If, like me, you are setting up email with Office 365, you may have stumbled on a little problem with distribution lists. The problem runs like this:
You are syncing your on-site Active Directory with Azure AD Connect
After syncing your email distribution lists set up in your on-site AD you want to change whether internal users only, or anyone can send mail to the list.
You try to alter the setting in 365 but it throws an error saying that as you are syncing your AD it needs to be set in
For a long time we have used WPAD to simplify teachers moving their laptops between home and school and its worked very well. Laptops have the 'automatically detect settings' box ticked in Internet Settings. The location of the wpad file is distributed by both DHCP and DNS.
However, after implementing DirectAccess its became apparent that when machines were connecting at home, they would pick up the WPAD settings and all Internet traffic was routed through our gateway/filter/firewall (which w
DirectAccess is probably the most awesome thing that I have ever setup. However, there were a few gotchas with using a server behind a NAT that needed a bit or research, so below are the steps I took to a successful deployment, hope that they help someone.
The setup
The DA server is running on Server 2012r2 (non DC). It is behind a Smoothwall UTM so NAT is involved (although supported by DA in Server 2012R2 is complicated things a bit).
The client I tested is running Windows 10 Education
So, in the hope of helping someone else avoid the head to desk banging that I have gone through to get a Server 2012R2 KMS server to activate Windows 10 Education, I'll tell you what you have to do.
Install the following patch to your KMS host: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3058168
Request the following KMS key from VLSC "Windows Srv 2012R2 DataCtr/Std KMS for Windows 10" and install on your KMS host
Slaughter a fatted calf in the centre of a pentagram during a waning moon.
If, like me, you have a pathological avoidance of reading instructions (Except when playing board games, where, strangely, the instructions must be read, in full, and explained to everyone, in detail, before we can begin. Thinking about it I haven't been invited to Games Evening is a while...) and prefer to 'have a go' you can find SCCM a bewildering place to be. Thus is was when I tried to deploy SCEP to Windows 10 and found it didn't work as expected.
So, in an effort to save other people t
From sparkeh.net
Dear couriers,
I have come to accept that you are not the brainiest bunch on the planet (in fact when they were handing out intelligence I suspect that you weren't at the back of the queue but actually not in the queue at all as you couldn't find the queue and were riding around in your garish van looking for the queue (probably driving dangerously)) but please can you note the following:
I work in a school. Our school is not open on a Saturday. Therefore claiming that a p
From sparkeh.net
So if you have tried to install Sketchup 8 on CC4 you might have come across the following problems: Annoying auto update
Setting the default template for students
Annoying welcome screen
Probably the most important: it crashes if a non-admin user is the first to run it.
1 and 2 are easily solved with the following reg frag:
and 3 is easily solved with this one:The reason for the non-admin crash is that on the first run of Sketchup a folder is created at c:\progra
From sparkeh.net
So I just bought a new Android tablet and naturally scoured the instructions before turning it on. However I am worried after reading this warning:
I don't want to risk smeared memory!
From sparkeh.net
The first in this series comes from an RM CC4 computer build:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-czt5XdXIhno/TyEe1PpW5ZI/AAAAAAAAA1A/8Lm8ZeSJUas/s320/rm+partition+error.jpg
Ummmm......
From sparkeh.net
If this message from the Local Authority is to be believed it seems the good people at Capita have even more influence than previously believed and are now handing out honours!
From sparkeh.net
One of the things that I wished Chrome did as standard was the auto reloading of tabs. This is handy for a number of scenarios but I wish to keep myself logged into our Local Authority portal so I get the correct Internet filtering level all the time without having to keep logging in again when the timeout period expires.
There are extensions out there that will do this for you (eg Auto-Reload) but I was alarmed at how all these extensions have access to your website and n
From sparkeh.net
Just an update on my post "Making Installshield deployments silent"
After making a package using the above method I found that the machine was rebooting after installation even after attempting to suppress reboot.
Natually I thought that there must be something in setup.iss that was causing this and I was correct. If you need to stop a reboot in this situation, open up setup.iss, scroll to the bottom and change "BootOption=3" to "BootOption=0" and voila, no more reboot.
From sparkeh.net
Somewhere, there sits a broken man, looking out of iron grilled window as his fellow inmates drag themselves around the stark exercise yard. Two orderlies stand and stare, one nudges the other one and asks "What's this guys deal?" The other leafs through a file of dirty papers and pulls out a patient profile "Ah yeah, sad story really, when they brought him in he only gave the name 'sparkeh' and a few details about what happened to him, hasn't said a word since, he just sits
From sparkeh.net
Every so often I come across something that I am astounded that I don't already know. This might be a lot of old chips to you but whilst looking for tips on deploying Installshield installers I stumbled across guidance on making the deployment silent.
As you probably know, Installershield deployments usually come as a setup.exe file. This is not always the case but then you can usually grab the setup.exe and other setup files (cab file for example) from a temp folder when yo
From sparkeh.net
I hate Flash. I have wasted too many hours of the one precious life we are given attempting to troubleshoot network deployments of this terrible piece of software to garner even a tiny shred of bonhomie. So when I upgraded to Chrome 10 and suffered an irritating series of Flash crashes I was compelled to drop kick my laptop out of the window, book a ticket to Adobe HQ and make my feelings abundantly clear. Probably in a very British way, presenting a strongly worded letter ex
Originally posted at sparkeh.net
Just in case you hadn't seen this. I am too hacked off with this decision to post anything useful at the moment so here's the quote:
As you may be aware, Microsoft® is ceasing support for Windows Vista® SP1 in July 2011. We will therefore be ceasing telephone support for issues specifically relating to Windows Vista at that time. This will affect customers with a managed Windows Vista SP1 workstation either on Community Connect® 4 or Community Connect® 3 (t
*Deep breath*
Hands up who uses Testbase.
Hands up who likes installing Testbase.
I thought so. Its apt that the name is abbreviated to TB as it provokes a coughing fit everytime I have to deal with it.
I am so sick of this ridiculous program that when the Deputy asked for me to install the latest version it was prefixed by profuse apologies.
So here I am trying to install issue 13 on CC4. First port of call was to visit the TB site and get hold of the instructions for CC3; the proces
So you want to have a look at Chrome but frustrated that there is no Linux version?
Even more frustrated that the open source dev version (Chronium) has binaries available for certain distros but you are running Ubuntu which hasn't?
Well I have done some digging and found a simple way to install the latest dev version of Chronium in Ubuntu and its actually pretty damn good. (By the way I have done this in Karmic, I am not sure if this applies for older versions).
First step is to add th
I have decided to write an IT pack for teachers, covering things like how to log onto various services such as email, vle, content cache etc. One of the things I want to include is their usernames for each service. So, I thought the easiest way was to take my spreadsheet of usernames (in Open Office) and insert usernames into the correct spaces in the document (also in OO) using mail merge. Simple yes?
No. However, by a series of arcane incantations, reading out of date OO manuals and shoutin
Ok we are done.
Engineer called in to finish up and we have our test network.
So some boot time stats:
New machines (2.8GHz Core 2 duo, 2GB RAM) take 2 mins to boot screen from cold start and 30 secs from login to workable desktop.
Old machine (3GHz P4, 2GB RAM) take 3mins 20 secs to login from cold boot to login screen and 1min 25 secs from login to workable desktop.
Oh dear. Things have got confusing now.
Got to speak to engineer who told me that he was not coming in. Straight after the project manager phoned to tell me the engineer was coming in today.
Thing is, I am not opposed to a remote install, in fact I requested it and was told it was not an option. I mean I can connect everything up and fire off workstation builds perfectly fine. What I am opposed to is paying full whack for an engineer to be on site for two days and ending up getting a remo
Well.
I came in this morning to find the engineer connected remotely to the server and still configuring it.
I find this worrying as this means he is still at home. 2 1/2 hours away. Will he come back today? We only have today scheduled to finish off. Also I can see that he is only 1/2 way through the server commissioning instructions.
Of course I can do some of the bits (connect up APS, commission stations etc) but the point is we have paid to have this done by an engineer. I guess if I
Well... the word I will use to sum up today is... uneventful. No issues, everything has gone by the book. I am much relieved.
Server setup is just about there and the engineer has setup PXE install as a favour which was nice. Been having a look and the RMMC is nice and snappy, much better than CC3's web based affair (although I haven't used it in anger yet).
Tomorrow I move on to building the test stations and taking those for a spin!
Ok, the engineer left a while ago and traveled home while the server downloaded updates. He is now on from home to do more config.
Just watching and I realise that the engineers have a set of instructions to follow - never really thought about that before, could have done that myself
Ok server is fine and its drop *phew*
Merrily doing its thing now. RM Engineer is reading a book. Apparently its a long wait.
Perhaps I can cajole him into helping me with some other issues I am having
