Showing posts with label Windows Server 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windows Server 2008. Show all posts

New Remote Desktop Connection Manager 2.7 Released

Wednesday, November 19, 2014


Note: Microsoft has discontinued Remote Desktop Manager (RDCMan 2.7) in March 2020 due to a security vulnerability. Customers are encouraged to use the MSTSC client built-in to Windows instead.
Microsoft released a new version of Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) 2.7 to the public today.

RDCMan is a central place where you can organize, group, and manage your various Remote Desktop connections. This is particularly useful for system administrators, developers, testers, and lab managers who maintain groups of computers and connect to them frequently. I probably spend more time in RDC Manager than any other application during the day.

The previous version 2.2 was last released in May 2010, so this is a very welcome update. Previous versions lacked some functions and caused excessive CPU utilization on some computers, especially those with Nvidia GPUs. RDCMan was written by Julian Burger, one of the principal developers on the Windows Live Experiences team.

RDCMan 2.7 version is a major feature release. New features include:

  • Virtual machine connect-to-console support.
  • Smart groups.
  • Support for credential encryption with certificates.
  • Windows 8 remote action support (charms, app commands, switch tasks, etc).
  • Support for Windows 8, Windows 8.1 / Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2.
  • Log Off Server now works properly on all versions.
Important Upgrade Notes: You should know that when you upgrade, RDCMan will be unable to read any saved encrypted passwords. You will need to re-enter your saved encrypted passwords after installation.
The workaround is to set the "Store password as clear text" checkbox in RDCMan 2.2 for preexisting groups and/or servers. When you upgrade to version 2.7, RDCMan will read the existing passwords and will encrypt them. "Store passwords as plain text" is no longer an option in version 2.7.


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Fix for problems installing UcmaRedist.msi on Windows Server 2008 or R2

Friday, September 24, 2010

You may have problems installing UcmaRedist.msi (the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2, Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API 2.0 Core Redist 64-bit) on Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2.  I ran across this myself when installing the Microsoft Office Communications 2007 R2 Web Service Provider for Lync Server 2010.

You receive the following error:
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2, Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API 2.0 Core Redist 64-bit installation requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. Installation can not continue.
This happens if you have the .NET Framework 4.0 installed.  Uninstall the Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Extended and then the Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile components from Control Panel > Programs and Features.  Then restart the server and install UcmaRedist.msi.
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Exchange 2007 Test-ReplicationHealth Shows False Warning for CCR Geo-Clusters

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Test-ReplicationHealth cmdlet in Exchange 2007 will show an inaccurate warning for the ClusterNetwork check if your CCR nodes are configured in geographically dispersed clusters.

Exchange 2007 CCR clusters must be located on the same subnet(s) when deployed on Windows 2003 servers.  Clustering enhancements in Windows Server 2008 enable you to create clusters in different subnets, negating the need to do networking acrobatics like stretching VLANs across geographic sites.  Unfortunately, the Test-ReplicationHealth cmdlet still expects that the network adapters are on the same network and will display the following warning if they are not:
Server Check Result Error

------ ----- ------ -----
EXNODE1 PassiveNodeUp Passed

EXNODE1 ClusterNetwork WARNING Warnings:
Network 'EXNODE2 Public' used for client connectivity is up but node 'EXNODE1' does not have a Network Interface Card configured on it. Check that a NIC is configured for this network and is enabled.

Network 'EXNODE2 Private' used for internal cluster communications is up; however, node 'EXNODE1' does not appear to have a configured network interface card (NIC). Check that a NIC is configured and enabled for this network on this node.
Network 'EXNODE1 Private' used for internal cluster communications is up; however, node 'EXNODE2' does not appear to have a configured network interface card (NIC). Check that a NIC is configured and enabled for this network on this node.
Network 'EXNODE1 Public' used for client connectivity is up but node 'EXNODE2' does not have a Network Interface Card configured on it. Check that a NIC is configured for this network and is enabled.


EXNODE1 QuorumGroup Passed
EXNODE1 FileShareQuorum Passed
EXNODE1 CmsGroup Passed
EXNODE1 NodePaused Passed
EXNODE1 DnsRegistrationStatus Passed
EXNODE1 ReplayService Passed
EXNODE1 DBMountedFailover Passed
EXNODE1 SGCopySuspended Passed
EXNODE1 SGCopyFailed Passed
EXNODE1 SGInitializing Passed
EXNODE1 SGCopyQueueLength Passed
EXNODE1 SGReplayQueueLength Passed

VLEM SGReplayQueueLength Passed
This behavior also affects System Center Operations Manager 2007, since SCOM uses the same Test-ReplicationHealth cmdlet to monitor Exchange 2007 replication health.  This will cause the CCR nodes to show in a critical condition for the Exchange 2007 Test Replication Health Monitor - Log Shipping monitor.
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Comprehensive List of Hyper-V Hotfixes

Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Microsoft maintains a website on TechNet that contains a comprehensive list of all the hotfixes that pertain to Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V R2 and Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.

Hyper-V Update List for Windows Server 2008 R2

Hyper-V Update List for Windows Server 2008

Each update includes a description and a link to download the hotfix or patch.

These sites also highlight one of the great features of TechNet - the Community Content area at the bottom of the page where users can annotate TechNet articles.  You will see that users have listed other updates that they feel are missing from Microsoft's lists.
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Hotfix ID – What Does This GUID Stand For?

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Recently, I came across a problem when running the Cluster Validation Wizard where the two nodes did not match in the Validate Software Update Levels section.

You must run the Validate test on fully configured solutions before you configure the Failover Cluster to verify the proposed solution. All tests must pass with either a green checkmark (passed) or a yellow yield sign (warning), in order to obtain product support from Microsoft. See the Microsoft Support Policy for Windows Server 2008 Failover Clusters.

The yellow yield sign indicates that this particular aspect of the proposed solution is not in alignment with Microsoft best practices. However, this aspect will still work and will be considered a supported configuration. Personally, I never deploy a production cluster unless I get a completely green result.

As shown above, one of the Windows Server 2008 servers was indicating a warning of "Software Updates missing on 'servername'" and the missing updates are listed only as a GUIDs, with no description.

I searched the Interwebs for anything on related to either GUID, with no luck. Then I came across a nifty script by Guy Teverovsky, a Premier Field Engineer for Platforms at Microsoft Israel. You run the script on the node that's missing the updates.

Here's the syntax:

C:\>cscript GetPatchInfo.vbs /?
Displays details of installed patches/hotfixes
Usage: cscript GetPatchInfo.vbs [/guid:]
/guid: The GUID of the hotfix
Running the script without parameters will enumerate all
the patches installed.

Sample output:

C:\>cscript GetPatchInfo.vbs /guid:{47740627-D81D-4A45-A215-03B075A18EC7}
-------------------------------------------------------
Patch Name: Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Patch Code: {47740627-D81D-4A45-A215-03B075A18EC7}
More Info URL:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937162Patch
State: Installed
Product Code:{90120000-00A4-0409-0000-0000000FF1CE}
Product Name: Microsoft Office 2003 Web Components

I'm also hosting the script here on my blog, just in case it becomes unavailable from his site sometime in the future.

Download GetPatchInfo.zip

In my case, the GUIDs {DEBD1C94-5AAB-4E46-A130-359A52D2bb65} and {2B3A711E-1265-4D05-ACBB-B7677EA6E860} refer to the SCOM 2007 agent, which was missing on one of the nodes.

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NTFS Inheritance Rule Change

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Up until recently, NTFS permissions have followed these inheritance rules:

  • If a file or folder is copied to some other location, it will inherit the new location's NTFS permissions.
  • If a file or folder is moved to some other location on a different disk drive, it will inherit the new location's NTFS permissions.
  • If a file or folder is moved to some other location on the same disk drive, it will retain the original location's NTFS permissions.

One of the NTFS inheritance rules changed in Windows 2008, R2, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Now if you move a file or folder, it will inherit the new location's NTFS permissions, even if the new location is on the same disk drive. This is a radical shift that you need to taken into account when you're moving files.

You can find a reference to this change in the Notes section in the Microsoft article "Inherited permissions are not automatically updated when you move folders".

Thanks to Murat Yildirimoglu, an MCSE and MCT in Istanbul, Turkey, for the article.

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Windows 7 Interoperability Pack Released

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Microsoft announced today the release of the Platform Update for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, as well as Remote Desktop Connection Client 7.0 and Windows Management Framework.  This was previously known as the Windows 7 Interoperability Pack.

Please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles for more information.
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Hyper-V-Worker Event 23012 Explained

Friday, October 23, 2009


If you load a Windows Server 2008 R2 virtual machine on a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V host server, you will get an error on the host server similar to the following:

Log Name: Microsoft-Windows-Hyper-V-Worker-Admin

Source: Microsoft-Windows-Hyper-V-Worker
Date: 10/23/2009 7:56:48 AM
Event ID: 23012
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords:
User: NETWORK SERVICE
Computer: mailgate.theguillets.com

Description:
Device 'VMBus' in 'EX1 ENT x64' cannot load because it is incompatible with virtualization stack. Server version 13 Client version 65537 (Virtual machine 98EEEED7-A97D-48CF-87F5-E1E8F698D169).
This happens because the Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Integration Components are not compatible with the Hyper-V v1 release components. 

Incompatible does not mean they won't work - because they do.  It's just that the R2 version includes enhancements and changes that are beyond the capabilities of Hyper-V v1.

If you want to run an R2 build in a VM on Hyper-V v1 and you don't want to see this error, use a Legacy NIC for the R2 VM.

The Integration Components are already present in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.  You do not need to install them on these VMs.  You can only upgrade the Integration Components, not downgrade them.
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RAM Upgrade

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
I just doubled the RAM on my Hyper-V server to 16GB. This is the server that hosts this blog, as well as my other domains and Exchange 2007. Much faster!

Now I have more room to add another Windows Server 2008 R2 test domain and Exchange 2010. Good thing, too, since I just got an invitation email from Microsoft to take the beta exam 71-662: TS: Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, Configuring. I'll probably be taking that in September.
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Exchange 2007 won't be coming to R2

Thursday, July 30, 2009
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 is supported on Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 servers, but will not be supported on the upcoming Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system.

The reason, according to Michael Atalla, group product manager in the Unified Communications group at Microsoft, is lack of resources. "We are focusing our resources on getting Exchange Server 2010, which will be fully tested and supported on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, customer ready to be released later this year."

This means that if you're planning to do a complete operating system refresh when Windows Server 2008 R2 is released later this year, you'll have to move to Exchange 2010 as well. Not that I need any more reasons to do so, anyway. Exchange 2010 rocks!
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Be Aware: Windows Server 2008 SP2 Re-enables Disabled NICs

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Be aware installing Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2) will re-enable any network adapters that were disabled prior to the update. This will also affect computers updated with Windows Vista Service Pack 2.

[Before installing SP2]

[After installing SP2]

This is important for several reasons. It is best practice on Hyper-V servers to disable the virtual NIC assigned to VM guests, so that a host with a dedicated management NIC does not use the NICs assigned to VM guests. SP2 re-enables all these virtual NICs, as well.

Sometimes disabled NICs should only be enabled for disaster recovery purposes. Enabling these NICs at startup could have dire consequences in these rare situations.

It's important to understand that if you're using the Windows Firewall, the server uses the most secure firewall network profile for all NICs. If your domain joined computer has more than one NIC, but only the NIC that is used to connect to the domain is enabled, the Windows Firewall uses the Domain Network profile. However, after installing SP2 the computer will start up with all NICs enabled. If the previously disabled NICs are not connected, the Windows Firewall will use the Public Network profile, which uses much different firewall policies -- potentially causing service interruptions.

My advice is to document your network connections prior to installing Windows Server 2008 SP2, so you can reconfigure them when your done with the update.

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Well, that was fun...

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Being that Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 was released today, you just know I had to load it up on my production machines. So confident in the build quality, I am, I decided to install it on all my physical and virtual servers over an RDP connection.

The installs went perfectly. So good, in fact, that I even ran the CompCln.exe utility that's included in SP2 that deletes all the backup files created during the SP2 installation process. No turning back now, and why would I? Everything installed just fine.

...until I got home to my server and found that the display, keyboard and mouse were unresponsive. I RDP'd into the server and restarted it. Fail. Started in Safe Mode. Fail. Last Known Good. Fail. Fail. Fail.

Not relishing having to rebuild my main Hyper-V server, I gave it one last shot by starting up in Safe Mode Command Prompt Only mode. I suspected it was the VGA driver, so I changed to the Windows\System32\Drivers folder, renamed the ATI video driver (aitkmdag.sys) and restarted. Success! The server started up normally using the Standard VGA Graphics Adapter. Crisis averted.

I can't blame SP2 for this mess. I attibute it to the buggy beta ATI drivers I had installed. In any event, I'm glad I got the server up and running without having to rebuild it all.
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Windows Server 2008 and Vista Service Pack 2 Released

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Today, Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista.

Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista is an update to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. It provides customer and partner feedback-driven fixes into a single service pack, minimizing deployment and testing complexity. In addition to all previously released updates since SP1, SP2 supports new types of hardware, and adds support for several emerging standards.

Details and download links can be found at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd767623.aspx?ITPID=wtcfeed.

Notable changes in Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Windows Vista SP2 can be viewed from this link.

Along with all the other fixes and rollups that are currently available through hotfixes and rollups, it includes improved power management and new Group Policy settings.
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How to Hide a User Account on the Logon Screen

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Maybe you created a user account on your XP computer so your nephew could use it when he was visiting you. Now he's gone home and you really don't want to see that account choice every time you log on to Windows, but you also don't want to just delete the account because he'll probably be back again next year. Here's how to hide an account from the logon screen:

  • Before editing the registry, always back it up just to be safe.

  • Open the registry editor and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \
Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon \ SpecialAccounts \
UserList

Note: The SpecialAccounts \ UserList keys may not exist on your computer. If they do not, create them.

  • In the right pane, you'll see a list of items that correspond to the user accounts that exist on the computer but are not shown on the logon screen. You'll probably be surprised at how many there are.

  • Right click an empty space in the right pane, select NEW and DWORD value.
    Right click the new value and rename it to the exact name of the user account you want to hide.

  • Close the registry editor.

Now the account name won't show up on the logon screen. You can unhide the account at any time by deleting the registry key you created. Your nephew can still log onto the account while it's hidden. Just press CTRL+ALT+DEL twice in a row at the logon screen and you'll get the logon dialog box that allows you to type in the username.

Note: This tip works for Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. The SpecialAccounts key may not exist by default, but if you create it as specified above it works a treat!

Additional Note: I've discovered this tip does not work in Windows Vista because Microsoft removed the "Classic Logon" functionality from this OS. You can still hide the account, but you won't be able to logon as this hidden account by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del twice. You can, however still switch to this account using user account switching.

Thanks to Deb Shinder for the tip!

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How To Enable Change Notification On All Site Links

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Normally, there are two replication intervals for Active Directory in a Windows domain: Intra-site (replication between DCs in the same site) and Inter-site (replication between DCs in different Active Directory sites).
Intra-site replication is very fast - typically around 15 seconds. This schedule can be configured via the registry using the following values in the HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Service\NTDS\Parameters key:

Replicator notify pause after modify (secs)It is a REG_DWORD value of 15 by default
Replicator notify pause between DSAs (secs)It is a REG_DWORD value of 3 by default
See Microsoft TechNet (Active Directory Replication Tools and Settings) for a thorough explanation of what these keys do.Inter-site replication is dictated by the schedule associated with the replication connection in Active Directory Sites and Services. Using this GUI you can specify that the connector never replicates or to replicate once, twice or four times per hour.
Note: The inter-site replication schedule runs based on the server startup time. For example, if the DC starts up at 12:10pm and the replication connector's schedule is set to twice per hour, replication on this connector will occur at 12:10pm, 12:40pm, etc.
But what if you want Intersite replication to occur more frequently than every 15 minutes? For this, you must enable Change Notification on the Active Directory site link. How you do this depends on which OS is on your DC.

For Windows 2003 Domain Controllers:
  • Open ADSIEdit.msc (in the Windows Support Tools) as a Domain Admin
  • Open the Configuration naming context
  • Navigate to Sites > Inter-Site Transports > IP
  • Right-click the siteLink to modify in the results pane and click Properties
  • Locate the options attribute and edit the value from 0 to 1
  • Click OK and repeat for other siteLinks, as necessary.

For Windows 2008 and Windows 2008 R2 Domain Controllers:
You can use the same method as Windows Server 2003 DCs or you can edit the values directly from AD Sites and Services, as follows.
  • Locate the Inter-Site Transport site link to modify, typically DEFAULTIPSITELINK, in AD Sites and Services
  • Right-click the site link and choose Properties
  • Click the Attribute Editor tab
  • Locate the options attribute and edit the value from 0 to 1
  • Click OK and repeat for other Site Links, as necessary.
I also wrote two VBScripts for displaying and configuring Change Notification:
  • DisplayChangeNotification.vbs displays the current value of the options attribute on each site link in the Active Directory domain where it is run.
  • EnableChangeNotification.vbs will enable Change Notification on all site links in the Active Directory domain where it is run by changing the options value to 1.
Both scripts are in the ChangeNotificationScripts.zip file, located here.
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Add RunAs Functionality to Windows Server 2008 for All Users

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

You may be aware that Windows Server 2008 does not allow you to "Run As a Different User", only "Run As Administrator."

You may also be aware of ShellRunAs, by Sysinternals. ShellRunAs adds command-line RunAs funtionality to the context menu of executable programs. Once installed using the command "ShellRunAs /reg", you can right-click on any program, select "Run as a different user," and enter the credentials of the user you want to run the program as.

This RunAs functionality allows you to logon to a server with low level permissions and still run programs that require higher permissions, thereby keeping your server safe and happy.

The only problem with ShellRunAs is that it is a per user installation. That means that it needs to be "installed" for each user on the server. This is because "ShellRunAs /reg" actually updates the registry for the current user (HKCU) hive. This can be a real problem for servers where a lot of different people logon, such as a Terminal Server.

So how do you provide this functionality for all users on the server? Read on to find out how.

  • Download ShellRunAs from Sysinternals and extract ShellRunAs.exe to %SystemRoot%\System32

  • Use Notepad to create a reg file called ShellRunAs.reg with the following content:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\lnkfile\Shell\Run as different user...\Command]
@="\"C:\\Windows\\System32\\ShellRunas.exe\" \"%1\" %*"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.exe\Shell\Run as different user...\Command]
@="\"C:\\Windows\\System32\\ShellRunas.exe\" "%1\"%*"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.msc\Shell\Run as different user...\Command]
@="\"C:\\Windows\\System32\\ShellRunas.exe\" \"%1\" %*"

  • Finally, double-click the ShellRunAs.reg file to import it into the registry.

Now right-click an application or program and you will see the new "Run as a different user" menu option. Best of all, it will work for all users on the server without having to register it for each user.

Note: When a user selects Run as a different user for the first time, they will have to accept the end user license agreement. This only happens once because the EULA acceptance is written to the HKCU hive for each user.

By the way, this Run as a different user and Run as Administrator functionality is native in Windows Server 2008 R2.

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Windows Server 2008 and R2 Default Background Colors

Sunday, February 22, 2009
Have you ever changed the default Windows Server 2008 desktop color and wanted to change it back? The blueish-green color is not shown in the default palette, so you have to enter the RGB values manually.

Red = 29
Green = 95
Blue = 122

Here are the RGB values for the default Windows Server 2008 R2 desktop:

Red = 58
Green = 110
Blue = 165


While I'm at it, here is the formula for the cool smokey blue background for Windows PowerShell 2:

Red = 1
Green = 36
Blue = 86
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How to Enable Aero Glass on Windows Server 2008 and R2

Sunday, February 15, 2009
Some of us geeks like to use Windows Server 2008 or R2 as our desktop operating system. It's rock solid and offers more features and better perfomance than Windows Vista.

If you're missing the Vista Aero Glass interface on your Windows Server 2008, here's how to enable all that eye candy goodness.

First, you need to install the Desktop Experience feature using Server Manager, or with the following command line:

ServerManagerCmd -i Desktop-Experience

This will install the Windows Aero and other desktop themes, along with a lot of other programs that go into Vista by default (Windows Media Player, Windows Photo Gallery, etc.).

Next, you need to set the Themes service to Automatic and start it.

If you're running Windows Server 2008 (not Windows Server 2008 R2):
  • Click Control Panel > Personalization
  • Click Windows Color and Appearance and select the Windows Aero color scheme
  • (To turn Aero off, click Theme and select the Windows Classic theme)
For Windows Server 2008 R2:
  • Click Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization
  • Click Personalization and select the Aero Theme

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How to Modify the All Users Startup Menu

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

As you no doubt know, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have modified the locations for user profiles. They are no longer in %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings and exist in the %ProgramData%\Users folder.

However, to modify the All Users profile to add a shortcut to the Startup menu you actually need to access the %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup folder.

See Peter Fitzsimon's blog for all the gory details.

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Customizing Server Manager in Windows Server 2008

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

This article explains how to create a customized Server Manager console for Windows Server 2008 that displays more (or less) MMC snap-ins and extensions. The example above shows the default Server Manager console with the Microsoft Exchange 2007 and Queue Viewer snap-ins added to it. Note that you can't customize the default Server Manager console in Windows Server 2008, but you can create a new one that you can customize.

To begin, use Windows Explorer to navigate to the %WINDIR%\System32 folder, right-click ServerManager.msc, and select Author. This will open the MSC for editing.

Click File, Options and set the Console Mode to User mode - full access. This will cause the new console to automatically save and remember views and changes you make to the console in the future. Click OK.

To add new snap-ins to the console, click File, Add/Remove Snap-in. Now click the Advanced button and select the checkbox to Allow changing the parent snap-in and click OK. Select Server Manager from the Parent snap-in drop-down box. This is where the new snap-ins will be added.

Now select the additional snap-in(s) you want to add to the console. In my example, I double-clicked Exchange Server 2007 and Queue Viewer to add them below the Server Manager snap-in, as shown below.

If you want to remove extensions (or features) from a snap-in, select the snap-in under Selected snap-ins and click the File Extensions button. Click Enable only selected extensions and clear the check-box for the extensions you want to hide, such as Component Services and Disk Management Extension in the example below, and click OK.


Once you've added and configured the snap-ins you want to add to the console, you have to save it. Click File, Save as and give the new console a unique name, such as ServerManager1.msc. Windows will save the new console in the %WINDIR%\System32 folder by default.

Now modify the Server Manager icon in the Windows task bar to launch the new console. Right-click the Server Manager icon in the Quick Launch toolbar and select Properties. Change the Target path to read %SystemRoot%\system32\ServerManager1.msc and click OK, as shown below.

Now when you click the Server Manager icon in the task bar, your new Server Manager console will be displayed with the new snap-ins. Not only that, Server Manager will remember states of extensions (such as always displaying the Standard view of Windows Services, a pet peeve of mine) and will also open to the last extension you viewed. If you decide you want to add or remove snap-ins from this console in the future, simply right-click the console icon and select Author to make your changes.

Hope this helps you out!


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