Miralinux Blog

Category Archives: Windows

MBR2GPT Prepairing for Windows 11

Posted on by Posted in Features, Windows

source: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/convert-an-existing-windows-10-installation-from/aa8c2de3-460b-4a8c-b30b-641405f800d7

Pre-requisites:

  1. The MBR disk must have at most 3-partitions.
  2. The OS must be 64-bit.
  3. Bitlocker or encryption must be turned off.
  4. There should be an Operating system on the disk.
  5. One of the partitions must be active(confirm that from disk Management).
  6. No dual boot.
  7. Windows 10 version must be at least version 1703.

Step 1: Boot to the Recovery environment

To boot to WinRE, from where Windows can trigger the MBR2GPT tool, please see the steps below:

  1. On the Lock screen, press and hold the Shift key while choosing Restart from the Power menu. Continue pressing the shift key until you see the Windows Recovery environment, asking you to select an option.
  2. Click Troubleshoot>Advanced options>Command Prompt.
  3. The computer would restart.
  4. Login to your account.

Step 2: Validate if the MBR2GPT tool can convert your disk 

On the Command Prompt Window, our next step would be to check if the tool can convert the disk to GPT. To do this, execute the following command:

mbr2gpt.exe /validate

The output should tell you if the validation is successful. If the disk is validated, conversion is possible.

Step 3: Convert the disk.

The next step is to convert the disk. For that, use the /convert switch.

mbr2gpt.exe /convert

The process would take some minutes and tell you the output.

Step 4: Change the boot order in firmware Settings

Now to boot from GPT, the settings in the firmware need to be changed. Boot to the PC’s firmware settings, and do the following:

  1. Boot method: UEFI from Legacy.
  2. UEFI-CSM: Disabled.
  3. Secure Boot: ON.

The boot order would usually show Windows Boot Manager at the top. Save the changes in the BIOS menu.
The device should now have a UEFI boot method with a GPT disk layout.

Troubleshooting

If the MBR2GPT tool is failing to convert your installation, here are some steps you can try.

  1. Make sure the existing MBR disk has only three partitions or less: If the qualifying hard disk has more than three partitions, this tool would not work. To confirm the number of partitions, you can invoke the disk management tool from the Start menu. The three-count includes System partitions as well. If that is the case, decrease partitions using the Disk Management tool by merging and try again. 
  2. Run a disk check: If there is corruption on the disk, the tool may fail. To fix this, run a full disk check, preferably from the Recovery environment. See the steps here.
  3. Try running from a USB Installation media: Another option to invoke the MBR2GPT tool from a USB Installation media. After the computer has booted from the Installation media, click Repair your computer>Troubleshoot>Command Prompt.
  4. Return codes: If the conversion failed, the tool would return a code, which would tell you what went wrong. Appendix A table explains the return codes.
  5. Investigate Log files: If nothing has helped, it may be wise to look at the logs to see what went wrong. By default, the MBR2GPT tool creates Setupact.log and Setuperr.log in the C:/Windows directory, which records the process. Setuperr.log contains all the errors encountered during the conversion, which may give a hint. In addition, /logs switch can also redirect logging to a custom path if you need, like for an external drive which helps investigate later. The command for logging to a custom path would be like this(replace D:\Work with your desired path).
    1. mbr2gpt.exe /convert /logs:D:\Work
  6. If nothing has helped, perform a clean installation of Windows 10 using the GPT partition scheme. You must back up the data before, as a clean install would remove everything. As the Media Creation tool makes the media according to the existing method, which is likely MBR, use Rufus to create Installation media and choose GPT partition scheme for UEFI. My colleague Shawn has a good tutorial on this on Tenforums.

Appendix 1:

Return CodeDetails
0Conversion completed successfully.
1User canceled.
2Internal error occurred.
3Disk initialization error.
4Command-Line parameters were incorrect.
5MBR2GPT could not read the disk layout.
6One of the volumes was encrypted on the disk.
7The disk does not meet the requirements.
8EFI Partition could not be created.
9Error installing boot files.
10Error while applying GPT layout.

Convert MBR to GPT (BIOS to UEFI)

Posted on by Posted in Windows

source: Convert an existing Windows 10 Installation from Legacy BIOS to UEFI

Convert MBR to GPT without data loss

Windows has an in-built tool, called MBR2GPT which can help to convert a Legacy Windows 10 Installation(also called MBR), to modern UEFI, based on a GPT partition scheme. There are multiple steps involved in the process and some pre-requisites, discussed below:

Pre-requisites:

  1. The MBR disk must have at most 3-partitions.
  2. The OS must be 64-bit.
  3. Bitlocker or encryption must be turned off.
  4. There should be an Operating system on the disk.
  5. One of the partitions must be active(confirm that from disk Management).
  6. No dual boot.
  7. Windows 10 version must be at least version 1703.

How MBR2GPT works.
Step 1: Boot to the Recovery environment

  1. On the Lock screen, press and hold the Shift key while choosing Restart from the Power menu. Continue pressing the shift key until you see the Windows Recovery environment, asking you to select an option.
  2. Click Troubleshoot>Advanced options>Command Prompt.
  3. The computer would restart.
  4. Login to your account.

Step 2: Validate if the MBR2GPT tool can convert your disk 

On the Command Prompt Window, our next step would be to check if the tool can convert the disk to GPT. To do this, execute the following command:

mbr2gpt.exe /validate

The output should tell you if the validation is successful. If the disk is validated, conversion is possible.

Step 3: Convert the disk.

The next step is to convert the disk. For that, use the /convert switch.

mbr2gpt.exe /convert

The process would take some minutes and tell you the output.

Step 4: Change the boot order in firmware Settings

Now to boot from GPT, the settings in the firmware need to be changed. Boot to the PC’s firmware settings, and do the following:

  1. Boot method: UEFI from Legacy.
  2. UEFI-CSM: Disabled.
  3. Secure Boot: ON.

The boot order would usually show Windows Boot Manager at the top. Save the changes in the BIOS menu.
The device should now have a UEFI boot method with a GPT disk layout.

Windows 8 Features

Posted on by Posted in Features, Windows

[ Features | Office | IE | ]
[ Windows | XP | 7 (seven) | 8 | 10 | ] - [ Server | 2003SBS | 2008SBS | 2011SBS | 2016 | WSUS ]

The Start Menu

http://startisback.com/

http://www.classicshell.net/

http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php

https://www.pokki.com/windows-8-start-menu

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

http://virtualizationreview.com/blogs/virtual-insider/2012/08/windows-2012-traditional.aspx

The Gadgets

http://teamwindows8.com/2013/02/install-desktop-gadgets-and-sidebar-in-windows-8/

Features

Skip “Sign in to your Microsoft account” (Windows 8.1 Setup)

You should be able to click “Create an account”, then at the bottom
of the following screen there is a (nicely hidden) link that says “use existing account”,
which uses the local account yous set up when you installed Windows 8.

Windows 8.1 Features! WSUS

Windows Update Client does not scan against WSUS 3.0 SP2 if HTTPS is configured and TLS 1.2 is not enabled

fix restart problems after you install update rollup 2919355 in Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2

Tweaks

Imaging Windows 8.1 with Imagex?

 

 

Reviews

Windows 8.1 review – Still stupendously stupid

 

Windows 7 (seven) features

Posted on by Posted in Features, Windows

[ Features | Office | IE | ]
[ Windows | XP | 7 (seven) | 8 | 10 | ] - [ Server | 2003SBS | 2008SBS | 2011SBS | 2016 | WSUS ]

Links

http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/hardlinkshellext.html#customoverlayicons

Download Microsoft Drivers manualy (use Internet Explorer)

Pushing the Limits of Windows: Virtual Memory

KB / Hotfixes

Microsoft SURT | Forums: 7Forums | Sysnative | (Update stopped 8007370B)

A computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 stops responding randomly
KB2265716 – The trust relationship between this workstation and the primary domain failed.

Utilities

DiskCleanup | options | switches | technet | Schedule

 

Removing Libraries

source: http://www.edugeek.net/forums/windows-7/46809-windows-7-removing-libraries.html

WebDAV with Basic Authentication and Windows 7

Written by Parashift on November 25, 2013

No, Watson, this was not done by accident, but by design.– Sherlock Holmes

WebDAV is a useful protocol that allows us to leverage off of web technologies to deliver file system like functionality.  From a security perspective, as it uses HTTP, you can use the same policies and procedures for securing a WebDAV service that you would use with a web server.  For instance, running it over SSL allows you to have multiple layers of security.  Another plus is that it’s supported widely on smart phones so mobility is enhanced greatly. With our eBoard service, we provide WebDAV as one of the methods of connection so that tablets can access our file services remotely.

One of the caveats with using WebDAV is that while it may work perfectly fine on smartphones, Linux or Mac OS X, using it on Windows is another matter entirely.

The Problem

Windows 7 does not support automatically reconnecting to a WebDAV share with Basic Authentication.  You may be able to add it as a network connection, but once your PC restarts, it will fail to connect.  This is documented here with a suggested workaround:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2673544

A common task within a Windows environment is the automatic mapping of drives via Group Policy.  In the earlier days, this was accomplished using a logon script.  Now Group Policy allows you to dedicate mapped drives within a Group Policy definition, but unfortunately does not work very well with WebDAV connections.

The Workaround

As suggested in the article, falling back to a logon script appears to be the easiest way, but there are a number of considerations that the article fails to mention before you can get this to work successfully:

  • SSL needs to be used, or the WebClient needs to be told to allow Basic Auth use on unencrypted connections.  This is not recommended in production, but you can change it by editing the following registry key value to 2 (to allow Basic Auth on SSL and non-SSL connections): 
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters\BasicAuthLevel
  • The WebClient service needs to be running.  If it’s not running and you execute a net use command for a WebDAV share, it will fail with System error 67: 
    C:\Users\example>net use X: https://alfresco.example.com/alfresco/webdav/ password /U:user /P:NO
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found.
  • The WebDAV server needs to be reachable before you try to connect.  If it’s not, the WebClient service appears to be inoperable for that URL until it’s been restarted.  If you have a wireless connection that takes time to connect, then you will notice this issue quite dramatically.
  • You may not have your PC joined to the domain and can’t rely on group policy at all.

Luckily, there are two workarounds for this windows failing depending on whether or not you are using Group Policy.

Without Group Policy

If you want to automatically connect to a WebDAV share with Basic Authentication without Group Policy, follow the instructions here:

  1. Navigate to Services in Control Panel and make sure that WebClient is started automatically
  2. Follow these instructions to create a Task Schedule when the network is activated
  3. Go to the Actions tab, Create a new Action with the following settings:
    • Action: Start a Program
    • Program/script: 
      net
    • Add arguments (Change to suit your settings): 
      use X: https://alfresco.example.com/alfresco/webdav/ password /U:user /P:NO
  4. Log out and back in and confirm its working

With Group Policy

As alluded to earlier, you can use logon scripts to work around this issue, adding in a net use command upon login to sort out the network drive automatically.

One thing worth mentioning with this approach is that Administrators will execute logon scripts with elevated privileges. This means that network maps applied within a logon script with an administrator user won’t be accessible in explorer. There is a workaround for this also using the Task Scheduler:

UAC, Logon Scripts, and the Launchapp.wsf workaround

One could assume though that most environments wouldn’t have a large number of administrators for normal user accounts.

Creating a GPO

Please take caution and confirm that any settings changed here are compatible with your environment. Test this correctly before being put into production.

  1. Start by opening up your Group Policy Editor on your DC, navigating to your intended OU, right clicking and selecting Create a GPO…. and then giving it a meaningful name
  2. Edit the Group Policy and navigate to: 
    Computer Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Logon
  3. Set Always wait for the network at computer startup and logon to Enabled
  4. Navigate to: 
    Computer Configuration -> Preferences -> Control Panel Settings -> Services
  5. Add a new Service with the following:
    • Startup: Automatic
    • Service Name: WebClient
  6. Navigate to: 
    User Configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings -> Scripts (Logon/Logoff)
  7. Double click Logon and select Show Files… to bring up a window where we’ll be putting our scripts
  8. Create a batch file named networkmap.bat with your net use command (changing to suit your settings): 
    net use X: https://alfresco.example.com/alfresco/webdav/ password /U:user /P:NO
  9. Back in the Logon Properties window, select Add, and select the networkmap.batfile as the Script Name
  10. If you need Administrator users to work also, instead of using networmap.bat as the Script Name, do the following:
    1. Copy over the Launchapp.wsf file into the same folder
    2. Add a Script with the Script Name set to Launchapp.wsf
    3. Set the Script Parameters to the full path of the Script file. e.g.: 
      \\DOMAIN\SysVol\DOMAIN\..\User\Scripts\Logon\networkmap.bat
  11. Run gpupdate /force on your test machine
  12. Run rsop.msc or gpresult /v to confirm that the computer has pulled down the appropriate GPO
  13. Log out and log back in to confirm that it’s working

Conclusion

The above methods propose workarounds to allow you to use WebDAV with Basic Authentication as a network drive. We have demonstrated two possible workarounds in place, both of which will allow WebDAV to be used with the Native Windows Integration. It would also be possible to use a WebDAV client or connect into the service in another way.

It may be in future that another solution will present itself, or Microsoft will get round to fixing their Credential Storage, but for now the use of a well crafted logon script is the easiest workaround.

Missing Windows Installer Cache Files Will Require a Computer Rebuild

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2667628

No cure, reinstall windows!

 

How to restore windows 7 update environment

http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/169153-how-repair-windows-update-service.html

How do I reset Windows Update components

Fix Windows corruption errors by using the DISM or System Update Readiness tool

 

Setup Windows UEFI – GPT partition

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=209045

How To Fix: Windows Update Blocked by Group Policy

source: http://brianseekford.com/index.php/2011/05/04/how-to-fix-windows-update-blocked-by-group-policy/

Problem: I cannot check for updates, it says “Some settings are managed by your system administrator”
Solution:So, you can’t get windows update because some yahoo in IT blocked your access, eh?

First, type gpedit.msc in run,
In the window drill down User configuration>administrative templates>windows components>windows Update.
In the right pane double click on remove access to access all windows update features and make it disabled.

If that doesn’t work, change the following key:
Disable and remove links to Windows Update

(User Configuration\AdministrativeTemplates\Start Menu & Taskbar) NoWindowsUpdate

(HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer)

There are a few other keys and settings that could affect it.
Check this link out for all the registry locations for Group Policy.

Windows 7 LIP (Language Interface Pack)

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/158161-display-language-force-overwrite-all-users.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/87317-display-language-change.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/87313-display-language-packs-install-uninstall.html

Fix Corrupt or Blank Windows 7 System Tray Icons

source: http://www.fixitjim.net/2012/11/fix-corrupt-or-blank-windows-7-system.html

I see this a lot where I work and while I haven’t yet been able to track down the source of the problem, the fix is as follows:

  1. Open Regedit via Start–>Search
  2. Open Task Manager via CTRL-ALT-DEL
  3. Find Explorer.exe in the list and end the Process
  4. Go back to Regedit
  5. Select HKEY_CURRENTUSER
  6. Click Edit–>Find
  7. Search for IconStreams
    1. Or navigate directly to HKEY_CURRENTUSER\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify\
  8. Delete IconStreams
  9. Search or navigate to PastIconStreams
  10. Delete this key as well
  11. Hit CTRL-ALT-DEL
  12. Start Task Manager
  13. Click File–>Run
  14. Type, Explorer.exe
  15. The issue should be resolved.

Network Wizard only creates Dial-up VPN

  1. Go to device manager and select “Show Hidden Devices” under the View menu.
  2. Expand Network adapters. You should see the WAN Miniport (PPTP)
  3. Try right clicking on it and uninstalling it. More than likely it won’t allow you to.
    To get around this update the driver to something “uninstallable” like the MAC Bridge.
    To do this right click on it and select update driver. Choose no to look on windows update. Then choose to specify a location.
    Next choose dont search. Next unselect show compatible hardware and find the MAC Bridge under Microsoft.
    Force it to install it. After thats done you should be able to uninstall your new ‘MAC Bridge Miniport.”
  4. Now that it’s gone, lets reinstall it. Go fetch the devcon.exe
    package from Microsoft (Search for devcon.exe on google) and extract it somewhere.
  5. Go to the command prompt / console (cmd.exe) and get to the folder with devcon.exe in it.
  6. Run this command: devcon.exe install c:\windows\inf\netrasa.inf MS_PptpMiniport
  7. Go back to the device manager. You should see the WAN Miniport (PPTP) back.
  8. Try making yourself a fresh VPN connection now.

Deleting old user profiles

symptoms: Windows 7 starting with a temporary profile, trying to delete an old profile.

1-6-2011, source: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itprogeneral/thread/5ec0b949-effa-4e30-ba09-dc948a4c7a8b
You only have to do these steps:

  1. Logon with local admin profile. (or other account different that you want to use, but with admin privileges).
  2. Open regedit and go to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.
    Here you can see all SIDs of loaded profiles and probably you’ll have some of them repeated but with .bak extensions.
  3. So if you want to recover your profile, desktop icons, ect… you only have to delete the profile with no .bak extension
    and rename the other, deleting only the .bak extension of it:
    Ex: In Regedit (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList) I have:
    SID-1292428093-343818398-2115-158554 (1º Delete this Key)
    SID-1292428093-343818398-2115-158554.bak  (2º Rename This Key to SID-1292428093-343818398-2115-158554).
  4. Restart your computer or Logoff and Logon with the profile that you want to restore and that’s all, your profile will be restored Perfectly.

 Corruption of the /Windows/Installer/ folder

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971187

 

 

My Document folder locations if data disk failed.

source: http://www.windows-commandline.com/2010/08/change-my-documents-location-registry.html

We can change the target location of My Documents folder by editing the registry key. We can use reg.exe utility from command line for this. An example command for changing my documents location is given below.

reg.exe add “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders” /v Personal /t REG_SZ /d “d:\mydocs” /f

The above command will set the target folder for my documents as d:\mydocs.

Instead you can open registry editor by running regedit and manually change the registry value

Personal under the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

 

SATA drives Safely remove hardware

SATA 3 6GB showing up in safely remove hardware?

Internal and External SATA Port Configuration

http://64os.info/tips/troubleshooting-device-and-bsod/

Disappearing DVD-CDrom drive

I brought my Vista machine out of hibernation this morning to discover that the physical DVD-RW drive had disappeared from My Computer.
In fact, the virtual CD-ROM drive provided by Daemon Tools had disappeared, too.
After a typical round of troubleshooting (reboot, check bios, uninstall driver from Device Management and reboot, etc)
followed by a brief googling I discovered the solution below.

The solution comes from this post on The Vista Forums (unofficial) website.
It turns out some kind of strange registry mishap occurs and the Windows CD-ROM (cdrom.sys / cdrom.inf) drivers decide not to load anymore.
When you look at the Device Manager, you’ll see the yellow warning (!) icon in front of the CD/DVD ROM devices; when double
clicking them you’ll be greeted with the error “Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware.
The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)”.

Luckily, the solution is painless and simple: just import this registry file to fix the problem (code below):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
;Fixes issues with cdrom drives not working properly

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}]
“UpperFilters”=-
“LowerFilters”=-

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}]
“UpperFilters”=-
“LowerFilters”=-

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet003\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}]
“UpperFilters”=-
“LowerFilters”=-

Update (2007-11-29):After looking through my Event Viewer today I noticed the following error in the System logs:

“The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load:
PxHlpa64”

Quick googling took me to Microsfot KB314060, which mentions the above fix for this problem.

SSD Info (Trim VSS Intel Optimizer)

source: forums.anandtech.com

1. System Restore is designed with work with the Volume Shadow Service (i.e. Shadow copy):
Quote:

Beginning with Windows Vista, VSS is also used by the System Protection component which creates and maintains periodic copies of system and user data on the same local volume (similar to the Shadow Copies for Shared Folders feature in Windows Server) but allows it to be locally accessed by System Restore. System Restore allows reverting to an entire previous set of shadow copies called a Restore point. Prior to Windows Vista, System Restore was based on a file-based filter that watched changes for a certain set of file extensions, and then copied files before they were overwritten.[2]

Incidentally this explains the improvements in how System Restore works beginning with Vista re: taltamir’s experiences.

2. Intel’s toolbox works “around” VSS when attempting manual TRIM:
Quote:

“The VSS (Volume Shadow Copy) service is either disabled or not functioning properly. If you run the Intel® SSD Optimizer with the VSS service disabled, previously-created restore points or other shadow copies created by the operating system or third-party applications may become corrupt. If you intentionally disabled the VSS service for performance or other reasons and wish to continue running the Intel SSD Optimizer, click Continue.”

3. More evidence of VSS interfering with TRIM (error message in SSD toolbox):
Quote:

Intel SSD Optimizer could not run due to the presence of Volume Shader Copy Service data. Likely cause is a backup in progress. Please try again when the backup is finished.

4. Direct advice from readme.rtf in the SSD Toolbox documentation:
Quote:

To reduce the amount of time the Intel SSD Optimizer takes to run, reduce the number of System Protection restore points. The amount of time the Intel SSD Optimizer takes to complete is related to the number of System Protection restore points and the number of total files of the system. See Microsoft FAQ on System Protection restore points here:  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w…sked-questions

I think we have pretty good evidence, though not incontrovertible, that System Restore does indeed interfere with TRIM.

SSD tweaks

Cleanup | Cleanup Windows.eDB file | Windows-InstallerFolder-Cleanup |

Tip: – http://www.tweakhound.com/ssd-tweak-guide-sort-of/

Tweaks | http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/windows-7/2441-windows-7-ultimate-solid-state-drive-speed-tweaks.html

http://www.overclock.net/t/1133897/windows-7-ssd-tweaking-guide

http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/36440-Windows-7-8-SSD-Optimization

Verify TRIM is enabled on your SSD

  1. Click start and type in cmd and hit the enter key
  2. Type in fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify

– DisableDeleteNotify = 1 (Windows TRIM commands are disabled)
– DisableDeleteNotify = 0 (Windows TRIM commands are enabled)

Disable automatic defragmenting

  1. Click the Windows start button and type Disk Defrag and hit Enter.
  2. Click the Configure Schedule Button.
  3. Uncheck the box for Run On a Schedule then click Ok and Close.
  4. Never Defrag a Solid State Drive

Reduce Page File Size

  1. Hit Start and right-click on Computer and select Properties
  2. On the left side of the window, click Advanced System Settings.
  3. Under the Advanced tab, in the Performance section click Settings…
  4. Click the Advanced tab, and under Virtual Memory, Click Change
  5. Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
  6. Highlight your SSD and underneath it, click the Custom Size radio button.
  7. Under Initial size and Maximum size, type in 1024 and then click Set and click OK.
  8. You must reboot for this to take effect

Move your temp files to a Mechanical hard drive. (If Users Folder is being used on the SSD)

  1. Hit Start and right-click on Computer and select Properties
  2. On the left side of the window, click Advanced System Settings.
  3. Under the Advanced tab, in the on the bottom click Environmental Variables…
  4. Click on the variable TEMP then click Edit…
  5. Under the Variable Value: box, enter in the new path you would like for your temp files, ex. D:\Temp Files\TEMP
  6. Click on the variable TMP then click Edit…
  7. Under the Variable Value: box, enter in the new path you would like for your temp files, ex. D:\Temp Files\TMP
  8. Click Ok and you must reboot for this to take effect.

Disable Hibernation

  1. Type cmd in the windows start menu search box, then right click on cmd.exe and choose Run as administrator.
  2. In the command prompt type in “powercfg –h off” and hit enter. You must reboot for this to take effect.

Moving or Disabling Memory Dumps (Especially helpful for us overclockers)

  1. Hit Start and right-click on Computer and select Properties.
  2. On the left side of the window, click Advanced System Settings.
  3. Under the Advanced tab, in the on the Startup and Recovery box, click Settings…
  4. Under the System failure section, you will see Write debugging information and a dropdown box.
    To disable memory dumbs click the dropdown box and select (none)
  5. If you would like to keep memory dumps change the path in the Dump file: box
    for example; D:\Temp Files\Memory Dumps\MEMORY.DMP

Disable Superfetch / Prefetch
(SSDs are Fast enough to disable Superfetch/Prefetch to free up RAM)

  1. In the Windows start menu search box, type regedit and hit enter.
  2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters
    and you will see a Binary Value called EnablePrefetcher
  3. Double click on EnableSuperfetch and change the value from 3 to 0.
  4. Double click on EnablePrefetcher and change the value from 3 to 0.
  5. You must reboot for this to take effect.

Disable ClearPageFileAtShutdown and LargeSystemCache

Windows is quick to implement things that are no longer necessary.
An SSD operates on flash memory, making it possible to easily overwrite things on the disk. Therefore,
the page file doesn’t need to be erased while the computer’s shutting down.

 

  1. In the Windows start menu search box, type regedit and hit enter.
  2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\Memory Management
  3. Double click on “ClearPageFileAtShutdown” and change the value from 1 to 0.
  4. Double click on “LargeSystemCache” and change the value to 1.
    IMO LargeSystemCache should be enabled limiting the writes on the SSD for systemcache.
  5. You must reboot for this to take effect.

 

Disable Recycling Bin on your SSD

  1. Right click on your Recycling Bin and click Properties.
  2. Under Settings for selected location you will see a radio button called Don’t move files to the Recycling Bin.
  3. Remove files immediately

when deleted. Click this radio button and click OK.

Enable Write Caching on your SSD

A)Open up your Computer. In Computer, right click on the drive that is your SSD and click Properties.
B)Click on the Hardware tab at the top.
C)Double click on the Disk Drive that is your SSD. Now in the new window click the Policies tab.
D)Under the Write-caching policy box, make sure Enable write caching on this device and Turn off Windows write-cache buffer flushing on the device are both checked. Now click OK and exit.

Disable Indexing on your SSD

  1. Open up your Computer. In Computer, right click on the Drive that is your SSD and click Properties.
  2. Click on the General tab at the top.
  3. At the bottom you will see a box called Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties, uncheck this box and hit Apply.
  4. Make sure the radio button for Apply changes to the drive C:\, subfolders and files is selected and click OK.
  5. You will be prompted with a window that says Error Applying Attributes,
    click Ignore All and it will disable indexing on all files on your SSD, this will take some time.
  6. Click OK to close the window.

Disable Reliability Monitor (If OS in on SSD)

  1. Type cmd in the windows start menu search box, then right click on cmd.exe and choose Run as administrator.
  2. In the command prompt type in: and hit enter.
    schtasks.exe /change /disable /tn \Microsoft\Windows\RAC\RacTask
  3. If you want to enable reliability monitor run the command: and hit enter.
    schtasks.exe /change /enable /tn \Microsoft\Windows\RAC\RacTask
    If a SUCCESS message comes up after the command is entered then it worked.

Disable System Restore (If OS is on SSD)
(Not preferred, autobackup!)

  1. Hit Start and right-click on Computer and select Properties
  2. On the left side of the window, click System Protection.
  3. Highlight the Drive located on your SSD and click Configure.
  4. Click the radio button to Turn Off System Restore, click Ok, and Close

Web Browser Cache Managing for Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer

Firefox Cache

How to Move Disk Cache Location
  1. Open Firefox and in the address bar type about:config and hit enter.
  2. Click I’ll be careful, I promise! Navigate to browser.cache.disk.capacity and then double click to edit the value.
    Enter in the amount of disk cache you would like to use for Firefox in Kilobytes.
    I use 30mb so I enter in 30000 and hit OK.
  3. Right click on the web page and choose New then String.
    In the Preference name box add browser.cache.disk.parent_directory and hit OK. Under the browser.cache.disk.parent_directory box,
    enter in where your Firefox Cache location will be.
    I have mine set to S:\Temp Files\Firefox Cache.
How to Disable Disk Cache and Use Ram Cache
  1. Open Firefox and in the address bar type about:config and hit enter.
  2. Click I’ll be careful, I promise! Navigate to browser.cache.disk.enable and then double click to so that it is set to false.
  3. Right click on the web page and choose New then String. In the Preference name box add cache.memory.capacity and hit OK.
    Under cache.memory.capacity, enter in the amount of RAM you would like to use in kilobytes.
    I use 30mb so you would enter 30000 in the box for that.

Chrome Cache

How to Move Disk Cache Location
  1. Right click on the desired chrome shortcut and click Properties.
  2. Next to the Target: you will see the path for the chrome.exe location; after chrome.exe
    type in –disk-cache-dir=”S:\TempFiles\Chrome Cache”
    *NOTE: S:\TempFiles\Chrome Cache is an example, you would enter in where you want the chrome cache to be stored on your computer.
How Change Disk Cache Size
  1. Right click on the desired chrome shortcut and click Properties.
  2. Next to the Target: you will see the path for the chrome.exe location; after chrome.ex
    type in –disk-cache-size=1 –media-cache-size=1″. This will change the maximum cache to 25mb.
    *NOTE: If you want to edit Chrome to change the directory and cache size,
    it would look like this: –disk-cache-dir=”S:\TempFiles\Chrome Cache –disk-cache-size=1 –media-cache-size=1″

Extra

I also made a guide to move users off of your OS drive to a different partition/drive For more SSD Tweaks to help reduce useless SSD writes, improve performance, and save more space Here

WINDOWS 7 AND VISTA USER AND PROGRAM DATA REDIRECTION GUIDE

This guide is helpful for people trying to reduce writes to their SSD’s and save some space for software and other data. It is especially helpful for people without TRIM, the anal retentive enthusiasts, and people in the technical field who can use this information in many different scenarios. This is the proper way to move the Users and Program Data Folders to a different Drive or Partition.

Windows 7/Vista Installation

  1. Boot to appropriate Windows 7 or Vista media
  2. When you get to the installation screen, do not partition the drive. Use the whole drive and windows will create a separate partition by itself. You do not need to partition the hard drive yet.
  3. Once the installation is complete after a few reboots, you will be asked for a username and PC name. STOP HERE

Audit Mode

  1. Once Windows is waiting for a username and password, press CTRL+SHIFT+F3. This will cause Windows to reboot and then it will load up without drivers in audit mode.
  2. You are currently logged in as a temporary administrator. Any user changes you make will not save. Ignore the Sysprep.exe box for now
  3. Open up Disk Management
  4. Format the appropriate new drive or partition with the appropriate drive letter which will be the drive you will be using to store Program Data and Users folders.

Info on how to do this

  1. Now you will create the .xml file to relocate the Users and Program Data folders to your new drives.
  2. Open up notepad and Copy this text to it and save it as usermove.xml and save it to the root a flash drive or any other removable media.

    D:\Users
    D:\ProgramData

    -Note: Where it says Windows 7 Professional, you would edit it to whichever version of Windows you installed.
    -Note:The Drive letter in these lines is the drive letter that you assigned to the Drive or Partition that you are moving the ProgramData and User Data folders to.

    D:\Users
    D:\ProgramData

    -Note: On the line “wim:E:/sources/install.wim#Windows 7 PROFESSIONAL” — E: is the drive letter assigned to your removable media where the xml file is stored.

  3. Open a command prompt and type: cd c:\windows\system32\sysprep
  4. In command prompt, type: sysprep.exe /audit /reboot /unattend:E:\usermove.xml
    (E: is whatever the assigned drive letter of your flash drive or removable media is)Your computer will now reboot and come back into audit mode.
  5. Once Windows boots back up, you will be prompted with a Sysprep.exe box again.
  6. In the first drop down of the Sysprep.exe box, choose OOBE and only check the Generalize box if the computer is being used for a base image, otherwise, leave it unchecked.
  7. Now click Reboot and the regular windows installation will continue on with the User and Program Data folders on a separate drive/partition.

Using this method to move the users folder will also help prevent the corrupted user profiles that can happen when moving them after already creating users in Windows.

 

Windows Location awareness how does it !work

http://www.google.com/search?q=windows+7+no+internet+access+with+yellow+warning+icon

Windows 7 Network Awareness: How Windows knows it has an internet connection

Appendix K: Network Connectivity Status Indicator and Resulting Internet Communication

http://blog.tiensivu.com/aaron/archives/1509-Why-www.msftncsi.com-keeps-showing-up-in-firewall-logs-with-Vista-and-why-it-can-cause-problems-with-internet-captive-portals-and-WiFi-hot-spots.html

Disabled required password on wakeup

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/10024-password-require-wakeup.html
http://blogs.technet.com/b/richardsmith/archive/2007/11/29/powercfg-useful-if-you-know-the-guids.aspx

powercfg -L
powercfg -SETACVALUEINDEX <profile> SUB_NONE CONSOLELOCK 0
powercfg -SETDCVALUEINDEX <profile> SUB_NONE CONSOLELOCK 0

Disable the libraries feature

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/21462/how-to-enable-or-disable-the-libraries-feature-in-windows-7/

http://www.mydigitallife.info/how-to-disable-and-remove-libraries-from-windows-7-explorer/

Recently I found a fix to a problem a hand full of people were having.
After searching for hours I found no solution. The problem was that
when creating a new VPN network connection in Windows XP using the new
connection wizard, it would only create a dialup connection regardless
if you chose the connection to be a dial-up connection or a virtual
private connection.

The solution involved reinstalling the WAN Miniport (PPTP) driver.
Here’s how I did it:

1. Go to device manager and select “Show Hidden Devices” under the
View menu.

2. Expand Network adapters. You should see the WAN Miniport (PPTP)

3. Try right clicking on it and uninstalling it. More than likely it
won’t allow you to. To get around this update the driver to something
“uninstallable” like the MAC Bridge. To do this right click on it and
select update driver. Choose no to look on windows update. Then choose
to specify a location. Next choose dont search. Next unselect show
compatible hardware and find the MAC Bridge under Microsoft. Force it
to install it. After thats done you should be able to uninstall your
new ‘MAC Bridge Miniport.”

4. Now that it’s gone, lets reinstall it. Go fetch the devcon.exe
package from Microsoft (Search for devcon.exe on google) and extract
it somewhere.

5. Go to the command prompt / console (cmd.exe) and get to the folder
with devcon.exe in it.

6. Run this command: devcon.exe install c:\windows\inf\netrasa.inf
MS_PptpMiniport

7. Go back to the device manager. You should see the WAN Miniport
(PPTP) back.

8. Try making yourself a fresh VPN connection now.

 

Keyboard fails windows cannot start device hardware registry error code 19

source: http://answers.microsoft.com/…

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e96b-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}]
"UpperFilters"=hex(7):6b,00,62,00,64,00,63,00,6c,00,61,00,73,00,73,00,00,00,00,00

 

 

W32 old Help files support

http://www.microsoft.com/nl-nl/download/details.aspx?id=91

Retrieve BIOS Serial number – servicetag

Obtain Service Tag locally with command line
In the command prompt type the following and press Enter/Return.

wmic csproduct get vendor,name,identifyingnumber

Obtain Service Tag remotely with command line
If VNC or remote desktop connection to the remote-host is not available,
execute the following from the local-host to get the service tag of the remote-host.

wmic /user:administrator /node:remote-host bios get serialnumber

You will be prompted for the password for account administrator.

NOTE :: type the command exactly like it appears above only replacing the remote-host
part with the workstations name or IP address you’re querying.
If you want to use a user account other than administrator, replace ‘administrator’ with the account you wish to use.

Mallware

Locked by Police Cybercrime Investigation

 

User profile(s)

The User Profile Service failed the logon

 

Windows Features XP

Posted on by Posted in Features, Windows

[ Features | Office | IE | ]
[ Windows | XP | 7 (seven) | 8 | 10 | ] - [ Server | 2003SBS | 2008SBS | 2011SBS | 2016 | WSUS ]

User profile stuck in “Backup” status.

How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile in Windows XP.
User Profile Hive Cleanup Service

I deleted the temp-newly created profile and renamed the profile key in the registry (there was one with a “.bak” behind it).
“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Cu rrentVersion\ProfileList\<SID>”

Windows 7 commandline

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized, Windows Leave a comment

Shutdown

Shutdown %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s

Reboot %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -r

Logoff %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -l

Standby %windir%\System32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState Standby

Hibernate %windir%\System32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState Hibernate