One line (or very brief) helpers

[mavhc]

mrt would never finish at that rate, and then WU would never actually install the useful updates.

[Arthur]

Downloading macOS installers with updated signing certificates on macOS Catalina

 

As a follow-up to last week’s expiration of the certificate used to sign previously-released macOS installers, Apple has released re-signed macOS installers with the new certificate which is good until April 2029.

 

For those who archive older macOS installers, this means that the macOS installers in question will need to be re-downloaded. macOS Catalina has added some new functionality to the softwareupdate tool which can assist with this.

 

To download the latest installer for macOS Catalina, which is currently at version 10.15.0, please run the command below with root privileges:

 

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.15

 

You should receive a message that the installer is downloading and installing. In this context, the message refers to installing the macOS Installer app into the /Applications directory on the Mac.

 

To download the latest installer for macOS Mojave, please run the command below with root privileges:

 

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.14.6

 

To download the latest installer for macOS High Sierra, please run the command below with root privileges:

 

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 10.13.6

 

[DJ-1701]

Downloading macOS installers with updated signing certificates on macOS Catalina

 

 

 

 

Darn, so does that mean I have to re-create all my MacOS Installer USB sticks?

[Arthur]

Darn, so does that mean I have to re-create all my MacOS Installer USB sticks?

I think so, although I haven't tried booting from any of my USB installers since Apple changed the certificate.

[Arthur]

This PowerShell one-liner will display the Windows product key that's stored in the BIOS on OEM-built PCs.

 

(Get-WmiObject -Class SoftwareLicensingService).OA3xOriginalProductKey

 

 

Related thread: www.edugeek.net/forums/licensing-questions/194622-how-confirm-oem-coa-licence-donated-hardware.html#post1664206

[jthompson]

Create a shortcut that will automatically run as a different user. Useful for Win10 Start menu tiles that don't otherwise present Run as a different user on a shift+right-click.

 

For example, for Server Manager:

%SystemRoot%\System32\runas.exe /user:domain\username "%SystemRoot%\system32\ServerManager.exe"

 

If you're also happy to skip the password prompt:

%SystemRoot%\System32\runas.exe /user:domain\username /savecreds "%SystemRoot%\system32\ServerManager.exe"

Edited March 12, 2020 by jthompson

[6Foot2]

Want a frothy coffee from instant? Shake the milk in the bottle. We've just tried it.

 

[mikeprice]

Want a frothy coffee from instant? Shake the milk in the bottle. We've just tried it.

 

 

Milk in coffee????

 

what sort of heathen puts milk in coffee

 

as bad as eating cheese in my book!!

[6Foot2]

Milk in coffee????

 

what sort of heathen puts milk in coffee

 

as bad as eating cheese in my book!!

 

But why, oh why are you putting cheese in your book?

 

[mikeprice]

But why, oh why are you putting cheese in your book?

 

 

I thought you would be more worried about why I am eating my book

[6Foot2]

I thought you would be more worried about why I am eating my book

*Considers flippant remark about @mikeprice eating his words...

 

[mikeprice]

*Considers flippant remark about @mikeprice eating his words...

 

 

What's all this then!!

 

do-it-yourself commenting???

 

you just supply the ideas now and out sourcing the words???

 

bit like getting an IKEA table and opening it up to find a tree and a picture of a table - equipment needed saw, drill and screws

 

 

[6Foot2]

What's all this then!!

 

do-it-yourself commenting???

 

you just supply the ideas now and out sourcing the words???

 

bit like getting an IKEA table and opening it up to find a tree and a picture of a table - equipment needed saw, drill and screws

 

 

We have strayed a little in the last few posts, so here's a one line tip: Returning to the thread's topic is advisable to stave off a major attack of amphibian-ousness.

 

[Arthur]

Click the link for full details.

 

Link: Improve Windows 10 logon times with FastFirstSignIn (James Rankin's Blog)

 

There’s a new trick in the quest for Windows 10 logon nirvana – introducing FastFirstSignIn.

 

Specifically this for those of you using Windows 10 (whether this be ordinary Windows 10, or brokered through Citrix Virtual Apps/RDSH/WVD/Horizon/Parallels/etc.), there’s a nifty new trick in town you can use to make a helluva difference.

 

My original logon times article is here, although it will be undergoing a detailed series of updates soon. A critical part of this for Windows 10 users is the removal of UWP apps from the image, wherever possible. This makes a major difference to the first logon time (because it is first logon time we are concerned about in non-persistent environments such as we often find in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops). Unfortunately, the removal process is a bit of a pain and involves a touch of PowerShell hit-and-miss. Sometimes you inadvertently remove apps you want to keep, sometimes you end up trying to remove apps you can’t remove, sometimes they reprovision themselves – you know the drill. Soon you get into the realms of UWP whack-a-mole, and ongoing maintenance is something busy administrators don’t need adding to their already-overflowing workloads.

 

However, if you’re on Windows 10 1809 or higher, you can bypass the provisioning of UWP apps entirely by using this little routine on your machines during the build. Massive credit due to Nicke Kallen for discovering this awesome black magic and sharing it.

 

 

Also discussed in the following Edugeek thread from July 2018.

 

www.edugeek.net/forums/windows-10/198114-new-windows-10-insider-build-new-feature.html

[6Foot2]

[Windows 10] Press 'Windows key + V' to invoke Clipboard History. If you haven't already, it will invite you to 'Turn on'

 

[6Foot2]

[File Explorer] Select file/folder, hold down shift and right click then select 'Copy as path'

 

 

Result (above) "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution"

 

Result if a file is selected instead of a folder: "C:\Windows\write.exe"

[Arthur]

New feature in Google Chrome 84: a built-in QR code generator.

 

www.androidpolice.com/2020/07/27/chrome-84-brings-new-dino-themed-qr-codes-to-android-and-desktops

 

We've known about Google Chrome's quick page-sharing through dino-themed QR codes since last year. After an initial release in Canary and more development, the feature is now finally available in the latest stable version of Chrome, 84. It's working properly on both Android and desktops, but you'll need to manually enable the flag to get it going.

 

Enable the following flag(s), relaunch Chrome and then right-click on a webpage and select "Generate QR code for this page" (or click the QR code icon in the address bar).

 

Windows, macOS and Linux

chrome://flags/#sharing-qr-code-generator

 

On Android you have to generate the QR code via the share button.

 

Android

chrome://flags/#sharing-hub
chrome://flags/#share-qr-code

 

Example

 

[highsky]

You can use create MDT TSs for in place upgrade or to install only apps with litetouch.vbs.

[6Foot2]

For a larger GMail compose window click the three dots at the bottom right of the compose window and select 'Default to full screen'

 

[6Foot2]

Not new, but I have only seen mention of it in passing, so: Google Lens can automatically capture text in an image in your Google Photos (Google Drive)

 

 

There might be a delay after image upload before the text is ready to be extracted. Works quite well on handwriting too, as I recall (even mine!)

 

[DJ-1701]

Works quite well on handwriting too, as I recall (even mine!)

 

 

What about... Doctors?

 

[sonofsanta]

Just brought a poor antibac-drowned projector remote back to life after diagnosing it this way, and realised not everyone may know this, so: your smartphone camera can see infrared. If you're troubleshooting a remote, look at the bulb at the top end through your phone as you press buttons to see if there's any light.

 

(In this instance, there was too much light--a little puddle of liquid was shorting it out. Opened it up, dried it out, et voila.)

 

ETA: and now I've seen who the last post in thread was.

Edited June 18, 2021 by sonofsanta

[MartinByard]

Failry useful powershell function to find installation strings (and uninstall strings) for any software that stores its data in the standard location it should go in (though i'm sure we all know of some software that doesn't), and an example of how we use it to uninstall software when you might not know the msi code or have the original msi to use:

 

function Get-Uninstaller {
   [CmdletBinding()]
   param(
   [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
   [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()]
   [string] $Name
   )

$local_key     = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*'
$machine_key32 = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*'
$machine_key64 = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*'

$keys = @($local_key, $machine_key32, $machine_key64)

Get-ItemProperty -Path $keys -ErrorAction 'SilentlyContinue' | ?{ ($_.DisplayName -like "*$Name*") -or ($_.PsChildName -like "*$Name*") } | Select-Object PsPath,DisplayVersion,DisplayName,UninstallString,InstallSource,InstallLocation,QuietUninstallString,InstallDate
}
## end of function

# Find all the uninstallers for the named piece of software
$uninstallers = Get-Uninstaller ADSelfService

# For each uninstaller found, run msiexec /x against it
ForEach($uninstaller in $uninstallers){
   $MSIGuid = Split-Path -leaf $uninstaller.PSPath
   Start-Process "Msiexec.exe" -ArgumentList "/x $MSIGuid /qn" -Wait
}

[MartinByard]

if you are going the Microsoft route for MFA, and also getting their self service password reset offering up and running, then using this bit of powershell (or GPO to put the reg key in place, or however you fancy it) will enable access to the SSPR service from the windows login screen:

 

if(!(Test-Path HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\AzureADAccount)){
New-Item -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\AzureADAccount
}

New-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\AzureADAccount -Name "AllowPasswordReset" -PropertyType DWORD -Value "1" -Force

 

For further info see MS's page on it https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/authentication/howto-sspr-windows

[6Foot2]

[Windows 10] Press 'Windows key + V' to invoke Clipboard History. If you haven't already, it will invite you to 'Turn on'

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]57599[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]57600[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]57601[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]57602[/ATTACH]

 

[Chromebook] Press 'Search + V' to invoke Clipboard History. It will keep up to 5 items in clipboard history.