SOLVED: GPO To Block Macro’s On Local PC But Not File Shares
Macros in Word, Excel and PowerPoint used to be one of the most common attack vectors but they largely died out near 2010. In 2016 they are being used aggressively in Crypto/Ransomware attacks and you...
View ArticleSOLVED: How To Delete An Upgrade From WSUS
If you have a problematic Upgrade entry in WSUS, you may want to remove it. The next time you perform a sync with Microsoft, it will re-appear. In my case, I had problems with “Windows 10 Pro, version...
View ArticleSOLVED: WSUS: Exception calling “DeleteUpdate” Because it is still deployed...
If you are trying to use PowerShell to delete an update from WSUS but are receiving an error similar to: Exception calling “DeleteUpdate” with “1” argument(s): “spDeleteRevision: cannot delete...
View ArticleSOLVED: Windows Update Error 31 and Windows Update error 8024200d and Feature...
If you are running a WSUS server and are seeing your client PC’s stuck a DOWNLOADING 0% of FEATURE UPDATE WINDOWS 10, you likely have not completed all of the manual steps required to allow WSUS to...
View ArticleSOLVED: How To Perform a Chkdsk on a Clustered Shared Volume on an iSCSI SAN
If you have a Dell EqualLogic SAN or similar product providing shared disk for your cluster and you see: CHKDSK SCAN NEEDED ON VOLUME don’t panic. In the ‘old days’ a Chkdsk could take days to...
View ArticleSOLVED: Should Defrag Be Run On a SAN or Clustered Shared Volume
I recently ran into a Microsoft Article indicating that it IS advisable to defrag a Clustered Shared Volume especially if that disk is housing Virtual Machines with Dynamically Expanding Disks....
View ArticleSOLVED: How To Fix Corrupted or Renamed Zip Files
In my case I had 4 ZIP files as part of a Split (sometimes called Span) that had been moved from floppy disk to a DVD and renamed. This made it impossible form Windows EXTRACT or WinZip or 7Zip to...
View ArticleSOLVED: What Do The Windows 10 Product Names Mean in WSUS
If you are trying to decide what Products to include in your WSUS settings, this is the article for you. SCOM and WSUS currently have a dozen Windows 10 “products” listed but the descriptions are...
View ArticleSOLVED: Step By Step USMT Script To Migrate as Single User On Windows 10
If you are replacing your Windows 10 hardware or just moving a user from one PC to another you can use User State Migration Tool (USMT). Download the latest Deployment Kit USMT directly from Microsoft...
View ArticleSOLVED: GPO to Disable the RESTORE Button In Shadow Copies
If you want to disable the RESTORE button in PREVIOUS VERSIONS/SHADOW COPIES using a Group Policy Object (GPO), you are smart. Humans make mistakes so IT Administrators need to set policies to protect...
View ArticleSOLVED: What Is the Difference Between Microsoft ‘Mainstream Support’ and...
If you have been getting worried about your Windows OS running out of support, you might be confused by the terms. Windows Vista SP2 ran out of ‘Mainstream Support’ on April 10th 2012 but has ‘Extended...
View ArticleSOLVED: How Long Does It Take For Group Policies To Take Effect?
The short answer is that is takes up to 2 hours for Group Policy changes to take effect for both Computer and for User policies. However, as usual there is more to the story. What is a ‘Background...
View ArticleSOLVED: The Complete List Of How To Fix Windows Update Errors Like 0x800F0922
If you have errors in Windows Update you know how frustrating it can be trying to find solution. The ‘We couldn’t complete the updates. Undoing changes’ message is not particularly helpful. Below is a...
View ArticleSOLVED: File Explorer Mapped Drives Close Spontaneously
If you see your mapped drives disappear you may have a Group Policy that maps your network shares using the REPLACE feature. Another symptom I noticed occurs if you remote (RDP) to a different PC and...
View ArticleSOLVED: SCVMM Agent installation failed on HOST Unknown error (0x80041003)
If you are trying to install or update the SCVMM agent on your HyperV hosts controlled by System Center Virtual Machine Manager and you might see the following error. Error (410) Agent installation...
View ArticleSOLVED: What Are The Limits of SQL Express 2016 and Can SQL Express Be Used...
It is a common misconception that SQL Express 2016 cannot or should not be used in production environments. SQL Express 2016 (and SQL Express 2014 and 2012 and…) are most certainly licenced to be used...
View ArticleSOLVED: What is the Path to a Users STARTUP Folder in Windows 10
The path to users Startup folder in Windows 10 is: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup ie. C:\Users\JimmyJo\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup...
View ArticleSOLVED: What Are The Common Variables In Windows
Below is a complete list of Windows variables. If you are writing any sort of script, PowerShell, or command line you will need to know: The variable for username is %username% The variable for the...
View ArticleSOLVED: How to Remove a Damaged User Profile In Windows 10
If you have a corrupt profile in Windows 10 there are two easy ways to remove it and rebuild it: 1: REMOVE CORRUPT WINDOWS PROFILE USING GUI: CONTROL PANEL > SYSTEM AND SECURITY > SYSTEM >...
View ArticleSOLVED: Windows 10 Lock Screen Graphic GPO Not Working On 1703
If you have Windows 10 Enterprise or Education you should be able to use a GPO to set a custom lock and home screen. Unfortunately, Windows 10 1703 broke that and it has been driving many IT staff...
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