Friday, May 30, 2008

Have you ever wanted to change the location of the My Documents folder from the local hard drive to a network drive? In previous versions of the Windows operating system, performing this task required a series of tricky registry edits.

However, that's not the case in Windows XP. A built-in feature allows you to quickly and easily change the location of My Documents.

Follow these steps:

1. Press [Windows]E to open My Computer.

2. Right-click the My Documents icon in the folder tree, and select Properties.

This opens the My Documents Properties dialog box, and selects the Target tab by default. My Documents is actually a shortcut to a folder, and the Target text box in the Target Folder Location section displays the path to this folder.

To change the location of the My Documents folder, type the new path in the Target text box, or click the Move button.

Clicking the Move button opens a standard browsing dialog box. Use the controls to drill down to any local or network drive you want.

Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

Group Policy - deploy and manage software

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tr/downloads/home/0735622175_chapter_9.pdf

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Windows Server 2003 Command Reference Guide

http://preplogic.com/products/documents/cmd-ref-guide/Server03_Com_Ref.pdf

GPMC - Group Policy Management Console

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0A6D4C24-8CBD-4B35-9272-DD3CBFC81887&displaylang=en

Roaming Profile

http://www.petri.co.il/copy_user_profiles_in_windows_xp.htm

How to Create and Copy Roaming User Profiles in Windows XP

View products that this article applies to.

Article ID	:	314478
Last Review	:	August 6, 2002
Revision	:	1.0

This article was previously published under Q314478

For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see 142682 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/142682/EN-US/).

On This Page

SUMMARY

MORE INFORMATION

Create a Roaming Profile

Copy a User Profile

Update the User Profile Path

SUMMARY

You may have reason to copy a defined user profile to a number of users. This presents each user with an identical initial profile at logon. Each user can then modify this profile as required.

This article explains how to copy a profile to another location. It may be difficult to determine the correct syntax to use in the Copy To dialog box for the destination path when you attempt to create a roaming profile. This article addresses this issue.

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MORE INFORMATION

Create a Roaming Profile

To create a roaming profile, follow these steps:

1.	Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu that appears.
2.	Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under User Profiles.
3.	In the Profiles stored on this computer list, click the profile that you want.
4.	To change the type of profile, click Change Type, click Roaming profile, and then click OK.

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Copy a User Profile

To copy an existing user profile to another user's account, follow these steps:

Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu that appears.

Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under User Profiles.

In the Profiles stored on this computer list, click the profile that you want to copy.

Click Copy To.

In the Copy To dialog box, do one of the following:

•

In the Copy profile to box, type the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path to the target user's profile folder. For example type the following:

\\ServerName\ShareName\UsersProfileDirectory

-or-

•

Click Browse, and then navigate to the user profile folder that you want to copy the profile to. Click OK.

Under Permitted to use, click Change. Type the name of the user that will be permitted to use this profile, and then click OK.

NOTE: Verify that you are not choosing users or groups from a Microsoft Windows NT-based domain, because Windows XP is designed to use Active Directory to select domains.

In the Copy To dialog box, click OK. If you receive a "Confirm Copy" message, click Yes.

Click OK twice.

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Update the User Profile Path

Update the user profile path to point to the new profile. To do this, follow these steps:

1.	On a domain controller, start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. Expand the domain, and then expand the organizational unit that contains the user account that you want.
2.	Right-click the user account that you want, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu that appears.
3.	Click the Profile tab, and then type the UNC path to the new profile folder in the Profile path box.
4.	Click Apply, and then click OK.

After the user has successfully logged on, the profile is saved on the server as a roaming profile, and any profile changes are saved to the server.

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APPLIES TO

•	Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition

How do I copy a user profile in Windows XP? Why is the COPY TO button grayed out?

To copy a user profile in XP do the following:

Open System applet in Control Panel (or right-click My Computer and choose Properties). Click the Advanced tab.

Daniel Petri's XP Professional Recommendations

By the way, if you are looking to really master Windows XP Professional, I strongly recommend that you try the Windows XP Video Training at Train Signal. I receive hundreds of emails a month asking for my ?recommendation for IT training? and I discovered this company several months ago. I like to send people their way because the training is so good (and it cuts down on a lot of my email!). I have used and reviewed A LOT of training products over the years and none of them come close to matching the quality or amount of detail found in Train Signal?s courses. Read more (and watch a demo!) on their Windows XP Professional Training.

Daniel Petri

In the User Profiles section click Settings.

Highlight the user profile you want to copy. Press Copy To.

You can't copy the profile you're currently logged in with. Also, I do believe that if you've ever been logged into a profile without rebooting you won't be able to copy that profile either. So you might have to restart before you can copy the profile.

To fix this "feature" you should log on as your preferred user (who should be an administrator, to make things easier), make all the needed changes, log off, log on as an administrator, then try to copy the previous user profile. Now it should work.

In the Copy To dialog box enter the path to where you want to copy the profile to. You can also browse. The default location for the user's profile should be

%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\username

You can also copy the profile to a network share:

You can also use the %username% variable to auto-create a subfolder with the user's name.

Note: This might not work when creating folders on FAT partitions, and if you're copying another user's profile you'll end up with a folder with YOUR name, not the user's name...

Press OK to start copying.

If this profile is to be used by a specific user make sure that user will have access right to the folder. In the Permitted to Use section click Change. Enter the user's name and press Check Names. You can choose to enter user names from the AD or from the local computer's SAM, depending upon it's membership in a domain or in a workgroup.

If the profile will be used by many users (such as copying it to the Default User profile) make sure you give Everyone access rights.

Press Ok.

Open Windows Explorer and see if the profile was copied successfully.

Password Cracks

http://sectools.org/crackers.html

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Password Reset

· I downloaded EBCD (http://ebcd.pcministry.com/). It's an ISO that basically has a Linux flavor on it but it boots straight into an easy-to-use menu. You just select the windows password reset option, select the defaults for file locations, and then select the user and the password to change. I've used it on Windows 2000 machines, Windows XP machines, Windows 2000 Server machine. Works flawlessly. One recommendation: If you do use it, just use * as the new password. This will blank out the old password. Then you can boot into windows and safely login with no password and change it to whatever you like. Sometimes these utilities have issues with different flavors of windows re-encrypting a new password so it's best to just blank it out.

Password Reset

Can't Log On to Windows XP?

If that’s your only problem, then you probably have nothing to worry about. As long as you have your Windows XP CD, you can get back into your system using a simple but effective method made possible by a little known access hole in Windows XP.

This method is easy enough for newbies to follow – it doesn’t require using the Recovery Console or any complicated commands. And it’s free - I mention that because you can pay two hundred dollars for an emergency download of Winternals ERD with Locksmith which is a utility for unlocking lost Windows passwords. See here http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/locksmith.asp

ERD is an excellent multi purpose product, but you should know it is not a necessary one if you have a healthy system and your sole problem is the inability to logon to Windows due to a forgotten password. Not necessary because you can easily change or wipe out your Administrator password for free during a Windows XP Repair. Here’s how with a step-by-step description of the initial Repair process included for newbie’s.

1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it’s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)

2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from cd”

3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.

4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now

5. The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.

6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.

It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it”

Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the Repair process.

7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.

8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot. (this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds”

9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key” to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is highlighted.

10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. This is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.

11. At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.

12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you’ve made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your Product key handy).

13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.

I tested the above on Windows XP Pro with and without SP1 and also used this method in a real situation where someone could not remember their password and it worked like a charm to fix the problem. This security hole allows access to more than just user accounts. You can also access the Registry and Policy Editor, for example. And its gui access with mouse control. Of course, a Product Key will be needed to continue with the Repair after making the changes, but for anyone intent on gaining access to your system, this would be no problem.

And in case you are wondering, NO, you cannot cancel install after making the changes and expect to logon with your new password.

Cancelling will just result in Setup resuming at bootup and your changes will be lost.

Ok, now that your logon problem is fixed, you should make a point to prevent it from ever happening again by creating a Password Reset Disk. This is a floppy disk you can use in the event you ever forget your log on password. It allows you to set a new password.

Here's how to create one if your computer is NOT on a domain:

Go to the Control Panel and open up User Accounts.
Choose your account (under Pick An Account to Change) and under Related Tasks, click "Prevent a forgotten password".
This will initiate a wizard.
Click Next and then insert a blank formatted floppy disk into your A: drive.
Click Next and enter your logon password in the password box.
Click Next to begin the creation of your Password disk.
Once completed, label and save the disk to a safe place

How to Log on to your PC Using Your Password Reset Disk

Start your computer and at the logon screen, click your user name and leave the password box blank or just type in anything. This will bring up a Logon Failure box and you will then see the option to use your Password Reset disk to create a new password. Click it which will initiate the Password Reset wizard. Insert your password reset disk into your floppy drive and follow the wizard which will let you choose a new password to use for your account.

Note: If your computer is part of a domain, the procedure for creating a password disk is different.

See here for step by step instructions: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;306214&

Reset Password

Can't Log On to Windows XP?
If that’s your only problem, then you probably have nothing to worry about. As long as you have your Windows XP CD, you can get back into your system using a simple but effective method made possible by a little known access hole in Windows XP.
This method is easy enough for newbies to follow – it doesn’t require using the Recovery Console or any complicated commands. And it’s free - I mention that because you can pay two hundred dollars for an emergency download of Winternals ERD with Locksmith which is a utility for unlocking lost Windows passwords. See here http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/locksmith.asp
ERD is an excellent multi purpose product, but you should know it is not a necessary one if you have a healthy system and your sole problem is the inability to logon to Windows due to a forgotten password. Not necessary because you can easily change or wipe out your Administrator password for free during a Windows XP Repair. Here’s how with a step-by-step description of the initial Repair process included for newbie’s.
1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it’s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)
2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from cd”
3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now
5. The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.
6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it”
Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the Repair process.
7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.
8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot. (this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds”
9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key” to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is highlighted.
10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. This is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.
11. At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.
12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you’ve made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your Product key handy).
13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.
I tested the above on Windows XP Pro with and without SP1 and also used this method in a real situation where someone could not remember their password and it worked like a charm to fix the problem. This security hole allows access to more than just user accounts. You can also access the Registry and Policy Editor, for example. And its gui access with mouse control. Of course, a Product Key will be needed to continue with the Repair after making the changes, but for anyone intent on gaining access to your system, this would be no problem.
And in case you are wondering, NO, you cannot cancel install after making the changes and expect to logon with your new password.
Cancelling will just result in Setup resuming at bootup and your changes will be lost.
Ok, now that your logon problem is fixed, you should make a point to prevent it from ever happening again by creating a Password Reset Disk. This is a floppy disk you can use in the event you ever forget your log on password. It allows you to set a new password.
Here's how to create one if your computer is NOT on a domain:
Go to the Control Panel and open up User Accounts.
Choose your account (under Pick An Account to Change) and under Related Tasks, click "Prevent a forgotten password".
This will initiate a wizard.
Click Next and then insert a blank formatted floppy disk into your A: drive.
Click Next and enter your logon password in the password box.
Click Next to begin the creation of your Password disk.
Once completed, label and save the disk to a safe place
How to Log on to your PC Using Your Password Reset Disk
Start your computer and at the logon screen, click your user name and leave the password box blank or just type in anything. This will bring up a Logon Failure box and you will then see the option to use your Password Reset disk to create a new password. Click it which will initiate the Password Reset wizard. Insert your password reset disk into your floppy drive and follow the wizard which will let you choose a new password to use for your account.
Note: If your computer is part of a domain, the procedure for creating a password disk is different.
See here for step by step instructions: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;306214&

Monday, May 12, 2008

DHCP

How To Install and Configure a DHCP Server in a Workgroup in Windows Server 2003

View products that this article applies to.

Article ID	:	323416
Last Review	:	December 3, 2007
Revision	:	7.5

This article was previously published under Q323416

On This Page

SUMMARY

How to Install the DHCP Service

How to Install the DHCP Service on an Existing Server

How to Configure the DHCP Service

How to Create a New Scope

Troubleshooting

Clients Cannot Obtain an IP Address

The DHCP Server Is Unavailable

REFERENCES

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to configure a new Windows Server 2003-based Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server on a stand-alone server to provide centralized management of IP addresses and other TCP/IP configuration settings for the client computers on a network.

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How to Install the DHCP Service

Before you can configure the DHCP service, you must install it on the server. DHCP is not installed by default during a typical installation of Windows Standard Server 2003 or Windows Enterprise Server 2003. You can install DHCP either during the initial installation of Windows Server 2003 or after the initial installation is completed.

How to Install the DHCP Service on an Existing Server

1.	Click Start, point to Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.
2.	In the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, click Add/Remove Windows Components.
3.	In the Windows Components Wizard, click Networking Services in the Components list, and then click Details.
4.	In the Networking Services dialog box, click to select the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) check box, and then click OK.
5.	In the Windows Components Wizard, click Next to start Setup. Insert the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM into the computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so. Setup copies the DHCP server and tool files to your computer.
6.	When Setup is completed, click Finish.

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How to Configure the DHCP Service

After you have installed the DHCP service and started it, you must create a scope, which is a range of valid IP addresses that are available for lease to the DHCP client computers on the network. Microsoft recommends that each DHCP server in your environment have at least one scope that does not overlap with any other DHCP server scope in your environment. In Windows Server 2003, DHCP servers in an Active Directory-based domain must be authorized to prevent rogue DHCP servers from coming online. Any Windows Server 2003 DHCP Server that determines itself to be unauthorized will not manage clients.

How to Create a New Scope

1.	Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DHCP.
2.	In the console tree, right-click the DHCP server on which you want to create the new DHCP scope, and then click New Scope.
3.	In the New Scope Wizard, click Next, and then type a name and description for the scope. This can be any name that you want, but it should be descriptive enough so that you can identify the purpose of the scope on your network (for example, you can use a name such as "Administration Building Client Addresses"). Click Next.
4.	Type the range of addresses that can be leased as part of this scope (for example, use a range of IP addresses from a starting IP address of 192.168.100.1 to an ending address of 192.168.100.100). Because these addresses are given to clients, they must all be valid addresses for your network and not currently in use. If you want to use a different subnet mask, type the new subnet mask. Click Next.
5.	Type any IP addresses that you want to exclude from the range that you entered. This includes any addresses in the range described in step 4 that may have already been statically assigned to various computers in your organization. Typically, domain controllers, Web servers, DHCP servers, Domain Name System (DNS) servers, and other servers, have statically assigned IP addresses. Click Next.
6.	Type the number of days, hours, and minutes before an IP address lease from this scope expires. This determines how long a client can hold a leased address without renewing it. Click Next, and then click Yes, I want to configure these options now to extend the wizard to include settings for the most common DHCP options. Click Next.
7.	Type the IP address for the default gateway that should be used by clients that obtain an IP address from this scope. Click Add to add the default gateway address in the list, and then click Next.
8.	If you are using DNS servers on your network, type your organization's domain name in the Parent domain box. Type the name of your DNS server, and then click Resolve to make sure that your DHCP server can contact the DNS server and determine its address. Click Add to include that server in the list of DNS servers that are assigned to the DHCP clients. Click Next, and then follow the same steps if you are using a Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) server, by adding its name and IP address. Click Next.
9.	Click Yes, I want to activate this scope now to activate the scope and allow clients to obtain leases from it, and then click Next.
10.	Click Finish.
11.	In the console tree, click the server name, and then click Authorize on the Action menu.

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Troubleshooting

The following sections explain how to troubleshoot some of the issues that you may experience when you try to install and configure a Windows Server 2003-based DHCP server in a workgroup.

Clients Cannot Obtain an IP Address

If a DHCP client does not have a configured IP address, this typically indicates that the client was not able to contact a DHCP server. This can be caused by a network problem, or because the DHCP server is unavailable. If the DHCP server started and other clients can obtain valid addresses, verify that the client has a valid network connection and that all the related client hardware devices (including cables and network adapters) are working properly.

The DHCP Server Is Unavailable

If a DHCP server does not provide leased addresses to clients, it is frequently because the DHCP service did not start. If this is the case, the server may not be authorized to operate on the network. If you were previously able to start the DHCP service, but it has since stopped, use Event Viewer to check the System log for any entries that may explain why you cannot start the DHCP service.

To restart the DHCP service:

1.	Click Start, and then click Run.
2.	Type cmd, and then press ENTER.
3.	Type net start dhcpserver, and then press ENTER.

-or-

1.	Click Start, point to Control Panel, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Computer Management.
2.	Expand Services and Applications, and then click Services.
3.	Locate and then double-click DHCP Server.
4.	Verify that Startup is set to Automatic and that Service Status is set to Started. If not, click Start.
5.	Click OK, and then close the Computer Management window.

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REFERENCES

For additional information about DHCP in Windows Server 2003, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

169289 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/169289/EN-US/) DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Basics

167014 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/167014/EN-US/) DHCP Client May Fail to Obtain a DHCP-Assigned IP Address

133490 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/133490/EN-US/) Resolving Duplicate IP Address Conflicts on a DHCP Network

263217 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/263217/EN-US/) Windows DHCP Server Gives Incorrect Settings for the Default Gateway or the DNS Server

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APPLIES TO

•	Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
•	Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
•	Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition
•	Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition

Friday, May 30, 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Friday, May 23, 2008

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

How to Create and Copy Roaming User Profiles in Windows XP

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Monday, May 12, 2008

How To Install and Configure a DHCP Server in a Workgroup in Windows Server 2003

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