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  • Responding to another "I can't load Office 2003 on Vista" e-mail

    [updated to correct a typo - 10:48 27th May 2007] I get lots of mails similar to the one below as a result of the blog entries on the EULA not going away and the Office 2003 on Vista and in some cases the issues have been Vista, sometimes the CD and sometimes non-genuine software that someone has been sold (as a side note - it has never been the new security - UAC that has been at the root of the problem). Hi David, I have read your blog entry re: 2003 installation on Vista but I have a problem not previously mentioned. I am doing an install from the CD and have disabled UAC. I attempt to run the SETUP.EXE (as Systems Admin and even with the compatibility set to WinXP SP2) to no avail. The next dialog window comes up saying that the SETUP.INI file cannot be found (path: ./FILES/SETUP/SETUP.INI). I'm baffled because I take the same installation CD and I put it in my old WinXP box and I can explore to find the SETUP.INI file exists. Why is my Vista box not able to see this .ini? Do I need to install the mentioned...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sun, May 27 2007

  • Where will your customers be looking for solutions – will they stick to on premise, or will they move towards a S+S or SaaS solution not from you?

    I know the table above is really, really simple, but I wanted to start the ball rolling – I have been thinking about this for ages!! Let me explain the diagram. The horizontal axis signifies how much of a solution is hosted. An example of this might be Office Live or Hotmail, where almost all of the solution is hosted. We then have the “on premise” or on-site IT going vertically. For most people, this is solutions like SBS 2003. A typical S+S solution might be MS CRM Online which has online components, but also enables you to go off-web and use Outlook or one of the mobile clients when on the road. While many thought on-line would be the next best thing even the king of on-line, Google, have recently admitted that it would not always be the answer in the posting they made on April 1st. Steve Clayton did the leg work and checked this was not form of April fool too!! Even the NY Times is talking about it, which to me says it really is going mainstream - http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E180025742400363509...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sat, Apr 12 2008

  • Microsoft Windows security tools, Server 2008 readiness, step-by-step guides, virtualisation updates, synctoy beta, VHDs and LOTS on the new Terminal Services

    This is an extract from the TRM blog which can be found here http://blogs.technet.com/trm/ . I have removed the KB article list and some items which I don't think are relevant to small business / ISV partners, however the full info can be found on the blog page too. News Microsoft Security Assessment Tool 3.0 The Microsoft Security Assessment Tool (MSAT) is a risk-assessment application designed to provide information and recommendations about best practices for security within an information technology (IT) infrastructure. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=7623431 Start your Microsoft Windows 2008 Readiness Right Here Focus on readiness for Windows Server 2008 now, and you can be the one who stands out when initiatives happen - and when promotion decisions are made. Let Microsoft Learning resources give you the head start you need to transition your skills and credentials to the latest Windows Server technologies - from free elearning clinics and free ebook downloads. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=7623432...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Nov 1 2007

  • Office 2007 training for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Office, Access

    This is the download your own stuff: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT102036981033.aspx - currently 18 slide decks here Training presentation: Outlook 2007—Create great-looking signatures for your e-mail Rating: (16 votes) Training presentation: Microsoft Office—Get up to speed with the 2007 system Rating: (85 votes) Training presentation: PowerPoint 2007—Get up to speed Rating: (101 votes) Training presentation: Outlook 2007—Get out of your Inbox Rating: (21 votes) Training presentation: Microsoft Office—Keyboard shortcuts in the 2007 system Rating: (6 votes) Training presentation: PowerPoint 2007—Create your first presentation Rating: (81 votes) Training presentation: Access 2007—Get up to speed Rating: (17 votes) Training presentation: Word 2007—Get up to speed Rating: (55 votes) Training presentation: PowerPoint 2007—Get visual with SmartArt graphics New! Rating: (7 votes) Training presentation: Outlook 2007—Calendar basics Rating: (49 votes) Training presentation: Excel 2007—Create a chart Rating...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Feb 19 2007

  • Malware Removal Kit from Microsoft, including a boot from CD solution

    Malware Removal Kit The Malware Removal Kit is a download from TechNet that provides you with excellent guidance and tools to help you restore PCs infected with malware. The newest Solution Accelerator from Microsoft, it provides free, tested guidance to help you combat malware attacks and restore infected systems - so users can safely get back to work. The kit shows you how to use the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) to discover malware by performing a thorough offline scan of your computers, uncovering malware that may be hiding in the operating system. And once malware is located and identified, it can be quickly removed from infected PCs with a number of free anti-malware tools, like the Malicious Software Removal Tool from Microsoft. ttfn David Technorati Tags: Malware Removal , WinPE , Security
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Jul 24 2007

  • SBS 2008 backup under Hyper-V R2 gets dynamically swappable drives and what else is coming in Hyper-V 2008 R2

    I saw this and thought I would share it. Hyper-V R2, which is in beta already supports hot add/remove of drives, so native SBS 2008 Backup will work as youcan now dynamically add and remove those USB drives and they can be configured as pass-through disks so you will not have to create VHDs on them. Other interesting features for me were the live migration and huge memory support , all in the free version along with the management console! Hyper-V R2 BETA is available to test here . There is also an overview document that can be found here . In the overview document is the summary of Hyper-V as shipping today and the products as of tomorrow: Capabilities Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Windows Server 2008 R2 EE, DC Processor Architecture x64 only Yes Yes Yes Hypervisor-based Yes Yes Yes Product Type Standalone product Standalone product Operating System Number of Sockets (Licensing) Up to 4 Up to 8 Up to 8 = EE | Up to 64 = DC Number of cores supported by the hypervisor 24 (with...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Jan 21 2009

  • The Chronicles of Scargill: Office BETA

    Pete Scargill is the IT chair of the Federation of Small Business , and someone who can be fun to read his blog and knock about with - which I need to arrange again anyway. It was nice to see his appreciation for Office is finally public :-) Office BETA Have you tried the Office 2007 beta yet? Well, they've just brought out a "technical refresh" - why these people can't use simple terms like "update" I'll never know, however, for those of you who like to experiment, I have to say before I downloaded Office 2007 I was the first to be critical. "They've changed the interface, that'll never sell2 - well, I got that wrong, it's MARVELOUS. Anyone who thinks that the likes of Open Office can even hold a candle to this need to download the beta and have a tinker with it. I said when Office 2003 came out that it seemed like Microsoft had finally gotten their act together and I still stand by that - but the new stuff is even better! Source: The Chronicles of Scargill: Office BETA
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Oct 9 2006
    Filed under: ,

  • Windows Server SP2 (SBS 2003 (R2) with SP2 too) RSS/Checksum/TCP fix up now on Microsoft update

    Susan B has probably been at the forefront of SBS 2003 SP2 pains, so it is only right that it is her blog I see this posting on. SP2 RSS/Checksum/TCP fix up now on Microsoft update The Official SBS Blog : New SBS 2003 Updates released through Microsoft Update and WSUS: http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2007/06/08/new-sbs-2003-updates-released-through-microsoft-update-and-wsus.aspx New on Microsoft update is a sp2 patch that you should be installing BEFORE you install SP2. But the problem is that only gets MU'd offered up to you AFTER you install SP2. At that point in time there is a chance (especially with ISA on the box and broadcom nics) that you'll lose RDP/VPN. So I'm sticking with my recommendations from before.... SP2 RSS/Checksum/TCP fix up now on Microsoft update - E-Bitz - SBS MVP the Official Blog of the SBS "Diva" ttfn David Technorati Tags: Service Packs , SP2 , SBS 2003 R2 , SBS 2003
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Jun 8 2007

  • Microsoft software for Charities in the UK

    OK, so once upon a time I used to give out software for charities, but those days are gone. However, there is a fantastic deal available for charities via the Charity Exchange. The software is donated by Microsoft (and others) and then an administration charge is added. There are various criteria to be met to use the Charity Technology Exchange, but the overall pricing is VERY good for charities - and of course, if the software is discounted as this is the right thing to do, perhaps so should the services too ;-) Anyway, the site can he found at http://www.ctxchange.org/ctx/browse_products/microsoft/default.asp and the prices include software assurance, so the Office 2003 and Windows XP prices entitle the charity to Office 2007 and Windows Vista Enterprise (as it is a Volume License). An example would be a 50 seat SBS Premium solution with Windows XP and Office 2003 (both upgradable - also note that a previous Windows OS is required on the PC to load the Windows OS - it is an upgrade, not a version that can be...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Jan 26 2007

  • Do you want a Microsoft Architecture Poster?

    I saw this at Chris's site and thought I would share: Chris Bowen's Blog : Got Tech Posters? There are plenty of technology posters and charts for developers available on MSDN. I didn't realize just how many until I searched for "poster" on MSDN downloads . Here's a list of the more recent ones: [Edited list by David - more on Chris's blog] .NET 3.5 Namespaces Poster The .NET Framework 3.5 Common Namespaces and Types Poster Exchange Component Architecture Poster This poster highlights the architecture and feature set of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Visual Basic 2008 Keybinding Poster Printable wall poster containing list of useful keyboard shortcuts for Visual Basic 2008 developers Visual C++ 2008 Keybinding Poster List of keybindings for Visual C++ language within Visual Studio and Visual C++ Express 2008 Visual C# 2008 Poster Wall chart showing useful keyboard shortcuts for Visual C# programming language 2007 Office System: Developer Posters Download these posters to learn more...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sat, Dec 15 2007

  • I'm sorry - I am not perfect and nor is Microsoft. Sometimes it is our fault

    I can be abrasive sometimes and whether it "is my fault" or not, I don't always understand others' point of views. To this I would like to say "It is my fault". Now, if you have got up off the floor, let me give you a few examples. I say "contact our customer support" and you say "I don't have time". Before I rant - OK, I understand this, if you could share the bug at some time, we will try to fix it. We haven't been able to identify it yet, so need your help I say "There is no OEM media, get over it" and you say "I need OEM media to do my installs". OK, I can't fix this one. I do understand where you are coming from. If I were to share the fact that in the UK, which is a low piracy country, our tests so far have shown between 10-15% of all copies of Windows are pirated and many come from Action Packs and other OEM keys, does that help understand why this is such an issue? I do wish I could give you back OEM media, but I've been told it is just not possible. While Microsoft did publish the changes coming, I now...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Feb 19 2007

  • OneNote Calendar at OneNote PowerToys to view your notes against the day you wrote them

    I saw this and knew it was an awesome tool! Josh Einstein, the developer of TEO 3.0, has created a nifty new application for OneNote. The OneNote Calendar gives you a calendar view of all of your notes, allowing you to view them by when they were created or modified. There is a preview pane that allows you to view your notes. More good news. It is free. Source: Josh Einstein’s OneNote Calendar at OneNote PowerToys
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, May 28 2007

  • SBS 2008, Installation, Migration and Configuration – Chapter 8 - Migrating users and data from SBS 2003

    Migrating users and data from SBS 2003 This chapter covers the finalising of the migration tasks with the migration of the users and the remaining data from the SBS 2003 system to SBS 2008. This chapter covers: Migrating file shares Migrating the Fax data Migrate users and Groups Migrate LOB applications Finish the Migration I’m a firm believer in scripts and this chapter provides some scripts to simplify the task ahead. To order the book, go to http://davidoverton.com/r.ashx?1M . To find out more about my SBS 2008 BOOK - SBS 2008, Installation, Migration and Configuration click here thanks David Technorati Tags: SBS 2008 , Book , Microsoft , Migration , Installation , Configuration
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Apr 14 2009
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  • A SBS Blog to watch - Girish's Graffiti : How to use Performance Monitor Wizard (PerfWiz) on SBS

    This is just one example of the many blog entries on this blog that is again worth watching. Is it also worth mentioning that Girish supports SBS? Go to Girish's Graffiti to see lots of good stuff. How to use Performance Monitor Wizard (PerfWiz) on SBS You can download PerfWiz from here; http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=31fccd98-c3a1-4644-9622-faa046d69214&displaylang=en Many times when you have performance issues on your server you can use this tool to simplify creating performance counters. This will benefit you in the following way; you don't need to do this one by one manually and this would be a head start before you call for support. Because for most performance issues you may find that we would want to collect this from your system. So here is a step by step on how can do this More information at Girish's Graffiti : How to use Performance Monitor Wizard (PerfWiz) on SBS ttfn David Technorati Tags: SBS , Blog , If you only read one post today
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sat, Oct 20 2007

  • How to modify the Windows Vista Aurora, bubbles, mystify and ribbons screensaver hidden settings

    I saw this and thought I would share it for those who want to customise the screen savers that ship with Vista. Windows Vista Aurora Screensaver Hidden Settings For those of you who are using Windows Vista, you may have noticed that the screen savers that are included do not contain any settings. Actually, they do , but Microsoft didn't include options dialogs for them. Long Zheng posted the settings for the Bubbles, Mystify, and Ribbons screensavers back in September before Windows Vista officially shipped. But he didn't post the settings for Aurora . Through a little bit of digging and guess work, I've uncovered one registry key that actually works for customizing the Aurora screensaver. Let's get started, shall we? Kristan Kenney: Confessions of a Windows Enthusiast : Windows Vista Aurora Screensaver Hidden Settings ttfn David Technorati Tags: Vista Tweaks , Windows Vista , Vista
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Tue, Dec 11 2007

  • Want Microsoft to get you leads - this is how you do it

    One of the most commonly asked questions is "How do I get Microsoft to send me leads?" While we run campaigns that point people to the bCentral site and the find a small business IT advisor process some want more direct action. Well, using the Mr Busy campaign you can now get us to carry our a campaign on your behalf. Yes, that is right, we will carry out a campaign on your behalf to people you want to - either by e-mail (EM) or post (DM). The process is really simple - go here and read the instructions. For the Post Card campaign we know that using post cards effectively communicate with your customers and provide short and focused information. You can customise the postcard with your company details, your logo and a relevant web URL and phone number. We advise that the URL you supply has information about the IT healthcheck to increase the number of customers then contacting you. Your postcards will be sent directly to your customers in a neutral envelope within five business days of you submitting...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, May 23 2007

  • SharePoint User Group Meetings in UK (Newcastle and Reading) in September

    I got this e-mail today from the UK SharePoint User Group. They have two meetings coming up, one in Reading and one in Newcastle. Since SBS includes WSS and you can easily load WSS v3 onto it too, here are the details: Newcastle - 10th September MOSS MVP and general all round nice guy Spencer Harbar will be presenting an evening of goodness for all that attend. Arrive 6:30 for a 7pm start 1st Presentation: MOSS Server Farm Architecture & Design. This session introduces the fundamentals of MOSS Farm design including server roles, topology constraints and design goals which are paramount for delivery of a secure, available and scalable MOSS hosting platform. Each server roles’ unique characteristics will be covered with their associated trade-offs. In addition, three common models will be presented with a discussion of their strengths and weaknesses. 20 minute food and drinks break 2nd Presentatoin: Top 10 Tips for your SharePoint Development Environment. This session will present 10 essential tips, tricks,...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Sep 5 2007

  • Want to know more about Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0? Make time from 6pm in London on the 29th April 2008. Remember that you can load WSS v3 onto SBS 2003 and it is a part of SBS 2008 (Cougar) and Essential Business Server 2008 (Centro)

    I have said many a time that SharePoint will be a key asset for small business partners now and in the future and all the press suggests the exact same thing. Vijay has arranged, and will be presenting, at an Event in London with Steve Smith, Craig Carpenter and Bill English . Given the quality of the speakers, I would suggest that you sign up early to say that you will be there: Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0 Event for SBSC Partners on 29th April 2008 Venue & Time Microsoft London , Cardinal Place, 100 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5JL meeting at 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start and 9.00pm finish. Presentations from some of the worldwide experts on Sharepoint on Windows Sharepoint Sservices 3.0 which will be a key component of SBS 2008 and which can be installed as a side-by-side installation on SBS 2003. Presenters Steve Smith MVP and Craig Carpenter (co-owners of Combined Knowledge one of the leading Sharepoint Training Consultancies). Steve is also one of the organisers of the Sharepoint User Group in the UK...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Sat, Mar 22 2008

  • Manchester SBS Group (Kick Off Meeting) - 27th March 2008 - be there to see how it all starts again - with Chris Parkes, Ceri Thomas and me

    Ceri Thomas is planning a new group in Manchester and Chris Parkes will be there to host things with him for the 1st meeting. I will also be there slightly later in the evening. Below is the mail sent out by Danny Ovens to SBSC members in the area, but all are welcome. Dear Partner New: Manchester SBS Groups (Kick Off Meeting) What is the purpose of the SBS User Group....? SBS User Groups are partner meetings, run by partner, for partners. They are an independent forum that enable partners to meet one another, share best practice, learn how to better engage with IT Vendors and also hear directly from Microsoft about our products and strategies. · Partner to partner networking – how can collaborating, learning what successes others have had, sharing problems and concerns or working as a group help your business · Connect with Vendors – The group can invite Microsoft and others to attend and present to your agenda...be heard! · Plugged in to Manchester Northwest activities – We’re increasing our engagement with...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Mar 13 2008

  • Windows Home Server is coming ... What can it do?

    Unless you have been living under a stone it is probable that you know that Windows Home Server is coming to a shop near you very soon. Home Server is priced very keenly and offers a number of great facilities, but also has some restrictions on it. So, what does Home Server do: Centralised Unlimited Storage Sharing via folders, a web site that can be accesses from any internet connection, with PCs, game consoles and more Protection against failure of your connect PCs, your precious data (photos etc) any disk including the system disk in the home server and against unpatched PCs A platform for add-ins That is it - it is a great file and media home server that has amazing remote access and backup capability. It is still a Windows Server, built by the same team that deliver SBS, but it has some restrictions: It is not designed to be a Domain Controller It is often sold by OEMs as a headless (no monitor or keyboard to set it up) device with no requirement to ever use a keyboard or mouse Some server software might...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Thu, Sep 20 2007
    Filed under:

  • Why those Mac OS X vs Windows adverts are just so wrong … and so would the Linux vs Windows if they ran them

    What an amazing graphic … it talks about security issues and fixes. The nice “Apple” man seems to be hiding how many problems he has on his adverts :-) What is also interesting is how many issues are stilling being found on the various implementations of Linux. Obviously there is still more detail around this, so for the full rundown have a look at http://blogs.technet.com/security/archive/2008/01/23/download-windows-vista-one-year-vulnerability-report.aspx . ttfn David Technorati Tags: Apple , Microsoft , Redhat , Ubuntu , Security , Updates
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Apr 18 2008

  • Hybrid Disk Drives - Using Flash RAM to make disk drives more performant and reliable - and Vista ReadyDrive

    There is a great article at Computer World that talks about these hybrid drives as they are known. If you are not aware of them, then here is a very quick rundown. What are they: Traditional Hard Disk with larger cache (256MB-2GB) Uses Flash RAM instead of normal RAM Why is this interesting: Cache size is much larger Cache is not lost when power is turned off Disk can stay spun down for longer as cache can manage read/writes, saving batteries and reducing heat Saves 90% of the power required to read from disk when using the Flash RAM Improves boot time as some boot code can be stored in FLASH - or pre-cached at shutdown or hybernation There are two types of solution - one puts the cache physically on the drive and the other puts it on the motherboard, but the idea is the same. Some people worry about the life of the flash as there will be considerable writing to it. This is one of a couple of areas where Vista comes into the picture. Vista can be aware of the cache, so will manage disk reads, writes, spin up &...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 2 2006

  • How do I take a public folder offline

    I seem to have been asked this a number of times recently, so here is the answer. To take a public folder offline, simply add it to your favourites and then enable synching of public folders. Mark the public folder as a favourite (right click on the folder and select make favourite Go into your account settings and ensure that public folders are enabled for caching Tools / Account / Properties for the Exchange Account / More Settings / Advanced - then tick the box Now, when you sync the favourite public folders will be copied too. That is it ttfn David Technorati Tags: Offline , Public Folders
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Wed, Aug 15 2007

  • How to change the welcome mail sent to new users on SBS 2003

    This is just a small tip that I recently saw. If you wish to change the e-mail that is sent to new users when they are set up on SBS 2003 then you need to edit the html file found in this location: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Administration\samplemail.htm that is it :-) ttfn David Technorati Tags: SBS 2003 R2 , Tips , New User , e-mail
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Fri, Sep 21 2007

  • SQL 2005 to SQL 2008 forklift upgrade resulted in 50% cpu utilisation (& resolution) – aka SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 SQL Application Move

    I’ve recently moved the database behind DavidOverton.com (also uksbsguy.com) from a Windows Server 2003 system with SQL 2005 to Windows Server 2008 with SQL 2008.  This would be the same process if you were potentially performing a migration from SBS 2003 with SQL 2005 to SBS 2008 Premium with SQL 2008 (or SQL 2005, but the performance issue only happens with SQL 2008). The process was amazingly simple: Stop the database on the Windows 2003 system Copy the datafiles, errorlogs, logs etc to the new system Install SQL 2008 on the new system, creating an instance by the same name Modify the registry to point to my new files (details here ) Start SQL 2008 Obviously I had to do some IIS stuff (create a new site) and install and redirect my logging software (WhosOn), but overall it went very well. Or so I thought until I noticed that my normally nominal CPU utilisation had gone bananas.  One of the SQL 2008 new and improved features is the Server Activity History which makes it very easy to pinpoint problems...
    Posted to David Overton's Blog by David Overton on Mon, Dec 8 2008
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