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For various reasons, you may want to restrict certain configuration processes to a subset of your environment. The reasons vary widely. For example, to avoid doing something on servers or laptops, or only doing something within Terminal Server sessions...
This is something you can do for FREE, in a few minutes, to maintain a consistent computer environment. Of course, this is for those of you who cannot or will not use SMS or SCCM or something like that to do the heavy lifting. Windows gives you everything...
Here's an interesting tidbit for you Windows users that also love using BAT files. The FORFILES command. Rather than droll on mindlessly about it, here's the help screen dump for you to enjoy as you sip your favorite holiday drink... FORFILES...
1. Automate Disabling/Enabling Your Kids User Accounts 2. Automate Backing Up Your Junk 3. Delete All Files of Type ___ Older Than ___ Days 4. Automate Renaming All Your MP3 Files to a Common Format 5. Forcing Shutdown On Your Kids Computer with a Button...
Cool-er-est. Gnarly. Bomb-diggity. Microsoft posted a neat-o set of API sample/examples for WSUS 3.0 on the Download Center yesterday. Among the goodies packed inside this gem are those listed below. I like the CleanStaleComputers feature. Too bad they...
I was asked by a few readers (I can't believe I have a "few", I thought it was just "one") about how to setup the notification I mentioned. It's very easy but depends on what operating system is used. If you're on WS08...
Something I'm finding many WSUS admins are ignoring is that when you start seeing problems in the WSUS console as far as computers failing to install updates, there's also a corresponding Windows System event log entry 13001. Log Name: Application...
It's very nice that the Server Core folks took the time to package up a few WSF script files to help with CLI management tasks. Very nice. However, I'm really confused why they got to the 1 yard line and decided to not score a touchdown. Case...
I received quite a bit of feedback on DCIS recently that indicated a few bugs in the activescan.vbs script. I think those are fixed now. At least from what I can verify from my testing. I also decided to outfit activescan.vbs with the ability to accept...
I'm looking for suggestions for the next version of DCIS . If anyone is looking for something specific (or something in general) please send me some feedback using the Feedback link on the DCIS web site . This refers to both the login script code...
Let's say you put down the liquor bottle and the freebasing spoon for just a minute, and make a bold decision that you're not going to stand for having multiple passwords out in your WAN environment for the local Administrator account on each computer...
For those of you faithfully (or even jokingly) using DCIS, I have posted an update which splits the script code from the settings portion. What was once all included in loginscan.vbs is now split into loginscan.vbs and loginscan.ini. Otherwise, nothing...
I get pulled into a lot of different types of situations where I'm asked to write a script to query information from remote computers or Active Directory, etc. There are obviously an unlimited number of variations that can ensue, however, I've found that...
Why you would need to do this I can't tell you. However, I was asked to crank this out and did so in about 30 minutes. It works. And I did it *before* I had my coffee so that's the most amazing thing about this. This script basically runs on a local computer...
Man, I like those alliterations of the tongue. Fo-shizzle my drizzle. Dr. Suesse goes to scripting class. I was working on some VBscripts recently to "do" whatever it is they "do" to make it so I don't have to "do" as much manually. Good enough, but then...
I've done a lot of work making scripts for a lot of people and one thing seems to repeat all the time: problems with computer startup scripts which try to access things over a network. I won't bother trying to explain what startup scripts are, or what...
Some years ago, at a former job, I had the role of scripting guy. I wrote scripts for just about everything that could be automated by scripting. Active Directory, SQL, event logs, registry management, file and folder editing or data mining, web reports...
I figured that since software vendors can get away with releasing ProductName 2009 while we're still in 2008, I could get away with releasing DCIS 2008-02-08 on 2008-02-06. That's only a jump of two days. Not a full year. Anyhow, if you're one of those...
I've suspected this for almost a year, but until I ran across this blog post I thought it was just me. Nobody else seemed to nod in agreement when I would whine about this, so whatever. Thanks again to Google Reader and my feed from Stephen Bink's web...
Sorry to beat this DCIS stuff up so much lately, but I'm trying to refine it for a few actual paying projects I'm working on. So I'm passing the benefits along to you as I have time. If you want additional features added or something changed to help you...
I posted an update for DCIS today that includes a few minor bug fixes to the loginscan.vbs script file, but more importantly, it adds a version of that called activescan.vbs. This performs roughly the same inventory audit, but on all computers joined...
I have to apologize to all the folks who've been beating on me to release my login-script based computer inventory system. Known as "Dave's Computer Inventory System" or DCIS for short, it is comprised of two packages: The Login Scripts, and the Web Reporting...
I was pretty involved in the Monad beta program and thought it would turn into something with major impact on the Microsoft technology world in general. However, back then, my major concern was the "hook", as marketing people would say. Where was the...
After five years of C/C++ and Java torture I endured at the Gulag of college, I found myself deeply in love with interpreted language platforms like LISP, VBscript and Kixtart. I still have a box of chocolates with their names emblazened. Fond memories...
I've been writing scripts for Windows environments to automate or simplify things for years. VBscript, JavaScript, KixTart and a smidge of PowerShell, but mostly VBscript or KixTart. Some of that involves launching an IE window to display a pretty message...
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