Tips

Tips

• Using RamMap and VMMap Tools to Troubleshoot Windows Memory Issues

  Even a veteran system admin can be challenged when investigating Windows memory issues. The free RamMap and VMMap tools remove much of the guesswork.  Continue Reading

• Best practices for securing Exchange ActiveSync

  Sure, ActiveSync is easy to set up and administer, but how comfortable are you with its security? These best practices will go a long way toward protecting your CAS.  Continue Reading

• Scripting: VMware PowerCLI vs. Microsoft PowerShell

  VMware's PowerCLI sits atop Microsoft's PowerShell, but does it make scripting on a virtualization platform better?  Continue Reading

• Troubleshoot Windows boot problems with Xbootmgr

  By working with the Xperf tool, Xbootmgr helps admins pinpoint the real cause of slow boot issues in Windows Server.  Continue Reading

• Repadmin diagnoses Active Directory replication issues in Windows

  Repadmin troubleshoots Active Directory replication issues, but it also includes some commands that Windows administrators might not recognize.  Continue Reading

• Fighting off Microsoft Hyper-V security hacks

  Although hypervisors are built with security in mind, a sloppy Hyper-V host configuration can still open up your servers to a wide range of exploits.  Continue Reading

• A closer look at the Ntdsutil command-line tools for Active Directory

  Dig into the slew of Ntdsutil commands in Windows Server 2008 and R2 that provide admins with improved Active Directory management.  Continue Reading

• Top three Windows server crashes (and how to avoid them)

  Why wait until a server crashes to start the troubleshooting process? Admins can squash potential outages ahead of time by zeroing on the most likely culprits.  Continue Reading

• How to use WMI with Windows PowerShell scripts

  With PowerShell, admins can harness the power of WMI to find all sorts of system and network information. The best part? It’s probably a lot easier than you think.  Continue Reading

• How vulnerable is Microsoft IIS 7.5 to attacks?

  While version 7.5 is more secure out of the box than past IIS releases, it doesn't guarantee 100% protection.  Continue Reading

• Tracking system resources with free WinObj utility from Sysinternals

  Mark Russinovich and company did Microsoft one better with the WinObj tool for tracking Windows system resources, though there’s still room for improvement.  Continue Reading

• Auditing AD administrators with Windows 2008 R2's Event Viewer

  When it comes to admin rights, knowing who you can trust is not always easy. But while auditing limitations won’t do you any favors, new features in R2’s Event Viewer can help.  Continue Reading

• Sysinternals RAMMap utility sheds new light on Windows memory usage

  RAMMap, one of the latest offerings from Sysinternals, provides an in-depth overview of server memory usage that can't be matched by native Windows programs.  Continue Reading

• Alternative PowerShell commands for Active Directory management

  While Microsoft has added many new cmdlets for PowerShell 2.0, admins can also use additional options from Quest Software and other outlets when working with Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Using Group Policy preferences for immediate and scheduled tasks

  The scheduling tools in Group Policy preferences let you run a command across an entire infrastructure quickly and easily.  Continue Reading

• Why is Microsoft Outlook blocking attachments?

  Microsoft Outlook blocks email attachments to protect the Exchange Server organization from malware and viruses. This can be frustrating if it blocks safe attachments. Here are two workarounds you can use to make sure users can open safe attachments...  Continue Reading

• Standalone versus domain-based namespaces in Windows DFS

  When setting up namespaces in Windows DFS, be aware that the popular choice may not be the best fit for your environment.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory Web Services brings new power to R2

  Admins running Windows 2008 R2 might be interested in Active Directory Web Services, a new interface for accessing Active Directory and AD Lightweight Directory Services.  Continue Reading

• Fixing lingering object problems in complex Active Directory forests

  Lingering objects can provide an inconsistent view of the Active Directory and confuse administrators. Learn how to find and remove them in complex forests.  Continue Reading

• Perfmon made easy with PAL utility

  Performance Monitor in Windows is a great troubleshooting tool, but analyzing logs can be tedious. Learn to use the free PAL utility to take the time out of troubleshooting.  Continue Reading

• How SQL Server recovery models impact your SharePoint databases

  SharePoint administrators can minimize data loss by selecting the appropriate SQL Server recovery model. But which model is right for your enterprise?  Continue Reading

• Debugging Windows client logon delays: Narrowing the scope

  There are several potential causes of slow client logons. The question is, once you find the source, how do you fix it?  Continue Reading

• Group Policy Object modeling simplifies network security

  Group Policy modeling is a great security tool for troubleshooting Group Policy settings and testing GPOs before they are applied with Windows Server 2008.  Continue Reading

• How to revoke and delete Active Directory user certificates

  In this Ask the Expert Q&A, our identity and access management expert examines how to set up Active Directory autoenrollment feature to revoke and delete user certificates on the Certificate Authority (CA) automatically.  Continue Reading

• A quick guide to Server Manager for Windows Server 2008

  New to Windows Server 2008, the Server Manager feature can be a huge benefit to admins – once they figure out where to find everything. This article gives you a crash course on everything Server Manager has to offer.  Continue Reading

• Creating a SharePoint site map using out-of-the-box features

  Giving SharePoint site owners the power to manage their own part of the SharePoint site map frees up administrators to manage more critical areas of the SharePoint environment.  Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting Active Directory database errors

  While database errors in Active Directory can crop up occasionally, they are usually simple to fix. Check out these troubleshooting tips for when you think your AD database might be corrupted.  Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting slow Outlook Web Access (OWA) performance

  Do your Exchange mobile users struggle with slow Outlook Web Access (OWA) server performance? The initial cause may not be your OWA server, but instead a firewall or infrastructure issue. To pinpoint the root cause of slow OWA server performance, ...  Continue Reading

• Branch office security: Pros and cons of read-only domain controllers

  Windows administrators have long wondered whether or not to use domain controllers for authentication in remote branch offices. In this tip, learn about the pros and cons of domain controllers in Windows environments and how read-only domain ...  Continue Reading

• How to access SharePoint sites through Microsoft Outlook

  If you have both Microsoft Exchange Server and SharePoint, you can easily access SharePoint sites directly from Microsoft Outlook. Here's how.  Continue Reading

• Use the Exchange Management Shell Set command to block senders

  Want to create a list of blocked mail senders and recipients in Exchange Server 2007? Use the Exchange Management Shell's Set verb to write this script.  Continue Reading

• Determining the cause of Windows server hang

  Using the Windows Kernel Debugger (Windbg), learn to fix Windows server hang by analyzing a forced crash dump to determine the cause of the hung server.  Continue Reading

• Tracking a deleted Active Directory object's replication status

  Learn how to track a deleted Active Directory object's replication status and how to determine if the object has been replicated throughout the DC forest.  Continue Reading

• How to build redundancy in Active Directory replication

  Building redundancy in Active Directory replication is one way an administrator can ensure AD replication continues even if critical domain controllers fail.  Continue Reading

• Why do Windows servers hang?

  Troubleshooting a hung server begins by understanding why the problem occurs in the first place. Windows expert Bruce Mackenzie-Low takes a look at the big picture to explain some common causes of Windows server hang.  Continue Reading

• How to create a cross-forest trust in Active Directory

  Building a cross-forest trust in Active Directory allows a trust to be created between the root domain of two forests.  Continue Reading

• Optimizing NTFS file system performance

  The hard disk can sometimes become a bottleneck in overall system performance. While not much can be done to overcome hardware-related limitations, admins can optimize the NTFS file system for better performance.  Continue Reading

• How to set up Remote Desktop for Exchange Server administration

  Learn how to use the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to manage and troubleshoot Microsoft Exchange Server from a distance via a terminal service session.  Continue Reading

• How to use RACI charts to define service desk roles and responsibilities

  Using a management tool called RACI charting can help IT managers simplify the daunting task of clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the service desk.  Continue Reading

• Best practices for using Outlook .PST files on portable USB drives

  You can save Microsoft Outlook email data in a .PST file to a portable USB storage drive, but make sure you understand these best practices first.  Continue Reading

• How the DC locator works in Active Directory

  The DC locator depends heavily on DNS to not only locate a domain controller with the right role but also to locate one that will be efficient.  Continue Reading

• When and how to use worker process recycling with IIS

  Configuring Internet Information Services to automatically reset worker processes can solve a lot of Web application issues, but it should only be used in certain situations.  Continue Reading

• How to manage and troubleshoot Microsoft Outlook rules

  Find out how to manage multiple Microsoft Outlook rules using the Outlook Rules Wizard to prevent potential email message processing conflicts.  Continue Reading

• Sysinternals TCPView monitors network connections on Windows systems

  Learn how to use Sysinternals TCPView 2.51, the network monitoring tool from Mark Russinovich that keeps track of endpoint connections and processes on your Windows desktop and server systems.  Continue Reading

• How to create a network printer pool

  You can avoid congestion on a network printer by creating a printer pool -- a group of printers attached to a common print queue, so multiple documents can be printed simultaneously. Here's how to create a printer pool in a Windows Server 2003 ...  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Office's CiceroUIWndFrame component crashes Outlook

  A Microsoft Office component called CiceroUIWndFrame can crash Microsoft Outlook. Find out how to fix the CiceroUIWndFrame issue with these steps.  Continue Reading

• Can freezing a hard drive that's crashed restore it to life?

  You may be able to bring a hard drive that has crashed or cannot mount back to life by leaving it in the freezer overnight. Not every hard drive having problems responds to this treatment, but in some cases it does seem to work. But why? Here's the ...  Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting Microsoft Outlook toolbar problems

  Microsoft Outlook toolbar buttons will stop working correctly if the OUTCMD.DAT file becomes corrupted. Find out why third-party add-ins are often the culprit and learn how to fix the problem.  Continue Reading

• How to properly authenticate a Linux client in a Windows domain

  MVP Gary Olsen describes the step-by-step process of configuring a Red Hat Fedora client into a Windows Server 2003 domain.  Continue Reading

• Guide to using chkdsk to detect file and folder corruption

  Follow these steps for configuring Windows to periodically run the chkdsk tool against a volume in order to detect file and folder corruption.  Continue Reading

• Multi-core systems vs. multi-CPU systems

  Can you get better performance from a dual-core system or a dual-processor system? This article evaluates the two configurations and determines that multi-core chips tend to be more efficient than multi-CPU systems.  Continue Reading

• How to detect data corruption in files and folders

  Data corruption that occurs within a file or folder will usually go unnoticed if you're simply backing up the data and testing the backup by restoring it elsewhere. If the files or folders that have been corrupted are used infrequently, you may ...  Continue Reading

• Distributed File System feature prioritizes target servers in Active Directory

  DFS target prioritization is a helpful feature that has slipped under the radar for some IT admins. Directory services expert Gary Olsen breaks down how to use (and not use) this tool to its full effectiveness.  Continue Reading

• How to retrieve lost files using Group Policy folder redirection

  Learn how to combat many file and folder disasters using the 'Redirect My Documents' option via Group Policy in the Windows domain.  Continue Reading

• AGDLP reduces account management, permissions management headaches

  AGDLP is a practice that can greatly reduce your administrative headaches related to account management and permissions management.  Continue Reading

• Daisy-chaining SCSI devices

  With SCSI, you can daisy-chain (physically wire) multiple devices together. However, if you're considering daisy-chaining multiple SCSI devices together, you should know the SCSI bus will only support a certain number of devices.  Continue Reading

• Create and manage hardware profiles

  Hardware profiles, which are set by a systems administrator, describe which pieces of hardware are enabled or disabled when a system is booted under a given profile. They eliminate the process of Windows having to redetect hardware. This tip will ...  Continue Reading

• Using Netmon to analyze network traffic in Windows Server 2003

  The Network Monitor tool can be considered both a network troubleshooting tool and a packet analysis tool. But the version of Netmon that comes with Windows Server 2003 allows only the capture of frames sent to and from your local server.  Continue Reading

• Fix USB audio problems like sputtering or glitching

  USB audio often suffers from sputtering or glitching— playback riddled with clicks and pops. The bitstream is being interrupted, and the cause is hardware-related.  Continue Reading

• Memory leaks: Determine an application's CPU consumption

  The same symptoms for a memory leak can be caused by a poorly written application that consumes an excessive amount of CPU time. Here's how to determine how much CPU time an individual application is using.  Continue Reading

• Performance Logs and Alerts: A guide to the Windows Server 2003 utility

  Performance Logs and Alerts is one of performance monitoring tools in Windows Server 2003. This tip discusses the tool's two types of logs: counter logs and trace logs.  Continue Reading

• Fixing corrupt Microsoft Outlook calendar entries

  Microsoft Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 can occasionally suffer from corrupt calendar entries. When this happens, certain appointment reminders repeatedly pop up no matter how many times you dismiss them. Exchange MVP Brien Posey explains how to fix...  Continue Reading

• Simple WMI tricks for AD administrators

  Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) can be a great asset for Active Directory admins. Expert Gary Olsen offers useful WMI tips and tricks for locating and gathering information from objects in an enterprise.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft's daylight-saving time (DST) patch -- Does it matter to AD?

  Who would've thought that expanding the dates of daylight-saving time would cause so many problems for IT administrators? Expert Gary Olsen analyzes what the changes mean to Active Directory regarding domain operations.  Continue Reading

• Diskpart utility scans for newly added disks

  Use the Windows Diskpart utility to scan for newly added disks, instead of Windows' Disk Administrator tool.  Continue Reading

• Beware of bare linefeeds in Exchange Server email

  A bare linefeed is a single linefeed character that isn't preceded by an ASCII carriage return. In some instances, virus scanners or security appliances will insert bare linefeeds into an Exchange Server email and cause delivery failures.  Continue Reading

• Configuring DNS server properties

  When followed correctly, DNS is fairly simple to use in Active Directory. However, it's even easier when you understand certain configurations. Expert Gary Olsen breaks down the DNS complexities that every admin should know about.  Continue Reading