Bits of Tech » Windows

Quick Tip: Enable Exchange ActiveSync on a Mailbox with PowerShell

Bill — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:56:35 +0000

Exchange 2007 brought some changes to managing mailboxes, most notably, the removal of Exchange tabs from Active Directory. In Exchange 2003, to enable Exchange ActiveSync for a mailbox, you would simply open the ADUC properties for a user, click the Exchange Features tab, click Exchange ActiveSync, and then click Enable.

Today, with Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010, the function isn’t quite as easily found, but it’s much easier to use. On any machine with the Exchange Management Tools loaded, fire up the Exchange Management Shell (this won’t work in your regular PowerShell terminal) and type the following, replacing “Firstname Lastname” with the user’s first and last name, or their user ID, in quotes.

Get-Mailbox "Firstname Lastname" | Set-CASMailbox -ActiveSyncEnabled $true

Technorati Tags: Exchange, PowerShell, Windows

Delete Temporary Internet Files from All Profiles in Windows 7 or Vista Using PowerShell

Bill — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:13:50 +0000

This is just a minor update to the previous script, modified for Windows 7 and Vista machines.

#==================================================================================
# Delete_Temp_Files_W7.ps1
#
# Author: Bill Clark (http://bitsoftech.net/)
#
# This script deletes all files in all users' Temp and Temporary Internet Files
# folders on a Windows Vista or Windows 7 machine.
#
#==================================================================================

<#

.SYNOPSIS

Deletes all files and subdirectories in %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Temp and
%UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files for all user
profiles on the machine.

.PARAMETER

No parameters are accepted by this script.

.EXAMPLE

Delete_Temp_Files_W7.ps1

.NOTES

The script will not remove any files that are in use by other processes, and will
throw an error upon encountering any in use files.

#>

# Create array containing all user profile folders
$colProfiles = Get-ChildItem "C:\Users\" -Name
# Remove the All Users profile from the array
$colProfiles = $colProfiles -ne "Public"

# Removes temporary files from each user profile folder
ForEach ( $objProfile in $colProfiles ) {
    # Remove all files and folders in user's Temp folder
    Get-ChildItem "C:\Users\$objProfile\AppData\Local\Temp\*" -recurse | remove-item -force -recurse
    # Remove all files and folders in user's Temporary Internet Files. The -force switch on Get-ChildItem gets hidden directories as well.
    Get-ChildItem "C:\Users\$objProfile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\*" -recurse -force | remove-item -force -recurse
}

Technorati Tags: PowerShell, Scripting

Delete Temporary Internet Files from All Profiles in Windows XP Using PowerShell

Bill — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 21:35:09 +0000

As a systems administrator, I re-image systems quite often. Part of my re-imaging process entails copying the “Documents and Settings” folder containing the user profiles to a disk on my server, dropping a fresh image on the drive, and then copying the user profiles into C:\Recovered_Profiles before shipping it back to the location that sent it in. This allows the local IT team member to move the data into the users’ new profiles after their first logon.

The transfer of user profiles can take a very long time depending on the amount of data in each profile, but also upon how many files are in the Temp and Temporary Internet Files folders inside each profile. It’s not the size of the files in those folders that will cause extended transfer times, but the sheer number of small files in the folders. There can be thousands upon thousands of files in the Temporary Internet Files folder, and each file accounts for a separate read transaction on the hard drive. For this reason, I wrote a VBScript a year or so ago to clear out these two folders, but it never really worked 100% of the time. I’d still end up with 2-3 profiles (out of 20 or so) that had temp files, but it was better than nothing.

Enter Windows PowerShell. I was able to condense the 60 or so lines of VBScript required to empty those two folders into the script below, which is fewer than 10 lines of actual code. In fact, there are nearly twice the number of lines of comments in the script than lines of code when you count the “help” section at the top of the script. I’ve tested this script on 10 different machines, and it hasn’t left any temp files behind other than files that were in use at the time I ran the script (most commonly the index.dat file in the IE cache folder).

UPDATE: I have posted a modified version of this script for use on Windows 7 and Vista machines in the post titled Delete Temporary Internet Files from All Profiles in Windows 7 and Vista Using PowerShell.

#==================================================================================
#
# Delete_Temp_Files_XP.ps1
#
# Author: Bill Clark (http://bitsoftech.net/)
#
# This script deletes all files in all users' Temp and Temporary Internet Files
# folders on a Windows XP machine.
#
#==================================================================================

<#

.SYNOPSIS

Deletes all files and subdirectories in %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temp and
%UserProfile%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files for all user profiles on the machine.

.PARAMETER

No parameters are accepted by this script.

.EXAMPLE

Delete_Temp_Files_XP.ps1

.NOTES

The script should be run while logged in as Administrator, or run with Administrator privileges.

The script will not remove any files that are in use by other processes, and will throw an error upon encountering any in use files.

#>

# Create array containing all user profile folders
$colProfiles = Get-ChildItem "C:\Documents and Settings\" -Name
# Remove the "All Users" profile from the array
$colProfiles = $colProfiles -ne "All Users"

# Removes temporary files from each user profile folder
ForEach ( $objProfile in $colProfiles ) {
	# Remove all files and folders in user's Temp folder
	Get-ChildItem "C:\Documents and Settings\$objProfile\Local Settings\Temp\*" -recurse | remove-item -force -recurse
	# Remove all files and folders in user's Temporary Internet Files. The -force switch on Get-ChildItem gets hidden directories as well.
	Get-ChildItem "C:\Documents and Settings\$objProfile\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\*" -recurse -force | remove-item -force -recurse
}

Technorati Tags: PowerShell, Scripting

Learning the Wonders of Windows PowerShell

Bill — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:09:59 +0000

I’ve been using VBScript for systems management and task automation for many years. From working with Active Directory to manipulating files and folders, VBScript has been an excellent tool for me. I’ve read little bits and pieces about Windows PowerShell for a while now, and I always thought it would be too confusing to jump into without really having the time to devote to learning it well. I started using PowerShell 6 months ago for some basic Active Directory tasks because of the better integration, and it’s greatly simplified making mass changes to Active Directory.

In the past few days, a colleague of mine inspired me to dig into PowerShell a little more. I picked up a copy of Windows PowerShell Cookbook last night, and started reading this morning at work. This book has definitely made things easier to understand, so I definitely recommend it to anyone that is interested in learning PowerShell. Today, I ported a few VBScripts I use somewhat regularly to PowerShell, and was amazed at the reduction in lines of code needed to complete some of the tasks. For example, I wrote my most frequently used VBScript to delete all files in the Temp and Temporary Internet Files in all Windows XP user profiles on a machine. It was about 60 lines of code. I duplicated the functionality of that script in fewer than 10 lines of code. It surprised me to find I had more lines of comments than actual code!

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to finish up this book. In the process, I hope to create quite a few more scripts to help automate some of my management tasks, and I’ll share those scripts here.

Technorati Tags: PowerShell, Scripting

Create Custom Office 2007 Installations

Bill — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:54:08 +0000

UPDATE: The instructions provided here will also work for Office 2010 installations.

Today Bits of Tech brings you a video tutorial on creating custom Office 2007 installations using the Microsoft Office Customization Tool. This video takes you through the process of creating custom installs step-by-step. It also features a small segment on integrating the Office 2007 Service Pack 2 update into your installation media.

A good friend of mine loaned me his lab machine with Camtasia Studio 6 on it to create this video. Camtasia Studio is a great screencasting package, but it is a bit expensive at $299. After using his computer with the software on it, I will definitely be purchasing a copy for future video tutorials when my finances allow.

I had planned on sharing this video on YouTube, but the 10 minute video length restriction has prevented me from doing so. I will try to edit 3 minutes out of the video to fit it on YouTube, but no promises, because I don’t want to remove too much content.

ZD YouTube FLV Player

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Office 2007, Windows

Arranging Menu Bar icons in Leopard

Bill — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:22:34 +0000

Got a few icons in your Menu Bar and you’d like to change the order they’re displayed in? You’re in luck, they’re fairly easy to move around. Just hold your Command key and drag them into the order you prefer.

Want to get rid of an icon? Hold the Command key and drag it off the menu bar. Gone!

This method doesn’t work with the Apple icons, but not with all apps. Some exceptions to this method are Google Notifier, Tweeie, and Adium. To rearrange these, exit the apps and relaunch them in the order you’d like them to appear from right to left. If they are apps in your Startup Items, you can change the order they launch in to reorder them in the menu bar.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac OS, Menu Bar

Configure Windows File Sharing for Easy Migration of Data

Bill — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:25:37 +0000

Long ago, I learned that setting permissions on Shared Folders in Windows is a bad idea. The issue isn’t in restricting access to data, but in the way Windows handles the permissions.

I work in an Active Directory environment, with thousands of accounts in my region alone. We also rely heavily on file servers. When I first set up our file server years ago, I set all of the permissions on the share rather than on the individual files and folders.

Here’s why that’s a bad idea: When you have to move the shared folder to another drive, RAID array, or even server, you have to redo all of the permissions on the share because they don’t get copied with the folder. If you set the permissions on the shared folder and any subfolders/files, when you copy them to a new drive, those NTFS file permissions follow the data to the new location.

Here’s how I configure my file shares now. First, I create the folder I want to share. Then, right click the folder and choose Properties. Click the Sharing tab, select “Share this folder” and give the share a name. Now, click Permissions and check off Full Control, so everyone connecting to the share has full control. Click OK. These steps are illustrated below.

Now, click on Security tab. Here’s where you’ll set the permissions of the actual folder. First, click the Advanced button and uncheck the box labeled “Allow inheritable permissions from the parent to propagate to this object and all child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here.” You will be presented with a box asking if you’d like to copy the permissions, remove them, or cancel. Choose copy, then click OK.

I want everyone to be able to access the root of this folder and the files inside it, so I’m going to click on Everyone in the top pane and ensure “Full Control” is checked. Click OK to save your changes. Now open up your shared folder and move any data you want into it. I have two folders in mine, called Subfolder 1 and Subfolder 2.

I want to restrict access to Subfolder 1 to myself and Administrators of the server only only, so I will right click the folder and choose Properties. In the Security tab, select Everyone in the top pane and click remove. You can leave “CREATOR OWNER”, “SYSTEM”, and “Administrators” there. Now, I will add my user account and assign Full Control to myself. See below, but note I have obscured my Active Directory Domain name and the server name.

Click OK on the window here and your permissions change will be saved. I will leave Subfolder 2 with Full Control for Everyone. Now, any users that connect to the share that aren’t Administrators of the server will receive an “Access is Denied” message if they attempt to open Subfolder1.

You can also restrict access to the whole share by assigning any permissions you want in the Security tab of the main shared folder, removing the entry for “Everyone”. This way, anyone attempting to connect to the share will be able to “Map a drive” to the share, but will receive an “Access is Denied” message whenever attempting to open it.

Using the methods above, you can safely move the shared folder to any other NTFS formatted volume on the server or even another server without worrying about having to recreate all of your permissions when you’ve moved it. All you have to do to once it’s moved is share the folder again and assign Full Control to Everyone.

Technorati Tags: Permissions, Sharing, Windows

10 Programs I Can’t Live Without

Bill — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:21:15 +0000

Anyone who uses a computer for work or personal use on a regular basis has a group of preferred programs to use. Some of us have some programs mandated by our employers, and some of us are free to choose what programs—or even computing platforms—we use. I’m lucky enough to be employed by a company that allows employees to choose what programs they use for the most part.

In no particular order, here are the 10 programs/software packages I absolutely cannot live without. I use both Windows Vista and Mac OS X, so you’ll find programs from both platforms in my list. To keep this post short and not take up too much of your time reading it, I won’t go into too much detail as to why each program has made it onto this list. You can rest assured though, I will save that detail for individual posts later.

Microsoft Outlook 2007 (Windows)
While we use Microsoft Exchange 2007 as our email server platform at work and Outlook is the best way to go for an Exchange client, I could use any POP3/SMTP or IMAP capable client to check my email. Even given this choice, I stick with Outlook 2007. I prefer Outlook because of the tight integration with Exchange, and because it has everything I need—email, calendar, tasks, and notes—all in one package.
Trillian (4.0 beta) (Windows)
I have been a Trillian user since their early days, and haven’t bothered with other IM clients. Trillian Pro allows me to use my two primary instant messaging platforms—AIM and Yahoo!—without having two programs running. I’ve been testing 4.0 (Astra) since it entered alpha stage, and now in it’s beta stage. Even in it’s alpha form, Trillian 4 has proven itself a stable and full-featured IM client.
Windows Live Writer 2009 (Windows)
While I’ve only just started blogging, Windows Live Writer has quickly become my remote publishing client of choice for my WordPress blog. It’s clean interface and ease of use has claimed it spot on my most frequently used programs list.
PuTTY (Windows)
I use PuTTY to manage all of the Cisco network gear I work with, as well as to log into the Ubuntu server in my office. It’s a very simple, yet powerful SSH client that just works. It has the ability to connect to telnet, SSH, and even Serial clients, and also has the ability to save connection profiles.
Launchy (Windows)
Launchy is an open-source Windows alternative to the Mac app, Quicksilver. It allows for keyboard launching of programs, opening documents, and even custom triggers. It has a plug-in architecture and there are quite a few useful plug-ins available. I use it in conjunction with the PuTTY plug-in, which allows me to open an SSH session to a host using the keyboard shortcut to invoke Launchy and then type ssh hostname followed by the enter key. I also use a custom trigger that allows me to launch Microsoft Remote Desktop connections via the Launchy interface.
Quicksilver (Mac)
Quicksilver is a very powerful keyboard launcher for Mac. At the moment, I haven’t delved too deep in setting it up on my machine. I’m only using Quicksilver as a keyboard launcher. I have quite a few applications that I don’t keep in my dock, but use somewhat regularly. It’s handy to be able to easily launch an application by invoking Quicksilver and typing the first few letters of the name. I’m sure it’s capable of much more, but I haven’t really played with it beyond that.
Tweetie (Mac)
Tweetie is by far my favorite Twitter client out of all of the options available for Mac and PC. It’s slick interface is both great looking and easy to use. Multiple account support is great, and you can choose from a number of URL shortening and picture sharing services. All in all a great looking, feature packed client. The folks at Atebits definitely put a lot of thought into this app.
Firefox (PC & Mac)
Firefox is my browser of choice, though Internet Explorer 8 is a close second. The extensibility of Firefox is the clincher for me. Having the ability to add functionality to the browser via extensions is an enormous advantage over IE. A few of the extensions I use are GMail Notifier, Greasemonkey, Right-Click-Link, Google Redesigned, Extended Statusbar, Delicious Bookmarks, and PDF Download.
VNC (PC & Mac)
I use UltraVNC on my PC, and Chicken of the VNC on my Mac. Having the ability to remote control PC’s is an absolute must in my job. We load UltraVNC Server on each of the desktop and notebook PC’s at my company, and we use OSXvnc as the VNC server on the single Mac at each location. Being able to control PC’s or Mac’s from either platform is a big help as well, so I don’t have to have a particular computer with me to provide support.
SplashID iPhone & Desktop (iPhone, PC, Mac)
Between my personal data from online banking, credit card websites, forums, and other sites, to my business needs for multiple logon accounts, service accounts, and other passwords, SplashID remembers them all. I have a copy of the desktop version on my PC and another on my Mac, and I routinely sync between the three. I got hooked on password managers back when I used CryptMagic on my old BlackBerry, but since moving to the iPhone, I settled on SplashID since it most closely resembled CryptMagic. The fact that it’s available on both Mac & PC was the deal-maker for me, as I routinely use both platforms.

So there you have it, my list of the 10 programs/software packages that I can’t live without. If there’s a piece of software you can’t live without, I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment and I’ll be sure to check it out.

Technorati Tags: Mac, Outlook, Software, Trillian, Windows

Integrating Service Pack 2 into Office 2007 Installation Media

Bill — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:06:42 +0000

After Microsoft released Office 2007 Service Pack 2, I wanted to avoid having to install Office 2007 and then perform another installation for SP2. Luckily, Microsoft has made this very easy to do with Office 2007 as compared to earlier versions. No special tools required!

A little information about how this works: Your Office 2007 media has a folder called Updates in it. Any *.msp update files copied into that folder will be installed during the Office 2007 install, but after the suite is installed. The SP2 “fullfile” installer is just a self-extracting archive containing all the source *.msp files needed for the update. So, by copying these files into the Updates folder, you’re getting an Office 2007 install with SP2 integrated.

To integrate SP2, first you need to copy your install media to a local folder. To do this, create a folder in your C drive called Office 2007. Now, copy everything from the root of your Office 2007 install media to C:\Office 2007. Your Office 2007 folder should look similar to the image below.

Now, you need to obtain a copy of the SP2 installer. You can download the service pack from the Microsoft Download Center. Save the installer to the root of your C drive. Once you’ve downloaded the file, integrating the service pack is as simple as running one command from the command line.

Open up the command line, navigate to your C drive, and enter the following command. If you saved your Office 2007 install media and/or SP2 file to a different path, make sure you make the appropriate substitutions. Also, if there are spaces in your path, be sure to enclose the path in quotes, as shown below.

office2007sp2-kb953195-fullfile-en-us.exe /extract:”C:\Office 2007\Updates”

Hit enter, then you’ll be prompted to accept the license agreement. If you agree to the terms, check off Click here to accept the Microsoft Software License Terms, then click Continue.

When the files have been extracted, click OK on the window notifying you that the installation is complete. Navigate to C:\Office 2007\Updates. Your folder should look similar to the image below.

You’re almost done! All that’s left now is create your install media. If you’re going to be installing from a network point, just copy your Office 2007 folder to the network share you plan to install from. If you plan to install from DVD—the resulting folder will likely be just over 800MB—you’ll need to create a new DVD project in your favorite DVD burning software, then drag the contents of the Office 2007 folder into your DVD project. Burn your disc, and you’re ready to install Office 2007 with SP2 integrated.

If you’ve found this post helpful, please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

Create Custom Office 2007 Installations

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Office 2007

Bits of Tech » Windows

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