Along with PowerShell and Group Policy, I am in and out of the command prompt all day! Unlike those previous tools, I tend to use CMD in spurts. I might open it real quick on a test machine or use it to troubleshoot a client. To make life easier, I regularly use these 4 tricks to get to the administrative command prompt!
Category Archives: Performance
This category contains any performance related posts.
3 Changes to Active Directory Users and Computers
It is fast becoming common knowledge that Microsoft will not be making one size fits all tools anymore. Instead, they will provide the basic tools and PowerShell support to automate/extend specific tasks. For proof of this, look no further than Office 365 or any other hosted Microsoft Service. But this change is good! IT Administrators can extend their tools to their environment. While Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) is an older tool, you should still modify it to fit your organization. Today, we will cover 3 changes you should make.
Group Policy Verbose Mode: The One Group Policy Setting That You Need to Enable
Group Policy is an extremely flexible and complicated tool. One question I am asked quite a bit is, “Can you give me a list of settings I need to enable?” The short answer is No, Microsoft has already enabled the vast majority of things that should be enabled. And while Microsoft’s guidance may change over time (see Offline Files as an example of this), most settings stay the same. There is one setting, however, that is not enabled by default. If you are going to use Group Policy and want to make your troubleshooting life easier, you will want to enable it.
Multiple Remote Desktop Sessions = A Happy Helpdesk
An update to this post (that covers Windows 10) is now available here.
You are checking the helpdesk and a new problem rolls in. You know the solution but you (the administrator) will need to login. You immediately remote into the machine only to see that the user is showing a presentation or actively using it.
Do you:
A) Call the user and have them log off so that you can start fixing the problem. The problem will get fixed but the user is interrupted for 20 minutes.
B) Wait until later in the day and hope the user isn’t using their computer. The problem will get fixed at the end of the day but the user had to deal with it all day.
C) Use RDP and log into the computer. The user is able to continue the presentation. You are able to fix the problem in the background. Everybody is happy!
The answer is C!
“That’s wrong!”, you say! “Client OSs can’t have concurrent RDP sessions. When you try, you get an ugly message and the current logged in user is logged out!”
If Server can, the client can! All we have to do is trick it! How? Let’s find out! Continue reading
Spring Cleaning for a Desktop Adminstrator
Have you got that spring cleaning itch yet? I’m not talking about cleaning the kitchen or pressure washing the house; I am talking about cleaning up your Desktop Administrator life!
To help you with those spring cleaning chores, I’ve written or collected a series of scripts for you:
Active Directory:
- Deleting Stale Computers
- Deleting Stale Users
- Deleting Empty Security Groups
- Enabling Accidental Deletion
Printers:
If you would like to see more scripts or another area to cleanup, let me know! I will see what I can do!