Paul Davey's Blog

Has it really been that long?

2007-06-18T09:35:00Z

Since I last posted? Yes i has actually. I have been very very busy on another project and I only like to post when I have something useful to say. I wanted to share with you, what I have been up to over the past months.

Well, working collaboratively with a few other chaps over here in the UK, I have been working on the content and putting together www.xtravirt.com. I have been doing a fair bit of work using ESX and VMware products in general, hence the lack os posts here and the fair amount of content there. But, now I have some decent work on the Microsoft platform again, hopefully I can start posting up something useful back here on my blog.

I would love to hear what you guys think of the Xtravirt site - and I would also like to congratulate Brian and all you posters that keep this site going. It certainly hasn't slowed down whilst I have been away! Right.. lots of blog reading to do now!

edit: corrected "It certainly hasn't slowed down whilst I have been away" - I meant hasnt slowed down as opposed to 'has.' Sorry about that Brian!

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Home Routers come under fire

2007-02-16T10:41:00Z

I have always said to people I know "First thing, change the default password." It doesnt matter if it is a router, switch, windows install or anything, just change it - secure it for goodness sake.

If you dont change the default password you are asking for trouble.. read below to find out more:

http://www.theregister.com/2007/02/15/router_vuln/

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Last Day of my VI 3.0 Course

2007-02-16T10:38:00Z

The last day has arrived on what has been a good and useful course. The instructor has been very good (Ian Fletcher) from SCH (www.specialistcomputerholdings.com).

The course is very very good and if you are planning on using VI3 then I would recommend the course as you will get a very good heads up on the functionality, along with plenty of worthwhile lab work.

If anyone would like any info about the course or has any questions please post them up to me here.

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Vmware 3 Infrastructure : Install and Configure Course

2007-02-13T14:29:00Z

This week Im on my VI3 course at long last (taken a long time to get the sign off but got there eventually).

So far the course is good. I have installed VI3 a lot recently, played around with the Linux side of it (based on Redhat Enterprise 3 edition) and have been using it in my home lab to run some MS VM's (Vista, SMS, Exchange, AD). I am very impressed. There are some very nice new features in VI3 and the new VC (Virtual Centre) 2.0 client is smoking compared to the previous versions..

Hopefully I might have some useful tips to blog up if anyone is interested as the week progresses.

PS - I meant to say that Im wearing my Blogcast T Shirt on the first day of the course... A few people have commented and gone "oh yeah, I've seen that website!" :)

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Windows Vista IE7 and Exchange Webmail (Problems & Fix)

2007-02-13T14:27:00Z

OK - so you have vista loaded and of course it includes IE7. But.. when you login to your Exchange 2003 webmail, you find you have the following problems.

- Cannot compose a new e-mail message.
- Cannot reply to an e-mail message.
- Unable to create a new contact, task, note, journal entry, or appointment.
- Unable to change any configuration in the Outlook Web Access options folder.

It seems that this is a real problem for people and there doesnt appear to be a well documented resolution for the issue.. until now.

Here it is people. KB911829, a hotfix for Exchange will resolve the problem. The whole problem is down to DHTML in IE within Vista (and the lack of support), so webmail is broken. You would have thought that they would have tested this one before release wouldnt you? Oh, and by the way I have tested it here in my Lab environment and yes, you *DO* have to bounce your box and have some outage to get the hotfix to properly apply and work. The hotfix is great, but if you have problems trying to convince your Exchange admin to install it or dont want to wait, here is a workaround.

Client Workaround - The S/Mime Fix!
On the client, login to webmail as normal. Now go to the Options Menu and select to install the update for S/Mime. Voila.. once installed normal service is resumed.

I hope that this tip helps some of you sys admins out!

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Windows Vista : Scripting Vista and whats new

2007-01-25T10:11:00Z

Here you'll find scripting information and resources related to Windows Vista. Lets hope that they keep adding more scripting content

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905055.aspx

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Find CDROM Drive in Windows PE (Script)

2007-01-25T10:06:00Z

Nothing amazing. just a piece of useful code. Works out the CDROM Drive letter in Windows PE (not the X Drive, but anything mounted on the CD outside of that) and then runs something from it.

Thought I would share..

' ***************************************************************
' * Script to find the CDROM Drive in Windows PE
' * and then launch a process from it
' * Paul Davey
' ***************************************************************

Set FileSystemObject = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject") 'Create a filesystem object
Set Drives = FileSystemObject.Drives 'Create a drives collection
Set wshShell = WScript.CreateObject ("WSCript.shell")

' Create an array of letters that are CDROM Drives
Dim cddrvletter ' Holder of the CDROM drive that contains the GHOST files.

For Each DiskDrive in Drives

If diskdrive.drivetype = "4" Then ' This drive is a CDROM Drive
  If diskdrive.driveletter <> "X" Then ' X Is the CDROM OS Disk, we dont want this one.
   cddrvletter = diskdrive.driveletter
  End If
End If
Next

' Run the program from CD
wshshell.run cddrvletter & ":\notepad.exe", 1, True

' Clean up after ourselves
Set Drives = nothing
Set FileSystemObject = nothing
set wshshell = nothing

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Vista SP1 Due To Ship Later In 2007

2007-01-22T17:35:00Z

Saw this reported. I didnt get one of the emails like some people did. Personally I dont understand why it is apparently so hush hush..

News Here :- http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=208

And sign up for TAP :- http://bink.nu/Article9325.bink

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Many Thanks to Brian!

2007-01-05T00:51:00Z

Brian,

I had to write this *publically* to thank you for the Blogcast tops that you sent out. The top arrived 2 days before Xmas, so I took it upon myself to wear it over XMAS!

I also want to thankyou for all the effort and hard work that you put in to the Blogcast site in 2006. The site is really growing and changing as I am sure that everyone here will agree. I look forward to seeing what 2007 brings and wish you and the site further success in 2007.

here is a picture of little Matt, me and the fabled T - Shirt!

http://www.blogcastrepository.com/photos/paul_davey/picture4099.aspx

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5 things you didnt know about me..

2006-12-31T18:01:00Z

Chris Haaker tagged me as part of the 5 things that you didnt know about me..so, of course I felt obliged to answer :)

Anyway, here goes:

1. I once put a pair of boxer shorts in the microwave to dry them before a date. No.. I didnt go to college.. no I wasnt drunk either (i think)/ Dont even ask me the whole story...

2. I have a sense of humour... yep I know. Amazing. All these years people didnt realise. Well I do. Monty Python humour though.. Because Im a "very naughty boy" (but I'm always up for going out to play!)

3. Like many other people, I didnt actually aim to work in IT. I wanted to be a technical designer, drawing buildings for example. After 2 years of training I realised that it wasnt for me as I was so bored, and I didnt want to spend my life in front of a computer screen looking at CAD. Now I spend my days as a Technical Architect in the IT industry, spending my life in front of a computer screen looking at AD and scripts. Ironic isnt it?

4. I love the Blues.. Best music there is. Can warm your soul or destroy it. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Albert King, BB King. All good. I saw BB King at Wembley for his last ever UK gig. It was an emotional night I have to say.

5. I love Brussel Sprouts.. enough said.

I should tag 5 people, but all the people I know have already been hit with this one So.. OPEN INVITE. Lets get everyone posting somethings about themselves.

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Merry XMAS and a Happy New Year To All

2006-12-25T10:39:00Z

Just want to wish everyone a very Happy Xmas, and a happy new year. This is my first Xmas as a Dad and already in 5 weeks I can see that things are never going to be the same again! In a good way I mean...

I hope everyone has a great Xmas with family et all.

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Its been a long time...

2006-12-14T11:00:00Z

Its been coming up for a month since the last time I posted. Life has been very different since little Matt come along. In true baby style he has been crying, peeing and pooing a lot. Good on him. Might as well make the most of it whilst someone else is around to clear up the mess

I have had some time to start looking more at Vista and the WAIK now I have managed to get it down from MSDN. I have spent an awful lot of my time looking in to VMWARE, VMWARE ACE, ESX and VC as well, and hope to post some blogcasts or more information (time permitting) up soon on the matters. Ok, there not Microsoft products, but lots of people and lots of US are using the products in Production or Labs and it is helpful to have some knowledge share here (I think so anyway).

Out of curiosity has anyone taken the VMWARE exam(s) at all ? Im looking to take some in the future as it is an area I am keen to get in to. Also has anyone played arounf with VMWARE ACE or SVS yet? I can see both products being amazingly helpful when it comes to Vista testing time and pilot time. Being able to run a secure SOE of Win2k or WinXP so your legacy apps etc still work, whilst getting Vista tested - I can remember the days I would have to have multiple machines to do that!!

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Piccies of my boy

2006-11-28T00:31:00Z

Had to link it, being the new proud dad that I am!!

http://www.pauledavey.force9.co.uk/images/index.htm

Some piccies and bits for you all to look at.

Hey Brian, if my blogcast T-Shirt comes in large, how do I get a 3-6 month size one :-)

Blogcastrespository.com sponsership in the UK!!! And on a baby.. Nice !!

Paul

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ITS A BOY!! ITS A BOY!! ITS A BOY!! ITS A BOY!! ITS A BOY!!

2006-11-22T21:59:00Z

Yep, born on the 21st at 3:19am, Matthew William Davey was born (unforunately c sesction) mother and baby doing fine.. Excuse me for a while if I dont post, up to my arms in either nappies or beer *hic*

See attached piccy

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Office 2007 ADM Templates Available for Download

2006-11-14T13:06:00Z

Obviously worth looking into, if you are going to deploy in the Enterprise!

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=92d8519a-e143-4aee-8f7a-e4bbaeba13e7&displaylang=en

In the downloaded exe you will find 15 ADM templates in total:

Access, Calendar Printing Assistant, Excel, Groove, Interconnect, InfoPath, Office (Generic Settings), Onenote, Outlook, Powerpoint, Project, Publisher, Visio, Word, Sharepoint Designer

Happy Playing

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IE 7 IEAK and Group Policy

2006-11-07T17:05:00Z

http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/02/21/536353.aspx

A great article by the ieblog team talking about how to control IE7 through using the toolkit or Group Policy.

Is anyone using any of this yet, or are we all in standalone mode with IE7?

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Links to my old articles at MYITFORUM

2006-11-07T16:48:00Z

Just wanted to point them out to people before they get lost in the abyss of Myitforum.com postings... so here we go:

http://www.myitforum.com/articles/21/view.asp?id=8596 - Desktop Security Tightening

http://www.myitforum.com/articles/15/view.asp?id=8597 - Quick Guide to Creating Windows PE Custom Build

http://www.myitforum.com/articles/15/view.asp?id=7656 - Windows Security Centre Part 1(Firewall)

http://www.myitforum.com/articles/15/view.asp?id=7660 - Windows Security Centre Part 2 (Automatic Updates)

http://www.myitforum.com/articles/15/view.asp?id=8609 - Windows PE - into the Driving Seat!! (Winpe2005 launch)

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GUI for aiding in creation of custom windows pe builds

2006-11-07T16:45:00Z

Previously posted by me at MYITFORUM.COM

Please find attached.

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QuickGuide to Creating a custom Windows PE Build

2006-11-07T16:43:00Z

Taken from my old articles over at MYITFORUM.COM.

I thought some people might benefit from a quick step by step guide to creating a Windows PE custom boot CD. This guide will get you as far as creating an ISO at the end, ready to be burnt with your CD burner software.

You will need a Windows XP SP2 CD, Windows PE and some hard disk space.

(1) Copy WinPE folder from the Windows PE CD to your hard disk.

(2) Insert your Windows XP SP2 CD into your CD drive.

(3) Open a command prompt and navigate to the WinPE folder you copied to your hard disk.

(4) Use MKIMG.CMD to create yourself a base custom Windows PE build.

MKIMG.CMD E: C:\CustomPE /WMI /PnP

In the above example, E: is the location to the Windows XP CD and C:\Winpe is the output folder to put the custom build in. The /WMI switch enables WMI support, whilst /PnP enables plug and play support.

(5) Inject custom drivers into the build. Use the drvinst.exe tool to do this. You will find it located in the WinPE folder on your hard disk.

drvinst.exe /inf:F:\Drivers C:\CustomPE

The above example will inject the .inf and driver files in to the Windows PE custom build in folder

C:\CustomPE that we created above.

(6) Add VB Script, HTA, Javascript and ADO support. You do this by running the buildoptionalcomponents.vbs file in the WinPE folder. You run it with the following switches

Buildoptionalcomponents.vbs /ADO /HTA /WSH

A folder will be created on your desktop. Copy the new files and folders as stated below, in to your C:\CustomPE folder.

Copy the Program Files folder in to C:\CustomPE\I386.

Copy the Samples folder to C:\CustomPE\I386.

Copy the contents of the System32 folder to C:\CustomPE\I386\System32.

(7) To ensure that scripting support is enabled in Windows PE, check the startnet.cmd file and ensure that OC.Bat is being run.

(8) Use OSCDIMG.EXE to create an ISO file of your custom Windows PE build. You will find OSCDIMG.EXE located in the WinPE folder on your hard disk.

oscdimg.exe -bC:\WinPE\ETFSBOOT.COM -h -m C:\CustomPE.iso -lCustomPE -n -o c:\CustomPE

The above line will run OSCDIMG.EXE, creating CustomPE.iso in the root of C. The source for the ISO file is located in C:\customPE folder. The ETFSBOOT.COM file is used for the boot sector. The other switches on the command line ensure that hidden files are included, ignores the usual CDROM size limitation, enables long name support and optimizes the image.

I hope some of you find this helpful

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John Mayall - 02/11/2006 Concert at FairField Halls, Croydon, Surrey, United Kingdom

2006-11-03T10:12:00Z

Last night I went and say John Mayall and the bluesbreakers in concert. Per normal the performance was outstanding. And for the first time, I got to shake Johns hand before the gig and get his autograph. The gig was very good, and John really doesnt appear to be slowing down despite he is over 70 now and touring aggressively around the UK and Europe. Buddy Whittington again did the band proud with some amazing guitar playing. If you dont know who John Mayall is, then where have you been? Check out www.johnmayall.com for more details, clips and a history of the Bluesbreakers story and evolution.

Opening for the bluesbreakers was ChickenShack. Again, a great bad, a good comical and bluesy performance. I might have to go and check them out at the Boom-Boom club in Sutton next time they come round. I havent really heard much of their music before, this is the 2nd time I have seen them open for Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, but they did a great job of settings the tone ! :-)

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Windows Media Player 11 Released

2006-10-30T22:23:00Z

Windows Media Player 11 has been released. I thought I would post some links up to get you pointed in the right direction. Windows Media Player 11 works with all versions of Windows XP.

Media Player 11 FAQ Page - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/default.mspx

Media Player 11 Download Page - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/download/download.aspx

Also, if you have a Creative Zen device, READ THIS FIRST!!!

Issues updating firmware on Creative ZEN portable devices after installing Windows Media Player 11

If you have a Creative ZEN device, make sure the device has the latest firmware before you install Windows Media Player 11. To download the latest firmware, go to Creative Worldwide.

If you try to upgrade the firmware on your Creative ZEN after you install Windows Media Player 11, the Creative firmware upgrade software might not recognize your device.

In this case, remove Windows Media Player 11, update the Creative firmware, and then reinstall Windows Media Player 11. Creative plans to address this issue in future firmware updates.

For information about removing Windows Media Player 11, see Rolling back to a previous version of the Player.

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Flying carpet theorist refused a patent

2006-10-30T16:07:00Z

Albert Einstein's theory of relativity is wrong, according to a French scientist who claims to have discovered a new magnetic force that appears to support flying carpets and perpetual motion. But Professor Yuly Zagyansky has been refused a patent

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/29/no_to_flying_carpet_patent/

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How has everyones weekend been?

2006-10-29T21:38:00Z

Ive had a busy one. Been tidying up around the place (mostly in my office at home and the garage, which I guess is also my messy domain). Done a bit more reading on Altiris SVS and ESX server as well. Went to a blessing ceremony on Saturday with some good friends of ours, following by a chinese banquet. Ive also been to a birthday, anniversary, retirement party this weekend as well. Its 940pm Sunday night here. Just watching the end of Castaway on BBC Three, waiting for Episode 3 of Torchwood to start. Cant say Im looking forward to that Monday morning feeling, but another week starts, which is another week closer to the arrival of out first baby. Due date is the 19th November, so time is ticking around. Cant wait, just cant help clock watching the hours go by until he\she arrives!

Hope everyone has a good week, and good blogging to all.

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Vista RTM delayed until 8th November

2006-10-26T14:43:00Z

Not again!!

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20061025A9047.html

At this rate Vista and my baby will arrive hand in hand.. :-)

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Microsoft office RoundTop

2006-10-25T10:48:00Z

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2006/oct06/10-20officeroundtable.mspx

This is something I had missed on my radar. First I have heard of it. Sounds like a smart all in one solution, but I guess only time will tell.

"RoundTable is a table-top device, not much bigger than a traditional speaker phone at the base. It can be connected to a standard PC to offer synchronized voice and video conferencing. The device creates a 360-degree, panoramic video of side-by-side images of everyone who is taking part in the conference. It tracks the flow of the conversation, so the image and voice of the person who is speaking are spotlighted. People across many locations can attend meetings together virtually.

RoundTable works with Office Communications Server 2007 and Office Live Meeting, allowing companies to integrate virtual presentations, shared whiteboards and file sharing into their audio/video conferences. If someone misses a conference call, the RoundTable sessions can be recorded and viewed later."

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