How to perform clean Windows 7 Upgrade

How to perform a clean Windows 7 Upgrade.

1. Purchase Windows 7 Upgrade in the retail package. Your existing computer must have Windows XP or Vista on it.
2. Backup your data to an external harddrive, to a flashdrive, to a dvd, to a NAS, to the cloud, etc.
3. Put Windows 7 Upgrade disc in the computer. Use the 64-bit disc if your computer hardware supports 64-bit.
4. Perform clean install where you format the harddrive. DO NOT CLICK UPGRADE.
5. Follow through the install. When it asks for a license key, DO NOT ENTER THE LICENSE KEY. Click skip.
6. Finish with the install and you should be at the Windows 7 desktop.
7. Go to Computer then your optical drive, D: or whatever it is.
8. Run the Windows 7 Upgrade install. This time select Upgrade.
9. If it asks for a license code, provide the code.
10. Complete the install.
11. Check if your computer is activated by right clicking on Computer and selecting Properties. It should say activated. If not, activate the computer and if necessary enter the key.
12. Your computer has Windows 7 cleanly installed without any junk or old files from the previous OS.

Compiling echoping 6.0.2 on CentOS/RHEL 5

Here is the commandline options I used to compile echoping 6.0.2 from source:

./configure --with-ssl=/usr/lib/openssl --without-libidn

Asterisk installation notes

Here are some generic installation notes for building and installing Asterisk in gnu/Linux. Should work for any distribution. I've tested them with CentOS 5.X.

Install missing development packages, then perform the following inside asterisk source directory:

contrib/scripts/install_prereq install
./configure

use ./configure --prefix=/usr/local/asterisk-1.x.xx.x to install to your own location

make menuselect

de-select unnecessary addons and features.

make

run contrib/scripts/get_mp3_source.sh to add mp3 support (install subversion first)

make config
make install-logrotate
make install

If running asterisk on a VPS, you may need to edit the safe_asterisk file and comment out the line where it says TTY=9 in order to get asterisk to run via initscripts.

To add asterisk messages to the daily e-mail report via logwatch:

http://www.mcbsys.com/techblog/2012/02/monitor-asterisk-with-logwatch/

Installing ConfigServer Firewall (CSF)

http://configserver.com/cp/csf.html

If you get the following error during installation:

Checking Perl modules...
Can't locate LWP/UserAgent.pm in @INC (@INC contains: /etc/csf /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.8/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.8 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.8/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.8 /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl /usr/lib/perl5/5.8.8/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/5.8.8 .) at (eval 19) line 2.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at (eval 19) line 2.

Then you need to install perl-libwww-perl package (as well as its prerequisites).

yum install perl-Compress-Zlib perl-HTML-Tagset perl-URI perl-HTML-Parser perl-libwww-perl

OpenVZ VPS CentOS Linux setup notes

OpenVZ VPS running CentOS Linux, setup notes:

To change the timezone:

[root@voyager asterisk-1.8.18.0]# date
Sat Nov 17 06:12:49 MSK 2012

[root@voyager etc]# ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/EST /etc/localtime

[root@voyager etc]# date
Fri Nov 16 22:13:52 EST 2012

Make sure to restart your VPS and also check the syslog daemon that it has its time properly. I noticed I had to restart the syslog daemon service to get the date and time updated.

service syslog restart

How to determine the version of Exchange and Exchange Service Pack level

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/152439

Also try running the following commandlet from an Exchange Management Shell:

Get-ExchangeServer -Identity ExServer1 | Format-Table Name, AdminDisplayVersion

Full list of the Exchange Server Updates with build numbers and release dates:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh135098(v=exchg.150).aspx 

Create Self-Signed Certificates for Exchange 2010

http://careexchange.in/how-to-use-a-self-signed-certificate-in-exchange-2010/

Also make sure to download the CA root certificate from step 16 and install the CA Root Cert onto all client computers.

Hyper-V 2012 Notes

To enable PING on Hyper-V Server 2012:

netsh firewall set icmpsetting 8

To enable File & Printer Sharing through filewall:

netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group=”File and Printer Sharing” new enable=Yes

To install .NET Framework 3.5 on Hyper-V Server 2012:

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFX3ServerFeatures
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFX3

To get a list of features on Hyper-V Server 2012:

dism.exe /online /Get-Features

Utility to backup virtual machines running on Hyper-V Server:

http://hypervbackup.codeplex.com

Create a Scheduled task to run daily at 10pm:

schtasks.exe /Create /SC DAILY /ST 22:00 /TN BACKUP /TR c:\pathto.cmd

How to setup a custom port for Smarthost in SBS2008

Here is how you can set up a custom SMTP port when using a Smarthost in Small Business Server 2008.

1. Log into the server with administrative rights.
2. Click on Start -> All Programs -> Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 -> Exchange Server Console.
3. Click on Organization -> Hub Transport -> Send Connectors tab.
4. Make a note of the name of your send connector (ex. Windows SBS Internet Send SERVERNAME)
5. Click on Start -> All Programs -> Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, then right click on Exchange Server Shell and select open as administrator. Accept the UAC prompt
6. Type in the following command: set-sendconnector –identity ‘Windows SBS Internet Send SERVERNAME’ –port 465
7. Port 465 must match the Smarthost settings.

How to receive an e-mail alert when your linux server or linux VPS restarts

Here is a quick tip on how to receive an e-mail alert if your linux server or linux VPS restarts:

1. Log into your linux server or VPS using ssh.
2. Type in crontab -e into the commandline.
            Depending on the default text editor, it could be nano or vi. Here are the directions for vi:
3. Press insert button on your keyboard.
4. Then type in @reboot echo "Rebooted, now online" | mail -s "`hostname` REBOOTED" you@yourdomain.com
5. Then type in :wq to save and quit the vi text editor.

If your default text editor is nano, then the commands to type in are:

3. Find a new line or create one by pressing the Enter key.
4. Now type in on one line:

@reboot echo "Rebooted, now online" | mail -s "`hostname` REBOOTED" you@yourdomain.com

5. Then press CTRL and X on the keyboard to save.
6. Press Y to save the changes. Press Enter to exit.

If you want to send the e-mail to multiple people, edit the line to show this instead:

@reboot echo "Rebooted, now online" | mail -s "`hostname` REBOOTED" -c "user2@yourdomain.com" you@yourdomain.com

Now you will receive an e-mail alert when your server or VPS reboots. Very handy in troubleshooting issues with your VPS provider or your own server.

How to Delete Stuck Print Jobs

Here's a BAT/CMD file that you can use on Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista/7 that allows you to quickly delete stuck print jobs, delete the entire print queue.

1. Create a new BAT/CMD file on your desktop using Notepad.
2. Add the following content:
net stop spooler
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.shd
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.spl
net start spooler
3. Save the file and leave it on your desktop.

Optional:
If running Windows Server 2003, Windows SBS 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows SBS 2008, or Windows SBS 2011 AND use Fax Services, then you need to add a couple of lines to the file:

net stop fax
net stop spooler
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.shd
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.spl
net start spooler
net start fax

Fix problems with Cut/Copy/Paste not working when using Remote Desktop

Occasionally when using mixed OS environments and running Remote Desktop Client between the computers, you might have an issue where Cut/Copy/Paste stops working, or only listens to local clipboard content. This seems to happen mostly when connecting to remote Windows XP computers. Here's a quick way to fix the problem (not a permanent fix unfortunately).

1. Create a BAT/CMD file.
2. Open file in Notepad or whatever editor you want to use, and add the following content:
taskkill /im rdpclip.exe
start rdpclip.exe
3. Save the file and leave it on your Windows XP desktop.

Next time the issue happens, run that file to fix the issue. It will only fix it during that Remote Desktop session.

How to disable Windows 7 Logon Background on Acer Aspire One netbook

I purchased a new Acer Aspire One netbook recently, and wanted to disable the Acer branded background that is shown when you get to the Windows 7 Logon Screen. Here's the steps to disable it (turning it back to default Windows 7 background):

1. Start -> search box, type in regedit and hit enter or click on it when it loads.
2. Navigate to HKLM->Software -> Microsoft -> Windows -> CurrentVersion -> Authentication -> Logon -> UIBackground
3. Change OEMBackground from 1 to 0.
4. Close regedit, and then log off. The registry key takes effect immediately.
   

How to fix Microsoft Security Essentials install error 0x80070643

I was working on a client's computer today that exhibited the following symptoms: Windows Updates not installing during each shutdown and could not install Microsoft Security Essentials. MSE installer would show error 0x80070643.

Things to check first:

• Make sure Windows Installer service is running. Set it to manual or automatic (doesn't seem to matter from what I can tell). Click Start if it is not running.
• Check the MSE installer log. Do a search for "return value 3".
  If found, look at the previous lines and see if they give you a clue as to the issue. In my case it said "Windows Installer error 1716". So that lead me to the following fix.

1. Start -> Run -> Regedit
2. Navigate to HKLM \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ services \ msiserver
3. Double left click on WOW64. Change 1 to 0.
4. Close regedit and reboot the computer.
5. Try Microsoft Security Essentials installation again.

Reset the admin password on a 3Com 3824 (3c17400)

How to reset a lost/unknown admin password on a 3Com 3824 Gigabit Ethernet Switch (p/n 3C17400):

1. Connect a null modem serial cable to the front Console port on the switch, and plug the other end of the serial cable into your laptop or desktop computer.
2. Run Hyperterminal or PuTTY. Set the COM port values to 19200 Baud, 8 Data Bits, No Parity, 1 Stop Bit, No (None) Flow Control.
3. Power up the switch. You should see a bunch of diagnostic information scroll by. Eventually your screen should go blank.
4. Press Enter on the keyboard a couple of times and you should get to a Login: prompt.
5. Type in recover as the username and the password. You should see a warning about resetting the switch and a countdown from 30 seconds.
6. Power off the switch before the 30 seconds countdown. Wait a few seconds and power on the switch.
7. You should see a bunch of diagnostic information scroll by again. Eventually you will be given a new prompt to change the admin password. Type in your new password. It becomes effective immediately.