Microsoft Operating Systems
Display Known Wireless Network Passphrases
by Grant Burton on Apr.03, 2019, under Windows 10, Windows 7, Wireless Networking - 802.11 WiFi
Display known Wireless network passphrases in Windows 7, 8, and 10 by:
Run > CMD.EXE
Enter the command:
netsh wlan show profiles
Then determine the PROFILE name and type:
netsh wlan show profile name=profilename key=clear
Where PROFILENAME matches what you determined earlier
Windows 7 SP1 Not Updating – Fixed
by Grant Burton on Feb.03, 2017, under Windows 7, Windows Update
Due to changes to the Microsoft Windows Update infrastructure, Windows 7 SP1 systems currently shipping will not update. The Windows Update client appears to run forever. To correct the issue, you need to install the following updates (below are the links for the x64 bit version of Windows 7 only). Prior to running *each* update, run the following command from an elevated command prompt to stop the Windows Update Service: net stop wuauserv. Reboot when prompted after running an update and repeat stopping the Windows Update Service before installing the next update:
After installing those updates, install the latest “roll-up” update and then try running the Windows Update client again.
Repair Windows 10 Installation
by Grant Burton on Mar.18, 2016, under Windows 10
If the Windows 10 installation is damaged, it can be repaired using SFC and DISM online:
- Run SFC from an elevated command prompt to perform an initial scan and replace corrupt files
sfc /scannow
- Use the CheckHealth option with DISM to quickly determine if there are any corruptions in the local image
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
- If no issues are found, you can run a more advanced scan using the ScanHealth option
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
- If issues are found, use the RestoreHealth option to scan and automatically repair corrupt files
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
If DISM is unable to access Windows Update, you can use an offline disc image to repair your installation.
- Download a Windows 10 ISO file
- Open the Microsoft Windows 10 Download Site
- Click the Download tool now button
- Run the MediaCreationToolxxxxx.exe application
- Accept the terms and conditions
- Choose Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC and press Next
- Select the correct language and architecture that matches the corrupted installation
- Select the ISO option, click NEXT, choose a destination, click SAVE
- Click FINISH and browse to the location of the ISO. Double-click on the Windows.iso file to mount it
- Once the image is mounted, you can use it to restore the installation’s health (replace the “F” drive letter with the mount point’s drive letter)
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:F:\sources\install.wim
Or you can limit the use of Windows Update with the LimitAccess optionDISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:F:\sources\install.wim /LimitAccess
If you have an encrypted install.esd image from an upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10, you can use it to repair the damaged files.
- Run the command for the ESD file (update C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources to match your source)
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Install.esd
You can also limit access to Windows Update as well with the LimitAccess switchDISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\Install.esd /LimitAccess
The log files for SFC and DISM are stored in the following locations: %windir%/Logs/CBS/CBS.log and %windir%\Logs\DISM\dism.log. The logs will show if the programs had trouble replacing a file.
Set Domain Controller to update time with the US NTP Pool
by Grant Burton on Dec.01, 2014, under Microsoft Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows Networking
Run > cmd.exe:
w32tm /config /update /manualpeerlist:"0.us.pool.ntp.org,0x8 1.us.pool.ntp.org,0x8 2.us.pool.ntp.org,0x8 3.us.pool.ntp.org,0x8" /syncfromflags:MANUAL
Then restart the Windows Time Service
net stop w32time
net start w32time
Set Time Source in Windows
by Grant Burton on Dec.11, 2013, under Microsoft Operating Systems
Sync the Domain Controller with some of the top NTP time sources for North America:
w32tm /config /syncfromflags:manual /manualpeerlist:0.us.pool.ntp.org,1.us.pool.ntp.org,2.us.pool.ntp.org,
3.us.pool.ntp.org,time.nist.gov,time.windows.com
Internet Explorer Prints Blank Pages
by Grant Burton on Nov.08, 2010, under Internet Explorer, Windows 7, Windows Vista
Some users may experience issues while trying to print web pages using Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 on Windows Vista and Windows 7. Rather than producing the web pages content in the print out, all that shows is the path to the temporary Internet file containing the content to be printed:
file://c:\Users\%username%\AppData\Temp\Low\xxxxxxx.htm
This appears to be a complication with Internet Explorer’s Protected Mode (see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb250462%28VS.85%29.aspx). Even though the user has full permissions to modify the files and folders in the Temp directory, the Protected Mode prevents the “Low” directory from being created. You can fix the problem by running the following commands at the command prompt (cmd.exe):
- mkdir %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Temp\Low
- icacls %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Temp\Low /setintegritylevel low
Restart Internet Explorer and you should now be able to print successfully.
Microsoft Software Discounts for Students
by Grant Burton on Dec.07, 2009, under Microsoft Office, Microsoft Operating Systems
Anyone that has an active email address ending in .EDU can purchase Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate Edition and Windows 7 at dramatically discounted rates (click the link to order):
http://student.theultimatesteal.com/z/15/CD2866/
Microsoft is planning to expire this program soon so I would take advantage of the offer as soon as possible!
Workaround for Errors When Opening Microsoft Office Files on WebDAV Drives
by Grant Burton on Dec.18, 2008, under JungleDisk, Microsoft Office 2003, Windows Vista
JungleDisk is a WebDAV file sharing service running on the Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). It appears when users are using Office 2003 SP3 on a Vista Business SP1 based system, they may not be able to open Microsoft Word and Excel files. The users experience an error similar to:
Could not open ‘http://2667/somebucket/some file.doc’
The JungleDisk Support site (KBID#: 300065) indicates installing the Windows Software Update for Web Folders (KB907306) and rebooting will fix the problem. Unfortunately the reported fix does not appear to work for numerous users. Additionally, connecting to the JungleDisk “bucket” using the naive Windows WebDAV client does not allow saving due to the “read-only” bug.
We discovered the easiest way to work around the Vista/Office 2003 WebDAV limitations was to use a substitute drive. Once the JungleDisk client loads and you can access the JungleDisk network drives, the following command can be use to connect:
subst NewDriveLetter: JungleDiskDriveLetter:\
For example, if the JungleDisk drive letter is “J:\”, you will run the following command to access the share:
subst k: j:\
You should then be able to open files from and save files to the “k:” drive directly.
When your system reboots, you will need to run the subst command again. For our users, we have created a batch file that deletes the virtual drive (subst k: /d) then re-creates it (subst k: j:\). After the user’s system has completely loaded, they double-click on the batch files to create accessible virtual drives.
Incidentally, upgrading to Office 2007 on Vista or running Office 2003 from Windows XP does not appear to have any issues.
Event ID 1030 and 1058 when querying Group Policy Objects
by Grant Burton on Nov.26, 2008, under Window Small Business Server 2003, Windows Server 2003
After a Windows 2003 Small Business Server failed to shutdown using APC’s PowerChute UPS software, it was having trouble querying and applying the group policy settings.
Event 1058
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Userenv
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1058
Description:
Windows cannot access the file gpt.ini for GPO CN={31B2F340-016D-11D2-945F-00C04FB984F9},CN=Policies,CN=System,DC=domain,DC=local. The file must be present at the location <\\Random_Domain_Name.local\sysvol\domain.local\Policies\{31B2F340-016D-11D2-945F-00C04FB984F9}\gpt.i ni>
— And —
Event 1030
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Userenv
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1030
Description:
Windows cannot query for the list of Group Policy objects. Check the event log for possible messages previously logged by the policy engine that describes the reason for this.
Successful repair steps taken:
- Download and install the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Support Tools.
- Once installed, open the command prompt and run: dfsutil /PurgeMupCache
- Then run: gpupdate /force
- Examine the Application Event log for Event ID 1704
If this does not correct your issue, the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles might help:
- KB888943 – Event 1030 and event 1058 may be logged, and you may not be able to start the Group Policy snap-in on your Windows Small Business Server 2003 computer.
- KB842804 – A Windows Server 2003-based computer may stop responding when it is resumed from standby and events 1030 and 1058 are logged in the application log of a domain controller.
Migrate to Windows Small Business Server 2008 from Windows Small Business Server 2003
by Grant Burton on Nov.12, 2008, under Window Small Business Server 2003, Windows Small Business Server 2008
The following TechNet article – “Migrate to Windows Small Business Server 2008 from Windows Small Business Server 2003” – covers the process of installing Windows Small Business Server 2008 and migrating your existing Windows Small Business Server 2003 based domain:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc546034.aspx
Although the process is fairly straight forward and simple, we have found it useful to simulate the process using a virtualized environment created from the SBS 2003 machine using Acronis True Image Virtual Edition and VMWare.