May, 2009

Zune HD

I don’t like the iTouch, only because its Mac, I don’t hide the fact that I don’t like Machintosh… but can Microsoft’s Zune HD beat the iPod? Probably not… yes it has OLED(organic light-emitting diode), yes it has IE6.5 Mobile, and yes it has HD Radio, and yes it has WIFI but that’s about it… check out the review here….

Windows cannot access the file gpt.ini

You get the Event Log Error….

Event Type:              Error
Event Source:           Userenv
Event Category:        None
Event ID:  1058
Date:                        5/27/2009
Time:                        10:25:00 AM
User:                        NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer:                domain controller name
Description: Windows cannot access the file gpt.ini for GPO CN={31B2F340-016D-11D2-945F-00C04FB984F9},CN=Policies,CN=System,DC=domain,DC=com. The file must be present at the location <\\domain\sysvol\champstainless.com\Policies\{31B2F340-016D-11D2-945F-00C04FB984F9}\gpt.ini>. (Access is denied. ). Group Policy processing aborted. 

Here is the quick fix… download Windows Server 200x Support Tools, run the cmd prompt inside of the new folder created in Start; Programs; Support tools… then run “dfsutil /purgemupcache” on the server which is seeing the errors.

After that the errors should be gone!

NS

Veeam Backup and Fast SCP Error

You get an error after attempting to backup a vm, which is similar to the following…

opening `/vmfs/volumes/48ef3738-77af8bc0-d6aa-0022190bdb5f/vm_name/vm_name.vmdk’: Permission denied

The issue is that the “Service Console Agent Mode” is being used, and there is a permission problem preventing a proper backup.

The work-around is as follows… Uncheck “Use Service Console Connection” check box on the page where you specified credentials, this will make Veeam fall back to agentless mode and use SOAP Credentials.

NS

Exchange Server 2010 Management Architecture

I myself haven’t even started playing with Exchange Server 2007, I know, pretty weak, eh? Well there is not much I can do when I am busy managing 7 clients IT Infrastructures and they are happy with Exchange Server 2003 SP2. Well the next iteration of Exchange Server is Exchange Server 2003, the new management architecture is based on PowerShell and allows you to manage multiple Exchange 2010 organizations… for the full read-up on Exchange 2010 Management Architecture click here.

Citrix Receiver for iPhone

Here’s an inserp from eWeek on the new Citrix Receiver for iPhone.

“The Citrix Receiver for iPhone uses the Citrix XenApp infrastructure to neatly deliver Windows applications to the small screen. Users of Apple’s iPhone can tap the freely available Citrix tool to access data in the field and do some document editing. Although I found that the app is most useful when the iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, it is possible to use it through the 3G cellular connection. If the AT&T Edge network is your primary connection, the Citrix Receiver likely won’t be a satisfactory option for accessing enterprise applications in the field. “

I myself don’t have or will have an iPhone, but a couple guys at work do, and I was quick to point out this little bit of information to them. I wonder if they will release this for windows mobile or BlackBerry in the near future?!

Read up on it from Citrix themselves, click here to read.

Hereis the link from eWeek in which I so stealthfully quoted(above) them on

NS

BlackBerry Calendar Sync Issues

Here is a quick fix that I use from time to time when my calendar stops syncing on my BlackBerry Curve 8830 to BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server).

1.) Go to Options

2.) Advanced Options

3.) Service Book

4.) Desktop [CICAL]; now once you have this highlighted, hit the “BlackBerry Button” 7 (black or white dots) then click Delete, wait about 3 minutes, then, hit the BlackBerry button again, and select undelete. This should force a resync with you calendar service books. At least this way you won’t have to wipe your blackberry!

NS

Data Backup - Sync Toy 2.0

Well, its happened again, a bad drive… recently i have been having problems saving some files to disk. Running a “chkdsk /r” confirmed the problem, bad sectors. Time to backup some files and folders. I have approximately 13000 pictures from 2002 till now. First thing I did was burn them to DVDR-DL disc, sure this is fine for archiving, but what if my drive dies and I want quick access to my pics? copying 13k photos from DVDR could take a while, so I downloaded and used Sync Toy, im not going to explain how to use it, since it is so straight forward… below are some of the features I “borrowed” from Microsoft’s Sync Toy webpage.

- Dynamic Drive Letter Assignment: Drive letter reassignment will now be detected and updated in the folder pair definition.
- True Folder Sync: Folder creates, renames, and deletes are now synchronized for all SyncToy actions.
- Exclusion Filtering Based on Name: File exclusion based on name with exact or fuzzy matching.
- Filtering Based on File Attributes: The ability to exclude files based on one or more file attributes (Read-Only, System, Hidden).
- Unattended Folder Pair Execution: Addressed issues related to running scheduled folder pairs while logged off.
- Folder Pairs With Shared Endpoints: Ability for folder pairs associated with the same or different instances of SyncToy to share end-points.

Now something even more useful would be the ability to schedule Sync Toy, follow the instructions below and you should be good to go!

1.) Click on Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks to open up Task Scheduler

2.) Click on Add Scheduled Task, Click on Next

3.) Scroll down and click on the SyncToy option, click on Next

4.)  Under “Perform this Task” choose Daily and click Next

5.)  Now choose a start time, I would recommend either a time when you first turn on your computer or late in the evening when you are done for the day. Choose Daily again for when to perform this task and choose the current date then click Next.

6.) Here’s the tricky part, in order for the task to be scheduled, you’ll need to tell the scheduler which user to perform the task for and the username for that profile. Enter the username and password for this profile in this section and click Next.

7.) On the next screen check the box for “Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish” and then click Finish

8.) When the Advanced Properties box opens, look under the Task tab for the Run line. It should look similar to the one below.

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft\SyncToy\SyncToy.exe”

Make the Run command look like the following to allow SyncToy to run all the folder pairs.

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft\SyncToy\SyncToy.exe” -R

9.) Click Ok and close the Scheduled Tasks window.

NS

Windows 7 to ship this Year.

Windows 7 was supposed to ship January 2010, but has now revised that to be a 2009 launch, check out the full story here. Microsoft will also try to wrap up Server 2008 R2 around the same time. Something else to look out for is the Office 2010 preview, more details here.

I recently installed Windows 7 RC on my Netbook, and it runs, well, suprisingly good. I know Vista would definitely bring the poor Acer One to its knees Im looking forward to the final release.

NS

CloudPrint from HP, for the BlackBerry

Well here is what I was talking about, CloudPrint is an HP designed solution that allows any blackberry user the ability to print to any printer without a driver, it will be available to BIS and BES customers, as long as they have WIFI or a data plan.

Read the full story at Eweek.com

I was pretty sure i was going to get a Palm Pre, but, since I was able to try out a Curve 8900, its speed, and useability… well lets just say I may pick one up…

BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0

BES 5.0 has been out for a couple days now, bringing along with it centralized management over applications allowed and disallowed, high-availability(allowing it to fail over to a stand by server), remote file access, enhanced calendar functionality. and a few new features that you can check out here.

On another note Google is set to bolster its support of the blackberry phones. 

I have one last rumor to spread. Apparently BlackBerry phones(not sure which ones, im guessing the 8830 or 8900 and up) will be able to print natively utilizing BES. Once I hear more ill be sure to post.

NS