NIC getting close

In january I will be speaking on the Nordic Infrastucture Conferense in Oslo. For more info about the conference you can visit http://www.nic2012.com/

The list of speakers are impressiv and contains some of the best speakers world wide and on all your favorite Microsoft technologies ranging from powershell to the cloud.

My topics have been changed to include:

Windows 8 To Go, Or how to test Windows 8 without installing it on your PC

29.Feb: Working also with the new Consumer Preview!!!
Lots of new cool features are coming with the new version of  Windows, and it might be interesting to test it out now, even if it’s just an developer preview version that are out now. Of course you can try it out virtual (and if you have Windows 8 installed you can use the Hyper-V role to test out..eh, okay, that’s one of the new features in Windows 8). But it’s always better to test out new operation system on actual hardware. So this would ordinary lead up to dual booting operating systems (Windows 8 are not stable or feature rich enough to be you only operation yet, maybe that will change in the beta release) or changing hard disk. But one new cool feature that you can use without actually installing the operating system is the “Windows 8 To Go”

How to know the difference between hardware and software

Those parts of the system that you can hit with a hammer (not advised) are called hardware; those program instructions that you can only curse at are called software.

:-)

How to setup the Sccm console on your own PC

Working with the management console for SCCM on the server might be a slow experience, and often it's not a sign for bad performance on the sever itself (even though it might be).

The main reason are that your session are a foreground session, and you will then have low priority on the server system since it as default are setup to prioritize background sessions. This is how it should be on a server so don't go in and change this. The solution are to install the Sccm console on your own pc and run it from there.

Windows button short cuts

There are many cool shortcuts that you can use with the windows button. Some are already using "Win + E" to start the explorer and the "Win + arrows" to move the active window, but if you dont do or if you dont know all her are a list.

Music weekly #4 The Covers

Last week I blogged about cover art, this week I remove the art bit and go into cover versions.


Faith Healer
Cover versions can some times make you cry. Sadly most of the times it's because it kills a great song like when like Brittany Spears did "I love Rock'N Roll" (Don't worry, the link goes to Joan Jett & The Blackhearts original version). But sometimes you just cry of happiness like when Fish does "Faith Healer" an Alex Harvey song. A great Scott, covering another great Scott.

Windows 8 Beta relase exposed by Microsoft

Finally Microsoft have given away the time for the Beta release of Windows 8.

During a App store session they told late february as dato of the beta release.

If you want to check it your self, just take alook at this video, and if you don't care about the App store just go to 3:23

Memory limits on Windows versions

From time to time I get questions about memory limits, and since I have a limit amount of memory myself I might forget, so here are a link to a site with the answers

Short summary:

Music weekly #3 Fabulous Music Art

The days of going out and buying an LP, is long time gone. As a format for music I really don't miss it at all, even though there is people claiming to the sound quality, which was superior (most notable in old recordings that was not made for the digital format).
But the thing missing with todays music purchases are the visual pleasures. Coming home with a brand new LP was a 2 part deligth, the music itself, the cover art and some times all pictures, artwork and lyrics inside the sleev. Many artist still create greate art for cd covers, but the cd are just to small to really enjoy it.

MDT: TimeZoneName and index number list

Remebering time zone name and number are a hasle so here are the list for the next time you (or I) need it.

Norwegian settings for MDT are:

TimeZone=110
TimeZoneName=W. Europe Standard Time

(InputLocale=0414:00000414)

(KeyboardLocale=nb-NO)

The complete list are as following:

Show hidden hidden devices in device manager

Back in the "old" days there was a registry setting to show all hidden devices in device manager

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment]

Just add "DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES" as a REG_SZ (String Value) with valuve 1

You have to use this to show devices that was not shown even after turning the "View - Show Hidden Devices" on.

So no, its not a typo in the title, its to show hidden hidden devices

Yesterday I got a great tips, that makes it posible to do the same thing with out addning registry setings.

How to use it can be found at this Microsoft articel here

Music weekly #2 Mike Oldfield, The Doors and Screaming Pigs

Second entry in the Music weekly post series, added late on the sunday, but I made it.

Mike Oldfield have done alot of great music, but he also like to play around with it. One of my favorites by Mike Oldfield are one of his stranges songs. Just listen to the lyric.

Mike Oldfield - Altered State Spotify link
Mike Oldfield - Altered State Youtube link

Windows 8 and application compatibility

Sitting and playing with a Fujitsu q550 tablet and have had some driver issues.
But in Windows Explorer you have know this cool buttons:

I managed to get in drivers app by using the "Troubleshoot compatiblity", some it automaticly fixed (even suggested it when the installation failed) and some it tried to use the XP settings, but it need to bee Windows 7.

Music weekly #1 Fish, Marillion and something weird

Starting a new weekly blog posting this week. Will share my week's musical highlights, lowlights and maybe nolights.
Will of course dedicate the first entry to Fish the Scotish poet with a stage present that encapsulate his audience with his combination of charm, golden tonge and his own blend of

seriousness and humor.

For Wikipedia info go here

Sadly there is not enough songs on Spofity from Fish but an always highlight is his song for the fans.

Fish - The Company Spofity link
Fish - The Company YouTube link

And some fun stuff, Fish (during his Marillion years) with Queen

Can not forget his Marillion years so here you have
Marillion - The Singles '82-'88 Spotify Link
Marillion - Kayleigh  Original video on YouTube, just because its the most know song

The man can sing loves songs with feelings

Well Olav, there is only highlights here what about lowlights/nolights.
This "artist" deserve respect, and have humor and self-ironi. I am no fan of his space adventure (does that exclude me from being a nerd?) but love Boston Legal and Shit my dad says

William Shatner - Iron Man Spotify link
William Shatner - Space Oddity Spotify link

William Shatner - Iron Man YouTube link
William Shatner - Space Oddity YouTube link

Respect for self-irony

Linux running on Hyper-V

A great news for people wanting to run Hyper-V but have problems setting up the Linux integration components on there linux VM's. Micosoft have been working hard after the code intended to ble implimentet into the kernel back in 2009 was rejected and have now been accepted into the next kernel version.

The changes will be availabe in Linux kernel 3.0.0 and will be a major step in making Hyper-V the best choice for virtualization undependent on what you want to virtualize.

More details can be found on David A. Wheeler's Blog here

NIC 2012 Speaking engagement

In january I will be speaking on the Nordic Infrastucture Conferense in Oslo. For more info about the conference you can visit http://www.nic2012.com/

The list of speakers are impressiv and contains some of the best speakers world wide and on all your favorite Microsoft technologies ranging from powershell to the cloud.

For a list of speaker syou can go here http://www.nic2012.com/nic2012_program/speakers

My topic this time are on management and SCOM 2012

Hope to see you there!

Nordic Infrastructure Conferense

MDT 2012 Beta 2

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit

Now available: MDT 2012 Beta 2

Reliable and flexible OS deployment-now with support for System Center Configuration Manager 2012

Welcome to the MDT Beta program! As an MDT Beta program member you have the opportunity to test-drive the next version of MDT-version 2012!

Download MDT 2012 Beta 2 now!

Beta 2 of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 is now available for download! New features and enhancements make large-scale desktop and server deployments smoother than ever! For System Center Configuration Manager customers, MDT 2012 Beta 2 provides an improved, extensible wizard and designer for customizing deployment questions. MDT 2012 fully leverages the capabilities provided by System Center Configuration Manager 2012 for OS deployment. MDT 2012 integrates with configuration templates from the Security Compliance Manager (SCM) tool to ensure a secure Windows installation from the beginning of the deployment. Download the latest version of MDT and improve your deployment experience. Existing MDT users will find more reliability and flexibility with the many small enhancements and bug fixes and a smooth and simple upgrade process.

Benefits:

• Fully use of the capabilities provided by System Center Configuration Manager 2012 for OS deployment.
• Improved Lite Touch user experience and functionality.
• A smooth and simple upgrade process for all existing MDT users.

With MDT 2012 Beta 2, the feature improvements span all installation scenarios. The latest version of MDT offers new User-Driven Installation components and extensibility for Configuration Manager 2007 and Configuration Manager 2012. MDT 2012 offers integration with the Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolkit (DaRT) for Lite Touch Installation remote control and diagnostics. Beta users now also have the ability to migrate MDT 2012 task sequences from Configuration Manager 2007 to Configuration Manager 2012. MDT 2012 offers improved support for Configuration Manager 2012 while still supporting Configuration Manager 2007. New monitoring capabilities for currently running deployments ease Lite Touch Installation through an improved deployment wizard user experience, and enhanced partitioning support ensures that deployments work regardless of the current structure.

New Features:

For System Center Configuration Manager customers:

• Support for Configuration Manager 2012 (while still supporting Configuration Manager 2007)
• New User-Driven Installation components for Configuration Manager 2007 and Configuration Manager 2012:
  Extensible wizard and designer, additional integration with Configuration Manager to deliver a more customized OS experience, support for more imaging scenarios, and an enhanced end-user deployment experience
• Ability to migrate MDT 2012 task sequences from Configuration Manager 2007 to Configuration Manager 2012

For Lite Touch Installation:

• Integration with the Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolkit (DaRT) for remote control and diagnostics
• New monitoring capabilities to see the progress of currently running deployments
• Support for deploying Windows to computers using UEFI
• Ability to deploy Windows 7 so that the computer will start from a new VHD file, "Deploy to VHD"
• Improved deployment wizard user experience

For all customers:

• Integration with configuration templates from the Security Compliance Manager Solution Accelerator, ensuring Windows is secure from the start
• A simple mechanism for running Windows PowerShell scripts during a deployment, with task sequence environment and logging integration
• Better partitioning support, creating the recommended partitioning structures on new computers and ensuring deployments work regardless of the current structure
• A smooth and simple upgrade process for all existing MDT users
• Many small enhancements and bug fixes

The hunt for EventID's

What should you look for when you go into the even viewer in Windows?

Is there any events that are more important that others?

Of course but its not just easy to know what you should be looking for, going to this site and you will have a better overview of what EventID there is.

A little list over important security related events

EventID - Event
  4782    - The password hash an account was accessed
  4720    - A user account was created
  4722    - A user account was enabled
  4740    - A user account was locked out
  4625    - An account failed to log on
  4649    - A replay attack was detected
  4728    - A member was added to a security-enabled global group

Free ISCSI Target from Microsoft

Microsoft have made the Iscsi Software Target available for public download. So if you have a Windows Server 2008 R2 you can use it as a NAS device. Not recommended for big solutions, but perfect for test/demo and small companies/ branch offices.

 

It's real perfect for testing out clustering featues, like Hyper-v, Exchange and so on.

The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 provides storage (disks) over a TCP/IP network. It turns a computer running Windows Server into a storage device which provides shared block storage. You can use Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 to perform a variety of storage-related tasks, including the following:

• Provide shared storage for Hyper-V to enable high availability and live migration
• Consolidate storage for multiple application servers (i.e. Microsoft SQL Server or Hyper-V)
• Provide shared storage for applications hosted on a Windows failover cluster
• Enable diskless computers to boot remotely from a single operating system image using iSCSI

More info here

And download are here

If download link are missing just go to Microsoft download center and search for Microsoft ISCSI Software Target (and you will also find the never version when it arrives ;-)

Strange Referring Site :-)

Just watched statistics about where my readers are coming in from, and I think one of the users that was referred might feel tricked :-)

Or maybe (s)he has a realy weird fetish, until now not know by the medical socity.
Lets call it Geekophil, a none techincal person with only enough computer knowledge too browse porn site, with a craving to read technical content while... Well, lets us just stop there. 

Great Data Protection Manager Bare Metal Recovery Guide

Twitter is a great media, you get lots of info, tips and like in this case a guide.
This bare metal recovery guide are easy and well explained, so I recommend it for anybody using Scdpm and haven't berformed a bare metal recovery yet, or if yo want to understand the product better.


http://blogs.technet.com/b/dpm/archive/2011/11/01/data-protection-manager-2010-and-bare-metal-restore.aspx

MAP 6.5 Beta

MAP Toolkit v6.5 Beta is now available at Microsoft Connect:

https://connect.microsoft.com/site297/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?DownloadID=23188

I don't think that you will be surprised over the fact that beside better user interface, its all about the cloud.

Download load it now and find out about the new features yourself:

Enhancements to the MAP user experience which streamline tasks and improve overall usability

•  Server virtualization and consolidation feature enhancements including:
• The ability to customize Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track Configurations
• The ability to set utilization thresholds for virtualization hosts and infrastructure
• Enhanced UI controls that allows users to quickly find, filter, and select the list of machines targeted for virtualization
• Additional in-depth migration analysis of applications to the Windows Azure Platform
• Software Usage Tracking for Forefront Endpoint Protection servers
• Discovery and reporting of "active devices" running the Windows Operating System
• Discovery and reporting of SQL Server "Denali"
• Discovery and reporting of Oracle Instances on HP-UX-based Itanium servers

And there is an Xbox with Kinect as a price for some lucky MAP Beta tester :-)

Creating an ISO file

Working in the virtual world its often easier to just create an iso file to move data/tools/etc. to the VM's, but Windows 7 can only burn iso files, not create them. (Windows 8 can mount them to)

Most free programs have the possibility to either burn or mount them, again not create.
Programs that can create ISO files are often complex and/or not free.

So today I just installed a cd burner program that I haven't used for years, but its free and small (4-5 Mb). And to my pleasent surpise its have the choice to save as ISO file. Nice :-)

Hat of to CdBurnerXP http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

Intune session for Mtug Bergen

I will hold a session on Intune on the 18 of october in Bergen for the "Microsoft Technology User Group" www.mtug.no

This is the day after release of the next version, so it will include the new version as well as the goodies from the first version.

Please spread the word

http://mtug.no/Forside/tabid/58/ModuleID/416/ItemID/82/mctl/EventDetails/language/nb-NO/Default.aspx

Seminar hos EDB Ergogroup Bergen

Velkommen til en opplevelsesrik Microsoft-dag Torsdag 24. november setter Microsoft opp sitt fantastiske opplevelsessenter i lokalene våre på Bryggen i Bergen.  Sammen med andre kunder får du et innblikk i mulighetene som teknologien gir. Vi fokuserer spesielt på hvordan oppnå bedre kommunikasjon og samhandling i egen virksomhet og ut mot samarbeidspartnere/kunder. Du får garantert ideer som kan tas i bruk i egen virksomhet! For IKT-medarbeidere tilbyr vi korte foredrag innen Microsoft teknologi; Windows 8, Windows Phone 7.5 (kodenavn Mango), SharePoint 2010, CRM 2011, Microsoft BI, Microsoft Lync, System Center Roadmap mm. Disse går fortløpende utover ettermiddagen i korte “slot’er” à 20 min slik at har anledning du får med deg  – og kryss av på påmeldingsskjemaet hva du vil delta på. Vi starter med en uformell lunsj fra kl. 11:30. Deretter blir det noen timer med faglig påfyll, før det blir litt god mat, drikke og mulighet til å mingle med våre konsulenter og andre kunder. Litt mer om opplevelsessenteret; Microsoft opplevelsessenter er en arena hvor kunder selv kan prøve og få en opplevelse av hvordan Microsoft-teknologi kan bidra til å; ·         nå strategiske virksomhetsmål ·         oppnå økt produktivitet ·         redusere kostnader knyttet til kommunikasjon og informasjonsarbeid …gjennom forbedret kommunikasjon og samhandling. Hjertelig velkommen! Hilsen oss i EDB ErgoGroup Consulting Bergen

Påmelding klikk her Tid: 24. november 2011 kl. 11:30-18:00-> Sted: EDB ErgoGroup Bergen, Bryggen 3 Målgruppe: IT og ledelse Deltakeravgift: gratis Spørsmål? Kontakt Arild Pedersen på mail eller telefon 930 55 885.

What's hot in Oslo

And the answer is ME (no not the so called "Operating system")
I will have a session on the "Whats Hot?" on thuesday 27. okt talking about System Center 2012

To se more go here: http://www.whatshot.no/oslo/
Or to sign on go here: http://www.ergogroup2.no/paamelding_ekstern.asp?id=3343

After a great day with knowledge we will attend the Tintin movie

Controlling your group policies with Wmi filters

The possibility to control group policies with wmi filers have been around for quite a while, but still I see companies doing weird stuff with logon script instead of using it. In fact most companies I am visiting don’t know how to use it, and therefor they don’t. And in many cases running group policies that are not intended for the computer can create serious problems.

Instead of using wmi filters and script you might of course create an OU design that will help you, but even then it will be cases with policies running on computers it should not have been applied to or not running on all computers its intended to. For example if somebody creates a new forest wide group policy adjusting the firewall rules, intended for all Windows client. You might not want that policy implemented on your server. Using a security group for filtering might prevent it from running on the servers but it might also cause all new clients to not run it, since they need to be put into the right security group. Selecting a wim filter that checks if the computer is running the right OS version or maybe just the right system (workstation, server or domain controller) are a great way to reduce the risk for implementing wrong group policies.

Creating new group policies are a process that needs to be done right. My way of doing it, are to always create a policy that is not linked to any thing. Next step would to be remove the “Authenticated Users” group from the Security Filtering and select the right wmi filter

Selecting what group you should user are always a question. Something you should know when taking that choice are:

· Authenticated Users = A group that includes all users whose identities were authenticated when they logged on. Computers are also part of this group. Cannot be changed!
· Doman Users = global group that includes all user accounts in a domain. When you create a user account in a domain, it is added to this group automatically. But the objects might have been removed!
· Domain computers = A global group that includes all computers that have joined the domain, excluding domain controllers. But the objects might have been removed!
· Domain Controllers = A global group that includes all domain controllers in the domain. New domain controllers are added to this group automatically. But the objects might have been removed!

Removing users or computers from the domain user/computer/Controllers groups can only be done if you select another primary group for the object first.

So in many/most cases you should use self-created groups instead of the default built in ones, especially the group Authenticated Users (the default selected one) should be used with caution since it includes both users and computers (included domain controllers).


When testing the group policy a good practice is to just select one computer/users instead of a group so you can see the affect it have before implementing it on all the users. Most of the time I also test it out on smaller groups in the beginning to be sure and increase the group size gradually. Remember to link the group policy to the right OU.

The Process of creating the filters

To create filters just start the “Group Policy Management” console, browse down to the “WMI Filters” under “Domains – ‘Your Domain Name’”.
Right click and select “New…” and the wizard starts

Type in a name and press the "Add" button

There are some basic filters you might want to create or at least know about.

Operating System related

·         32-bit Operating System
Select * from Win32_Processor where AddressWidth = '32'

·         64-bit Operating System
Select * from Win32_Processor where AddressWidth = '64'

·         Workstations / Clients
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where ProductType=1

·         Domain Controllers
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where ProductType=2

·         Servers
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where ProductType=3

·         Windows XP
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where Version='5.1.2600' and ProductType=1

·         Windows Vista
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where Version='6.0.6002' and ProductType=1

·         Windows 7  
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where Version='6.1.7600' and ProductType=1

·         Windows 7 Service Pack 1
SELECT * from WIN32_OperatingSystem WHERE Version = '6.1.7601' and ProductType=1

·         Windows 2003 Servers and domain controllers (because the “>1”)
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where Version='5.2.3790' and ProductType>1

·         Windows 2003 domain controllers only
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where Version='5.2.3790' and ProductType=2

·         Windows 2008
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where Version='6.0.6002' and ProductType>1

·         Windows 2008 R2
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where Version='6.1.7600' and ProductType>1

NOTE!
 You can use version numbering with the wildcard % to select all versions of a certain OS, but then you cannot use the = sign, instead use the LIKE parameter
Select * from WIN32_OperatingSystem where Version LIKE '6.1%' and ProductType=1

It’s also possible to use “Caption=” instead off “Version=”, then you can skip the “ProductType” parameter.

Select * FROM Win32_OperatingSystem WHERE Caption="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"
To include Service Pack level you can add “CSDVersion=”

Select * FROM Win32_OperatingSystem WHERE Caption="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" AND CSDVersion="Service Pack 2"

Hardware related

·         Specific computer model (in this case Lenovo W510)
Select * from Win32_ComputerSystem where model = '431929G'

·         Specific hardware manufacturer (in this case LENOVO)
Select * from WIN32_ComputerSystem where Manufacturer = 'LENOVO'

·         Installed Memory equal or more than 16 GB
Select * from WIN32_ComputerSystem where TotalPhysicalMemory >= 17108062208

Etc.

·         If Application are automatic started (In this case MSN Messenger)
SELECT * FROM Win32_StartupCommand WHERE Name = 'msnmsgr'

·         Monday
Select * from Win32_LocalTime where DayOfWeek = 1

·         Tuesday
Select * from Win32_LocalTime where DayOfWeek =  2

·         Wednesday
Select * from Win32_LocalTime where DayOfWeek = 3

·         Etc…

·         Week in month (In this case first week)
Select * from Win32_LocalTime where WeekInMonth = 1

So the possibilities are many, but you should at least include the basic OS and computer types to make sure you can prevent the most basic fails done with wrong applied group policies.

When you have created set of Wmi filters you can also export, copy or edit them. Exporting is a great feature, you don’t have to remember the Wmi code the next time you need to create them, just import them. The MOF file being created is a clear text file if you just want to look at the Wmi code without importing it.

Wmi Code Creator

Wmi Code Creator is a helpful tool when working with Wmi Codes, it’s free and available for download at www.microsoft.com/downloads

It’s important to use the Wmi Code Creator on a computer with the same operative system or hardware (depending on what query you are looking for) since it loads the namespaces and classes from the running computer
Also be aware that if you use hardware related queries the results will be given with different format depending on the hardware manufacturer. Example like the “Select * from Win32_ComputerSystem where model = “query who will give you a cryptic looking result on a Lenovo like “431929G” but HP will give a great string like “HP EliteBook 8540w”. So if you are unsure or the query doesn’t seem to work use Wmi Code Creator on the computer to see what the result of the query is.

Getting started with wmi filters is not hard, just begin with the essentials and expand with more complex queries when you see the need for them, and after a while you will realize you can’t live without them.

How to find english symbols when using a norwegian keyboard

Sitting on a Norwegian keyboard with computers that have english settings are often a pain in the ass.
Remeber some of the most importen once usely goes ok, but going into the "On-Screen Keyboard" to find the once I forget takes a long time. So here are a list of the once I know beeing used.

Give me a comment if somethigs missing

How to get English symbols with Norwegian keyboard:

English Symbol	Norwegian Keyboard Key
/	-
\	*
?	Shift + -
@	Shift + 2
$	Shift + 4
“	Shift + æ
:	Shift + ø
;	Ø
-	+
_	Shift + ?
=	\
(	Shift + 9
)	Shift + 0
<	Shift + ;
>	Shift + :
*	Shift + 8
&	Shift + 7
+	Shift + \
[	Å
]	¨
{	Shift + å
}	Shift + ^
‘	Æ
|	Shift + *
#	Shift + 3