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If you need to migrate your shares from one Windows server to another, the Microsoft documentation will give you the “proper” process (by way of File Server Resource Manager). This is a much quicker and dirtier method that I’ve used many times.

Perhaps you’re migrating your file server, or simply setting up another one; everyone at some point will need to migrate SMB shares and permissions. Luckily, it’s a relatively painless process:

Firstly if you haven’t already done so you should copy the data to the new server, keeping permissions and attributes intact

Steps:

• On the old server: open regedit and browse to: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Shares
• Export the key
• On the new server: check the same key and see if any shares already exist and need to be kept. If they do, export the key and keep it safe.
• Transfer the exported registry key to the new server and double-click to import it.
• (if you need to reinstate the original shares, re-import the new reg key over the top)
• Reboot the server and that’s it!

I told you it was easy!

We all know how important PowerShell has become, so it important to be able to establish a connection to Office 365.

Some things just can’t be done through the web-based GUI that Microsoft provides (or take a lot longer to do. Think repetitive tasks).

The 3 commands you will need to connect are:

$cred=Get-Credential

$session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri "https://ps.outlook.com/powershell/" -Credential $cred -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection

Import-PSSession $Session

Enter these one at a time, and you’ll then be connected to Office 365 Exchange!

You can verify the connection with the very simple command to show you a list of all your users:

Get-Mailbox

Happy PowerShell-ing!

Issue

I recently had a fresh Server 2016 installation that was stuck on “0% downloading” updates permanently. Note: We also have to go via a proxy server for our internet connection.

From the command line, if you run:

netsh winhttp show proxy

you will see the system proxy hasn’t been set.

Solution

If you have to go through a proxy server to get an internet connection, you will need to first set your (user) proxy server in Internet Explorer options menu, then run:

netsh winhttp set proxy source=ie

Now your Windows Update should work as expected again (you many need to restart the service first). Not quite sure why this has become “a thing” seeing as Server 2012 R2 never needed this, but hey-ho!

Alternative solution

Alternatively, just run this single command:

set proxy proxy.mycompany.com:8080

And to configure the proxy bypass:

set proxy proxy.mycompany.com:8080 "<local>;bar"

Issue

Cannot print to network printer. Print jobs appear and disappear as expected in the print queue, however no data is sent to the printer.

Event viewer shows the following:

The document Test Page, owned by USERNAME, failed to print on printer PRINTER. Try to print the document again, or restart the print spooler.
Data type: RAW. Size of the spool file in bytes: 145189. Number of bytes printed: 0. Total number of pages in the document: 1. Number of pages printed: 0. Client computer: \\SERVERNAME. Win32 error code returned by the print processor: 5. Access is denied.

If you run Process Monitor with “process name = printfilterpipelinesvc.exe” you’ll see the following:

CreateFile    C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.tmp    ACCESS DENIED

Solution

Give modify permissions to Everyone on the following directory: C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\

I was trying to install Sophos Enterprise Console on a new server (a process I have done many, many times) and got hit with a very generic error message, prompting me to look at the installer log file.

I had a look, and all looked happy until it tried to execute the following command to install SQL Express:

INFO : Running command line: C:\sec_541\ServerInstaller\pre-reqs\sqlExpress2012SP2\SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe /Q /HIDECONSOLE /IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS /ACTION=INSTALL /FEATURES=SQL /INSTANCENAME=SOPHOS /SQLSVCACCOUNT="NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS="BUILTIN\Administrators" /NPENABLED=1 /TCPENABLED=0

Then this:

ERROR : Command: Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP2 failed with error: -2068643838

Darn!

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Need to replace one of your file servers? Maybe you’re migrating from Server 2008 to 2012/2016.

Use this command to copy your files from one server to another keeping ACL permissions, owner info, timestamps etc. intact:

robocopy source destination /E /ZB /DCOPY:T /COPYALL /R:1 /W:1 /V /TEE /LOG:C:\copy.txt

(remember – robocopy knows how to handle UNC paths, also)

Best of luck with the rest of your migration!

Explanation of switches:

/E – copies subdirectories, including empty ones

/ZB – use restartable mode; if access denied use Backup mode (useful for locked files)

/DCOPY:T – copies timestamps for the directories

/COPYALL – copies: attributes, timestamps, ACL permissions, owner info, audit info

/R:1 – number of retries

/W:1 – wait time between retries

/V – verbose output

/TEE – output to console, as well as log file

/LOG:C:\copy.txt – log file location

I had a friend reach out to me for some help: there was a single Windows 7 computer at his work that would intermittently get stuck at “Please wait…”for about 30 mins when booting.

“No problem”, I said. First thing to try is enabling verbose messaging through Group Policy. “Please wait…” hides the real startup messages that you tend to see on Windows Server OS’es

A few days goes by and I get a phone call from my friend again. The computer is stuck again, this time saying “Applying computer settings…”. Not very helpful.

This is where the magical KB2775511 comes in. This is a must have for any Windows domain environment and contains over 90 various domain-focused fixes, including Folder Redirection, SMB, Offline Files, Group Policy etc. This update has fixed many of my issues, both directly and indirectly.

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It’s easy, just enter this in the command prompt:

dfsrmig.exe /getglobalstate

There’s no good reason to not be running DFSR by now, especially seeing as Windows Server 2016 does not support FRS any longer. Do yourself a favour and upgrade, there’s a great TechNet article on the process:

Read more: Streamlined Migration of FRS to DFSR SYSVOL

Ever since Windows 8 and newer, Microsoft have been kind enough to include their Virtual Machine platform, Hyper-V

However, try and find it on your computer and you may struggle. Whilst it is included, it is not installed by default. Fear not – it’s dead easy to install.

• Head to Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl)
• In the left hand column, select Turn Windows features on or off
• In the list, locate Hyper-V and tick it (this will also install the sub-features of Hyper-V, which you will likely need)

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With a fresh Windows Server installation you are unable to browse the web by default, thanks to Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration. This “feature” essentially disables browsing in IE outright. There is a good reason for this, as browsing the web exposes the server to the outside world, and with that comes potential security risks (especially with a non-updated version of IE).

However, it is possible to disable this feature:

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Ever get those irritating print jobs stuck in the print queue on Windows? Often they are stuck saying “deleting” but live there forever. Here’s how to clear them out:

(If you’re printing via a print server, chances are you want to perfom these steps on the server itself)

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Windows Server 2016 is finally upon us! Fancy having a play and seeing what’s new? Here’s how to install Windows Server 2016 within Hyper-V:

(If you don’t have a copy of the ISO yet, you can grab a copy from the Microsoft TechNet Evaluation site: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2016)

Launch Hyper-V

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