all posts from August 2008


Regkey to disable XP dial-up connection logon

Here is a registry key I run from a startup script to disable the option that allows users to invoke a "Log on using dial-up connection". Having had experience of working in a school I know how kids will use any excuse to distract them from logging onto a computer and starting the lesson!

KiXtart script to backup MSSQL database

Here is another quick KiXtart script I wrote to backup a Microsoft SQL database on a server. I personally run it locally on the server that contains the database I want to backup using a scheduled task. It connects to the MSSQL database using the OSQL command line utility which it runs through a shell.

KiXtart script to retrieve Active Directory user info

Here's a quick script written using KiXtart to retrieve information for a user (object) in Active Directory. Once enumerated, object information is stored in variables to be used later.

Vista IE7 crashes when sending email through OWA

I have installed Microsoft Exchange quite a few times as a syadmin and since the release of Vista one thing I seem to forget is to address the issue of Vista clients using Internet Explorer 7 that send email through Outlook Web Access.

Regkey to enable & disable Outlook 2003 cached mode

Pre Microsoft office 2003 SP3, when creating a new MAPI email account in outlook 2003 the default setting was to "Use Cached Exchange Mode". I have noticed that after installing SP3 the default seems to now be disabled when creating an email account.

VMware ESX date bug fix

I use VMware ESX 3.5 and Virtual Center 2.5 since implementing it at my current workplace. Like many sysadmins I regularly keep on top of patching. I manually patch my ESX hosts when I see fit after pulling updates through Virtual Center. Subsequently, I recently applied the latest update (3.5 u2 or update 2) to [...]