Computers, or Servers Do Not Display in the SBS 2008 Console

The SBS 2008 installation creates it’s own OUs. The Users, Computers, or Servers must be listed under these OUs in order for them to appear in the SBS 2008 Console.

 

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Active Sync Setup on Single Exchange 2003 Server with OWA SSL Enabled

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/817379

 

Disable the forms-based authentication for the Exchange virtual directory

To create a secondary virtual directory for Exchange that is based on steps 1 through 7 of the following procedure, make sure that forms-based authentication is disabled for the Exchange virtual directory before you make the copy. Before you follow these steps, disable forms-based authentication in Exchange System Manager. Then restart Internet Information Services (IIS). To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Open Exchange Manager.
  2. Expand Administrative Groups, expand the first administrative group, and then expand Servers.
  3. Expand the server container for the Exchange Server 2003 server that you will be configuring, expand Protocols, and then expand HTTP.
  4. Under the HTTP container, right-click the Exchange Virtual Server container, and then click Properties.
  5. Click the Settings tab, clear the Enable Forms Based Authentication check box, and then click OK.
  6. Close Exchange Manager.
  7. Click Start, click Run, type IISRESET/NOFORCE, and then press ENTER to restart Internet Information Services (IIS).

Create a secondary virtual directory for Exchange server

You must use Internet IIS Manager to create this virtual directory for Exchange ActiveSync and Outlook Mobile Access to work. If you are using Windows Server 2003, follow these steps:

  1. Start Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
  2. Locate the Exchange virtual directory. The default location is as follows:

    Web Sites\Default Web Site\Exchange

  3. Right-click the Exchange virtual directory, click All Tasks, and then click Save Configuration to a File.
  4. In the File name box, type a name. For example, type ExchangeVDir. Click OK.
  5. Right-click the root of this Web site. Typically, this is Default Web Site. Click New, and then click Virtual Directory (from file).
  6. In the Import Configuration dialog box, click Browse, locate the file that you created in step 4, click Open, and then click Read File.
  7. Under Select a configuration to import , click Exchange, and then click OK.
    A dialog box will appear that states that the "virtual directory already exists."
  8. Select the Create a new virtual directory option. In the Alias box, type a name for the new virtual directory that you want Exchange ActiveSync and Outlook Mobile Access to use. For example, type exchange-oma. Click OK.
  9. Right-click the new virtual directory. In this example, click exchange-oma. Click Properties.
  10. Click the Directory Security tab.
  11. Under Authentication and access control, click Edit.
  12. Make sure that only the following authentication methods are enabled, and then click OK:
    • Integrated Windows authentication
    • Basic authentication
  13. On the Directory Security tab, under IP address and domain name restrictions, click Edit.
  14. Click the option for Denied access, click Add, click Single computer and type the IP address of the server that you are configuring, and then click OK twice.
  15. Under Secure communications, click Edit. Make sure that Require secure channel (SSL) is not enabled, and then click OK.
  16. Click OK, and then close the IIS Manager.
  17. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  18. Locate the following registry subkey:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MasSync\Parameters

  19. Right-click Parameters, click to New, and then click String Value.
  20. Type ExchangeVDir, and then press ENTER. Right-click ExchangeVDir, and then click Modify.
    NoteExchangeVDir is case-sensitive. If you do not type ExchangeVDir exactly as it appears in this article, ActiveSync does not find the key when it locates the exchange-oma folder.
  21. In the Value data box, type the name of the new virtual directory that you created in step 8. For example, type /exchange-oma. Click OK.
  22. Quit Registry Editor.
  23. Restart the IIS Admin service. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.
    2. In the list of services, right-click IIS Admin service, and then click Restart.
  24. If you want to reuse Forms-based Authentication on the Exchange server, follow these steps to re-enable Forms-based Authentication on the /Exchange virtual directory in Exchange System Manager.
    1. Open Exchange Manager.
    2. Expand Administrative Groups, expand the first administrative group, and then expand Servers.
    3. Expand the server container for the Exchange Server 2003 server that you will be configuring, expand Protocols, and then expand HTTP.
    4. Under the HTTP container, right-click the Exchange Virtual Server container, and then click Properties.
    5. Click the Settings tab, click to select the Enable Forms Based Authentication check box, and then click OK.
    6. Close Exchange Manager.
    7. Click Start, click Run, type IISRESET/NOFORCE, and then press ENTER to restart Internet Information Services (IIS).

Note If the server is Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 (SBS), the name of the Exchange OMA virtual directory must be exchange-oma.
The integrated setup of Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 creates the exchange-oma virtual directory in IIS. Additionally, it points the ExchangeVDir registry key to /exchange-oma during the initial installation. Other SBS wizards, such as the Configure E-mail and Internet Connection Wizard (CEICW) also expect the virtual directory name in IIS to be exchange-oma.


Window Mobile 6 and Go Daddy SSL Cert

Even though Go Daddy is listed as a Root Authority on the phone I still encounter SSL errors when trying to sync. The fix I have found is to copy the “Go Daddy Class 2 Cert Authority”, “Go Daddy Secure Cert Authority”, and the purchased cert to a DEC encoded .cer file then import them into the phone.

 

After that, everything seems to sync.

 

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