Category Archives: Windows

Reset Windows 7 rearm count

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An install of Windows 7 without an activation key allows for 30 days of usage. This can however be extended up to 120 days by using the following slmgr (Software Licensing Management Tool) command to rearm or reset the 30 day trial.

slmgr /rearm

(Remember to run this command, you must right click on cmd and select “Run as administrator” for this to work) However this can only be done up to 4 times. You can view the number of rearm counts by using the command which displays the current license information:

slmgr /dlv

Notice the second to last line shows that I only have 1 more remaining rearm, after which the software will expire. However there is a small trick that allows you to reset the rearm count back to 4. To do this you need delete the registry key which contains the Last Rearm Time, however this key can not be deleted or modified during a normal user session. To delete the key you will need to run the following commands in the windows recovery console.

reg load HKLM\MY_SYSTEM "%~dp0Windows\System32\config\system"
reg delete HKLM\MY_SYSTEM\WPA /f
reg unload HKLM\MY_SYSTEM

To do this save the above commands to a .bat file ‘reset.bat’ to the C:\ root folder. Restart your computer, pressing F8 to get to the Advanced Boot Options. Select the option to Repair Your Computer. Select your keyboard input method. Login with your login details. In the System Recovery Options menu, select Command Prompt. Now type in C:\reset.bat. (If it says “‘C:\reset.bat’ is not a recognised as in internal or external command” message, then it may be because the  C Drive is bring used as a recovery partition. Try again using D:\reset.bat) If successfully you should get the message “The operation completed successfully”. Next reboot your machines.

After rebooting you may get a message stating that this product is not genuine. This can be ignored. Running slmgr /dlv again will confirm that the rearm count has been increased again, thereby giving you another 120 days worth of windows use.

How do I shut down a workstation via Remote Desktop?

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depending on the setup of your windows try the 2 solutions:

1:
Ctrl+Alt+End This should be the same as Ctrl+Alt+Del and consequently takes you to a dialog where you can do various system-type things, among them logging off and shutting down.

2:
Another trick is to click on the desktop and press Alt+F4. This will call up the shutdown dialog, where you get the usual shutdown options like “Shut down”, “Shut down without installing updates”, “Restart”, “Stand by”, and “Hibernate”.

Configuring Samba to be a WINS server

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This is quite easy to do, and it makes browsing the smb network fast.

Configuring the server:
simply edit smb.conf (typically located at /etc/samba/smb.conf)
locate the the wins support and enable it.:

# Windows Internet Name Serving Support Section:
# WINS Support - Tells the NMBD component of Samba to enable it's WINS Server
wins support = yes

setup the way samba should resolve the hosts:

# What naming service and in what order should we use to resolve host names
# to IP addresses
#   name resolve order = lmhosts host wins bcast
   name resolve order = host wins bcast

The following option should be addet to the linux DHCP server (if you use linux as a DHCP server):

option netbios-name-servers x.x.x.x;

where x.x.x.x is the IP of the WINS server

If you use a normal router, sometimes they support pushing out the wins server, if you use a router running dd-wrt
go tothe  basic setup and add the WINS server IP, there.

If this fails you can add the WINS server manually to windows:
go to the control panel, and press the View network status and tasks, then press the change adapter setting
right click the network interface and select properties, select the TCP/IP (for windows 7 select TCP/IPv4)
and press properties again click advanced and select the WINS  and add the IP of the WINS server and you are ready to go

WINS_server_win7

For linux clients simply edit the smb.conf and add the following:

# WINS Server - Tells the NMBD components of Samba to be a WINS Client
# Note: Samba can be either a WINS Server, or a WINS Client, but NOT both
   wins server = x.x.x.x

replace x.x.x.x with the IP of the WINS server

Happy smb surfing 🙂

The philosophy of naming computers

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I always liked the idea of having a naming scheme for naming computers, from the days when i worked at the university they gave servers, names after planets like Uranus and Neptune, when i later started setting up computers at home i went on with my own naming scheme i selected the Norse mythology, later on i started using the different elements for machines outside my network. i seen people using many different naming schemes like, movie stars, diary products.

it gives the machines something personal meaning and it’s funny when people ask why they are named the way they are, no matter what, it’s a good ice breaker :).

Even the laptop I’m using for writing this post is named Njord :).

Here’s a list of possible naming schemes that i like:

if you want more possible naming schemes take a look at namingschemes.com there should be a scheme for everybody :).

Happy naming.

 

Add the Quick Launch Bar to the Taskbar in Windows 7

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To add the toolbar back, you’ll want to right-click on an open area of the taskbar, and choose Toolbars \ New Toolbar from the menu. You should probably also unlock the taskbar at this point.

sshot55

Now’s the slightly tricky part… you’ll want to paste the following path into the location bar:
%appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

image91

Make sure that the location bar shows the full path, like the next screenshot, before you choose the “Select Folder” button.

image92

You’ll immediately notice the Quick Launch toolbar on the taskbar, but it’s all the way over on the right, so you’ll want to click on the dotted lines and then drag the toolbar all the way to the left (which is slightly tricky sometimes). Note that you’ll need to right-click and unlock the taskbar before you can move the toolbar.

sshot71

There we go, it’s over on the left… but now you’ll want to adjust the regular taskbar toolbar to be closer to the left, so use the dotted lines to drag it over as well.

sshot72

The normal Quick Launch that we’re used to doesn’t have text, so right-click on the dotted lines and uncheck “Show Text” as well as “Show Title” from the menu.

sshot57

Once you’re sure it’s the way you want it, you should check the “Lock the taskbar” again.

sshot731

And there you are, the quick launch bar has returned and there’s virtually no way anybody would know this is Windows 7.