I was recently surprised by how many seasoned IT Pros didn’t know that they had the ability to shut down a server or workstation from the command line using the SHUTDOWN command. Not only is it possible to shut down the local machine from the command line, but it is also possible to shutdown other …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/07/windows/shutdown-computers-from-command-line/
SYSPREP is a Windows utility that allows a computer to be generalized. If you’re restoring system images (using Ghost or a similar technology) to multiple PCs on a network, then it is imperative that you first run SYSPREP to generalize the system.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/07/windows/using-sysprep-in-audit-mode-before-creating-a-system-image/
Microsoft has announced today that they will be discontinuing the TechNet Subscription program. Microsoft’s TechNet Subscription Program is a paid program which allows partners to download full copies of most software titles to be used for lab or testing purposes.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/07/learning-resources/microsofts-technet-subscription-service-is-going-away-for-good/
Microsoft has released the preview of Windows Server 2012 R2 to the public. This is available for download for users with a Live ID at Microsoft’s Windows Server 2012 Preview site. If you’re not familiar with Microsoft’s “Preview Releases”, then let me explain a little. The preview is not a finished copy, but rather a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/06/windows/windows-server-2012/windows-server-2012-r2-blue-preview-available-for-download/
Regardless of how much time and money software companies put into writing their programs, we still have application crashes. An application crash is when a program or part of the operating system ceases to function properly. Preventing application crashes is usually difficult since the only way to permanently ensure you never get a crash again …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/05/windows/windows-8/closing-a-crashed-or-hung-application-using-the-windows-8-task-manager/
As a seasoned virtualization expert (mostly with Hyper-V environments), I totally agree with the concept of building your VMs (virtual machines) and virtualization hosts to meet a particular need. Often, I talk to SQL DBAs (database administrators) or Exchange administrators who swear that these platforms can NEVER be virtualized. This line of thinking is so …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/05/virtualization/getting-better-performance-for-your-virtual-machines/
As an expert in your field you may feel that you know everything there is to know about a particular technology, but are unable to concisely write about what you know. Whether you’re describing the latest features of Windows 8 or writing about server migrations, it’s essential that your writing clearly illustrates all of your …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/05/learning-resources/technology-writing-overcoming-the-fear/
There has always been a need to consolidate disks into a single large disk in order to store more data than any single drive can contain. In the past we used hardware or software RAID to accomplish this. Hardware RAID can be expensive due to the extra controller needed. Software RAID is slow, and requires …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/04/windows/windows-server-2012/windows-server-2012-feature-storage-spaces/
For mission critical systems, we often want to try to achieve the highest level of up time as possible, and the best disaster recovery strategy. Often this involves expensive software which replicates servers or data for failover purposes. This means
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/04/windows/windows-server-2012/windows-server-2012-new-feature-hyper-v-replica-for-failover/
One of the biggest limitations of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2 was that it didn’t support storing a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) on physical disks larger than 2 TB. This was actually due to the sector size of the physical disk which was supported by Hyper-V. Larger disks tended to use 4096-byte sectors (also known …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/03/windows/windows-server-2012/windows-server-2012-new-feature-large-disk-support-for-hyper-v/
Although video conferencing technology has been available for decades, its use is not as common as other technologies. Like any technology, there are pros and cons to using video conferencing for both business and personal use.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/03/questions-answers/video-conferencing-whats-the-point/
When building high-performance Hyper-V host servers for a production environment, we often buy high-end servers with lots or memory and fast SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) or SSD (Solid State) drives. These drives are fast but usually expensive, especially after adding in RAID redundancies.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2013/03/windows/windows-server-2012/windows-server-2012-new-feature-store-hyper-v-vhds-in-a-smb-3-0-share/
It depends… Whether you are buying a new PC or thinking of upgrading an existing PC, the choice of Windows 7 or Windows 8 is not an easy one. To determine whether Windows 8 will work for you and your environment you first have to consider: application compatibility, added benefits, and usability. Once you have done that …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2012/12/questions-answers/should-i-purchase-windows-7-or-windows-8/
SYSPREP is a Windows utility that allows a computer to be generalized. If you’re restoring system images (using Ghost or a similar technology) to multiple PCs on a network, then it is imperitive that you first run SYSPREP to generalize the system. Not doing this will not only result in several PCs with the same …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2012/12/windows/using-sysprep-before-creating-a-system-image/
Until recently when we thought of computing devices, we usually thought of PCs and laptops. Today, with tablets and smart phones selling in the millions on opening weekend, we have a very different picture of what a computing device is. If you’re not familiar with it, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is the idea of …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2012/11/cloud-computing/bring-your-own-device-byod-is-byod-bad-for-your-company/
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