Platform

DFS Namespace service could not initialize cross forest trust information

After you install Active Directory on Windows Server 2008 R2, you may start seeing the following error message after the server boots: The DFS Namespace service could not initialize cross forest trust information on this domain controller, but it will periodically retry the operation. The return code is in the record data. This occurs because … Read moreDFS Namespace service could not initialize cross forest trust information

DNS broken after Windows Update KB3145126

I noticed the DNS broke on my servers after Windows Update. The problem was KB3145126. Read more about it here. After a quick removal and reboot, DNS was operational again. To remove/uninstall KB3145126, open powershell and run the following:

Hope this helps.

Check Proxy settings from Powershell

To check the proxy settings like ProxyOveride or if it is enabled or not:

To disable proxy from PowerShell:

To enable proxy from PowerShell:

 

IE Enable/Disable Proxy Settings via Registry

Whatever the reason may be to enable or disable proxy, here is a simple registry hack to turn it on or off. Open powershell in admin mode. Enable:

Disable:

The above method require an IE restart, alternatively if you don’t want to restart IE. Make similar change under:

To find your SID … Read moreIE Enable/Disable Proxy Settings via Registry

Disable IPv6 on Windows Core Server 2008 R2 – 2012 R2

GUI Version: Open Control Panel > Network & Internet > Network & Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings > Choose the Adapter Right Click – Select Properties Networking Tab DeSelect IPv6 Close No GUI… No problem (Core): After doing the above procedure you might have to use the registry editor aswell to completely disable the … Read moreDisable IPv6 on Windows Core Server 2008 R2 – 2012 R2

Change the password age in bulk for Active Directory accounts

Ran into an interesting situation where pretty much all domain accounts did not follow the default password policy and had the option of ‘password never expires’ checked. I needed to fix this immediately without impacting the users and expiring any accounts that may affect the business. I needed to adjust the password age for all … Read moreChange the password age in bulk for Active Directory accounts

Remove licensing from ESXi host

WARNING: This is for education/informational testing/development purposes only, and should not be used on a production server. WARNING: This trick will only work with an ESX(i) stand alone server.  It will not work if the ESX(i) server is connected to a vCenter Server, as the vCenter Server knows better than to let you do this.  … Read moreRemove licensing from ESXi host

How to remove hidden network adapters

Windows automatically hides devices that are not presently connected to the system, but they still exist in Windows’ configuration. This is especially problematic when changing virtual network adapters and not being able to remove IP configurations from old adapters. To resolve: Click Start, click Run, type cmd.exe, and then press ENTER. Type “set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1“, and … Read moreHow to remove hidden network adapters

Quick and Simple Way to Export DHCP Scope Settings From One Server to Another

Applies to: Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012R2, Windows Server 2016 From the command prompt on the source DHCP server run the following command:

2.  Copy the “dhcp.dat” file to the new, or destination, DHCP server and run the following command:

While running the export command, the DHCP service will be temporarily … Read moreQuick and Simple Way to Export DHCP Scope Settings From One Server to Another

“Host SMBus controller not enabled!”

CentOS guest instances in VMware sometimes come up with the boot error message:

This error is being caused because VMware doesn’t actually provide that level interface for CPU access, but Ubuntu try to load the kernel module anyway. How to fix it:

add the line:

Reboot. NOTE: for older versions use blacklist i2c_piix4 … Read more“Host SMBus controller not enabled!”