Issues

Advise

Upgrading to Windows Server 2012 R2 from 2012 RTM Running SharePoint 2013

These are some of my own notes on upgrading Sharepoint Server 2013 from the server running Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2012 R2. I know this will help others that made the same mistakes that I did. I'm grateful to have the ability

2012

More issues and solutions for DirectAccess in Windows Server 2012, Notes from the field

Tonight, I have some more DirectAccess 2012 woes and solutions to share. These are more or less some notes I jotted down while setting up DA2012 for a customer. Note #1: The following case occurred both with my customer’s DirectAccess 2012 server, as

2012

Windows Server 2012 DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error Route has not been enabled

I was in the middle of setting up DirectAccess 2012 in an IPv4-only environment for one of my customers when I hit a really big roadblock. Originally, I had DA set up using the simple deployment method. Everything installed just fine and the DA

2012

OS Installation BSOD with Windows Server 2012 Boot Media on UEFI Server Hardware

I was working with one of my customers a few nights ago and ran into a huge roadblock when trying to boot the Windows Server 2012 Datacenter installation media (DVD\USB) on a brand new piece of server hardware. We booted the installation media

Boot

Troubleshooting Slow Boot Performance in Windows

It has been a few weeks since my last post, but trust me when I say the wait was worth it. This is another article that would go along with my "advanced windows desktop troubleshooting" series of posts only if I actually

Issues

Advanced Windows Desktop Troubleshooting with Sysinternals Process Monitor

This is a special post on a troubleshooting event that I was able to participate in which occurred a short while ago. My company started deploying Windows 7 computers throughout the organization during the summer. We use two different Windows deployment types depending on

Errors

RightFax 9.4 error, “The fax server could not find an account matching your network login”

Here is the scenario: You just finished installing RightFax on a Windows Server and launch the RightFax Enterprise Fax Manager tool from the Start Menu. As soon as you click on any of the options on the left pane, an error appears. Clicking OK

Cpu

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS installation error, “This kernel requires the following features not present on the CPU: pae”

I love Ubuntu. I am not a big fan of the Unity interface, but I do love the OS itself. Last night, I attempted to install v12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) on one of my very old Dell Latitude D505 laptops and the install

How-to

Unable to Mount .ISO Disk Image File in Windows 8 File Explorer

One of the great features in Windows 8 is built-in support to mount ISO image files in File Explorer. You still have the option of installing a 3rd party app to handle ISO mounting if you wish (such as Virtual CloneDrive) but Windows can

How-to

How-To Solve Printer Redirection Issues with the RDC Client in Windows XP

Windows XP just won’t go away. It is still one of the most widely used operating systems in business so I still find myself having to go back and remember certain things I had to support. For example, there was one little known

Errors

Windows Server 2008 R2 Error: “You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item”

Here is the situation: I set up a Windows Server 2008 R2 domain controller, and created a new Windows Server 2008 R2 server in Hyper-V, and joined it to my domain. I am able to log in and administratively control the Domain Controller without

Deployment

Deployment Workbench hangs during ISO Media Creation

A colleague of mine was attempting to build an ISO of a Windows 7 image from our MDT share and ran into a problem. No matter what computer he tried to build the ISO media As it turns out, the root cause was a

Beta

Fixing the Infinite Boot Loop Issue with Windows

I have been helping some of my family friends as of late with their computer troubles and I would like to share this tech support story with you today… Our family friend dropped off her old, but still capable, Windows XP computer to me

Dashboard

Updates to the Dashboard

A brand new section has been added to the Dashboard titled, Troubleshooting -Joe

Deployment

WinPE error when connecting to an MDT share: "Invalid Credentials"

Have you ever seen this error when trying to re-image a computer using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit? You double-checked everything. The credentials are correct for the service\local account you created with access to the share, you double-checked both bootstrap.ini and customsettings.ini, and

Errors

An issue with Windows XP when trying to access a file share on a Windows 7 computer

**** Full credit for the solution to this problem goes to Alan LaMielle. Thanks Alan! Original article link here:** It has been over a week since my last post, so I figured it is time to add an update! I was able to help out

Advise

Cable modems and Y-Splitters

Over the years, I have slowly learned that your common 3-way cable coax splitters and cable modems just do not mix well. See that picture to the right? That is a common 3-way cable splitter. In fact, this is the exact model that you

Dns

An Interesting DNS Issue

Ready for another networking lesson?! Great! Lets get started… A customer called in today asking for help because they were unable to access our website or their webmail. Everything, such as e-mail or the employee web portal, is accessed directly from our website and

Advise

Does the e-mail address that you use at work or school actually belong to you?

Don’t you love it when these thoughts of the day just pop up! The essence of what I am actually trying to ask here is: Does the email account or email address that was given to you at school, work, or in an

Advise

Is your Anti-virus app slowing down your computer?

I received a call from a customer the other day where they were complaining that their computer was running extremely slow. The customer would start typing in a document and there would be an extreme delay. It would take several moments for the computer

Batchfile

An Office 2010 KMS Activation Issue, and the fix!

I decided to upgrade my work PC to Windows 7 Enterprise, 64 bit with Service Pack 1 integrated. I sure am special, aren’t I? (Don’t answer that question ). Anywhoo, a problem came up after I manually installed Office Professional Plus 2010. After

Advise

Does your internet connection drop out from time to time? Here is an explanation of why it happens…

I was sitting at my desk last night doing my college homework and listening to streaming music (yay for Spotify I connected my desktop PC directly to the modem and reset it. After doing an ipconfig /renew from the command line, I had Internet

Boot Disc

Performing a Windows Vista or Windows 7 “miracle” system restore on PC that still has the recovery partition intact

Here is an interesting case…. Over the weekend, a good friend came to me asking if I could help him with his Acer laptop. He was attempting to perform a system restore using the built in Acer support tools. The laptop re-installed Windows 7

Advise

Microsoft Outlook giving you issues? Here Are A Few Things to Try….

Today, I would like to share some tips for troubleshooting issues with Microsoft Outlook. These tips will resolve 95% of all issues a person is having with Outlook. This article talks about issues with the Outlook offline cache, corrupt email signatures, and how to

Issues

An issue with Windows where mapping network drives at login is not working....

I enjoy first level support work (a.k.a. Help Desk or Service Desk). It is where I learned many of my soft-skills and advanced Windows troubleshooting skills. Many people, like me, who started out working in 1st level support usually stay in this