Category Archives: Windows

Windows 10: iPad in recovery mode not recognized by iTunes

I had an iPad that was bricked and i brought it into Recovery Mode to Factory Reset it: Disconnect the USB cable from your iPad, but leave the other side connected to your Mac or PC Launch iTunes Press and hold down the Home and Sleep/Power button on the top of the iPad to turn off the iPad Press and continue to hold the Home button while you reconnect the USB cable to your iPhone, this will cause the iPad to turn on Continue to hold the Home button until an alert message in iTunes Read more [...]

Internet Explorer: Favorites list is jumpy and loads very slowly

In Internet Explorer, I found that my favorites list loads slowly and when I hover over it with the mouse, the mouse pointer is hanging and jumpy. I have redirected my favorites to a network folder, so I can have the same favorites on all my Windows machines. The problem does not occur if my favorites are kept on a local drive (but that is not a solution for me). What helped and made the favorites list (and the favorites bar) quick and snappy again was the following: Open File Explorer Read more [...]

Windows: How to generate a SAN certificate via Web enrollment

In environments where you have a Microsoft PKI Infrastructure (AD CA) setup, you can create new certificates via web enrolment: https://ca-server/CertSrv This is straight forward for single-name certificates. If you wish to have multiple names for a certificate (Subject Alternative Names = SAN), you need a certain syntax in the "Atrributes" field of the web page: san:dns=corpdc1.fabrikam.com&dns=ldap.fabrikam.com You can add as many names as you want, separated by "&". Important: Read more [...]

Active Directory: Reset Expiry Date of an expired Password

Many companies have a policy that require their users to change their passwords regularly (e.g. every 90 days). In Active Directory, this is normally enforced via Group Policy. This works well, but can be problematic if the user is out of the office while the password expires. An example: If he or she is using a mobile phone to access company emails via ActiveSync, the access will be blocked once the password has expired. ActiveSync does not support password changes, so the user has no way to Read more [...]

Windows: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Setup Support Files cannot be uninstalled

I recently wanted to uninstall SQL Server 2008 R2 completely after I have upgraded to SQL Server 2014. The uninstall of the "SQL Server 2008 R2 Setup Support Files" did not work and produced the error: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Setup Support Files cannot be uninstalled because the following products are installed: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 RsFx Driver Strangely, the "Add/Remove Programs" section did not list the "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 RsFx Driver". To uninstall this "hidden" Read more [...]

Windows Time service doesn't start automatically on a workgroup computer

On a workgroup computer that's running Windows 7/8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2/2012 R2, the Windows Time service stops immediately after system startup. This issue occurs even after the Startup Type is changed from Manual to Automatic. Additionally, the following event is logged in the System log: Log Name: System Source: Service Control Manager Event ID: 7036 Level: Information The Windows Time service entered the running state. Log Name: System Source: Service Control Manager Event ID: Read more [...]

IIS 7.5: How to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2

In IIS 7.5, which is installed on Windows 2008 R2 servers, only SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0 are enabled for HTTPS encryption by default. To enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 and disable the insecure SSL 3.0 protocol, add the following keys to the Registry of the server: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\SSL 3.0\Server] "Enabled"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.0\Server] "DisabledByDefault"=dword:00000000 "Enabled"=dword:ffffffff [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS Read more [...]

Malicious Software Removal Tool (MRT): How to disable the monthly download and run via Windows Update

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MRT) is downloaded and run with the monthly Windows Update cycle on many Windows versions (e.g. Windows 7, 8.1, 10, Windows Server 2012 R2 and others). It always uses the same KB/Patch number: KB890830 You can disable this in Windows Update by hiding the update, but it will be re-offered next month. To permanantly disable the offering via Windows Update, change this registry key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\MRT] "DontOfferThroughWUAU"=dword:00000001 It's Read more [...]

SQL Server 2012 Express: How to get access to the DB when you have lost all passwords

It can happen that you lose all passwords or that you delete the users in a DB, so you have no access or limited access to the database instance. There are many articles on the Internet that talk about SQL password crackers or other strange methods (some cost you money) to sort this out, but there is a much better and simpler method. For this to work, you need access to the server console (for example via RDP). The trick is to activate and reset the password for the sa account, then login with Read more [...]