‘Toolkit’ Archives
Q&A Monday: Hide Accounts from XP Welcome Screen
Question: I am currently setting up a couple of computers for a small business and not in a domain, and they prefer the Windows XP Welcome menu to log on to the computer. I have set up an Administrator account and would like that account to be hidden from the welcome screen. Adam E. Jones Dallas, TX Answer: To [...]
Helpful Powershell Commands to Know
Recently I was talking with a colleague about our histories of working in the computer field, all the ways from the early days of DOS to where we were currently. I remember the early days of working on the computers and using the DOS commands to get stuff completed, today Microsoft has started using PowerShell for the admin commands of todays' [...]
Q&A Monday: Domain Auto-Logon
Question: We are currently building a test lab, in which we can test proposed changes to the network, and have a test domain in place. We have a domain controller and a handful of workstations to test the changes out on. The problem is, that every time we power on the domain we need to log in all the workstations, and that can be a [...]
Q&A Monday: USB Printer in DOS
Question: I currently have a legacy software at my current job that runs in DOS and have printed to a printer that was connected via parallel cable. Recently that printer has bit the dust and I bought a new USB printer to replace it, but now the program wont print, but the printer works in Windows, please help. Answer: This is a common [...]
Q&A Monday: Block Sites from Computer
Question: Hey Jim hope your doing well and having a good summer! I need a little help. My daughter has autism and she loves Youtube. However, some of the things on youtube are very disturbing. Is there anyway we can totally block Youtube from our computers? Media, Pa Answer: There is a simple an easy way to block sites from a computer, the [...]
Q&A Monday: Network Design
Question: Hello Jim, I have only been a network administrator for only a short period of time, and recently I’ve been asked by a friend to design a network for his new business. I’ve only managed a network that was already in place when I accepted the job, and haven't had much experience designing a network from the ground up. I know [...]
Best Practices for Password Policy
I’ve seen a lot of different companies send out a secure password when a user starts out, but when the user changes their password, they may make it something less secure. That’s why I thought I’d go over some of the configurable Group Policy Settings with some of the best practices for password settings. I feel like I need to mention [...]
System Admin’s Vacation Checklist
Now that we are officially in summer, there are a lot of administrators that are planning their vacation. The problem is that many of them will have to still be tethered to the office solving problems. I’ve been in that situation, where while on vacation, I’ve gotten the phone call about a small problem that I could have avoided if I just [...]
Q&A Monday: Remotely Turn on Computer?
Question: I constantly turn off my home office computer when I am not using it to save energy. I don’t think this is possible, but I thought there would be no harm in asking you the question anyway. Is there a way for me to remotely turn on my computer when I am not in the office? I find that, a few times a month, that when I am not in [...]
Admin Toolkit: 5 Linux tools you need for Windows
I think most System Admins have a USB thumb-drive with a bunch of tools that may be needed to diagnose any problems that might come to their network or their own computer. (Or is it just me?) I plan to go over what tools I use in more detail at a later time, but for this post I wanted to focus on the Linux tools that I have on my thumb-drive to [...]
