Convert evaluation version of Windows 2012 into a retail version.

If a server is running an evaluation version of Windows Server 2012 Standard or Windows Server 2012 Datacenter, you can convert it to a retail version by doing the following:

From an elevated command prompt, determine the current edition name with the command DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition. Make note of the edition ID, an abbreviated form of the edition name. Then run DISM /online /Set-Edition: /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula, providing the edition ID and a retail product key. When prompted, reboot the server.

For the evaluation version of Windows Server 2012 Standard, you can also convert to the retail version of Windows Server 2012 Datacenter in one step using this same command and the appropriate product key. 

If the server is a domain controller, you cannot convert it to a retail version. In this case, install an additional domain controller on a server that runs a retail version and remove AD DS from the domain controller that runs on the evaluation version.

Note: If the evaluation version already expired you will not be able to activate it and you will either have to do an in-place upgrade or build a new server using a retail license key.

Some rules are disabled, and you receive an error message when you try to create or enable rules in Outlook

If your mailbox is on Exchange Server 2007 or later, you can ask your Exchange administrator to increase the rules quota for your mailbox. 

The following example command sets the rules quota to the maximum value of 256 KB.

Set-Mailbox john@contoso.com -RulesQuota:256kb

The following example command allows you to view the current rules quota for a mailbox.

Get-Mailbox john@contoso.com |FL displayname, rulesquota

How to activate Windows 2012 through PowerShell

In some instances activating Windows 2012 fails with error stating that the product key is invalid or is for a different version of Windows.

Here is how to get aroudn that error and quickly activate through PowerShell. 

1. Right click PowerShell and choose run as Administrator
2. Run the following command: 
   DISM /online /set-Edition:serverDatacenter /ProductKey:IN856-VALID-524SE-RIALN-UMBER /AcceptEula
3. Reboot 

How to manage Internet Zones through GPO -- post IE 10 upgrade

If you've upgraded IE to version 10 you probably already know that you can no longer access IE settings using Internet Explorer Maintenance GPO container because it is no longer there. The data is still there but it is no longer accessible and IE clients will no longer sync with it after version 10.

So what should you do if you need to maintain different site zones? Use Site to Zone Assignment List. Here are the steps:

Open Group Policy Management (gpmc.msc) and either edit an existing policy or create a new one. When ready, traverse down the policy tree until you get to Site to Zone Assignment List.

1. Computer configuration
2. Policies
3. Administrative Templates: Policy definitions (ADMX files) retrieved from the local machine
4. Windows Components
5. Internet Explorer
6. Internet Control Panel
7. Security Page
8. Site to Zone Assignment List

Double click Site to Zone List and click Show…

Enter URL and select an appropriate zone number: (1) Intranet zone, (2) Trusted Sites zone, (3) Internet zone, and (4) Restricted Sites zone.

Click OK

How to identify the version of SQL Server

Connect to an instance of SQL Server by using the following sqlcmd command:

sqlcmd -S Server\Instance

Where Server is the name of the computer and Instance is the name of the instance you want to check. If you used the default named instance during setup, specify the instance as "SQLExpress".

To identify the server name and instance name, type the following command:

select @@servername
go

When connected, type the following two commands:

select @@version
go

Alternatively, you can type the following two commands:

select serverproperty('edition')
go

The sqlcmd tool displays the version information. If the last line of information includes "Express Edition," the instance to which you are connecting is running SQL Server Express.

How to empty the contents of the recycle bin for ALL users

Launch command prompt with elevated permissions and run the following:

rd /s c:\$recycle.bin

WDS error 0xc1420127 while adding drivers

If you try to add new drivers to a boot image and the process fails with error code  0xc1420127, doing the following will most likely resolve the problem.

Browse to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WIMMount\Mounted Images" and delete any keys listed in there.

Restart WDS services and you should be good to go.

How to combine cells of information in Excel

Simple Concatenation

The following formula combines data from cells A1, B1 and C1. Write this formula into another column, such as column D1:

=A1&B1&C1

Add Spaces Between Each Column

The following formula combines data from cells A1, B1 and C1 and adds spaces between each set of data. Write this formula into another column, such as column D1:

=A1&" "&B1&" "&C1

Windows 7 Sysprep rearm problem

Every time I build an image for deployment using Windows Deployment Services I sysprep it in order to clean out all user settings and to reset the SID. Usually, I only need to sysprep the master image once but this time around I had forgotten a couple of things and ended up re-running sysprep a few times. I also needed to test the image capture process due to some files duplication issues. When I was ready to sysprep the image for the final time I got an error which read: ‘A fatal error occurred while trying to sysprep the machine’

It turns out that Microsoft, in its wisdom, decided to limit the number of times that a Windows image can be syspreped to just three. The fourth time someone runs sysprep the process fails. This has to do with resetting (re-arming) of the licensing information. There are a few workarounds to this, one involving creating an unattended installation xml file. I’ve found the following to be the quickest and easiest:

Once the master image is ready to be syspreped open command prompt and run slmgr /dlv
You will see the following screen:

If you see that the remaining windows rearm count is at 0 you will need to edit the registry to trick Windows into thinking that it has one more rearm available.

Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\SkipRearm and change the value from 0 to 1

Re-run sysprep and it should complete.

Once you run sysprep, the SkipRearm registry value will change back to 0

In some instances you may also need to change the value of the Generalization State key.

Go into the registry and set HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup\Status\SysprepStatus\GeneralizationState to 7.

How to disable IPv6

Here are step-by-step instructions for how to disable Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) or its specific components in Windows 7, in Windows Vista, in Windows Server 2008 R2, and in Windows Server 2008.

1. Open registry editor (regedit or regedt32)
2. In registry editor, locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters \
3. If exists, double-click DisableComponents. If it doesn't exist you will need to create it.
• Type = DWORD (32-bit)
• Name = DisabledComponents
• Data = ffffffff (Hex - 8 f's)
4. Exit regsitry editor and reboot PC

Here is a list of all available data values:

• Type 0 to enable all IPv6 components. (Windows default setting)
• Type 0xffffffff to disable all IPv6 components except the IPv6 loopback interface. This value also configures Windows to prefer using IPv4 over IPv6 by changing entries in the prefix policy table. For more information, see Source and Destination Address Selection.
• Type 0x20 to prefer IPv4 over IPv6 by changing entries in the prefix policy table.
• Type 0x10 to disable IPv6 on all nontunnel interfaces (both LAN and Point-to-Point Protocol [PPP] interfaces).
• Type 0x01 to disable IPv6 on all tunnel interfaces. These include Intra-Site Automatic Tunnel Addressing Protocol (ISATAP), 6to4, and Teredo.
• Type 0x11 to disable all IPv6 interfaces except for the IPv6 loopback interface.

To use the DisabledComponents registry value to check whether IPv6 was disabled, run the following command at a Windows command prompt: 

reg query HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters /v DisabledComponents

Error 0x8007232B 'DNS Name Does Not Exist' when Activating Windows 8 or Server 2012

I have seen instances where Windows 8 or Server 2012 will not activate properly after installation. The workaround is to activate it from the command line. Here are the steps:

1. Launch command prompt (with elevated access)
2. Type in the following: slmgr.vbs /ipk <product key>
3. You will receive a pop-up window from Windows Script Host indicating the product key has been installed successfully
4. You can wait for Windows to automatically activate or go back and click Activate Windows button

How to check CU or hotfix installs for Lync Server

Easiest way to check what version of Lync (client +  server) you have installed is to download and run the Cumulative Lync Server Update Installer [KB2493736].

Below is a list of updates and their corresponding version numbers:

Lync client 2010

CU #	Description
CU1	http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2467763 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: January 2011 (Version: 4.0.7577.108)
CU2	http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2496325 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: April 2011 (Version: 4.0.7577.253)
CU3	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2551268 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: May 2011 (Version: 4.0.7577.280)
CU4	http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2571543 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: July 2011 (Version: 4.0.7577.314)
CU5	http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2514982 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: November 2011 (Version: 4.0.7577.4051)
CU6	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2670326 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: February 2012 (Version: 4.0.7577.4072)
CU7	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2701664 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: June 2012 (Version: 4.0.7577.4103)
CU8	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2737155 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: October 2012 (Version: 4.0.7577.4356)
CU9	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2791382 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: March 2013 (Version: 4.0.7577.4378)
CU10	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2815347 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: April 2013 (Version: 4.0.7577.4384)
CU11	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2842627 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: July 2013 (Version: 4.0.7577.4398)
CU12	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2884632 Description of the cumulative update package for Lync 2010: October 2013 (Version: 4.0.7577.4409)

Lync Server 2010

CU#	Description
CU1	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2467775 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010, Core Components: January 2011 (Version: 4.0.7577.108)
CU2	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2500442 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010: April 2011 (Version: 4.0.7577.137)
CU3	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2571546 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010: July 2011 (Version: 4.0.7577.166)
CU4	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2514980 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010: November 2011 (Version: 4.0.7577.183)
CU5	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2670352 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010: February 2012 (Version: 4.0.7577.190)
CU6	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2701585 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010: June 2012 (Version: 4.0.7577.199)
CU7	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2737915 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010: October 2012 (Version: 4.0.7577.203)
CU8	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2791381 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010: March 2013  (Version: 4.0.7577.216)
CU9	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2860700 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010: July 2013 (Version: 4.0.7577.217)
CU10	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2889610 Description of the cumulative update for Lync Server 2010: October 2013  (Version: 4.0.7577.223)

Lync client 2013

CU#	Description
CU1	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2812461 Description of the Lync 2013 updates 15.0.4454.1509: February 2013
CU2	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2817465 MS13-054: Description of the security update for Lync 2013: July 9, 2013 (Version: 15.0.4517.1004)
CU3	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2825630 Description of the Lync 2013 update: September 20, 2013 (Version: 15.0.4535.1002)
CU4	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2825630 Description of the Lync 2013 update 15.0.4551.1005: November 7, 2013

Lync Server 2013  

CU#	Description
CU1	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2781547 Description of the cumulative update 5.0.8308.291 for Lync Server 2013: February 2013
CU2	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2819565 Description of the cumulative update 5.0.8308.420 for Lync Server 2013: July 2013
CU3	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2881684 Description of the cumulative update 5.0.8308.556 for Lync Server 2013 (Front End Server and Edge Server) : October 2013

Check and change mailbox permissions using Exchange Management Shell

**List all permissions to a cpecific mailbox
Get-MailboxPermission -Identity "username" | Select User, AccessRights

**Grant full access to an exchange mailbox
Add-MailboxPermission "mailbox_name" -User "user_ID" -AccessRights FullAccess

**Remove full access to an exchange mailbox
Remove-MailboxPermission "mailbox_name" -User "user_ID" -AccessRights FullAccess