Windows on John Billekens | Notes from the field

HowTo - Windows - Export certificate (pfx)

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:45:25 +0000

group: “Windows”

Certificates are an important part of a modern environment. They make communication safer by encrypting the traffic between the client and server. A safe way to move certificates between servers or store them safely is by exporting the certificate (private and public key) to an encrypted format. A commonly used format is “pfx” (Personal Information Exchange also known as PKCS#12). A pfx file can contain one or more certificates and is encrypted with a password. Without the correct password the pfx is useless. You commonly see that a pfx contains a (web) server certificate and one or more intermediate certificate(s) and a root certificate.

Manage Native OTP tokens via Windows, Part 2

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 19:31:56 +0000

A couple weeks ago someone asked me if OTP4ADC could also support encrypted tokens. And at that time I hadn’t done anything with encrypted tokens on a Citrix ADC. And if you not have heard of the OTP4ADC tool/script you can read my initial blog article from when I released the first version and the basics of how it works.

Spontaneously changing default printer

Sat, 18 Mar 2017 13:53:21 +0000

Yesterday I was at a Customers location and they had an issue with their printers on the XenDesktop VDI environment. Some users are using Exact to print all kinds of labels, in this case a Zebra label printer. And while they were printing labels, the label printer was set automagically as default. They started noticing this because when they wanted to print other (A4) reports, the layout was wrong and some information fell of the report. They could change the default printer back to the MFP, but when they printed labels again, you’ll get it right? I recently helped them move from Windows 10 LTSB 2015 (1507) to Windows 10 LTSB 2016 (1607) and they started noticing this issue after the switch to the new Windows version. So what could it be? Turned out to be a setting in Windows… After changing this, the issue was gone. You can change it in “Settings”, “Devices”, “Printers & Scanners” and change the setting “Let Windows manage my Default printer” to off. Or you can set the following registry key:

Windows 10 LTSB 2016 (Build 1607) stuck at Other User while logging in

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 13:57:48 +0000

While testing with the latest Windows 10 LTSB 2016 version I found out in 9 of 10 logins failed, it was stuck on the message “Welcome other user”… I used the same deployment steps as with LTSB 2015 and not working, what was wrong? After reading the Citrix forum I found out that more users were experiencing this issue. After some testing I found out that my issue was caused by a disabled Service named “Device Association Service”. This is one of the optimizations in the “Technical Note – Optimize Windows 10” guide from Citrix. Don’t disable this service but leave it on Automatic. Since I found out I haven’t seen this issue since.

RES ONE Workspace on Windows 10 lessons learned

Sun, 07 Aug 2016 18:40:54 +0000

For a while now Windows 10 is supported with RES ONE Workspace 2015 and up. More and more companies are switching from their old versions (Yes, some of them are still using Windows XP) to Windows 10. I’ve done a couple of implementation now and thought to share some of the knowledge I found during these implementations.

Remove AppX (Modern) Apps

Sun, 22 May 2016 07:47:15 +0000

With the following PowerShell script you can remove AppX Apps in Windows 8(.1) and 10. Note: The apps will be removed for the Current and New users only!

<#
 To skip a AppX app while removing change "Remove" to "NoChange", the app will not be removed.
#>
$arrAppxApps = @()
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*3DBuilder*') # Uninstall 3D Builder
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*Appconnector*') # Uninstall 
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*bingfinance*') # Uninstall Money
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*BingFoodAndDrink*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*BingHealthAndFitness*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*BingMaps*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*bingnews*') # Uninstall News
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*bingsports*') # Uninstall Sports
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*BingTravel*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*bingweather*') # Uninstall Weather
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*Camera*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*OneDrive*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*getstarted*') # Uninstall Get Started
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*HelpAndTips*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*officehub*') # Uninstall Get Office
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*solitairecollection*') # Uninstall Microsoft Solitaire Collection
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*Media.PlayReadyClient.2*') # 2x
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*Media.PlayReadyClient.2*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*onenote*') # Uninstall OneNote
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*people*') # Uninstall People
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*skypeapp*') # Uninstall Get Skype
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*photos*') # Uninstall Photos
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*Reader*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*windowsalarms*') # Uninstall Alarms and Clock
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*windowscalculator*') # Uninstall Calculator
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*windowscamera*') # Uninstall Camera
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*windowscommunicationsapps*') # Uninstall Calendar and Mail
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*windowsmaps*') # Uninstall Maps
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*windowsphone*') # Uninstall Phone Companion
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*WindowsReadingList*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*soundrecorder*') # Uninstall Voice Recorder
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*WindowsScan*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*windowsstore*') # Uninstall Store
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.4|10.0','*xboxapp*') # Uninstall Xbox
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3','*XboxLIVEGames*') #
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*zunemusic*') # Uninstall Groove Music
$arrAppxApps += ,@('Remove','6.2|6.3|6.4|10.0','*zunevideo*') # Uninstall Movies & TV

Write-Host -ForegroundColor White "Removing Appx Apps"
Write-Verbose '' 
foreach ($AppxApp in $arrAppxApps) {
 Write-Host -NoNewline -ForegroundColor Gray " -" $AppxApp[2]
 Switch ($AppxApp[0]) {
 "NoChange" {
 Write-Host -ForegroundColor Yellow " (skipped) No changes made"
 }
 "Remove" {
 if ($AppxApp[1] -Match ($varWinVer)) {
 Try {
 Get-AppxPackage | Where-Object {$_.PackageFullName -like $AppxApp[2]} | Remove-AppxPackage -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null
 Get-AppxPackage -allusers | Where-Object {$_.PackageFullName -like $AppxApp[2]} | Remove-AppxPackage -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null
 Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Where-Object {$_.packagename -like $AppxApp[2]} | Remove-ProvisionedAppxPackage -Online -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Out-Null
 } Catch {
 Write-Host -ForegroundColor Red (" (error)")
 $FailedItem = $_.Exception.ItemName
 Write-Verbose ('Caught an error')
 Write-Verbose ('ErrorMessage: ' + $ErrorMessage)
 Write-Verbose ('FailedItem: ' + $FailedItem)
 continue
 } Finally {
 Write-Host -ForegroundColor Green (" (done)")
 }

 } Else { Write-Host -ForegroundColor Yellow " (skipped) not applicable to this OS" }
 
 }

 }
}

Changing Microsoft ADCS from sha1 to sha256

Wed, 05 Nov 2014 13:34:14 +0000

When ADCS uses sha1 for their certificates, you might want to change it to sha254. NOTE: Make sure all your devices support sha256 sha1 sha256 To achieve this enter the following commands in an elivated DOS-box:

procmon remote monitoring

Wed, 27 Aug 2014 19:48:42 +0000

psexec \COMPUTERNAME -u domainuser -sd -i 0 “c:Procmon.exe” /accepteula /backingfile c:output.pml /nofilter /quiet Aanmelden met de gebruiker, en afmelden (kan wat langer duren door de logging) Daarna procmon stoppen (om de log file te sluiten) psexec \COMPUTERNAME -u domainuser -sd -i 0 “c:Procmon.exe” Terminate Sysinternals tools benodigd: psexec procmon

Active Directory RecycleBin

Sun, 23 Feb 2014 08:57:10 +0000

Requirements:

At least one Domain Controller running Windows Server 2012 with the Active Directory Administrative Center enabled.
All Domain Controllers (or servers running AD LDS) must be running Windows Server 2008 R2 or higher.
The Forest must be running at Windows Server 2008 R2 functional level.

Import the Active Directory modules in PowerShell

Via NETSH DHCP reserveringen toevoegen

Tue, 12 Nov 2013 02:58:41 +0000

netsh dhcp server mySRV scope 192.168.1.0 add reservedip 192.168.1.111 XXXXXXXXXXXX host.domain.local

AD Defragmentatie (Server 2012)

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:16:42 +0000

Stop de ADDS Service

ntdsutil
activate instance ntds
files
compact to c:

copy "c:ntds.dit" "c:WindowsNTDSntds.dit"

del c:WindowsNTDS*.log

Start de ADDS Service

Startmenu in Windows 8 or not?

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:52:50 +0000

I have heard that lots off people are missing the startmenu in Windows 8. I don’t miss it because I normally use the “Run” to enter my command/application and I have pinned my mosy used apps in the taskbar. What I do recommend to my customers is to start using Windows+X. In Windows 7 this would open the Mobility center, but in Windows 8 this opens a smal menu in the bottom left corner: This provides a lot of options for the most. But if you still miss the startmenu and don’t like the new one, I would recommend Classic Shell (http://www.classicshell.net/). This installs a startmenu that you could customize after your needs. If you like the Windows XP look, then just change to that skin. All settings are stored per user in the registry under HKCUSoftwareIvoSoftClassicStartMenu This is a screenshot of my startmenu with Windows 8 look. Notice that is has two folders, one for the Windows 8 apps and one for the classic apps:

Profile Permissions

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:40:37 +0000

NTFS Permissions for Roaming Profile Parent Folder User Account : Minimum Permissions Required Creator Owner : Full Control, Subfolders and Files Only Administrator : Full Control (Microsoft actually recommends none but it simplifies things if you give admins full control) Security group of users needing to put data on share : List Folder/Read Data, Create Folders/Append Data - This Folder Only Everyone : No permissions Local System : Full Control, This Folder, Subfolders and Files Share level (SMB) Permissions for Roaming Profile Share User Account : Minimum Permissions Required Everyone : No permissions Security group of users needing to put data on share : Full Control

Send mail through telnet

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:04:13 +0000

hello smtp.server.nl mail from:<test@domain.nl> rcpt to:<to@domain.nl> data subject: This is a test mail to: to@domain.nl This is the text of my test mail. . quit

Windows Icons: Full list with details, locations & images

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:55:06 +0000

Good quality icons and images, especially ones with an alpha transparency can be time consuming to make, and are often also hard to find. One source of lots of high quality icons in a range of sizes is Windows. Windows 7 includes lots of icons which can be useful as the majority are available in sizes from 16×16 up to 256×256, and come with alpha transparency. You may have noticed that we use some on our downloads page — they’re handy to quickly indicate file type. Windows stores most of its icons inside exe and dll files which makes them inaccessible to standard image manipulation applications like Photoshop. However, once they have been located they can easily be extracted with the freeware utility IcoFX. Tracking some of them down seems to be the trickier part. Below is a quick reference for the locations of many of the icons available on Windows 7. I will periodically add more details and any extra icon libraries I discover to this list.

Command Line Commands for Control Panel Applets

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:50:09 +0000

List of Control Panel Commands in Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP

Sometimes it’s easier, or maybe even necessary, to open a Control Panel applet from a command line in Windows. Each Control Panel applet can be opened by executing a command, you just have to know what that command is. Control Panel itself can be accessed by executing control from a command line in Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vsta, and Windows XP. If you want a way to start a Control Panel applet from a script or from the Command Prompt, the following list of commands for Control Panel applets should help: Note: See my List of Control Panel Applets in Windows for Control Panel applet descriptions and information about changes in applets between the Windows operating systems.

How to hide shared folders under DFS Namespaces

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:57:49 +0000

There is a very well known “trick” to hide shares with Windows and that is to put a $ sign at the end of the share name. The problem is that this doesn’t work if you are using DFS Namespaces (DFSN). The reason why it doesn’t work is because DFSN doesn’t advertise shares – it advertises folders and there is an underlying mechanism to transparently redirect computers trying to connect to those folders to the underpinning shares. So if you have folders in your DFS Namespace that you want to hide just as if they were a share, how do you do it? The answer lies in the fact that they are, indeed, folders. Go to the DFSN root server and open up the folder for your namespace. Right-click on the folder you want to hide and choose Properties. Then select the Hidden attribute and click OK. You will be asked if you want to apply the change to this folder only or to this folder, subfolders and files. You only need to apply the change to this folder only. Be mindful of the fact, though, that this trick of hiding the folders only works so long as users aren’t showing hidden files and folders on their computers. If they are, these folders will still show up. To make it even harder for users to find these “hidden” folders, it is necessary to set the System attribute on the folder. This then prevents the folders from being seen unless the user has unticked “Hide protected operating system files”. Setting the system attribute on a folder requires the use of the attrib command with a very specific sequence of flags: attrib –r +h +s <folder path> The –r flag removes the read-only setting which is normally used by Windows on folders as an indicator that the folder might have customisation on it. Since we are talking about folders in the DFS Namespace, that isn’t going to apply here. The +h flag applies the hidden setting. You need to do this as part of the same command as +s in order to make sure that the folder does actually get hidden and not just set as a system folder. You cannot apply the hidden flag after the folder has got the system flag set. The +s flag applies the system setting. Bron

FSMO

Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:35:11 +0000

How to place FSMO and Global Catalog roles in Active Directory During installation of Active Directory on a Windows Server 2000/2003/2008 all FSMO roles will automatically be installed on the first server. But Best Practice dictates to move some of theese Flexible Single Master of Operation (FSMO) roles to seperate servers. If you only have one domain controller (not recommended), there is nothing to do since all roles must be on this server, but if you have multiple servers you should move some of theese roles on to more servers. It is also important to be aware of what servers are Global Catalog servers, especially if you have more than one domain and even if only one domain, they will be prefered by applications like Exchange server. It is recommended to place the forest roles on one Domain Controller (DC) and the domain roles on another server. If not all Domain Controllers are Global Catalog servers, it is also important to place the infrastructure master on a server that is NOT a Global Catalog server. Recommended Best Practice setup of FSMO roles. Domain Controller #1 Place the two forest roles on this server.

How To Image, Sysprep and Deploy Windows 7 a Complete Guide – Using sysprep and Imagex

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:49:51 +0000

Getting Ready
#

Install Windows 7 from scratch on to your test machine. DO NOT upgrade from Windows XP, this needs to be a fresh install.
Customise Windows 7 with any software, security settings or general settings you wish. When you install from this image all the settings as well as user accounts will be installed by default.
Install WAIK for 7/2008 on the test PC. Download from here (1.7GB).

Create WINPE Disk
#

Right click command prompt run as admin

Change to directory “C:Program FilesWindows AIKToolsPETools”

run command “copype x86 c:winpe”

run command “imagex /mountrw c:winpewinpe.wim 1 c:winpemount”

copy imagex.exe from “C:Program FilesWindows AIKToolsx86imagex.exe” to “c:winpemountwindowssystem32″

Create wimscript.ini in “c:winpemountwindowssystem32″ with following inside

[ExclusionList]
ntfs.log
hiberfil.sys
pagefile.sys
"System Volume Information"
RECYCLER
WindowsCSC

[CompressionExclusionList]
*.mp3
*.zip
*.cab
WINDOWSinf*.pnf

Run Command “imagex.exe /unmount /commit c:winpemount”

Run Command “copy c:winpewinpe.wim c:winpeisosourcesboot.wim /y”

Run Command “oscdimg -n -h -bc:winpeetfsboot.com c:winpeiso c:winpewinpe.iso”

This will create an ISO in c:winpewinpe.iso.

Burn this and keep. Now we need to sysprep our machine. (You can remove WAIK and any files you don’t need, test your iso first!)

Sysprep Your Machine

Windows Crash Dump Analysis

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:39:36 +0000

Windows Crash Dump analysis is a fairly expansive topic that ranges from simple post mortem analysis of small memory dump files to remote debugging of a live system and probing the failure as it occurs in the operating system. This series of posts will cover analysis and troubleshooting of many common failures faced by end users on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows 8. This specific post examines memory dumps, how to install/use the tools to analyze them, crashes that appear when KeBugCheckEx is called, and initial steps with most dumps. The blue screen of death in Windows 7 and earlier versions of Windows: “A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.” The blue screen of death in Windows 8 Developer Preview: “Your PC ran into a problem that it couldn’t handle, and now it needs to restart. You can search for the error online: %s.”