Windows 7 RC on Fusion

I'm happy to report I've got Windows 7 running in a virtual machine with Fusion on my MacBook Pro. At first I got errors that no device drivers could be found early in the installation process. Once I set the virtual disk to pre-allocate the drive space the installation went smoothly. No Aero, but it is very responsive and fully functional.

Admin: Access Denied to Documents and Settings?

Even as an administrator you cannot access the “Local Settings”, “My Documents” and “Application Data” folders because in Vista they are actually located elsewhere. The dim icons with the shortcut links you see are actually referred to as “Junctions”. These junctions are used by Vista for compatibility but really just redirect programs to the proper location in Vista. Now it would be helpful if the Windows File Explorer treated these like shortcuts and took you to the new location, but instead you get the very unintuitive “Not accessible” / “Access Denied” error, leaving you to think changing permissions may be a good idea. Don’t. Leave them alone and let Vista do it’s thing. As a savvy Vista user, you should go to the new “proper” location and identify these locations as legacy remnants of days past.

Here are several junctions from my local system:

Directory of C:\ProgramData

• Application Data [C:\ProgramData]
• Desktop [C:\Users\Public\Desktop]
• Documents [C:\Users\Public\Documents]
• Favorites [C:\Users\Public\Favorites]
• Start Menu [C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu]
• Templates [C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates]

Directory of C:\Users\Bob Kelly

• Application Data [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\AppData\Roaming]
• Cookies [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies]
• Local Settings [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\AppData\Local]
• My Documents [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\Documents]
• NetHood [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts]
• PrintHood [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts]
• Recent [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent]
• SendTo [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo]
• Start Menu [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu]
• Templates [C:\Users\Bob Kelly\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates]

I’ve found that the best way to access common locations in Vista is to use environment variables. Looking for the All Users Profile? That is a tough one– in Vista that location is now C:\ProgramData. But if you think you’ll have trouble remembering that do what programs [should] do and use the ALLUSERSPROFILE environment variable. 

To see the environment variables on your computer, type SET at the command prompt for a full list. Not all environment variables offer path values, so here is a cleaned up list of common directories my computer spat out:

 

• ALLUSERSPROFILE=C:\ProgramData
• APPDATA=C:\Users\Bob\AppData\Roaming
• CommonProgramFiles=C:\Program Files\Common Files
• ComSpec=C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe
• HOMEDRIVE=C:
• HOMEPATH=\Users\Bob
• LOCALAPPDATA=C:\Users\Bob\AppData\Local
• ProgramData=C:\ProgramData
• ProgramFiles=C:\Program Files
• PUBLIC=C:\Users\Public
• SystemDrive=C:
• SystemRoot=C:\Windows
• TEMP=C:\Users\Bob\AppData\Local\Temp
• TMP=C:\Users\Bob\AppData\Local\Temp
• USERPROFILE=C:\Users\Bob
• windir=C:\Windows

Hopefully this saves someone some serious frustration!

Deploying and Administering Windows Vista

The first eight chapters (by myself) cover planning the deployment, creating basic Windows images, managing licensing and activation, working with Windows Installer, migrating user data, managing windows images, using MDT 2008, and using Windows Deployment services. The remaining chapters (by Nelson and Danielle) cover managing change in Vista, administering workstations, securing the workstation, protecting user data and recovering damaged systems and lost data. This book started over a year ago so it is nice to report it is finally available:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470180218 

From the back cover…

Safely deploy Windows Vista across your enterprise If you’re responsible for deploying Windows Vista across an enterprise, this is the book you need to succeed. Packed with over 500 pages of best practices, sound techniques, and in-depth guidance, it’s a must-read whether you’re coming to Vista cold or are migrating from an older Windows operating system. Configure a secure network for your business, handle troubleshooting, and avoid pitfalls with this valuable resource from a top-notch team of Windows systems veterans. 

• Plan for effective deployment with the right strategies 
• Understand licensing and activation and how it affects your deployment 
• Use the System Preparation tool and ImageX to create custom images 
• Migrate user data, set up boot images, and build desktop solutions 
• Implement Group Policies and administer workstations remotely 
• Protect your data and systems with the most effective security 

Managing VMWare w/PowerShell

A good presentation I caught at VMWorld this year. If you work with VMWare and even know what PowerShell is, this is information you'll be very happy to have called to your attention...

VMworld 2008 | PowerShell presentation from Eric Sloof NTPRO.NL on Vimeo.

System Recovery Tools (SRT) in Custom Windows PE Image

The System Recovery Tools (WinPE-SRT-Package) was removed from the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) which has a lot of people that were relying on this in a quandary. While many have moved to BartPE to address this need, there are workarounds. One is to include the needed file and registry entries yourself: http://www.msfn.org/board/WinPE-SRT-Package-t104854.html. Another alternative for those who have access to it is to use the OPK which did not remove WinRE. Finally, you can still use the boot.wim from the Vista installation DVD/ISO 1. Launch the Windows PE Tools Command Prompt as administrator. 2. Create a directory for the WinRE Windows PE image and a mount point
mkdir c:\winre_image
mkdir c:\winre_mount

3. Copy the Windows PE image from the installation media using ImageX
imagex.exe /export /boot c:\winpe\boot.wim 2 c:\winre_image\winre.wim “Windows Recovery Environment”

4. Mount the image using ImageX
imagex /mountrw c:\winre_image\winre.wim 1 c:\winre_mount

5. Using a text editor, create a file called winpeshl.ini that contains the following text:.

[LaunchApp]
AppPath=x:\sources\recovery\recenv.exe

6. Copy this file to \Windows\System32 directory in your mounted Windows PE directory (copy winpeshl.ini c:\winre_mount\Windows\System32)

7. Unmount the image and commit your changes: imagex.exe /unmount /commit c:\winre_mount

At this point you should have a WinRE image you can work with. Unfortunately it is a prepped image (PeImg /Prep) which means you cannot do everything to it you may wish, but it should get most people most of what they need!

It is always helpful to see "how-to" information presented as a video. PowerShell is a powerful but complex beast to get your arms around. A very helpful video blog is available at pwershell-basics.com and a new (second) video has just been posted. This one covers the topic of "Discoverability". Discoverability in PaowerShell means that there is a way to examine the data and methods of objects on the command line.In this episode, host Steven Murawski takes a look at Get-Member, which allows you to inspect the properties and methods of the objects that are available from the PowerShell commandline.

http://powershell-basics.com/2008/03/06/show-2-discoverability/

Cannot turn off the reminder. You may be reminded again

Error Messages:

“Cannot turn off reminder. You may be reminded again.”

“Cannot turn off the reminder. You may be reminded again. the end date you entered occurs before the start date”

“Cannot open the item for this reminder. The end date occurs before the start date”



Solution:

First, try launching Outlook.exe with the “cleanreminders” command line argument:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\OUTLOOK.EXE /cleanreminders

If that does not work, carry out the below steps to delete the items in Reminders folder:

Download MFCMAPI tool from http://support.microsoft.com/?ID=291794

1. Run MFCMAPI on the desktop

2. Go to Session->Logon and Display Store Table

3. Select your profile

4. Right click Mailbox and choose “Open Store”

5. Expand “Root Container”

6. Right click “Reminders” and select “Open Contents Table”

7. New Window Launches with Title Reminders

8. Select all the reminder items listed there, Right click and select “Delete Message”

9. Close MFCMAPI