Windows/Office Digital River Links Updates [11/23/14]

I’ve  made some updates to the Windows/Office Digital River Links page to correct some broken links. Microsoft is currently in the process of migrating from their old Digital River servers to Azure. Due to that change many of the links are being changed in addition to some products being phased out. I’ll try to keep up with the changes but if I miss something just let me know. I will also be looking into a cleaner download interface so you’re not assaulted with a page full of links. The goal is a dropdown interface where you can just select your product and language and get your links. Going forward, this post will serve as the page for updates and contact for the Microsoft links.

Now as for the links themselves, I’ve made a few changes to how they are presented. For the most part they will remain the same but with the addition of alternative version and download links. For most people you can just download the latest version link but I’ll keep old versions linked for those who need them. Since this page is the second most popular page on the site I’m going to give it a little more attention and spruce it up.

Finally, a thanks to heidoc.net who figured out the change to the link structure and serve as the base source for links.

Windows/Office Digital River Links

Todo [11/23/14]:

  • Fix Broken links – Ongoing
  • Add additional alternative links
  • Clean up link presentation

Weekend Project: Process Explorer Auto Install

I was bored this weekend and decided to try my hand at making a PowerShell script to automate the install of Sysinternals Process Explorer. It’s pretty rough product of about 3 hours of work. I’ll make improvements in the future as I get time. In any case, it’s available below.

#### Downloads Process explorer from download.sysinternals.com,
#### unzips it into Program Files and then cleans up.
####
#### Sources:
####	s1: http://nyquist212.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/powershell-webclient-example/
####	s2: http://sharepoint.smayes.com/2012/07/extracting-zip-files-using-powershell/

#Checks for Administrator privileges and opens an elevated prompt is user has Administrator rights
If (-NOT ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] "Administrator"))
{   
    $arguments = "& '" + $myinvocation.mycommand.definition + "'"
    Start-Process powershell -Verb runAs -ArgumentList $arguments
    Break
}

# s1 
Function Get-Webclient ($urla, $out) {
    $proxy = [System.Net.WebRequest]::GetSystemWebProxy()
    $proxy.Credentials = [System.Net.CredentialCache]::DefaultCredentials
    $request = New-Object System.Net.WebClient
    $request.UseDefaultCredentials = $true ## Proxy credentials only
    $request.Proxy.Credentials = $request.Credentials
    $request.DownloadFile($urla, $out)
}

# s2 

# Expands the entire contents of a zip file to a folder
# MSDN References
# - Shell Object:   http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb774094(v=vs.85).aspx
# - SHFILEOPSTRUCT: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb759795(v=vs.85).aspx
function Expand-Zip (
    [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()][string]$ZipFilePath,
    [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()][string]$DestinationFolderPath,
    [switch]$HideProgressDialog,
    [switch]$OverwriteExistingFiles
    ) {
    # Ensure that the zip file exists, the destination path is a folder, and the destination folder
    # exists. The code to expand the zip file will *only* execute if the three conditions above are
    # true.
    if ((Test-Path $ZipFilePath) -and (Test-Path $DestinationFolderPath) -and ((Get-Item $DestinationFolderPath).PSIsContainer)) {
        try {
            # Configure the flags for the copy operation based on the switches passed to this
            # function. The flags for the CopyHere method are based on the SHFILEOPSTRUCT
            # structure's fFlags field. Two of the flags are leveraged by this function.
            # 0x04 --- Do not display a progress dialog box.
            # 0x10 --- Click "Yes to All" in any dialog box displayed. Functionally overwrites any
            #          existing files.
            $copyFlags = 0x00
            if ($HideProgressDialog) {
                $copyFlags += 0x04
            }
            if ($OverwriteExistingFiles) {
                $copyFlags += 0x10
            }
            
            # Create the Shell COM object
            $shell = New-Object -ComObject Shell.Application
            
            # Get references to the zip file and the destination folder as Shell Folder COM objects
            $zipFile = $shell.NameSpace($ZipFilePath)
            $destinationFolder = $shell.NameSpace($DestinationFolderPath)
            
            # Execute a file copy from the zip file to the destination folder; which effectively
            # extracts the zip file's contents to the destination folder
            $destinationFolder.CopyHere($zipFile.Items(), $copyFlags)
        } finally {
            # Release the COM objects
            if ($zipFile -ne $null) {
                [void][System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($zipFile)
            }
            if ($destinationFolder -ne $null) {
                [void][System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($destinationFolder)
            }
            if ($shell -ne $null) {                
                [void][System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($shell)
            }
        }
    }
}

function mkdirs {
    mkdir $sDir\temp\ -force > $null
    mkdir $sDir\ProcessExplorer\ -force > $null
    mkdir "$start\Process Explorer" -force > $null
}

function shortcuts ($target, $link) {
    # Create a Shortcut with Windows PowerShell
    $TargetFile = $target
    $ShortcutFile = $link
    $WScriptShell = New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell
    $Shortcut = $WScriptShell.CreateShortcut($ShortcutFile)
    $Shortcut.TargetPath = $TargetFile
    $Shortcut.Save()
    }

# Variables
$sDir = $env:programfiles
#$uDir = $env:allusersprofile
$start = [Environment]::GetFolderPath('CommonStartMenu') + "\Programs"
$url = "http://download.sysinternals.com/files/ProcessExplorer.zip"
$file = $sDir + "\temp\ProcessExplorer.zip"

# Makes directories:
# ProcessExplorer directory in Program Files according to Environment variable\
# temp directory in Program Files for download
mkdirs
Get-Webclient $url $file
Start-Sleep -s 2
# Closes Process Explorer if running
Get-Process procexp* | stop-process –force
Expand-Zip $file "$sDir\ProcessExplorer\" -HideProgressDialog -OverwriteExistingFiles
Remove-Item "$sDir\temp\" -recurse
# Creates Start Menu shorcuts
shortcuts "$sDir\ProcessExplorer\Eula.txt" "$start\Process Explorer\EULA.lnk"
shortcuts "$sDir\ProcessExplorer\procexp.chm" "$start\Process Explorer\Process Explorer Help.lnk"
shortcuts "$sDir\ProcessExplorer\procexp.exe" "$start\Process Explorer\Process Explorer.lnk"
# Accepts EULA and starts minimized
start-process $sDir\ProcessExplorer\procexp.exe -ArgumentList "/AcceptEula /t"

 

Download ProcessExplorerInstaller.ps1 from Github
GitHub | PowerShell-Scripts / ProcessExplorerInstaller.ps1

Changing Services with the Command Line

Changing services, whether changing the startup type or stopping/starting them, is something every user will have to do. While it’s easy to simply go through the Services MMC that can be time consuming, especially when a PC is being slow. The prefered method would be through the Command Line, either manually or through a pre-written batch file. So how do you do this? Check below for details.
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Fixing corrupted Tasks in Windows

Ever had a corrupted task in Windows scheduler? It can happen after a restore, removable of software or accounts, a fail install or any number of other reasons. It can be infuriating to try to fix it, particularly if it’s corrupted enough to Task Scheduler can’t even show the task. It can also cause a variety of issue on your system and prevent you from adding new tasks, especially if they call the same program/script. How do you fix this? Looking in the Task Scheduler interface doesn’t provide much help due to it’s very minimal and simple management options. Even on Windows Server there aren’t very many options to work with. Turns out the solution is easy and requires nothing more than than deleting a file. Granted, you do need to know what file you’re looking for (which should be easy if you named the task logically).

The files can be found in your Windows folder under

C:\Windows\System 32\Tasks

This should be the same under all versions of Windows. Just find the problem task and delete or rename it. That’s all you need to do! A quick refresh of Task Scheduler should load the remaining tasks, sans those you removed. If any programs were affected by the corrupted task you should be able to restart them and continue any necessary troubleshooting.

Installing Box.net Sync on Windows Server

Anyone who’s tried to install the Box.net Sync client on Windows Server knows how much trouble it will give you. Since Box.net does not officially support server operating systems (which strikes me as odd considering how much they market to businesses) you can’t install it on Windows Server with the regular package. Any attempt will result in a compatibility error. So how do you get around this? Don’t use the regular install package. Box.net offers MSI versions of the sync client which will install without a single complaint on Windows Server (Server 2008 32-bit for mine).

You should be able to find the links on the right side of the Sync page. Just download the version for your server, install and you’re good to go!

Screenshot 2013-07-12 05.38.53

How to get official ISO and Images from Microsoft for Free

For most of us if we need a Office or Windows ISO or image we either A) have to have the disc or B) hit up a torrent/download site for one. What if I told you that Microsoft offered official downloads of Windows, Office and other Microsoft products for free. They are offered through Microsoft’s Digital River Content service. It’s a great alternative to pirate sites or having to order a disc (which required a existing key and costs money) which can be a lot of trouble. I first discovered this source as I was building a library of ISO’s for my on-site technician job. I had some of the CD’s from past purchases but not all I would need.

So without further ado hit the links after the break for all the downloads. All the downloads are resumable and are quite fast. I will be updating this as I get time going forward.
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Custom Icons/Labels for your drives with autorun.inf

By default, Windows automatically adds icons to local drives as defined in the system and names as they were set during formatting. Most users could care less what the icons are or what the drive name is. But what if you want want to be able to tell your drives apart at a glance? Maybe you want a more descriptive name then “Local Disk (C:)”. Luckily windows (and perhaps other OS’s; I haven’t tested it) has a easy way to do so. How you ask? Our old friend autorun.inf. Click through to find out how to do it.
diskicons
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Weekend Project: Windows 8 Enterprise

So I ended up having to reset a password on a Windows 8 notebook for a guest this weekend (which turned out to be a massive headache) and had to make a recovery CD. Since I had to make a Windows 8 VM to do that I figured I’d pack it up and share it for anyone who’s interested. It’s a 90-day evaluation using the Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit ISO from Microsoft Technet. It’s a basic install, nothing fancy. It’s built in VMware Workstation 9 on the latest vmx-9 virtual hardware so it should work fine in most installations and with ESXi 5.0/5.1. It’s in my one of my dropbox accounts for the moment. Let me know if you have issues or have another host you’d like to see it on. I’ve included a link to the download page for the ISO’s if you want to install it yourself.

User: Test
Password: <no password>

OVA: Windows 8 Evaluation OVA.exe (3.71 GB) | Resumable Download via Mega
Microsoft Technet Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation: Download Page

PowerShell: Empty Recycle Bin

Here is a quick PowerShell script I found recently to clear the Windows Recycle Bin. This can be really useful if you want to automatically empty the Recycle Bin through something like the Task Scheduler. This code comes from the TechNet Script Center, courtesy of Windows Engineer and PowerShell Blogger Rich Prescott.

$Shell = New-Object -ComObject Shell.Application
$RecBin = $Shell.Namespace(0xA) 
$RecBin.Items() | %{Remove-Item $_.Path -Recurse -Confirm:$false}

This script allows you to view the contents of the recycle bin in your profile. The first line creates a ComObject and then the second line grabs the Recycling Bin special folder. It then enumerates the items contained in that special folder and removes each of them. The Remove-Item cmdlet includes a switch to turn off confirmation for the removal of the files. It can be removed if you would like to be prompted for each file.

Works on:

Windows Server 2012 and Up Yes Windows 10 and Up Yes
Windows Server 2008 R2 Yes Windows 8 Yes
Windows Server 2008 Yes Windows 7 Yes
Windows Server 2003 No Windows Vista Yes
Windows XP Yes
Windows 2000 No

Source

RoboForm: A full featured password manager and more

Lets face it: We have more passwords than we can ever remember. Whether it’s personal or work, we usually have dozens if not hundreds of username/password sets to remember for various applications and sites. The solution for most people is to reuse their username and passwords across sites. While this may make them easier to remember it also makes it easier for  them to be compromised. The common recommendation is to use passwords composed of alphanumeric characters (0-9, a-z, A-Z) and symbols. While that may increase the security of your passwords the likelihood of remembering one instance of “a320#.?atx!” is small, let alone 30 for a dozen different systems. It’s much easier to remember the name of a pet or a relative/spouse. So how do you get around the need for more secure passwords while  actually being able to remember the passwords themselves or instituting expensive biometric systems?  One answer is to use a password manager. There are several popular ones available but I favor RoboForm after having used it for several years. Why use a password manager and why choose RoboForm over other solutions? Well, lets dig in below and see!
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