Objective #5: Allow blank password for network access on Windows 7

Got an error trying to connect to the shared printer, attached to my desktop, from my laptop.  Dont remember the exact error but it said something like 'Can not connect, possible blank password...".

Apparently, since Windows Vista which I am blessed to have never used, by default you can not connect to the shared devices, folders, etc. if you have no password set on your machine.  Thankfully, there is a workaround to this as its defined in the group policy - and here is how you can edit the group policy:

1)  From the Start menu, go to 'Search' or 'Run' and type gpedit.msc

2)  Go to -> Computer Configuration ->  Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options

3)  Double-Click on the 'Accounts: Limit Local Account use of blank password...' and select Disabled

 

Thats it!

Objective #4: Remove Windows 7 from Dual-Boot with XP

I can come up with many reasons why you would want to remove one of your operating systems from the dual-boot mode.  In my case, the Windows 7 installation got corrupted and I didn't want the dual-boot option to delay my start-up.  After some research (google), I found quite a few references with detailed steps on how one could remove Windows 7 from dual-boot.  The problem I ran into was that most of the guides assumed that you had Vista installed and wanted to get rid of Windows 7, but I was using Windows XP. Some other guides required the use of Bootsec.exe file from the Windows 7 DVD/image - if you are using 32-bit Windows XP and have an image of 64-bit Windows 7, 'bootsec.exe' will not work and you will get an error that it is not a valid Win-32 application.

I found this neat little (Free) utility, EasyBCD that you can install on your Windows XP machines and remove Windows 7 (or any other O/S) from dual-boot.

Objective #3: Create Windows 7 (64-bit) bootable USB in Windows XP (32-bit)

I recently installed Microsoft Windows 7 on my desktop (its awesome).  Although it was one of the seamless installation sessions I have ever had (since MS-Dos 6.22), I had a few hick-ups.  I burned Windows 7 ISO on a DVD but some how the image did not get burned properly and corrupted my Windows 7 install (see more on how to remove Windows 7 from dual boot).  I decided to use USB stick as it does not require 'burning' of an image and is faster than DVD.

My instructions assume that you have the following:

1. Have Windows XP (32-bit) Professional on your current machine
2. ISO image of Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit) Any Version
3. An image mounting tool.  I used Daemon Tools Lite (Free) but you can go with any other one (Alcohol 120%) if you prefer.
4. An unzipping tool.  I use 7-Zip (Free) but any other one (Winzip, WinRAR, etc.) would work as well.
5. A 4GB USB flash drive.

Here is what you will need to download:

1. MBRWizard (Free) for Windows XP
2. Bootsect (Free) for Windows XP.  Scroll down where it says 'Save file to your PC'. Note: Windows 7 image has a bootsect file however, if you are running 32-bit XP and have a 64-bit ISO image, you will need to download this file as Windows 7 version of bootsect will NOT work and will give an error that 'bootsect is not a valid Win32 application'.

And here are the steps:

1)  Plug your USB drive.  Go to "My Computer". Right click the flash drive and click format. Check the box "Quick Format".  You can leave all the other settings as is.

2)  Click 'Start' then select 'Run'. Type CMD and hit OK to open up a terminal screen.

3)  In the terminal screen type "cd\" to go to the C root (C:\).

4)  Now type "convert X: /fs:ntfs". Where X is letter assigned to your flash drive.

Minimize your terminal window for now

5)  Download MBRWizard and extract the file 'MBRWiz.exe' using unzipping tool, to your desktop. 

6)  Copy the extracted 'MBRWiz.exe' file and go to "My Computer". Right click the 'C:' drive and click paste to copy the 'MBRWiz.exe' file to your C:\ drive. (no need to create a separate folder)

7)  Download the Bootsect file and do the same - copy to your C:\ drive.

Maximize your terminal session

8)  Type "MBRWIZ /list".  You will now see the detailed table for each of the disk, including your Hard disk.  For example you may see table for Disk0, Disk1, Disk2, Disk3, etc.

9)  From the output of the above step, note the disk number of your flash drive.  You can tell by the size and the drive letter toward the bottom right of each table.

10)  Type "mbrwiz /disk=Y /active=1". Where Y is disk number that you saw was associated to your flash drive.


11)  Now type "bootsect /nt60 X:".  Where X is letter assigned to your flash drive. (Should be the same letter as in Step 4). 


Type "Exit" or simply close the command prompt session.

12)  Now mount the ISO image of Windows 7.

13)  Using Windows explorer, copy all the contents of the Windows 7 image, from the mounted drive (Copy) to (Paste) the flash drive.

Your Windows 7 bootable disk is now ready!  Dont forget to change the boot sequence in BIOS or go to boot menu after the BIOS is loaded to select USB as your first boot device.

Enjoy Windows 7!

Objective #2: Stop losing Blackberry contacts

Don't even remember how many times I have helped people save their future ex's numbers - JK.  This is one of the most common problems with people who use Blackberry: 'the contacts keep disappearing'.  My understanding is that this happens when one connects their blackberry device to their computer and the  Blackberry Desktop Manager tries to synchronize the information with your email client (MS Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes, etc.).  Soon after the blackberry is disconnected from the computer, a feature within the blackberry device, 'Wireless Synchronization' (for Address Book) gets triggered which I believe is the real culprit. Address Book wireless synchronization synchronizes your local/device contacts with the BES/corporate server and since (most) people don't have the contacts saved on the BES server the ones on your device get deleted in the synchronization process.
Fortunately there is an easy way to stop this happening in future (Sorry, no way to restore the lost ones if you did not create a backup)...

1.  On your device, go to your address book

2.  Press the application key button to bring up the menu inside Address Book

3.  Select Options

4.  Select Desktop under 'Address Book'

5.  Change the option for 'Wireless Synchronization' to No

6.  Press the application menu and hit Save  

...and you are done!  Remember, you are only disabling the Wireless Synchronization feature of the Address Book, so disabling this should not have any effect on your email or other features. Check with your IT department if unsure.

Objective #1: Find MS-SQL license key on a SQL server machine

Today we realized that no body has the license key for SQL Server 2005 that was sitting on a dying machine.  One option was to call Microsoft and answer their endless questions, second option was to discover a query or a tool that would just produce a key.  I opted for the second option(s).

Although there are plenty of free and paid (James River Software Solutions has key finders for almost all MS products) tools that would reveal your product key, I stumbled upon a small and free utility by NirSoft, ProduKey that simply shows you the license/product key of your Windows O/S, Office and SQL (Windows Vista\XP\Server 2000\2003\2008).  A handy little tool if you are planning to re-install your O/S. The reason I like this tool versus Microsoft SQL Key Viewer, which also is free, is because this is handy not just for SQL but also for Office and your O/S - free and all-in-one.

ProduKey

While searching for a tool, I also ran into a query at SQLAuthority that supposedly shows you the key when you run that query.  It didn't work for me but might be worth a try.