James' Tools and Tricks

We are gradually migrating our core services from Netware to Windows Server 2003 and 2008. As part of this migration we needed to migrate all our DHCP reservations stored on our Novell servers to Windows Servers.

Recently we had to change the login names for around 1200 students. As part of this rename we needed to change their Novell eDirectory account and home directory. We also needed to ensure linked systems such as an LDAP authenticated Moodle site and an IDM linked Active Directory (AD) domain were properly updated. To perform [...]

Those who in the past have used the Novell Change Pass utility may have been missing it when moving to Active Directory. A great tool is Wisesoft Password Control which allows you to just type in the username, it will display info about the account and give you the option to change the password, enable/disable [...]

Recently I needed to identify where all the space was going on our server. Usually I just use the Folder Size tab extension but it requires scanning every time you close the Properties dialogue. After looking around online I found a great free utility that displays the info in an easy to explore graphical view. [...]

A great new feature in Windows Server 2003 is Access-based Enumeration (ABE). What ABE does is hide any file or folder that a user does not have access to. So for example the folder where you store all your users home drives, would usually appear jam packed with folders, most of which would return an [...]

When you install Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 it may display a security warning when you access applications and files stored on Novell drive mappings if it does not consider them part of your local intranet. It may also prevent MS Access from opening databases from the network as [...]

When using Group Policies with Zenworks and Windows XP you may find users are able to create folders and files in root of C:. This is due to the change in default security settings for drives on Windows XP from 2000. You need to use the Security Template editor to create a template restricting rights [...]

VideoLAN VLC is a great cross platform media player ideal for networks. CODECs for most formats are included with the player so it can be easily deployed without needing extra installers. As it is self contained it is very easy to repackage as an MSI for deployment or it can run straight off the network [...]

EZ GPO is small utility that allows central power policy management through Group Policies. Saving energy, money and the environment. Ideal for school computer labs and staff rooms, as well as business. EZ GPO can be deployed by MSI across the network through either AD or Zenworks. You then add the supplied ADM to a [...]

An LDAP browser for Active Directory. Makes it easy to see all attributes of objects and assists in configuring web applications that authenticate using LDAP. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Networking/AdExplorer.mspx You can connect to your AD server without knowing any LDAP paths, just use your standard login. Can also take snapshots to allow you to see what effect changes [...]