SteveB_NI

No - unfortunately only WDS via PXE boot

Most of our desktops are able to PXE boot to allow me to deploy out our customised Win 10 boot image (WIM) but 1 suite of desktops doesn't have the ability to PXE boot If I take the .WIM file from the WDS server, is there an ideal way to change this into a bootable USB? Just wondering if there is a better way rather than having to manually install vanilla Win 10 on each machine then having to manually make changes to each one. It connects to the domain etc ok afterwards, but some way of accessing this pre-built Wim file would be excellent.

We have 2 trolleys of laptops not currently in use due to the obvious risk of sharing devices. I’m of the opinion laptops can’t be as easily wiped down as a desktop keyboard and there are more touch points etc on them therefore impractical at the mo. We have got the school split into bubbles and I guess a trolley could be allocated to a bubble but the lack of being able to clean between use concerns me. However - I’m open to suggestions. I hate seeing them sitting not being used but what are you all doing with your laptops at present?

Exactly same boat here - I’m the sole ict tech / manager so it all falls to me. Around 2 hours unpaid overtime each day at a minimum - it’s crazy! Hopefully will wind down shortly too - it’s the initial teething problems. Not a good year to introduce a new network lol.

Related to that - when I then successfully browse to \\pc name\c$ then I get prompted for an admin username and password each time - even though I’m logged in as An admin! Any Ideas how to stop this persistent prompt!

Sorted - thanks! Is there a way of disabling the firewall remotely on all the PCs? Whole purpose of me wanting to remote into the C:\ is to save touching each one lol!

Firewall (Windows defender) on the DC01 is now disabled, and issue still remains. When I check the network error prompt when typing \\station id\c$ it says the network path cannot be found

I can't even remote desktop to it - an error message says it can't connect to the remote computer. An NSLookup on the IP address returns the correct station ID

No - ping doesn't reply either. The correct IP address is displayed though above the request denied / timed out messages.

In my Server 2008R2 install if I wanted to access a remote computer hard drive, I used the command \\computer-name\C$ This doesn't seem to be working in Server 2019 with new Windows 10 clients.... when I try to run that command, even from within the DC I get no response. Is there something within Server 2019 which default blocks this type of connection? Thanks

My new set up is 1 host Server 2019 OS & via Hyper-V 4 x VM Server 2019 installs. 3 of the VMs are used for roles such as DC, AD, DHCP, DNS, WSUS and Printing etc. 1 of the VMs uses the storage drives in a RAID 5 format (4 1TB drives). However, this is accessed as a Pass through disk drive to the VM - and, solely accessed by the file server VM. I would like to use the Windows Server backup solution, however I'm not sure where to best locate this? Do I locate it on the host server, and back up all the VMS (does this back up the pass through hard drive contents too?) or do I install the role on the file server VM and just back that up? Is there a way of combining all VMs in a single back up? I have done VM check points for the first 3, but I can't do a check point for the file server VM due to the pass through disks. Thanks for any pointers!

Thanks for the pointers all. I switched off the dns role on the existing server and it stopped working all together. Therefore it seems to be relaying back to that somehow before displaying final pages. This would likely explain the delay. I’ll dig deeper into it when I get a chance again - thanks again for your help

Good point - you're right - no pings can actually pass through. The IP config as sent by DHCP is: Gateway - proxy address - CensorNet CloudUSS then 2 x DNS servers - both the DCs. Everything pings fine.

Hmmm - this is interesting. I can ping both DCs from a client workstation, and get a quick response. I can also successfully ping the router. However, when I ping Google for example I get a response back saying request times out. Which is bizarre as I'm able to browse to Google no problem - as the proxy address works fine.

New server install complete - 4 VMs on Hyper V on one server - all running Server 2019. Now noticing that our initial load of websites is very slow - no matter what time it's accessed, or no matter what load currently on the server. Once the initial site is loaded, it runs ok from that point onwards - as in all the links within that site - until I browse to another website. Any ideas how to investigate where the bottle neck is here? VMs are all allocated variable dynamic RAM and this isn't being anywhere near maxed out - 6GB available etc.

With shared devices out of the question for the time being & the foreseeable future, we're now looking at BYOD. At least for the senior school BYOD I believe is an ideal option. We're working on a BYOD usage policy at present - they will connect via a managed service secure wireless access solution, so that's covered, but I'm going to include requirements to keep the device on them at all times, and also to ensure it's fully charged when coming to school to stop needing to charge on our premises. Has anyone got any hints + tips for BYOD - how do you get around the worry of teachers that kids will video them in class whilst using their tablets? Also - as we primarily use Google Classroom / Drive for distribution of files, am I right in thinking any device such as a Kindle Fire will offer this functionality? Thanks

Setting up a new server here & whilst I have AD & DHCP working perfectly I’m having an issue setting the correct ip address for default gateway. Our set up here is 1 server (vms on hyper v for each section of roles of the network) and a connection to the internet via a Pfsense router. However the proxy address is via censornet (cloud uss). What would class as the gateway router IP? The pfsense box or another configured IP within dns etc? Sorry hit this stumbling block / brick wall!

I’m in the process of creating our new images now - what was your solution?

Have we not all cut up our remaining clothes yet to make homemade face coverings anyway? Lol! I spent a day of my holiday today just doing exactly what I said above - chilling out at the seafront enjoying a coffee, lunch and reading. Despite the rain it was relaxing!

My Asda one didn't - they use Creation finance as a back end. I was about to get the Amazon credit card / reward card, but a lot of the reviews are saying it doesn't yet work with Apple Pay. Hopefully someone will tell me otherwise!

I love doing just that! I pack a lunch, latest copy of Wired magazine & head for a quiet area of the North Antrim Coast! I'm off for 2 weeks now, and I think I will do this at least once, hopefully more

Thanks all - I know I could get a credit card from my bank and it would work with Apple Pay but I don’t use the credit function at present so I want a reward card primarily. The reward card companies don’t seem to be too into using Apple Pay! I’ll look at Tesco but of all the supermarkets that’s the one I tend not to use The Amex cards look good - has most places started taking them yet or is it still as common for them not to be taken in shops?

On the search for a new credit card (preferably some sort of Reward card) as my current ASDA credit card has stopped today. Doing research it appears very few still offer Apple Pay availability - particularly at the moment this is an ideal quality for me to minimise contact points whilst in shops. The Amazon card seems ideal in terms of rewards, but unfortunately it appears (via the reviews) to not offer Apple Pay. Any suggestions? Or do I need to stop being lazy when paying lol!

That script is fantastic thanks! Ran that today & tested it - it looks to have done the job nicely. I’ll sysprep & capture the image next and hopefully soon be able to do a test user login.

And also if I remove any extra programs & apps at the start before sysprepping such as the MS Office, solitaire etc initial spam) - Will these stay removed for each user from then on? I’ve got a basic image ready to sysprep with an unattend file next week then!