When ordering a CPU, note that a AMD 3+ CPU motherboard accepts AMD 3 and 3+ CPUs, but an AMD 3 motherboard only accepts AMD 3 sockets.

When re-using an HP Pentium 4 case for your new AMD motherboard, note that HP may not have followed conventions with wiring colors.  In particular, note that you cannot turn a computer on and off with the red and black power switch wires connected to the speaker pins on these systems.  Taking the time to look at the switch could save hours in troubleshooting.

The local administrator account password can become corrupted making the entire system looked hosed when it is not.  Symptoms may include not being able to launch anything due to IE Security Zone restrictions, and  yyyy appearing in the time field.  Trying to fix the entire system when the problem is just a messed up profile is not a productive use of time.

If the secure channel is broken and the local administrator account is hosed, try logging in with cached administrative credentials.   You only need to disconnect the system from the network to get past the warning of no account in AD.  You can then delete the local administrator account profile, or create and elevate another local account.

Windows 8 changed the registry key for AHCI from  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storahci\.  This is important to know if are testing a script which automates the switch from IDE to AHCI for Windows 7 computers.

Finally, be humble.  Even if you are an expert, remember that you, too, can make wrong assumptions and do some pretty stupid things.

It will allow you to navigate to the starting OU in any domain in your forest.  It does not require elevated rights to run, and exports the data to Excel.

Last week I spent some time waiting for a computer to reboot.  I used ping -t to watch the replies,  and then waited until I could use the Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) to connect using RDP.  I thought to myself, “self — you sure have spent a lot of time waiting for systems to come up”.  RDP2.ps1 is a PowerShell script that does the tedious watching for you.  It will wait for both the system and the remote access interface to come up, and then will launch the RDC to the computer.  You can run it interactively, or with the command line:

./rdp2.ps1 computername[:port] -WaitForReboot
									

The port is an option for nonstandard ports.  -WaitForReboot does just that.  If the system is still up when you launch the script, it will wait for it to reboot.

Like many first scripts, this is largely based on someone else’s work, see: http://poshtips.com/2013/02/12/check-rdp-availability-using-watch-rebootstatus-script/.  I made a large number of changes in addition to launching the RDC.   For those of you who have spent a lot of time with PowerShell, I am open to suggestions on how to make the code more elegant.

If you haven’t ever run a PowerShell script, you will find it is already installed on your Vista or later  machine, and on Windows 2008/R2 servers.  You must set the execution policy:

Set-ExecutionPolicy unrestricted
									

Revision note 3/4/2012:  I have updated the script to make the MsgBox SystemModal — which is required for it to have focus.

I had a very disappointing experience with LG’s support for my washing machine.  I have a WM2455HW with the printed labels wearing off.  If you do a web search,  you will find that this is not an uncommon experience. I used the web chat, and the guy told me that they had to replace the hardware (no decals), and that they were unwilling to do this beyond the warranty period.  I typed “I think this is a design defect, I want to escalate”, and the chat was disconnected.  The LG washer is a good machine, but if you have one or are considering one I suggest you put packing tape over all the writing.   I have a lot of LG products (including TV), and have decided to switch manufacturers because of this unpleasant experience. Very disappointing.  And I am spending some time on my bully pulpit to suggest you do the same.

@echo off
REM Creating this folder fixes Excel issues with scheduled task
REM It will fail if not running as administrator with UAC
if exist C:WindowsSysWOW64 GOTO X64
REM All one line
if not exist C:WindowsSystem32configsystemprofileDesktop. md C:WindowsSystem32configsystemprofileDesktop
GOTO RUNScript
:X64
REM All one line
if not exist C:WindowsSysWOW64configsystemprofileDesktop. md C:WindowsSysWOW64configsystemprofileDesktop
:RUNScript
cscript //nologo /b somescripthere.vbs
:END
									

First, some thoughts about Windows 8.  I installed Win8 on the test machine I keep in my office.  This is not my first time installing 8, I had previously installed and uninstalled a pre-release version.  Like many technically adept, I dislike (hate is such a strong word) the metro interface.  I have started to use the live tiles for things like Hulu and NetFlix, but am not really impressed.

After a few days, I decided that I needed a Start Menu.  I tried a few, and ended up using Classic Shell.  Are you the support person for your family, church or other charity? Install Classic Shell before you leave.  This one program will save you a lot of phone calls.  Classic Shell is well written, and is shareware.  Donate if you use it.

I am running the native Windows 8 anti-virus, Windows Defender.  Do some research, and you will find that it has a mediocre track record, and I would not use it on a machine where I spend any time on the internet.  AVG Free is better.  For an Office alternative, I skipped OpenOffice and tried LibreOffice. I haven’t used it for anything critical, but it has opened the attachments in my email, and has done fine with basic spreadsheets.

I bought a Raspberry Pi, and used the Debian version of Claws Mail on it.  There is also a Windows version, and I recommend it for computer geeks, but not their family members.

I have been experimenting with alternative browsers, too.  I had quit using Mozilla Firefox in favor of Chrome for some time.  Since all my computers are using 64 bit OS (for speed and securit), I decided to try WaterFox. Waterfox is x64 only, and it is very fast — faster than every other browser I tried.  This is objective speed testing using various web based tests, not just my opinion.  And it works just fine with Windows 8.

I still think that Windows 8 is ugly, and that Microsoft made a mistake by not allowing the users the option of keeping the Start Menu.  But I no longer class it in the same fail category as Windows ME and Vista.  With a few tweaks, you may not decide to revert to Windows 7.