NathanBunting.com

Exchange versus gmail film.

2011-12-28T12:24:00.001+01:00

http://youtu.be/3eIEwRKWdSA

Really nice comparison of Intel processors

2011-12-08T13:21:00.001+01:00

Useful to have handy if you’re spec’ing up PCs.

http://allyncs.com/docs/IntelProcGuide.html

Free plugin for Office and Google Docs

2011-11-09T14:11:00.000+01:00

I'm testing it at the moment. It should allow upload /open of Google docs in Office 2010. :)

Rebuilding SQL Server on different hardware after a failure

2011-08-16T09:24:00.001+02:00

useful to have … one day you may need it.

http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=2425

Hyper-V Backup

2011-06-22T10:48:00.001+02:00

http://www.rectiphy.com/product-tour/

Hyper-V Remote management (of Core)

2011-06-22T10:46:00.001+02:00

Hyper-V Remote Management Configuration Utility

http://archive.msdn.microsoft.com/HVRemote

T-SQL Script–Change compatibility level all databases and set recovery mode.

2011-06-22T09:44:00.001+02:00

-- Declare variable used by the cursor

DECLARE @databasename AS nvarchar(128)

-- Create a cursor with all custom databases on the server

DECLARE db_list CURSOR FOR

SELECT [name] AS databasename

FROM master.dbo.sysdatabases

WHERE [name] NOT IN ('master', 'tempdb', 'model', 'msdb')

-- Open the cursor

OPEN db_list

-- Fetch next database name from the list and process it

FETCH NEXT FROM db_list INTO @databasename

WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0 BEGIN

DECLARE @sqlCmd AS nvarchar(4000)

-- Set master as database

EXECUTE dbo.sp_ExecuteSQL N'USE [master]'

-- Modify logging mode instantly

SET @sqlCmd = N'ALTER DATABASE [' + @databasename + N']

SET RECOVERY FULL WITH NO_WAIT'

EXECUTE dbo.sp_ExecuteSQL @sqlCmd

-- Here I’m a little unsure but I think this will work

SET @sqlCmd = N'ALTER DATABASE [' + @databasename + N']

SET COMPATIBILITY_LEVEL = 100' -- valid values are 80, 90, 100

EXECUTE dbo.sp_ExecuteSQL @sqlCmd

FETCH NEXT FROM db_list

INTO @databasename END

-- Close and release the cursor

CLOSE db_list

DEALLOCATE db_list

Continuous improvement from an IT blogger’s perspective.

2011-05-31T12:39:00.001+02:00

http://www.basilv.com/psd/blog/2009/continuous-improvement-framework

The Lefthand SAN Technology Overview.

2011-05-11T15:06:00.002+02:00

I’m doing some research on SANs and found this nice presentation of the HP Lefthand technology. Lefthand was an acquisition that HP made recently which seems to give some cool possibilities. I like the idea of VSA (Virtual SAN appliance) and reusing old servers as SAN nodes!

HP LeftHand SAN Technology Overview from Simon Seagrave on Vimeo.

Amaya Home Page

2011-04-11T13:49:00.000+02:00

A simple WYSIWYG editor for web publishing?

Amaya Home Page

Free networking tools:

2011-03-08T09:26:00.002+01:00

http://hlrnet.com/frutnetw.htm

Offline folders and files–a couple of useful restore articles

2011-02-25T11:00:00.002+01:00

I had a case recently which involved reinitializing and recovery of offline files (synced with the domain).
Two articles I found useful were:
http://www.jacksontechnical.com/article.htm?id=34
(Entitled “How to restore offline files”)
and
http://www.mgdking.com/post/2010/07/20/How-To-Reinitialize-The-Offline-Cache-in-Windows-7.aspx
(Entitled how to reinitialize the offline cache in Windows 7).

Bring Multitouch Gestures to your Windows 7 PC with the new Touch Mouse

2011-02-23T09:20:00.000+01:00

Another new dimension in the continuing urge to "touch" our IT. ;) The Microsoft Touch Mouse.

Bring Multitouch Gestures to your Windows 7 PC with the new Touch Mouse

SQL–List users currently logged in, and kill process commands.

2011-02-16T11:41:00.001+01:00

List users:

select spid, status, loginame, hostname, blocked, db_name(dbid), cmd from master..sysprocesses where db_name(dbid) = 'SHTDRIFT'

Kill:

EXEC('KILL 57')

Exchange 2007 Message Size Limits

2011-02-16T11:39:00.002+01:00

How to set size limits for messages in Exchange Server 2007

http://www.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2007/management-administration/exchange-2007-message-size-limits.html

Windows Server Backup 2008 R2 cannot create scheduled backup on HP RDX

2011-02-16T11:37:00.002+01:00

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/windowsbackup/thread/6d00c879-6310-4971-b438-393bff741dc8

SBS 2008–if SQL contributes to high CPU usage, try this…

2011-01-24T11:01:00.002+01:00

http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2009/07/14/sbs-2008-console-may-take-too-long-to-display-alerts-and-security-statuses-display-not-available-or-crash.aspx

Windows Server Virtualization Calculators

2011-01-24T10:57:00.002+01:00

Estimate license costs for virtualising with this calculator. Unfortunately it’s just in dollars so you will have to do the exchange calculations yourself.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv-calculators.aspx

Troubleshoot SBS 2008 POP3 connector (and finding the SBS event log!)

2011-01-18T07:55:00.002+01:00

Whilst trying to troubleshoot the POP3 connector in SBS 2008 I found this article which, in turn, led me to the Windows specific event log. This is useful to know where to find:
It is called the Microsoft-Windows-Small Business Server/Opertational log and is in the event log tree here:

The article I mentioned on

Powershell commands to set Exchange 2007 Mailbox Quotas to unlimited.

2011-01-13T08:00:00.002+01:00

This one sets everything to unlimited:
Set-Mailbox *Username* -UseDatabaseQuotaDefaults:$False -issuewarningQuota "UNLIMITED" -ProhibitSendQuota "UNLIMITED" -ProhibitSendReceive “UNLIMITED”

This is to set explicity for a user, if you want to send similar setting to multiple people then you have have to loop it and apply the same or
get-content “C:\names.txt” | Set-Mailbox -UseDatabaseQuotaDefaults:$False -issuewarningQuota 90MB -ProhibitSendQuota 100MB -ProhibitSendReceive “UNLIMITED”
get-content “C:\names.txt” | Set-Mailbox -UseDatabaseQuotaDefaults:$False -issuewarningQuota “UNLIMITED” -ProhibitSendQuota “UNLIMITED” -ProhibitSendReceive “UNLIMITED”
Very cool.

Windows Small Business Server 2008 Technical FAQ

2010-12-20T09:31:00.001+01:00

Some interesting questions answered.

Windows Small Business Server 2008 Technical FAQ

Hyper-V New virtualized server will not allow access to shares. Complains lack of disk space.

2010-12-19T17:15:00.001+01:00

Hyper-V New virtualized server will not allow access to shares. Complains lack of disk space.
This freaked me out as I had a limited amount of time to get this virtualizing project up and go, however, this fixed the problem perfectly.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/archive/2008/01/25/irpstacksize-and-clusters.aspx

This fixed the problem perfectly.

Disk2vhd

2010-12-18T12:03:00.002+01:00

Is this the tool I've been looking for?

Disk2vhd

ASP.NET SQL videos

2010-10-07T12:43:00.002+02:00

http://www.asp.net/sql-server/videos

Interesting article: You will lose your job to cloud computing… unless..

2010-10-07T11:59:00.002+02:00

Searchwindowsserver.techtarget.com

Killing a stop pending task

2010-09-21T10:09:00.002+02:00

I’ve had this problem before. One stops a task and it hangs in “stopping” state. This is a very effective force/fix.
You can retrieve the PID for the process of the service through the command

sc queryex <servicename>

it returns some information like this
NOME_SERVIZIO: <servicename>
TIPO : 10 WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
STATO : 3 STOP_PENDING
(STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, ACCEPTS_SHUTDOWN)
CODICE_USCITA_WIN32 : 0 (0x0)
CODICE_USCITA_SERVIZIO : 0 (0x0)
PUNTO_ARRESTO : 0x0
INDICAZIONE_ATTESA : 0x0
PID : 1824
FLAG :

Then you can stop the service by the command

taskkill /F /PID 1824 (the specific PID)

How to transfer the logins and the passwords between instances of SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008

2010-09-14T13:37:00.002+02:00

How to transfer the logins and the passwords between instances of SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008

This is an absolutely excellent script which we can use to create a stored procedure: SP_HELP_REVLOGIN
to script all of our logins when moving databases to a new server or server instance.

And here is a similar document for older versions of SQL:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/246133

Those insert word here USERNV errors in eventlogs on Windows machines.

2010-08-31T14:39:00.001+02:00

Finally a way to get rid of those USERNV errors that appear everywhere!

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;837115

http://srthelpdesk.helpserve.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=140

2010-07-04T15:29:00.001+02:00

Really useful!

http://srthelpdesk.helpserve.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=140

T-SQL Script: Run The Same SQL Command Against All SQL Server Databases

2010-05-16T15:20:00.001+02:00

T-SQL Script: Run The Same SQL Command Against All SQL Server Databases

Example from this webpage:

--This query will return a listing of all tables in all databases on a SQL instance:
DECLARE @command varchar(1000)
SELECT @command = 'USE ? SELECT name FROM sysobjects WHERE xtype = ''U'' ORDER BY name'
EXEC sp_MSforeachdb @command

What about the "?" Placeholder
Throughout the examples provided above you'll see the use of the question mark as a placeholder for the database/database name. To reference the database name as a string to be returned in a query, embed it between a double set of single quotation marks. To treat it as a reference to the database object simply use it by itself (as presented in Example 3b.) It is necessary to set the database for the query to run against, by using the USE ? statement, otherwise the code will execute in the context of the current database, for each database in your SQL instance. If you have 5 databases hosted in the current instance and you were to run the stored procedure code above while in the context of DBx it would execute the T-SQL text of the @command 5 times in DBx.

Summary
sp_MSforeachdb is extremely useful for pulling together metadata about your various SQL databases. I use it quite frequently for reporting on such important metrics as database file sizes, amount of free space, and backup status.

Log off a domain PC remotely.

2010-05-14T07:57:00.001+02:00

Occasionally I run across a tip or script which is both simple and powerful. In this case it is also scary! Scary in as much as it’s potential for misuse. I will let you decide on whether to pass this one around to mid-managers or internal sub-administrators in your organisation ;)

-- Visual Basic script follows --

strComputer= "."

Set objWMI = GetObject("winmgmts:{(Shutdown)}\\" + strComputer + "\root\cimv2")

Set colOperatingSystems = objWMI.ExecQuery("Select * from Win32_OperatingSystem")

For Each objOperatingSystem in colOperatingSystems

ObjOperatingSystem.Win32Shutdown(0)

-- Script Ends --

Brilliant USB password cracker for XP and Vista.

2010-04-29T15:02:00.002+02:00

I found this one really useful.

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/usb-ophcrack-windows-login-password-cracker/

How to use Google's free SMTP server

2010-04-28T14:03:00.002+02:00

Configure your mail client to use GMail for outgoing mail server. Technical details are:

Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server: smtp.gmail.com
Use Authentication: Yes
Use Secure Connection: Yes (this can be TLS or SSL depending on your mail client)
Username: your GMail account
Password: your GMail password
Port: 465 or 587

Restore deleted public folders in exchange 2003

2010-04-22T14:38:00.002+02:00

http://www.tek-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=6509

Set up of E-mail relay in Exchange 2007 (sbs 2008)

2010-04-22T14:37:00.001+02:00

http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2006/12/28/432013.aspx

Install printers in Windows 7 XP mode

2010-04-22T14:27:00.001+02:00

http://capitalhead.com/articles/windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7-and-virtual-pc---part-3-use-virtual-machine-application-on-windows-7.aspx

Rebuild indexes, update stats and shrink script

2010-04-22T14:26:00.001+02:00

/*

Function: For each user database rebuild indexes, update statistics and shrink.

Instructions: Run against master, the script will use the system catalog to produce a list of databases
If you want to excluce a database add the excluded db name to the 'not in' list below.
You can also adjust the target fillfactor below.

Questions: cjm@integer.org
Updates: http://www.integer.org/cjm/files/indexstatsshrink.sql

copyright (C) 2003 Cameron Michelis copying and redistribution of this file is permitted provided this notice and the above comments are preserved.
*/

Set quoted_identifier off
use master
go

DECLARE @fillfactor varchar(2)
DECLARE @tablename varchar(30)
DECLARE @tablename_header varchar(75)
DECLARE @dataname varchar(30)
DECLARE @dataname_header varchar(75)
DECLARE datanames_cursor CURSOR FOR SELECT name FROM sysdatabases
WHERE name not in ('master', 'pubs', 'tempdb', 'model', 'northwind')
/* Variable Initialization */
select @fillfactor = "0" -- Set Fill factor here
-- Note "0" will use original fillfactor.
/* End Variable Initialization */
OPEN datanames_cursor

FETCH NEXT FROM datanames_cursor INTO @dataname

WHILE (@@fetch_status <> -1)
BEGIN
IF (@@fetch_status = -2)
BEGIN
FETCH NEXT FROM datanames_cursor INTO @dataname
CONTINUE
END
SELECT @dataname_header = "Database " + RTRIM(UPPER(@dataname))
PRINT " "
PRINT @dataname_header
PRINT " "
EXEC ("USE " + @dataname + " DECLARE tnames_cursor CURSOR FOR SELECT name from sysobjects where type = 'U'")
Select @dataname_header = RTRIM(UPPER(@dataname))
Exec ("Use " + @dataname)
OPEN tnames_cursor
FETCH NEXT FROM tnames_cursor INTO @tablename
WHILE (@@fetch_status <> -1)
BEGIN
IF (@@fetch_status = -2)
BEGIN
FETCH NEXT FROM tnames_cursor INTO @tablename
CONTINUE
END
SELECT @tablename_header = " Updating " + RTRIM(UPPER(@tablename))
PRINT ""
PRINT @tablename_header
EXEC ("USE " + @dataname + " DBCC DBREINDEX (" + @tablename + "," + "''" + "," + @fillfactor + ")")
EXEC ("USE " + @dataname + " UPDATE STATISTICS " + @tablename)
FETCH NEXT FROM tnames_cursor INTO @tablename
END
DEALLOCATE tnames_cursor
EXEC("DBCC SHRINKDATABASE (" + @dataname + ", TRUNCATEONLY)")
FETCH NEXT FROM datanames_cursor INTO @dataname
END

DEALLOCATE datanames_cursor
PRINT ""
PRINT " "
PRINT "Indexing and shrinkage complete for All User Databases"

The anatomy of the SQL Cursor.

2010-04-22T14:24:00.001+02:00

http://www.sqlteam.com/article/cursors-an-overview

Shrinking the space used by SQL databases.

2010-04-07T09:36:00.001+02:00

Recently a customer asked me to see if I could reduce the amount of space being taken up by his databases. My immediate thought was to truncate and then shrink the log files.

This was a fantastic success! I managed to shrink the space used from 185 GB down to 11.5 GB – a huge saving. Here is the code snippet I used:

declare @ssql nvarchar(4000)
set @ssql= '
        if ''?'' not in (''tempdb'',''master'',''model'',''msdb'') begin
        use [?]
        declare @tsql nvarchar(4000) set @tsql = ''''
        declare @iLogFile int
        declare LogFiles cursor for
        select fileid from sysfiles where status & 0x40 = 0x40
        open LogFiles
        fetch next from LogFiles into @iLogFile
        while @@fetch_status = 0
        begin
          set @tsql = @tsql + ''DBCC SHRINKFILE(''+cast(@iLogFile as varchar(5))+'', 1) ''
          fetch next from LogFiles into @iLogFile
        end
        set @tsql = @tsql + '' BACKUP LOG [?] WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY '' + @tsql
        --print @tsql
        exec(@tsql)
        close LogFiles
        DEALLOCATE LogFiles
        end'

exec sp_msforeachdb @ssql

Allow Mac to logon to SBS 2008 / 2008 shares

2010-03-30T15:56:00.001+02:00

Essentially:

1.Log on to a Windows Server 2008-based domain controller.

2.Click Start, click Run, type gpmc.msc, and then click OK.

3.In the Group Policy Management console, expand Forest: DomainName, expand DomainName, expandDomain Controllers, right-click Default Domain Controllers Policy, and then click Edit.

4.In the Group Policy Management Editor console, expand Computer Configuration, expand Policies, expandAdministrative Templates, expand System, click Net Logon, and then double-click Allow cryptography algorithms compatible with Windows NT 4.0.

5.In the Properties dialog box, click the Enabled option, and then click OK.

Where to get the customizable versions of SQL Express 2008.

2010-03-05T06:44:00.002+01:00

http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlexpress/archive/2009/06/15/installing-sql-server-2008-guidance.aspx

Index defrag - rebuid/reorg

2010-02-09T13:46:00.002+01:00

A beautiful SQL code project here – I’ll post a little on what the writer says:
I have coded this "index management routine" and used for over two years. Commercial vendor is selling Defrag Manager for $8400 per host-year. It does the same.
The code uses DMV frag % value and row-count to determine if a particular index needs a defrag, if so it builds command by syntax "alter index .... rebuild...." and executes it.
I use a wrapper code like below to call this routine from SQL Agent job every Sunday and run a loop thru all DBs (exclude the ones you don't want).
I am sharing with you for the benefits I got from sqlservercentral.com. It is my little contribution back to community.
If you can't get it to work, please email me.
---
USE [ADMINDB]
GO
/****** Object: StoredProcedure [dbo].[isp_ALTER_INDEX] Script Date: 06/16/2007 14:59:21 ******/
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
ALTER PROC [dbo].[isp_ALTER_INDEX]
(
@dbName sysname,
@statsMode varchar(8) = 'SAMPLED',
@defragType varchar(10) = 'REBUILD',
@minFragPercent int = 25,
@maxFragPercent int = 100,
@minRowCount int = 0
)
AS
SET NOCOUNT ON
IF @statsMode NOT IN ('LIMITED', 'SAMPLED', 'DETAILED')
BEGIN
RAISERROR('@statsMode must be LIMITED, SAMPLED or DETAILED', 16, 1)
RETURN
END
IF @defragType NOT IN ('REORGANIZE', 'REBUILD')
BEGIN
RAISERROR('@defragType must be REORGANIZE or REBUILD', 16, 1)
RETURN
END
DECLARE
@i int, @objectId int, @objectName sysname, @indexId int, @indexName sysname,
@schemaName sysname, @partitionNumber int, @partitionCount int,
@sql nvarchar(4000), @edition int, @parmDef nvarchar(500), @allocUnitType nvarchar(60),
@indexType nvarchar(60), @online bit, @disabled bit, @dataType nvarchar(128),
@charMaxLen int
SELECT @edition = CONVERT(int, SERVERPROPERTY('EngineEdition'))
SELECT
IDENTITY(int, 1, 1) AS FragIndexId,
[object_id] AS ObjectId,
index_id AS IndexId,
avg_fragmentation_in_percent AS FragPercent,
record_count AS RecordCount,
partition_number AS PartitionNumber,
index_type_desc AS IndexType,
alloc_unit_type_desc AS AllocUnitType,
0 AS Online
INTO #FragIndex
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats (DB_ID(@dbName), NULL, NULL, NULL, @statsMode)
WHERE
avg_fragmentation_in_percent > @minFragPercent AND
avg_fragmentation_in_percent < @maxFragPercent AND
index_id > 0
ORDER BY ObjectId
-- LIMITED does not include data for record_count
IF @statsMode IN ('SAMPLED', 'DETAILED')
DELETE FROM #FragIndex
WHERE RecordCount < @minRowCount
-- Developer and Enterprise have the ONLINE = ON option for REBUILD
-- Indexes, including indexes on global temp tables, can be rebuilt online with the following exceptions:
-- Disabled indexes, XML indexes, Indexes on local temp tables, Partitioned indexes,
-- Clustered indexes if the underlying table contains LOB data types,
-- Nonclustered indexes that are defined with LOB data type columns
IF @defragType = 'REBUILD' AND @edition = 3
BEGIN
UPDATE #FragIndex
SET Online = 1
UPDATE #FragIndex
SET Online =
CASE
WHEN IndexType = 'XML INDEX' THEN 0
WHEN IndexType = 'NONCLUSTERED INDEX' AND AllocUnitType = 'LOB_DATA' THEN 0
ELSE 1
END
-- we can't determine if the indexes are disabled or partitioned yet,
-- so we'll need to figure that out during the loop
-- we also have to figure out if the table contains lob_data when
-- a clustered index exists during the loop
END
SELECT @i = MIN(FragIndexId)
FROM #FragIndex
SELECT
@objectId = ObjectId,
@indexId = IndexId,
@partitionNumber = PartitionNumber,
@indexType = IndexType,
@online = Online
FROM #FragIndex
WHERE FragIndexId = @i
WHILE @@ROWCOUNT <> 0
BEGIN
SET @sql = '
SELECT @objectName = o.[name], @schemaName = s.[name]
FROM ' + @dbName + '.sys.objects o
JOIN ' + @dbName + '.sys.schemas s
ON s.schema_id = o.schema_id
WHERE o.[object_id] = @objectId'
SET @parmDef = N'@objectId int, @objectName sysname OUTPUT, @schemaName sysname OUTPUT'
EXEC sp_executesql
@sql, @parmDef, @objectId = @objectId,
@objectName = @objectName OUTPUT, @schemaName = @schemaName OUTPUT
IF @indexType = 'CLUSTERED INDEX'
BEGIN
-- can't use online option if index is clustered and table contains following
-- data types: text, ntext, image, varchar(max), nvarchar(max), varbinary(max) or xml
-- CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH column will equal -1 for max size or xml
SET @sql = '
SELECT @online = 0
FROM ' + @dbName + '.INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS c
WHERE TABLE_NAME = @objectName AND
(DATA_TYPE IN (''text'', ''ntext'', ''image'') OR
CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH = -1)'
SET @parmDef = N'@objectName sysname, @online bit OUTPUT'
EXEC sp_executesql
@sql, @parmDef, @objectName = @objectName, @online = @online OUTPUT
END
SET @sql = '
SELECT @indexName = [name], @disabled = is_disabled
FROM ' + @dbName + '.sys.indexes
WHERE [object_id] = @objectId AND index_id = @indexId'
SET @parmDef = N'
@objectId int, @indexId int, @indexName sysname OUTPUT, @disabled bit OUTPUT'
EXEC sp_executesql
@sql, @parmDef, @objectId = @objectId, @indexId = @indexId,
@indexName = @indexName OUTPUT, @disabled = @disabled OUTPUT
SET @sql = '
SELECT @partitionCount = COUNT(*)
FROM ' + @dbName + '.sys.partitions
WHERE [object_id] = @objectId AND index_id = @indexId'
SET @parmDef = N'@objectId int, @indexId int, @partitionCount int OUTPUT'
EXEC sp_executesql
@sql, @parmDef, @objectId = @objectId, @indexId = @indexId,
@partitionCount = @partitionCount OUTPUT
SET @sql = 'ALTER INDEX [' + @indexName + '] ON [' + @dbName + '].[' +
@schemaName + '].[' + @objectName + '] ' + @defragType
IF @online = 1 AND @disabled = 0 AND @partitionCount = 1
SET @sql = @sql + ' WITH (ONLINE = ON)'
IF @partitionCount > 1 AND @disabled = 0 AND @indexType <> 'XML INDEX'
SET @sql = @sql + ' PARTITION = ' + CAST(@partitionNumber AS varchar(10))
PRINT @sql
EXEC (@SQL)
SELECT @i = MIN(FragIndexId)
FROM #FragIndex
WHERE FragIndexId > @i
SELECT
@objectId = ObjectId,
@indexId = IndexId,
@partitionNumber = PartitionNumber,
@indexType = IndexType,
@online = Online
FROM #FragIndex
WHERE FragIndexId = @i
END
DROP TABLE #FragIndex

Powershell Script: Restart list of services and send a report e-mail

2010-01-28T14:31:00.001+01:00

# (c) Nathan Bunting 2010
# Restart a list of services on local computer.
# This gets the computer name and stores it in the variable $computer.
$computer = get-content env:computername
#
# Add your service(s) name here
$SERVICES = "SQLSERVERAGENT","MSSQLSERVER"
foreach ($SERVICE in $SERVICES) {
    write-host -ForegroundColor green "Restarting service " -nonewline
    write-host -nonewline -foregroundcolor cyan $SERVICE " "
    write-host -ForegroundColor green "on" $computer
    Restart-Service -name $SERVICE -force
    write-host -ForegroundColor green "Completed."
    }
# Send mail that job is complete
#Use a relay server which can relay!
$smtpServer = “smtp.netpower.no”

$msg = new-object Net.Mail.MailMessage
$smtp = new-object Net.Mail.SmtpClient($smtpServer)

$msg.From = “administrator@netpower.no”
# Substitute your name here:
$msg.To.Add(”nathan@netpower.no”)
$msg.Subject = “All SQL services restarted 05:30”
$msg.Body = “The server has automatically restarted all of the SQL services.”
$smtp.Send($msg)

Find SQL Product key.

2010-01-21T10:01:00.002+01:00

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/product_cd_key_viewer.html

Powershell script: send report of errors via e-mail & keep a log

2010-01-18T14:21:00.002+01:00

# (c) Nathan Bunting (http://www.nathanbunting.com)
# Gather the "error" event types from the system log and send them over by e-mail daily.
# Delete log files older than 7 days.
#
$strLog = "system"
$strType = "error"
$filDate = get-date -uformat "20%y-%m-%d" # Get the date in a format we can use for a file
$logPath = "c:\logs\"
# Makes a log file with the date prefix (for ex. "c:\logs\2010-01-18log.txt")
$outPut = $logPath+$filDate+"log.txt"
# Check if the log file exists from before
$fileExists = Test-path $outPut
if ($fileExists -eq "True")
{
write-host "You have already taken the log for today!" -foregroundcolor "Red"
$dir = get-childitem $logPath
write-host $dir
}
else
{
# Get the event log and output to a file.
get-Eventlog $strLog | Where-Object { $_.entryType -eq $strType } | out-file $outPut -force
# Send as an e-mail attachment
$filename = $outPut
# Use an SMTP server which can relay!
$smtpServer = “smtp.netpower.no”
$msg = new-object Net.Mail.MailMessage
$att = new-object Net.Mail.Attachment($filename)
$smtp = new-object Net.Mail.SmtpClient($smtpServer)
$msg.From = “administrator@bergensadvokatene.com”
$msg.To.Add(”nathan@netpower.no”)
$msg.Subject = “Nightly Log File”
$msg.Body = “The nightly log file is attached”
$msg.Attachments.Add($att)
$smtp.Send($msg)
# delete log files older than 7 days after sending
$Now = Get-Date
$Days = “7”
$TargetFolder = $logPath
$LastWrite = $Now.AddDays(-$days)
$Files = get-childitem $TargetFolder -recurse | Where {$_.LastWriteTime -le “$LastWrite”}
if ($files -contains "")
{
foreach ($File in $Files)
{write-host “Deleting File $File” -foregroundcolor “Red”; Remove-Item $File | out-null}
}
else
{
write-host "Nothing to delete which is older than 7 days" -foregroundcolor "Red"
}
}

10 cool things to do in Powershell

2010-01-15T09:49:00.001+01:00

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=302

As a little “bonus” to this post here is a simple copy from / to directory script for your enjoyment.

# Simple copy script
# (c) Nathan Bunting
# Don't forget to change the destination & source.
$source="C:\Users\mysteryn11\AppData\Local\Temp"; $destination="c:\destination"
# If you want to create a log change the logpath to where you want it to go.
$logpath="%temp%\copy_script_log.txt"
#
# Here I create the "easyview" function so that the output doesn't scroll too quickly:
function EasyView { process { $_; Start-Sleep -seconds 1}}
#
# Enter the filetypes you want to exclude in the following array:
$excludes="*.thumbs","*.temp"
Write-Host "Source=" $source -foreground "green"; Write-Host "Destination=" $destination -foreground "red" | EasyView
Write-Host "Following filetypes are excluded..." $excludes | EasyView
Write-Host "Synchronising directories. Please wait..." | EasyView
copy-item -path $source -destination $destination -exclude $excludes -force -recurse
get-childitem $destination\temp | out-file -filepath $logpath -force -append
Write-Host "Complete."

How to mark a drive as “dirty” so it is checked with next reboot

2010-01-05T11:38:00.002+01:00

Type the following at an elevated command prompt:
fsutil dirty set c: (substitute c: for the disk you want to mark).
Restart PC.
Check disk will run with the boot sequence.

Optimising your backups with Backup Exec

2009-12-22T07:44:00.001+01:00

I’m very often called in to find out why a backup has suddenly stopped working. I am, however, never called in to optimize or improve performance on backups. Unfortunately for my customers as with a little forward planning and a touch of optimization, many of the data backup problems can be circumvented completely or, at least, planned for.

Whilst setting up a new backup system for a customer I happened upon the following article which I find very useful:

http://www.backupexecfaq.com/faq/getting-started/optimising-your-backup.html

Trouble shooting NTFRS (File Replication) of sysvol /policies

2009-12-04T10:06:00.002+01:00

This one was irritating!
The policies were just not replicating between the two servers.
I fixed it in the end using the BURFLAG setting D4 for the value on the function server and D2 on the malfunctioning.
The following article explains how to do this.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290762

Trouble shooting replicaion problems

2009-12-03T13:47:00.002+01:00

This was a nightmare of a problem. I have sat here in front of the PC for hours and hours – emptying massive amounts of bad quality Norwegian Friela coffee down my throat and slowly bit by bit working this problem.
I have two sites and the replication just would not work. I found the following link invaluable in helping me to work through this issue.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727057.aspx#ECAA

:)

Windows cannot open Help and Support because a system service is not running.

2009-11-30T13:48:00.002+01:00

This lovely little error sometimes pops up when we are visiting customers whose servers we haven’t worked with before.

It often appears when trying to initiate the MSINFO32 application or using help & support.
Here is the fix:
1. Open a command prompt.
2. Navigate to %windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries
3. Run “start /w helpsvc /svchost netsvcs /regserver /install”
4. Once this command completes the Help and Support service should now appear in services.msc
5. Start the Help and Support service

Download details: Windows Server 2008 Step-by-Step Guides

2009-11-25T21:37:00.002+01:00

Stumbled upon these guides:

Download details: Windows Server 2008 Step-by-Step Guides

Exchange-only users in an AD Network

2009-11-25T09:16:00.001+01:00

Firstly you must try your best to remove the Everyone group on your permissions in your network whenever possible - perhaps replacing it with Domain users - this would have the desired effect of limiting guest users as long as they are not members of Domain Users.

Another workaround:

Create the AD object and mail-enable it.

Open the properties of the object, go to the Account tab, and click on Log On To.

Select The Following Computers and enter the name of the server you use for OWA.

The user will only be able to log on to one of two places. The OWA server (Exchange Front End or Back End) and OWA. As long as you take proper precautions for the Exchange servers, that limits access only to OWA.

Windows 7 command-line tools and programs

2009-11-19T06:00:00.002+01:00

Windows 7 command-line tools and programs

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 : Installation with John O'Donnell | jodonnell | Channel 9

2009-11-18T13:22:00.002+01:00

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 : Installation with John O'Donnell | jodonnell | Channel 9
A nice little introduction to the installation.

Simplify OWA URLs on Windows Server 2008

2009-11-13T09:35:00.003+01:00

Search Exchange article.

32bit Print drivers on an x64 Windows 2008 Print Server

2009-11-03T12:59:00.002+01:00

32bit Print drivers on an x64 Windows 2008 Print Server

90% of my printers are HP ones so I went to the HP website and downloaded the most recent driver, it turns out they have a “HP Universal PCL 6″ driver. Now this driver appears to do, as the name suggests, provide the correct drivers to all HP Printers!

To get the x86 drivers onto the x64 Windows 2008 Server you need to connect to the server from the x86 client and open up the printer and faxes share. Then from the File Menu select Server Properties, then from the Driver Tab add the x86 drivers that you downloaded, and they will then be uploaded to the server.

Another catch here is that both x86 and x64 drivers MUST have the same name. If they have the same name, they will appear automatically in additional drivers for both architectures in your printer’s sharing properties.
In my case I used the Universal drivers to give the least possible hassle in relation to printer driver names – they were identical.

Checking out all of the new features in 2008 Server's Terminal Server capabilities

2009-10-21T16:32:00.001+02:00

Whilst working through the multiple options with the new 2008 Terminal Server functionality I found some excellent articles:

http://www.msterminalservices.org/articles/Windows-Server-2008-Terminal-Services-Web-Access-Part1.html

How to find the user / entity an email address is associated with in Exchange 2003

2009-10-07T16:34:00.001+02:00

http://www.danlance.co.uk/index.cfm/2007/11/14/How-to-find-the-user--entity-an-email-address-is-associated-with-in-Exchange-2003

Troubleshooting IIS and Outlook Web Access

2009-09-30T13:02:00.001+02:00

A useful article on security permission error checking:
http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Resetting-OWA-Folder-IIS-security-permissions-Exchange-2003.html

Clear cached network credentials

2009-09-28T12:24:00.001+02:00

Useful little tip:

So, to clear cached credentials on a Windows-based computer do the following steps:

1. Open Command Prompt.
2. Type the command: rundll32.exe keymgr.dll, KRShowKeyMgr

Alternative Second Life.

2009-09-15T07:17:00.001+02:00

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Alternate_viewers#Third-party_Viewers

SBS/EBS 2008 access through RWW

2009-09-14T00:01:00.001+02:00

http://msmvps.com/blogs/steveb/archive/2009/08/17/terminal-server-access-through-rww-in-ebs-amp-sbs.aspx

Access FTP sites natively in Windows 7

2009-09-13T23:21:00.001+02:00

http://www.redmondpie.com/access-ftp-sites-natively-in-windows-7/

SBS 2008 and VirtualizationPost title here...

2009-09-10T23:04:00.001+02:00

http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2008/09/15/sbs-2008-and-virtualization.aspx

Creating Outlook forms

2009-09-09T08:37:00.001+02:00

http://www.msexchange.org/articles/Designing-Outlook-Forms-Part1.html

2009-09-03T15:23:00.000+02:00

Diverse articles and tools for exchange administrator

2009-09-03T14:27:00.001+02:00

http://searchexchange.techtarget.com/generic/0,295582,sid43_gci1178041,00.html#tools_utilities

Geek fun: Distance measurement in Google Maps

2009-09-02T05:48:00.001+02:00

http://www.squidoo.com/google_maps

Install windows 7 from USB

2009-08-31T14:31:00.001+02:00

Neat!

http://dotnetwizard.net/vista-stuff/tips-how-to-bootinstall-windows-7vista-from-usb-flashhard-drive/

Meerkat virtual world viewer.

2009-08-27T19:36:00.001+02:00

http://www.meerkatviewer.org/

Check the Meerkat Viewer movie

2009-08-27T19:35:00.001+02:00

Shift content to different virtual grids.

http://www.meerkatviewer.org/

Google Wave

2009-08-27T19:22:00.001+02:00

http://wave.google.com/

Three Steps to VHD Compaction With Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 -

2009-08-22T14:08:00.001+02:00

Doing IT Virtual

Optimizing Virtual PC Hard Disks.

2009-08-20T21:47:00.003+02:00

Optimizing Virtual PC Hard Disks.

I didn't know anything about the precompact tool before I read this article.

Link

Terminal Server on Windows 2008

2009-08-20T11:24:00.001+02:00

Log on Problems:

Here is the quick and dirty way to enable access to Terminal Server on a domain controller (which is not recommended)

1# add the users to the built-in domain local Remote Desktop Users group in AD
2# enable the following setting in the Local Securities setting: Local Policies -> User Rights Assignment "allow log on through terminal services" - add the Remote Desktop Users group

How to reset password in Adventnet ServiceDesk Plus

2009-08-19T11:07:00.002+02:00

To find Administrator login and to reset the password
For MS SQL
update AaaPassword set PASSWORD='2+uYvE3SLfO3XaHl+CaGLA==', SALT='1103287238602' where PASSWORD_ID = ( select AaaPassword.PASSWORD_ID from AaaPassword LEFT join AaaAccPassword on AaaPassword.password_id = AaaAccPassword.password_id LEFT join AaaAccount on AaaAccPassword.account_id = AaaAccount.account_id LEFT join AaaLogin on AaaAccount.login_id = AaaLogin.login_id where name = 'administrator' )

This only works if the administrator user is called “administrator”. If not then simply change the “administrator” name to the user that you want to change the password of.
Because Service Desk Plus caches the username and passwords and synchronizes them once a day you will then have a day to login and make the changes needed.
I used this process to fix a broken synchronizing against a DC.

Automatic Updates Service: The system cannot find the file specified.

2009-08-17T13:57:00.001+02:00

Solution:
1.start —> run —> regedt32.exe
2.Do a search for %fystemroot%
3.If you find any hits, first change the permissions on the folders so you can edit the registry entry.
4.change %fystemroot% to %systemroot%
5.press F3 until you find all entries and repeat step 4.
6.Try to start BITS and Automatic Updates
The orginal quote from the google group’s thread:

SOLUTION FOUND:
In my registry, the virus had replaced “%systemroot%” with “%fystemroot%”
in several spots, so the correct files could not be found. I did a search
for “fystemroot” in regedit, and replaced with “systemroot”. (I did have to
click “Edit” / “Permissions” and allow full control in each of the folders
first. Evidently the virus disabled the permissions first.)

Today I begin running Windows 7 RTM

2009-08-10T10:21:00.001+02:00

Here we go!
Today is the day I begin to use Windows 7 on my production PC - an HP 8510P. The upgrade went perfectly and my first reactions are that it is fast, stable and pretty.

Powershell analyser.

2009-08-07T11:49:00.002+02:00

This looks like it will be rendered outdated with Windows Powershell ISE on Windows 7, but for now it's still a useful tool, especially on pre-7 environments.

http://www.shelltools.net/

How to disable IE Enhanced Security on Windows 2003 Server silently?

2009-08-06T07:49:00.001+02:00

http://blogs.msdn.com/askie/archive/2009/06/23/how-to-disable-ie-enhanced-security-on-windows-2003-server-silently.aspx

Sapien

2009-08-05T10:52:00.001+02:00

Sapien has a wonderful get help tool for free download.

http://www.primaltools.com/downloads/communitytools/download.asp?file=pshhelp

Troubleshooting the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Client for Outlook

2009-08-05T09:56:00.001+02:00

http://blogs.msdn.com/crm/archive/2009/05/29/troubleshooting-the-microsoft-dynamics-crm-client-for-outlook.aspx

Windows Debugging tools

2009-08-05T09:49:00.001+02:00

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx

Mashable - the social networking site

2009-08-05T08:57:00.001+02:00

http://mashable.com/2007/05/06/8-awesome-firefox-plugins-for-twitter/

Adding a 2008 dc in a 2003 domain

2009-08-04T11:39:00.004+02:00

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733027%28WS.10%29.aspx

Powershell owners manual

2009-08-04T10:57:00.002+02:00

The missing Powershell user manual.

Huddledmasses.org

2009-08-04T10:36:00.002+02:00

This is not just another 'ol Powershell blog - it's actually interesting to read!

Useful article on extending Powershell

2009-07-27T15:20:00.002+02:00

As well as teaching you how to extend Powershell, this article also gives a little information on manipulating Active Directory on a DC too. Very useful starting point.

How to recover deleted public folders or items that are deleted from public folders by using the PFDAVAdmin tool in Exchange

2009-07-04T00:39:00.002+02:00

My colleague sent me this link which looks quite interesting.

Microsoft to offer three-user Windows 7 Family Pack? - TechSpot News

2009-07-03T23:58:00.000+02:00

Microsoft to offer three-user Windows 7 Family Pack? - TechSpot News: "Microsoft to offer three-user Windows 7 Family Pack?"

Microsoft may be introducing a new pricing scheme for a so-called "family pack" license. Sounds like common sense is still on the up in Redmond! Good on you people!

Microsoft Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 for Windows Vista (32-bit)

2009-06-17T14:31:00.002+02:00

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=46F72DF1-E46A-4A5F-A791-09F07AAA1914&displaylang=en&Hash=cSTx4I%2bVlnOmQMaHZP9EICsPszGKJfnw3TmESOcDN4L9eiFbSMWp3JYhB%2fETdlhjhrSy282OIX49108cgkLOog%3d%3d

HP IPAQ 614c English ROM hack to windows mobile 6.5

2009-06-16T09:32:00.004+02:00

This is mainly for personal use ;)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=496283

How to flash with an SD card:

To make saccesfully ROM update, we can easily run our Device in "bootloader" mode and flashed ROM from microSD card. What we'll need:
- empty microSD card,
- ROM files,
- a little bit of free time.
First of all, we have to unpack ROM file that probably we can find in *.exe version. After that we are able to find new folder on a system drive (i.e. C:\iPAQ_900_RUU_1.00.05_\). Inside of it we will have all ROM files that we will use to make an update.
Secondly (when we have this foder created) we have to put on our microSD, files listed below:
-Partition.nbf
-amsshd.mbn
-amss.mbn
-configure.ini
-romupdate.dll
-iacdhcp.exe
-hpruu.exe
-wbem.bat,
then insert and turn iPAQ on in a special way. Turning on our device: to run a bootloader mode we have to hold at the same time OK button + VOICE DOWN button + RESET button. Then relase RESET holding OK and VOICE. After that step we can see on the main screen: HP Logo and on the upper side - CMD line with: "Downloading image...". If every thing goes fine, we have to patiently wait for finishing installation.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SupportTaskIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=120&prodSeriesId=3544358&prodTypeId=215348&supportTaskId=22807
Useful stuff here

Skinning MSN Messenger

2009-06-12T09:20:00.002+02:00

This site looked quite interesting.
One of my ongoing projects is to learn to skin many of the programs which I regularly use. There is no real reason for this other than the creative possibilities and my own belief in personalising my computer experience as much as possible. I’ll follow up this post if it is fun! :)
http://www.msgpluslive.net/skins/

Add users with Powershell

2009-05-22T11:29:00.002+02:00

http://thelazyadmin.com/blogs/thelazyadmin/archive/2007/05/14/create-an-ad-user-in-powershell.aspx

Being Productive with Windows Vista: video

2009-05-20T23:39:00.002+02:00

“
In this video, Kyle Rosenthal takes you on a journey through the tools that you will use as an administrator on a daily basis to improve your productivity on a Windows Vista machine. Learn about the new integrated search, Windows Aero, sidebar gadgets, Group Policy tools, and more.
“
A Day in the Life: Windows Vista Productivity

The Script Center Script Repository: Sample Windows PowerShell Scripts

2009-05-20T23:37:00.001+02:00

The Script Center Script Repository: Sample Windows PowerShell Scripts

How to set the mail size limits in Exchange 2007 using the Powershell.

2009-05-20T23:35:00.002+02:00

How to set the mail size limits in Exchange 2007 using the Powershell.

http://www.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2007/management-administration/exchange-2007-message-size-limits.html

Our Company Mail is Marked as Spam spam, exchange, dns, smtp, isp

2009-05-20T23:33:00.002+02:00

This is a very good how to on troubleshooting mail delivery.

DNS Trouble

How Do I Setup a Template in Virtual Machine Manager 2008 and Reduce the Time Taken to Deploy New Virtual Machines

2009-05-20T23:30:00.002+02:00

I haven’t tested this yet but probably something for me this weekend. :)
How Do I Setup a Template in Virtual Machine Manager 2008 and Reduce the Time Taken to Deploy New Virtual Machines
This is one of the excellent Technet “How do I?” series.

NathanBunting.com

Exchange versus gmail film.

Really nice comparison of Intel processors

Free plugin for Office and Google Docs

Rebuilding SQL Server on different hardware after a failure

Hyper-V Backup

Hyper-V Remote management (of Core)

Hyper-V Remote Management Configuration Utility

T-SQL Script–Change compatibility level all databases and set recovery mode.

Continuous improvement from an IT blogger’s perspective.

The Lefthand SAN Technology Overview.

Amaya Home Page

Free networking tools:

Offline folders and files–a couple of useful restore articles

Bring Multitouch Gestures to your Windows 7 PC with the new Touch Mouse

SQL–List users currently logged in, and kill process commands.

Exchange 2007 Message Size Limits

How to set size limits for messages in Exchange Server 2007

Windows Server Backup 2008 R2 cannot create scheduled backup on HP RDX

SBS 2008–if SQL contributes to high CPU usage, try this…

Windows Server Virtualization Calculators

Troubleshoot SBS 2008 POP3 connector (and finding the SBS event log!)

Powershell commands to set Exchange 2007 Mailbox Quotas to unlimited.

Windows Small Business Server 2008 Technical FAQ

Hyper-V New virtualized server will not allow access to shares. Complains lack of disk space.

Disk2vhd

ASP.NET SQL videos

Interesting article: You will lose your job to cloud computing… unless..

Killing a stop pending task

How to transfer the logins and the passwords between instances of SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008

Those *insert word here* USERNV errors in eventlogs on Windows machines.

http://srthelpdesk.helpserve.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=140

T-SQL Script: Run The Same SQL Command Against All SQL Server Databases

Log off a domain PC remotely.

Brilliant USB password cracker for XP and Vista.

How to use Google's free SMTP server

Restore deleted public folders in exchange 2003

Set up of E-mail relay in Exchange 2007 (sbs 2008)

Install printers in Windows 7 XP mode

Rebuild indexes, update stats and shrink script

The anatomy of the SQL Cursor.

Shrinking the space used by SQL databases.

Allow Mac to logon to SBS 2008 / 2008 shares

Where to get the customizable versions of SQL Express 2008.

Index defrag - rebuid/reorg

Powershell Script: Restart list of services and send a report e-mail

Find SQL Product key.

Powershell script: send report of errors via e-mail & keep a log

10 cool things to do in Powershell

How to mark a drive as “dirty” so it is checked with next reboot

Optimising your backups with Backup Exec

Trouble shooting NTFRS (File Replication) of sysvol /policies

Trouble shooting replicaion problems

Windows cannot open Help and Support because a system service is not running.

Download details: Windows Server 2008 Step-by-Step Guides

Exchange-only users in an AD Network

Windows 7 command-line tools and programs

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 : Installation with John O'Donnell | jodonnell | Channel 9

Simplify OWA URLs on Windows Server 2008

32bit Print drivers on an x64 Windows 2008 Print Server

32bit Print drivers on an x64 Windows 2008 Print Server

Checking out all of the new features in 2008 Server's Terminal Server capabilities

How to find the user / entity an email address is associated with in Exchange 2003

Troubleshooting IIS and Outlook Web Access

Clear cached network credentials

Alternative Second Life.

SBS/EBS 2008 access through RWW

Access FTP sites natively in Windows 7

SBS 2008 and VirtualizationPost title here...

Creating Outlook forms

Diverse articles and tools for exchange administrator

Geek fun: Distance measurement in Google Maps

Install windows 7 from USB

Meerkat virtual world viewer.

Check the Meerkat Viewer movie

Google Wave

Three Steps to VHD Compaction With Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 -

Optimizing Virtual PC Hard Disks.

Terminal Server on Windows 2008

How to reset password in Adventnet ServiceDesk Plus

Those insert word here USERNV errors in eventlogs on Windows machines.

Adding a 2008 dc in a 2003 domain