Category: Windows
New Windows 2022 Domain Controller
The Domain Controller in my home lab currently runs on a Windows 2012 server. It is time to UPGRADE! So I went and downloaded a Windows Server 2022 ISO and deployed a new VM running Windows Server 2022 Std Edition. Lets build a Windows Server 2022 Domain Controller and retire my Windows 2012 DC. Next, it was time to install…
Manage your Windows Failover Cluster with PowerShell
If you’ve ever tried to manage your Windows Failover Cluster using Failover Cluster Manager, you know how much of a pain it can be when you need to do maintenance and have to move roles to the standby node. Moving most of the roles are easy, but when it comes time to move the quorum drive/role, it’s not so easy.…
List Scheduled Tasks for Remote Servers
Recently, I was asked to find out of a certain service account was being used in scheduled tasks on any server. Being a PowerShell guy, I turned to the Get-ScheduledTask cmdlet. I tried querying a list of scheduled tasks by Author. I created a variable $VMs and used it to filter any Powered on Windows VM. I then checked each…
Burn an ISO to disc via Command Prompt
Did you know that you don’t need to use a third party program to burn your ISO files to CD/DVD? All you need to do is open a Command Prompt or PowerShell window (whichever you feel more comfortable opening). It’s the same command for both, so it doesn’t matter which one you open. The command is called: isoburn.exe. If you…
The Pending Reboot Nightmare… PowerShell to the Rescue!
My company has been having issues dealing with servers in a pending reboot state for quite a while. Part of it stems from using SCCM to deploy patches and having the patch deployment set to suppress the reboot and our Operations Team reboots the servers manually. Well, some months require multiple reboots and we get stuck in the rabbit hole…
Handy PowerShell command to stop Task Manager Process!
Have you ever needed to stop multiple processes at once? I use a product by Devolutions called Remote Desktop Manager. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you probably already know that. When I launch the VMware vCenter Web Client via RDM, I do so via Chrome and it opens the Client Integrated Plugin. The problem is, when I…
Teach your co-workers to lock their PCs with the help of a harmless prank!
The goal of this is to teach your co-workers to be more security conscious and LOCK THEIR PC when they walk away from their desk. Locking your PC stops unauthorized people from accessing your PC, viewing a document that has sensitive data, AND playing a prank such as THIS! This is especially important when you have access to sensitive data,…
Script to disable protocols older than TLS 1.2 and turn off RDP
My InfoSec team came to us asking we disable anything older than TLS 1.2 and turn off RDP on our servers in the DMZ. We don’t allow RDP in the DMZ anyway, and they found that leaving RDP on when not using it poses a security risk. To do this, it involved multiple registry changes. With several servers to do…
Script to delete folder older than 30 days… by Name
I had a need, on one of my file servers, to delete some data that was older than 30 days, to clear space. This would need to be a re-occurring task, so what better way to accomplish it than to script it! Here’s the rub… The folders are each in a YYYYMMDD format (ex: 20170115), yet the content in the…
Windows 2012 R2: Static IP displays as DHCP IP
I ran across this issue this week with a bunch of new servers I built using a new Windows 2012 R2 Image I built and captured using Symantec Altiris. There must have been some sort of corruption in the image that caused this issue. The issue displays like this… You set a static IP on your server (in this case,…