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Shrinking the tempdb on a SQL Server
edited by on May 21st 2015, at 16:30
After running complex queries that use the tempdb of a SQL Server instance, it may become necessary to shrink the database again. However, when running the shrink operation on the tempdb, it can result in the database not shrinking at all, even when the used space is minimal.

The reason for this is most likely that the clearance of the tempdb is still in cache and not flushed to disk. You need to flush the changes to disk first, after which you will be able to shrink the tempdb. Do note that flushing will most likely impact database performance, so use with caution. Also, the tempdb will not shrink beyond the initial size, configured in the file group.

DBCC FREESYSTEMCACHE('ALL')USE [tempd  ...
 
How to suppress vSphere 5 HA heartbeat datastore warning of 1
edited by on May 20th 2015, at 16:45
After configuring HA for a vSphere 5 cluster, you may encounter the following warning on each ESX host:

Configuration Issues
The number of vSphere HA heartbeat datastores for this host is 1, which is less than required: 2

vSphere 5 introduces datastore heartbeats in addition to network hearts, which allows to distinguish between a network-isolated host and a crashed host. In order for datastore heartbeats to work properly, vSphere requires at least 2 shared datastores available on every host in the cluster. If there's less than 2 shared datastores, datastore heartbeats will not function properly, resulting in the configuration issue message.

If you only have one shared datastore and wish   ...
 
Retrieve list of stored procedures in a SQL Server database
edited by on May 20th 2015, at 16:18

You can retrieve a list of stored procedures in a SQL Server database through T-SQL by querying the built-in information_schema partition.

SELECT * 
FROM db_name.information_schema.routines 
WHERE routine_type = 'PROCEDURE'

Replace db_name with the name of the database you wish to retrieve the list of stored procedures. You can adjust the WHERE-clause even more to get a more narrow list.

You can also do this with the master database which will return all (system and non-system) stored procedures.

 
Adding SBS 2003 and SBS 2008 CALs
edited by on May 20th 2015, at 14:01
Windows Small Business Server 2003 and 2008 (SBS2003 and SBS2008) are still widely in use, but CALs for these are no longer available for purchase. So, what if you require more CALs but cannot get rid of your old SBS?

SBS 2008 and SBS 2011 work on a trust-based CAL count, so they do not need activation. You can simply purchase SBS 2011 Standard CALs and exercise your downgrade rights. Note that this cannot be done with SBS 2011 Premium CALs as they contain features that are not the same as in SBS2008 Premium.

Unfortunately, for SBS 2003, it's not that simple, as it uses online activation for CALs. In this case, you still have to buy SBS 2011 CALs, which are legally usable on your SBS 2003,  ...
 
Fix for unresponsive Windows Explorer with slow-moving green loading bar on local folders
edited by on May 20th 2015, at 13:16
Sometimes, when navigating in your local folders (in your user profile), it may seem to take forever to open a specific (local) folder, and the green loading bar at the top crawls forth at a very slow pace. If that is the case, try turning off folder optimization.

Windows 7 introduced a new feature called folder optimization, which is basically telling Windows what to do with the files inside a folder, such as generating thumbnails for pictures and videos, reading metadata from documents, reading media information on music, etc. Occassionally, this process can take a long time, and can really slow down Windows Explorer when attempting to browse such a folder.

If you stumble across such   ...
 
Hide user accounts on the Windows Logon (Welcome) screen
edited by on May 20th 2015, at 12:51

You can hide user accounts from the Windows Welcome (log on) screen through the registry. This works with Vista and all later versions.

  1. Start up regedit.
  2. Navigate to the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
  3. Under Winlogon, create a new key called SpecialAccounts
  4. Under SpecialAccounts, create another key called UserList.
  5. Under UserList, create a DWORD value for each account:
    • Name: the full account name (including spaces)
    • Type: DWORD (32-bit)
    • Value:
      • 0: hides the account
      • 1: shows the account
 
Change e-mail (relay) server in N-Central
edited by on May 20th 2015, at 12:33
To change the e-mail (relay) server for your on-premise N-Central server, you need to log in to N-Central at the product or system level. By default, this account is the same as you use to log on to the central server setup (you connect to it on port 10000 of your N-Central server). Its username is usually productadmin@n-able.com.

Once logged in, navigate to Administration > Mail Network Settings > SMTP Authentication.



Make changes on this page accordingly. If you don't use a relay server, N-Central will attempt to send e-mail using MX. Else, all e-mail will be forwarded to the relay server. You can also set up authentication if your relay server requires it.



Click Sav  ...
 
Reservation export script for dhcpd.conf (Perl)
edited by on May 20th 2015, at 11:18

This is a Perl script I wrote and used for the migration of a linux DHCP server (running dhcpd to a Windows DHCP server. The script looks in the dhcpd.conf configuration file for fixed reservations and exports these to a CSV for processing and importing in another server.

Usage is simple, as it takes its input from STDIN and outputs to STDOUT.

cat /etc/dhcpd.conf | perl export-dhcpd-reservations.pl > output.csv

The script is very simple and can probably do with a lot of improvements, but it's a start for anyone willing to develop it further. It is licensed as GPLv3.

 
Display the structure of a table on SQL Server
edited by on May 19th 2015, at 16:10

Probably MSSQL 101, but this is how to quickly retrieve the structure of a table:

EXEC sp_help tbl_name
GO

tbl_name is the name of the table.

 
Error 665 (filesystem limitation) during certain operations (backup, dbcc) on SQL Server
edited by on May 19th 2015, at 16:07
When attempting to run an online integrity check, or a backup on a large database (i.e. large data files), you may run into this error:

Error: 5123, Severity: 16, State: 1.CREATE FILE encountered operating system error 665(failed to retrieve text for this error. Reason: 15105) while attempting to open or create the physical file 'D:\MSSQL\Data\db.mdf:MSSQL_DBCC9'.

Further investigation reveals that the error 665 is in fact: The requested operation could not be completed due to a file system limitation.

Backup and consistency (dbcc) check operations requires the creation of a database snapshot. These snapshots are created as sparse files, which only works on NTFS (not ReFS), but has some l  ...
 
AMS-IX internet backbone outage (follow-up)
edited by on May 13th 2015, at 17:39

A look at the throughput graph clearly showed a drop to almost zero around 12:20 UTC+2:

 
AMS-IX internet backbone outage
edited by on May 13th 2015, at 15:39

A temporary outage on the AMS-IX internet backbone caused an extended outage of internet traffic across Netherlands.

Quote

Dear Tech-L subscribers,

Today Wednesday 13/05/2015 at 12:20 UTC+2 an installation engineer working on the PE under maintenance in EQUINIX AM3, while testing one of the newly installed 100GE modules, accidentally placed a loop on the ISP peering VLAN.

DETAILS:

The loop caused a high CPU on all backbone and customer modules resulting in many BGP sessions dropping.
The incident lasted 10 minutes.
BGP sessions are restoring.

The situation has normalized again.

 
CLSID for Java and its plugins
edited by on May 13th 2015, at 14:37
 
Recover lost Bitlocker Recovery Key (also for non-AD computers)
edited by on May 13th 2015, at 14:34

If you accidentally have misplaced or forgotten your Bitlocker Recovery key, but still have access to the system (with an elevated account), you can retrieve the recovery key quite easily through the command line:

Open an elevated command prompt and type:

manage-bde -protectors -get C:

Replace C: with any drive that has Bitlocker enabled. Note that if it's not the system volume but some other drive that's encrypted, you need to unlock it first before you can retrieve the recovery key.

 
Potentional (remote) vulnerability in Trend Micro OfficeScan 10.6
edited by on May 12th 2015, at 14:49
 
Call redirection on your cellphone (for Proximus)
edited by on May 12th 2015, at 14:10

The dial codes for setting up call redirection on your cell. These codes are specifically for Proximus (Belgian carrier), but may work with your carrier as well.

RedirectionActivateDeactivateReactivate
immediate**21*number###21#**21#
after 15 secs**61*number###61#**61#
when busy**67*number###67#**67#

It's recommended to specify the number in international notation (+country), even for national calls.

Reactivation means it's activated with the number you specified last time.

 
Trend Micro Officescan: silent install via AutoPCC utility
edited by on May 8th 2015, at 14:29
The Trend Micro OfficeScan client can be installed on a workstation via the network (using an UNC-path) through the AutoPCC utility. The client can simply browse the OfficeScan server, locate the autopcc.exe utility, and run it, performing an installation of the OfficeScan client on the computer running the utility. By default, the installation of the client is not silent, meaning the user will see windows and dialogs appearing. Fortunately, it is possible to make AutoPCC to perform the installation completely silently, leaving the user almost unaware that an installation of OfficeScan is occurring.

To change this setting, log on to the OfficeScan server, and browse to the OfficeScan instal  ...
 
Samsung Galaxy S5 cannot connect/find 5ghz Wifi network
edited by on May 8th 2015, at 13:16

If your Samsung Galaxy S5 may not find or be able to connect to a specific 5Ghz wireless network, you may want to check which channel the network is operating on. The S5 has problems when trying to connect to DFS-channels (Dynamic Frequency Selection).

DFS-channels are basically every channel from channel 52 and up. Try setting your AP to a channel between 36-48 (inc.), and then try reconnecting your S5.

 
VMWare vSphere client on high DPI settings
edited by on May 6th 2015, at 09:20

You may have noticed that running the VMWare vSphere client on a display with higher DPI settings causes problems with the mouse cursor alignment when working inside a VM. This is because of a mismatch between the DPI settings of the VM and the DPI settings of your computer.

To resolve, right-click the shortcut to the client, go to the Compatibility tab, and enable Disable display scaling on high DPI settings.

The downside of this method is that there will be misalignment of some parts in the client, but it is still workable and moreover, it solves the mouse issue in a VM.

 
In-flight travel etiquette
edited by on May 5th 2015, at 13:41
NOMAD has published a few in-flight etiquette rules to make any flight more enjoyable by everyone.

If you have or want to move your fellow passenger's luggage, notify that person. It saves agrevation and a long troublesome search.

Don't lean on the chair of the passenger in front of you. As a general rule: try to find a comfortable sleeping position within the space assigned to you. Leaning or pulling another one's chair is being felt, even when that person's asleep.

You want freedom of movement within the plane, get an aisle seat. If you like to have a window seat, no problem, but don't do it if you know you have to visit the toilet often. In that case, just choose an aisle seat. The peo  ...
 
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