So we recently setup a new Win2k8 R2 print server to replace our aging 2k3 server, and I needed a way to easily switch a whole bunch of users over to the printer mappings on the new server.  After some digging, I came up with this method of switching everyone over at login with Powershell:

<#

.SYNOPSIS
This is a Powershell script to remove the old <printserver> printers and replace them with Printers mapped to <newprintserver>

.DESCRIPTION
This script will run at logon, and accomplish the following tasks:
1) Sets ErrorAction to Silently Continue to hide any red errors if a printer connection doesn’t exist
2) Gets the machines list of installed printers and passes it to the $localprinters variable
3) Searches the $localprinters variable for the printer names and declares them
4) Tests each variable for existence, and if it exists removes the old <printserver> version and installs the <newprintserver> version
5) Checks what the original default printer was, and if it was a <printserver> one changes it to the new <newprintserver> version

.NOTES
This script is fairly easy to modify and tailor to a different site by modifying the what is searched for via -pattern, and adjusting the printer connections in each test case.

.LINK
http://www.blueglowy.com

#>
$ErrorActionPreference = "SilentlyContinue"

$localprinters = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Printer -ComputerName ${env:computername}

$defaultprt = Get-WMIObject -class Win32_Printer -computer ${env:computername} -Filter Default=True | Select Name,Default

$test = Select-String -inputObject $localprinters -pattern "<printer1>" -quiet
$test2 = Select-String -inputObject $localprinters -pattern "<printer2>" -quiet
$test3 = Select-String -inputObject $localprinters -pattern "<printer3>" -quiet
$test4 = Select-String -inputObject $localprinters -pattern "<printer4>" -quiet

$prt1 = Select-String -inputObject $defaultprt -pattern "<printer1>" -quiet
$prt2 = Select-String -inputObject $defaultprt -pattern "<printer2>" -quiet
$prt3 = Select-String -inputObject $defaultprt -pattern "<printer3>" -quiet
$prt4 = Select-String -inputObject $defaultprt -pattern "<printer4>" -quiet

if ($test -eq "True") {(New-Object -ComObject WScript.Network).RemovePrinterConnection("\\<printserver>\<printer1>")
    (New-Object -ComObject WScript.Network).AddWindowsPrinterConnection("\\<newprintserver>\<printer1>")}
    else {""}
   
if ($test2 -eq "True") {(New-Object -ComObject WScript.Network).RemovePrinterConnection("\\<printserver>\<printer2>")
    (New-Object -ComObject WScript.Network).AddWindowsPrinterConnection("\\<newprintserver>\<printer2>")}
    else {""}
   
if ($test3 -eq "True") {(New-Object -ComObject WScript.Network).RemovePrinterConnection("\\<printserver>\<printer3>")
    (New-Object -ComObject WScript.Network).AddWindowsPrinterConnection("\\<newprintserver>\<printer3>")}
    else {""}
   
if ($test4 -eq "True") {(New-Object -ComObject WScript.Network).RemovePrinterConnection("\\<printserver>\<printer4>")
    (New-Object -ComObject WScript.Network).AddWindowsPrinterConnection("\\<newprintserver>\<printer4> PCL5")}
    else {""}

#Check for default printer and reset it to users original choice if printer was removed
if ($prt1 -eq "True") {($Printer = Get-WmiObject win32_printer  | where {$_.name -match "<printer1>"})}
    Elseif ($prt2 -eq "True") {($Printer = Get-WmiObject win32_printer  | where {$_.name -match "<printer2>"})}
        Elseif ($prt3 -eq "True") {($Printer = Get-WmiObject win32_printer  | where {$_.name -match "<printer3>"})}
            Elseif ($prt4 -eq "True") {($Printer = Get-WmiObject win32_printer  | where {$_.name -match "<printer4> PCL5"})}
                Else {$Printer = ""}

$Printer.SetDefaultPrinter()
       
Printer Check Complete

So i like a good consumer I updated my itunes to 9.2 today, and after it completed, 88 files are missing, 564 tv shows are showing as unplayed, and some of my music is now gone.  Thankfully the music had already been copied over to my Zune library, but the problem is that I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED. Its just gone.

Frankly though, my greater concern is the fact that even if I want to move to a computer’s product, like oh say….Zune, I can’t take my media with me.  Due to drm and failure to adhere to standards, Apple has assured that I will forever have to use this apple TV they don’t really want to support to view the files.  The container Apple uses for MP4 is an M4V with AC3 passthru, which is an unsupported hack to the MP4 codec container, therefore most other software won’t read it.  Combined with the DRM, you are locked forever into using this thing, no matter how laggy and crappy it is, since Apple doesn’t wanna actually upgrade the device. 

The lesson I’ve learned here is this, if you want interoperability and you want to insure your investment in media isn’t destroyed by a shitty software update….PIRATE. 

And they wonder why they can’t beat piracy?

I’ve finally given up, and am trying out Clear WiMax.  Since my DSL was stagnant at 3MB/768kb anyhow, Clear is saying they can offer 6MB/1MB Home AND Mobile internet for LESS than I’m paying for Embarq’s DSL service, and I’m getting it for half off for 6 months.  My equipment should be arriving this afternoon, so hopefully I’ll actually have internet again at home tonight, and then I can just cancel embarq’s craptastic service.  I’ll post some updates as to how Clear’s service is.

Win7 is full of win and love and butter.

First off, setup your network to enable RPC over HTTP, and confirm it works with Outlook 2k3.

Keep in mind you WILL need a valid SSL cert from a trusted authority.  I recommend a cheap cert from godaddy, as they can be had for between 13-30 bucks if you catch a sale.

Once you have your cert, follow the instructions here:

http://www.petri.co.il/how-can-i-configure-rpc-over-https-on-exchange-2003-single-server-scenario.htm

And make sure you test your exchange connectivity, and make sure RPC over HTTP is working for a standard Outlook 2k3 install.

Once you’ve followed those steps, test your configuration here:

https://www.testexchangeconnectivity.com/

All green? Gooooood.

Now, this is where it gets weird. In your Outlook 2k7/Vista machine, go to control panel-mail, and setup your new profile. 

For your Exchange server, enter the INTERNAL FQDN of your mail server, ie servername.domain.local, selected cached mode so you can get decent performance out of your setup, and enter your username.

Select more settings, go to Security, and set it to Kerberos for now. (We’ll come back to this.)

Go to the Connection tab, and under Outlook Anywhere put a check in “connect to Microsoft Exchange using HTTP”, and then click the Exchange Proxy Settings button

Under connection seetings, enter the URL for your OWA server, and put a check Connect using SSL only.  Also check both “On fast networks”… and “On slow networks…”  Set your Proxy Authentication settings to Basic authentication.

Click OK, and then OK again, at which point you should get a pop up warning about using Kerberos from outside a firewall.  Hit ok and continue.  Go ahead an open outlook, enter your username as Domain.local\username  and password, and outlook should probably fail.  At this point go back to your exchange settings, and change you Logon security back to NTLM instead of Kerberos.  Reopen Outlook, and you should now connect.

Stupid and crazy compared to every other version of Outlook\Entourage, but there you go, it worked for me

 

Love,

Able-X

Turns out the issue was the ipod itself.  Hold down ‘Menu’ and the center button to reset the ipod, then after it restarts put it in the dock and it should start behaving normally!

Happy ipodding

Go to the offline files tab in windows explorer, hold down  ctrl+shift at the same time that you click the “Delete Files…” button. I know it’s kind of an unusual method for Windows but it does seem to solve the problem most times. It should pop up with a warning message and Yes or No buttons. Click Yes, reboot, and resync and all should be well.

If not, try the following (although I can’t say that I’ve tried it myself):

1. Disable Offline Files with  csccmd.exe /disable

3. Reboot into Safe Mode and delete all content under %SystemRoot%\CSC

4. Reboot again and re-enable Offline Files.

After this is done, try the Ctrl+Shift+click method again.

Also, be aware that the offline file database has a path name limitation. I don’t know what it is – but if your path\file name is too long it will corrupt the database and cause the “The Parameter is Incorrect” error.
Make sure that your file and folder names are kept reasonable. I also recommend not using special characters for any folder or file names.

Hope it helps!

Step 1: Install the Outlook Address Book service

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287563/

To do this, follow these steps, as appropriate for the version of Outlook that you are running.
Microsoft Outlook 2002 and Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

1.    On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
2.    Click to select View or change existing directories or address books, and then click Next.
3.    If your Outlook Address Book is listed, click Cancel, and then go to the steps in the “How to Mark Your Contact Folder for Use with Your Address Book” section.
4.    If your Outlook Address Book is not listed, click Add.
5.    Click to select Additional Address Books, and then click Next.
6.    Click to select Outlook Address Book, and then click Next.
7.    Click OK when you receive the prompt that the address book you added will not start until you click Exit from the File menu.
8.    Click Finish.
9.    Click Exit from the File menu, and then restart Outlook.

My google-fu is strong.