Monday, September 27, 2010

Reset Password in Windows Server 2008 (RTM and R2) and Windows 7

OK, time to fess up here.  I screwed up, so needed to find out how to do this for a machine we set up some time back that has been sitting idle - I was *sure* I recorded the authentication details in the OneNote build documentation for this client, but for the life of me, I can't find it.  Now I need to finish the install and, well, that's a little difficult without logon details...

So, I Googled and found these instructions that I've added to a bit (net group) and added some handy screen captures as well:

1. Boot from DVD or USB media - this media can be Windows Server 2008 RTM, 2008 R2, SBS 2008 or even Windows 7.




2. Change the language to English (Australia) if you want - but we're not installing anything, so it really doesn't matter right now




3. Click on the "Repair your computer" link




4. Choose the OS instance that you wish to reset the Administrator (or other Administrative) password for, taking note of the drive letter that was chosen for it (normally D:)




5. Choose "Command Prompt"




6. Change to the Windows\System32 directory of this OS instance and move the Utilman.exe file to a  backup, then copy cmd.exe to Utilman.exe




7. Remove the USB Key, reboot into the Windows install you need to change the password for and when at the Login prompt, hit Windows+U


8. Type 'net group "Domain Users"' to see a list of all the domain users on this system (Domain Controllers only)




9. Type 'net group "Domain Admins"' to see which administrative accounts exist on the system (Domain Controllers only) then type 'net user Administrator Select_a_decent_passphrase' to change the password of the Administrator account




10. Log in using the new password.  Immediately go and change this password to a nice, secure passphrase.


11. Reboot with the DVD/USB boot media and copy the backed up Utilman.exe.bak file to Utilman.exe to make sure we don't leave this hole open for now.  And that's it!  :)






Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Microsoft Support

I was trying to get the hotfix for KB982210 related to Hyper-V VSS issues...

The picture says it all...




Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

The system could not access your credential management server

On HP desktop and workstation computers that don't use biometric logins, I normally uninstall all of the HP ProtectTools stuff.  Well, I used to up to and including Vista and for some reason stupidly thought that maybe in Windows 7, HP had got their software working properly.  Apparently, this assumption was incorrect.

The main issue that I've seen in the past is that the HP ProtectTools suite seems to bork occasionally which then results in the error message I named this blog entry after: "The system could not access your credential management server..." and also occasionally the following error message: "The server is not responding properly. Verify that the Credential Manager server is properly installed on the target server."  There's then no way you can log in to this system - either locally or onto the domain  Fun, fun!

Well, the fix (temporarily) is to disable the HP Credential Manager during login and long term is to uninstall the HP ProtectTools suite to leave the system able to work properly and reliably.

So, here's the drum:

1. At the login screen, click on the Log on with Wizard... link




2. Using the Logon Wizard, check the "Do not Log On to Credential Manager" option under the "More..." button




3. Log on using a Domain Administrator account (or a Local Administrator account)




4. In "Control Panel\Programs\Uninstall a program", click on "HP Protect Tools Security Manager Suite" and click Uninstall.  If prompted to uninstall various other Suite components first, please do so.  Reboot and you'll be able to log in normally again!




Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Friday, September 24, 2010

Commonwealth Games Conditions

The saddest thing to me is not that pictures like these are finally being seen by the public and the athletes, causing concern for the health and welfare of the athlests, their support staff and the spectators of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, but that construction skills and building standards are this appallingly low in India that despite the numerous public declarations by Indian officials that all is going as planned and that there will be no issues for the teams and their supporters, these Indian officials feel that this level of habitability is acceptable.

It shows the chasm that exists between the First and Third Worlds rather clearly.  What really needs to happen is that India needs to accept that they are in dire need of help in bringing acceptable building, health and living standards to their population.

Hopefully, the slums that were razed to make those attending the Commonwealth Games not be able to easily see the squalor don't result in people thinking that India doesn't have any slums anymore.

Hopefully the photos like those referenced here will help to reinforce to the rest of the world that we need to encourage and help India to raise its standards and help its population.


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Monday, September 20, 2010

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Monsanto

Let me clearly say that I think that the work (at least in general) of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is impressive.  What they are doing with education, health and promoting scientific and technological solutions to large scale human issues.

Now, having said that, it seems that there's a worm in this apple.  Monsanto, a company known for aggressively pursuing beyond the bounds of reasonableness its patents on its Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).  Monsanto has bankrupted farmers who find Monsanto's GMO seed has blown onto their properties, and in Africa, they totally refused to compensate farmers who they convinced to use their GMOs instead of the regular crops by giving away free sachets of maize seeds, claiming they would produce better crops - these crops totally failed to produce any kernels at all.

According to the Gates Foundation Securities Filing, they now own US$21.11 million dollars of Monsanto shares (as at end of Calendar Year 30, June 2010), up from just over US$360,000 in CY ended 30 June, 2008 (as per http://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/Documents/bmgft-2008-990-pf.PDF, p69.

So, I wonder how the Gates Foundation who promotes health, education and escaping from poverty can reconcile owning US$21.1m of a company who aggressively pursues those farmers who suffer the misfortune of having their GMO seeds blow onto an unsuspecting farmer's land.  A company who doesn't care about the smaller farmer (as can be seen in this article.)

For more information on how aggressive and unreasonable Monsanto can be, spend 20 minutes having a listen to this information.

I think that an organization that promotes human rights has a moral and ethical responsibility to *not* invest in an organization that treats human rights with the disrespect and even disdain that a company like Monsanto does.  If the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation cannot show where their investment in Monsanto is encouraging Monsanto to be a more reasonable company when it comes to protecting its patents at the expense of farmers' livelihoods, they need to sell these shares and invest in a more ethical company.

Regards,
The Outspoken Wookie

Friday, September 17, 2010

Boonah by iPhag

It really didn't look like this to my eyes, but the iPhag's camera turned a quick shot of the mixing console into this surreal looking photo...



Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Pope and Hitler

It seems that not only does this Pope want to support and protect paedophiles instead of the children who he should be protecting, but he also wants to spread lies about Hitler.  Earlier this week in Britain, the Pope stated (thanks to Ben Goldacre):

“Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live. I also recall the regime’s attitude to Christian pastors and religious who spoke the truth in love, opposed the Nazis and paid for that opposition with their lives. As we reflect on the sobering lessons of the atheist extremism of the twentieth century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society and thus to a ‘reductive vision of the person and his destiny’ (Caritas in Veritate, 29).”

Have a read of this article if you want to see how much of an Atheist Hitler truly was.  (Hint: He claimed to be a Christian doing the work of God.)

The Pope is trying to rewrite history.  He's going to fail.  He's a supporter of paedopholes.  He needs to be prosecuted as a paedophile supporter and have the paedophile clergy brought to justice, instead of hidden in the church.

There is no lower form of life than a paedophile and their supporters.

Regards,
The Outspoken Wookie
Yesterday, I blogged about Geoffrey Robertson QC who is calling for the sacking of the Pope because of his support for the paedophiles that the Roman Catholic Church has been producing, supporting and hiding from the legal system for the past 3 decades that Ratzinger was responsible for in this filthy, low-life organization.

Well, if you want to hear what one of the world's most eloquent, intellectual people has to say on this matter (and Geoffrey Robertson QC is one of the world's leading human rights supporters), then have a read of the intro to The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse and then download the 35MB mp3 of the 76 minute lecture from here.

This is the overview of the lecture on the download page:

The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights AbuseSpeaker: Geoffrey Robertson
Chair: Dr Chaloka Beyani
This event was recorded on 8 September 2010 in Sheikh Zayed Theatre,
New Academic Building
The Case of the Pope delivers a devastating indictment of the way the Vatican has run a secret legal system that has shielded paedophile priests from criminal trial around the world. Is the Pope morally responsible or legally liable under domestic or international law for the negligence that has allowed so many terrible crimes to go unpunished? Should he and his seat of power, the Holy See, continue to enjoy an immunity that places them above the law? To what extent do Vatican dogmas conflict with human rights treatise, and why has the United Nations allowed this church – alone of religions and NGOs – a privileged platform to promote them? Geoffrey Robertson QC demonstrates a deep respect for the good works of Catholics and their church. But, he argues, unless Pope Benedict XVI can divest himself of the beguilements of statehood and devotion to obsolete canon law, the Vatican will remain in grave breach of the convention on the Right of the Child and in some other respects, an enemy of human rights. This event marks the publication of Geoffrey Robertson's new book The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse.

Regards,
The Outspoken Wookie

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Geoffrey Robertson QC Is With Me

I've said before that Ratzinger, the man who is the current Pope, the person who, in the Catholic Church, was the person responsible for handling child abuse allegations for the past 30 years or so and did SWEET FUCK ALL about those perpetrators who repeatedly raped children, needs to go.

Geoffrey Robertson, QC, is with me on this.

Regards,
The Outspoken Wookie

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Parallels iPhone/iPad App

This falls into the "things that almost make me think about a Mac desktop box, but not quite..." category:

http://venturebeat.com/2010/09/14/demo-parallels-mobile-virtualization-app-ipad-iphone/

So, a Mac desktop computer, running Win 7 in Parallels 6, then being able to access the Windows 7 apps remotely using an iPhone or (better) an iPad...

But could I use multiple monitors in the way I'm using them now?  I have 3 on my i7 Win 7 desktop now and will likely be adding a 4th soon as a dedicated OneNote display now that I'm finding I spend more time in OneNote 2010 than ever before.  That's one of the lingering doubts...

But this Parallels functionality, added to the Seagate DockStar Network Adapter or (better) a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Net Media Sharing Device to give you remote iPad/iPhone access to files that can't fit on these mobile devices is starting to really look impressive.

For example, you could walk onto a client site with your iPad to show a client your plans for the work you're going to be doing for them, find out they need a few changes, Parallels into your office Win 7 environment, make the edits and save them to the Seagate device, making them immediately available to view from your iPad.  You could also access those images/documents from an older job that the client may be interested in when you didn't think that they'd be appropriate, but now you've been brainstorming, this other information is relevant - you could do it now, in the cafe, on your iPad instead of needing to send the images when you get back to your office - it allows for more free-flowing sessions with clients in these types of scenarios.

The Seagate devices with PogoPlug functionality, even without the Parallels functionality, would be rather handy to have for many iPhone/iPad users.

Thanks to @Lachlan_Mc for bringing this new Parallels app to my attention.


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Are People Really This Stupid?

Honestly, if anyone's stupid enough to fall for the following email, you deserve what you get:

Sender:   TAXE taxe@ato.gov.au
Subject:  Australian Refound

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $210.75 AUD . Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days in order to process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access the form for your tax refund, please click http://update.webcie.net/.x/wwws.ato.gov.au/

Regards,
Australian Taxation Office
c Copyright 2010, Australian Taxation Office AU

Of course, I filled out their forms as "Gullible Idiot" who lives at "0 Go And Phish Somewhere Else, Wanker" and used an invalid CC number and Driver's License number (0000 15EE DEAD BEEF).  I wonder if these wankers will still try and use the number?  :)

Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Apple's iOS 4.1 Is Released

Apple has released their iOS 4.1 for iPhone 4, 3GS, 3 and iPod Touch (2nd Gen, 3rd Gen and 4th Gen).  This fixes the glitchy proximity sensor that is supposed to disable the touchscreen when you've placed the phone to your ear, adds some new features (such as HD video uploads (iPhone 4) and HDR photos (iPhone 4)), improves Bluetooth audio performance and fixes some bugs.


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Sunday, September 05, 2010

Cancel White Pages & Yellow Pages Book Delivery

Sensis has *finally* made a website available whereby you can cancel the delivery of those (now) useless paper versions of the WhiteP Pages, Yellow Pages and Local Yellow Pages.  Please visit https://www.directoryselect.com.au/ to cancel the delivery of these unnecessary books to your home.

Now, if they were printed on 100% recycled paper (not the minumum 40% that's currently used), maybe this would be better too - delivering to only those homes and businesses that want them, and then printing on recycled paper - seems sensible to me.  At least they are getting part way there...


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Saturday, September 04, 2010

"We're All In" Goes Out #2

I recently blogged that Microsoft's BPOS went offline on August 23rd for over 2 hours.  Well, lightning definitely does strike the same place twice (as Intuit recently also showed) because Microsoft's BPOS also went dark for around 90 minutes yesterday, Sep 3rd.

Now, is this becoming a pattern?  I hope not, but there's only one way to find out for sure...

Microsoft, in their price-cutting war with Google Apps, may be biting off more than they can chew - considering Microsoft BPOS is still only offering Exchange 2007 and SharePoint 2003 and their own partners are offering Hosted Exchange 2010 and Hosted SharePoint 2010.  BPOS, even on the older versions of their own software, still offers a restricted feature set compared to the on-premise versions of the exact same components.  And then add this lag in application versions to their recent service instability and you have a service in need of some serious effort to get it to the point where "We're all in" actually means "and you can rely on this system" because, right now, well... I'd not like to have a reduced functionality, previous release cloud-based system that isn't all that stable being used to run my business.

I don't for a second think that Microsoft can't overcome these issues.  I do, however, wonder how long it will be before their Chief Directionless Officer (ie, Steve Ballmer) will actually get this right.


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Friday, September 03, 2010

Quicken Online Is Permanently Offline

Well, following on the heels of the June 2010 unscheduled downtime that left Intuit customers using their Quicken Online solution unable to pay vendors, accept payments from clients nor even pay their staff wages, Intuit has shown how much they really care about their customers by taking the Quicken Online service down and deleting all their customer's data.

Sure, there was a notice sent out about this, just before it was taken offline, offering people the ability to backup their data by downloading a CSV which isn't then able to be uploaded to Mint.com, Intuits replacement for Quicken Online.  Of course, Intuit couldn't even work out how to migrate their customers' data from Quicken Online to Mint.com.

At least if you had been running Quickbooks locally and the computer failed, you could restore your data to another system and keep working.  However, by using Quicken Online, you've placed your hope and dreams entirely under someone else's control and in this case, these have been shat all over.

I wonder how many more cloud service vendors will be doing this in the future, or will they instead learn from the stupid mistakes that Intuit are making and do a better job with their own customers?


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Evolve IT - MS Small Business Specialist Partner of 2010

As a follow up to my recent post, I wish to pass our congratulations on to Nick Moran and the team at Evolve IT for being awarded the Microsoft Small Business Specialist Partner of the Year.


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Unroadworthy Decisions

The Clem 7 tunnel, trumpeted by the Brisbane Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman, is a lemon.  It was supposed to have a $4.28 toll for cars but is now running at $2 - less than 50% - in an attempt to get people to use it.  It was forecast that in April, a month after it opened, there'd be about 60,000 trips per day and around 90,000 trips per day after 6 months.  Instead, in July there were around 28,000 trips and now, over 5 months after its opening, there are still around this number - there's been little, if any, growth in usage.

After the tunnel has been open only 5 months, RiverCity Motorway has had to take an asset write-down of $1.544b on a total of $2b - that's a *MASSIVE* hit for any company - a reduction in company value of over 77%.  However, Maunsell Aecom, the traffic forecasting company who made $2.5m for its "forecasting" of traffic flow figures, has managed to restrict its liability to $500,000 in case it gets sued.  All this whilst the shareholders have had their initial $1 stocks reduced to $0.019.

Now, the Qld Police Service installing multiple speed cameras ("For Road Safety") in the tunnels will surely be a large part of the reason that it has a much lower than expected usage.  Personally, I want to change these signs to read "For Anna Bligh's Superannuation" which is a much more appropriate (and correct) description of why they are there.  Queensland is fast becoming a Police State thanks to Cap'n Bligh's selling off of pretty much all our assets, followed by the rapid expansion of speed cameras, red light cameras, speed averaging cameras and the introduction of laws that would have been appropriate in the 1600s (take the Anti-Swearing law as a good example of this).

Another reason for the low usage of the Clem 7 tunnel is that isn't well located - well, its exits aren't.  On the South side, it exits onto the M3/F3/SouthEast Freeway/Whatever It's Called This Week in one of the heaviest traffic flow sections in peak hour, creating further traffic issues.  Another Southside exit is right into a set of traffic lights on Ipswich Road where they have also closed off O'Keefe Street during the construction of an extension to the Busway.  Even once O'Keefe Street is re-opened, that won't alleviate much of the traffic issue here.  I've never used the Wynnum/Shafston Ave exit, so I have no personal experience of that exit (yet).

On the Northside, the main exit is right into a set of traffic lights on Lutwyche Road just north of RBWH - one of the heaviest trafficked sections of road on the north side of Brisbane.  The other Northside exit is onto the ICB, another heavily trafficked road.  So, you use the tunnel, only to hit lights (or at least heay traffic) as soon as you come out - after waiting in a queue for a change of lights to let you "flow" out of the tunnel at either end.

Had no-one thought of also widening the southbound freeway instead of just dumping the traffic from the tunnel onto it?  Had no-one thought of flyovers at the exit on Lutwyche Road to allow tunnel traffic to enter the Northbound traffic flow without holding everything up at those lights?

And when I drive past the tunnel entrance on the SouthEast Freeway heading north and again past the tunnel exit on the ICB heading towards Kingsford Smith drive, it takes me 8 minutes to make that trip, versus 4 minutes in the tunnel.  Admittedly, this isn't during peak hour.  So why would I use the tunnel when it isn't peak hour at all?  There's simply not enough time saving to make it worthwhile.

Now, another issue with Brisbane roads is the new Gateway toll - it rose from $2.95 for cars to $3.85 in July - that's a 90c increase (or just over a 30% increase in price).  I used to use the Gateway Bridge each week to get to the ABC TV OBs shed for QRL games, therefore contributing $5.90 to the Gateway loan repayments each week (at least).  After the toll increase, I now use the SouthEasy Freeway, ICB and Kingsford Smith Road, adding a total of about 5 minutes to my trip and saving me $7.70/week.  Time well spent, methinks.

So, Cap'n Bligh is selling off most of Queensland's assets and replacing them with Speed Cameras to generate replacement revenue.  We're getting private roads (Clem 7, the badly named Go Between Bridge - especially since it is so seriously underutilized, even more so than the Clem 7 tunnel and the highest road toll per metre in Australia) and a Gateway toll increase.

And somehow the "Queensland - The Smart State" slogan has slipped from common usage.  No wonder!
Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie

Fingers vs Styli, Part 2

I previously posted some information on capacitive input devices for the iPhone and iPad, however according to Gizmodo, Hitachi has come up with an improvement to their IPS touchscreen that is used in the new Apple devices such that it can take fingers and also synthetic, non-capacitive materials as input devices.


Regards,

The Outspoken Wookie