Kevin Oppihle's Tech Notes

Problem: At some point Kaviza or VDI in a Box did not remove deactivated computers from AD either due to an improper shutdown, timing issue,… finding out which are in use and are not can take some time. Here is how I sped up the cleanup process. Solution: Follow the steps below to export your computer names to bat log file. Then edit the bat file to ping the systems and export to a log file then review the results and clean up ad. All of my Kaviza systems have the same prefix of FBWKVFB-x so I ran the following command to pull the list from AD and export to a bat file: Dsquery computer domainroot –name FBWKVFB-* > c:\kavizapc.bat then edit the bat file and use the find and replace command to replace the excess fields. Here is an example of the unedited output: "CN=FBWKVFB-7C246DT,OU=SBComputers,OU=Computers,OU=MyBusiness,DC=ad,DC=domain" Find “CN= Replace with Ping –4                   ...

Problem: You need to change your network interface/Switch on a VM from the Command line interface on your Server 2012 Hyper-V free console Solution: Use the following powershell commands: Note: you do not need to download or install any third party Powershell add-ons to perform these tasks. In the Administrative window type in “Powershell.exe” and enter Now List your VM’s by typing “Get-VM” Now we will check its current “switch” by typing in “Get-VMNetworkAdapter” which will then prompt you for the VMname or names you wish to query Now we will change its current “switch” to my switch named “HV VM TRAFFIC”  by typing in “Connect-VMNetworkAdapter –Switchname “HV VM TRAFFIC” which will then prompt you for the VMname or names you wish to change to this switch Now we will check its current “switch” by typing in “Get-VMNetworkAdapter” which will then prompt you for the VMname or names you wish to query As you can see above the SwitchName is now “HV VM TRAFFIC”

Problem: You need to shutdown restart or start a VM from the Command line interface on your Server 2012 Hyper-V free console Solution: Use the following powershell commands: Note: you do not need to download or install any third party Powershell add-ons to perform these tasks. In the Administrative window type in “Powershell.exe” and enter Now List your VM’s by typing “Get-VM” You can see x-UMVM1 is off to turn it on type in “Start-VM “VMname”” To check the status you can either type in “Get-VM” and see all VM’s or you can type in “Get-VM “VMname”” to see just the VM you are working on: To shutdown your VM cleanly type in “Stop-VM “VMname”” Again to check the status you can either type in “Get-VM” and see all VM’s or you can type in “Get-VM “VMname”” to see just the VM you are working on: To do a HARD restart of you VM type in “restart-VM “VMName”” Note: I would recommend you do a Stop and start instead if possible

Problem: You are changing from DSL or other internet service to use Uverse for your business. You need to have an external facing IP address for email, website, remote access or other traffic. Solution : First you should have an external facing firewall.  Second when you purchase your Uverse account make sure you specify that you need external Static IP addresses. Third follow the steps below: Once the ATT installation technician relays to you your IP information including your usable addresses, Modem IP, subnet mask, and DNS information. Setup your externally facing firewall with one of the usable addresses using the new schema settings. Once your external firewall is ready log onto the ATT Uverse Modem Note: you will need the Access Code located on the label of the modem Once on the router select “Firewall” >“IP Passthrough” Select “Default Server” and enter in the IP address of your externally facing firewall and “Save” as shown below: You will then be prompted to restart...

Problem: Either you set chkdsk to run at next restart or Windows did due to a problem with the drive. Initially the check disk pauses at 0%-2% for a minute or two then it jumps up to 28% and appears to stop or hang. You see no change in 15-30 minutes. Solution: WAIT! The older chkdsk program does not show an accurate percentage of the process as it runs. It will tend to stop at 28% for a long time, even well over an hour or more, depending on the data, drive, and your need for it to finish quicker. Just about the time you are ready to give up it will jump to Completed. 

Problem: You upgraded or installed Quickbooks 2014 you registered online and it hangs the first time you try to logon to your data file at local registration. Solution: Skip the local registration initially, Open the data file and convert as necessary if upgrading. Once you are in the data file then initiate the registration after using the tab in the top right corner. In my instance it appeared to get confused and lock up when trying to perform both tasks.  

Depending on your GPO or other settings you may not see all of your email as it is not caching them all locally. When you go office.com online you see all the email in your inbox and sent items. What you can do to get more email cached locally is to change your default account settings by opening Outlook. Select “File” Select ” Account Settings” on the “Email” tab Highlight your Office 365 Exchange account and select “Change” You can then revise the “Offline Settings” Cached offline settings by moving the slider as shown below:

Office 365 while not an expensive email hosting product, its costs can add up quickly as your company expands and/or you add service email accounts. Here is a way to save a few dollars on those special email accounts. External send only email option : (copier) First setup your free external service account email addresses. For example I like to use http://www.gmx.com/ because it is free and you can use it for SMTP relaying. In this example I will setup an email address for my copier to send from: domaincopierservice@gmx.com This will avoid using an office 365 account. I can then setup my copier to relay SMTP directly through GMX as shown below. Note: you may need to open up SMTP from the copier to the outside. Additionally I would recommend you block SMTP from other IP addresses internally to avoid a malware infection that sends SMTP and blacklists your domain and IP. Note: You may also need to whitelist or mark that email address as not junk. You can test the email address by ...

Caution : Make sure you have a backup and you do not need this VM or its data. “you break it you bought it…” First we need to locate the proper GUID name to delete the VM. To do so start Powershell as an Administrator and use the following command: Get-WmiObject -Namespace root\virtualization -class msvm_computersystem | select elementname, operationalstatus, processid, name| ft –auto Note: In the example above if there was a VM it would show the process id and GUID name of the VM under my host name of TMGKOW8LT. Now that you know the GUID, browse to your Virtual Configurations path, in my case E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines\ locate the proper GUID folder and .XML file and delete them both Browse to your Virtual Hard Disks path in my case E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\ locate the proper hard disk and delete Now we need to delete the reference in Hyper-V to the VM typically this is located in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines\ and delete the GUID .xml With a ref...

Log onto your Microsoft Live account and Download the installation media here: http://aka.ms/hv2012gs Run the Setup and restart as necessary. After installing you will be prompted to create a default Administrator password. After setting up your password log onto the server. It will open a command prompt and basic management console as shown below: The menus are straight forward and will prompt you through the process I underlined my settings: 1) Domain/Workgroup : to add to domain, setup workgroup name 2) Computer Name: 1 3) Add Local Administrator : I would recommend creating at least one additional administrator 4) Configure Remote Management : Enable or Disable 5) Windows Update Settings: Manual or Automatic 6) Download and Install Updates : 7) Remote Desktop : Enable or Disable and authentication methods 8) Network Settings : Configure as Static or DCHP Settings including DNS 9) Date and Time : 10) Help improve the product with CEIP : Customer Experience Improve...