How To Reinstall Windows Movie Maker

Somehow either Windows Movie Maker wasn't on my computer or I removed it along the way but here's how to get it back.

NOTE: You must be logged on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group in order to perform this procedure.

1. Click Start , click Run , and then type the following command: %systemroot%\inf
2. Click OK to open the INF folder.
3. Locate the file moviemk.inf
4. Right-click the file, and then click Install . This will reinstall the files that Search needs to proceed normally.
5. You will be asked to place your Windows XP CD Rom in the drive.
6. After the installer completes Windows Movie Maker should appear in the Start Menu.

Windows XP and 2000 User Profile Tutorial

When setting up a workstation image for a computer that may be used by many different users setting a standard profile is a great time saver. Getting this done is quite easy if you know the procedure. I get many questions on doing this so I am putting together a little how to.

Using a single user (probably Administrator) on a computer not joined to a Windows domain set up all your applications preferences, printers, and permanent drive mappings (not the kind from a logon script). Also, run any applications that require agreements to licenses, clean all the user menus, set all the proxy settings, and what ever else may show up the 1st time a user uses it.

Now, you need to restart the computer and log in as a different user with local administrator rights. I usually create a second administrative user for this purpose. As this second user you would need to allow the user to see all files including system and hidden ones. Open Windows Explorer and go to the C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator folder (this is assuming you used Administrator as your set up user) Find the file ntuser.dat and copy it to the C:\Documents and Settings\Default User folder. You may overwrite the original file, or rename the original to keep a backup.

What this just did. The ntuser.dat file contains all the stuff that you set up during the initial setup. Now whenever someone new logs onto the computer the local profile will be created using the ntuser.dat you copied. You can also add Favorites and other files to the Default User folder so that it is applied to all users.

Windows Logon Scripts got you down? Try KiXtart - A better way to logon scripts

Years ago I stumbled onto KiXtart and have loved it ever since. Being a seasoned Novell guy I enjoyed the possibilities with Novell login scripts. When the Microsoft Server became stronger and stronger I realized my Novell dealings would diminish.

Anyone coming from the Novell world to the MS world soon learns that the MS logon batch files are very limited in what you can do at logon, enter Kixtart. From the KiXtart.org site... " KiXtart is a free-format scripting language and has rich built-in functionality for easy scripting. It supports COM (providing access to ADSI, ADO, WMI, etc) and thus is easily extensible. Since version 4.50 KiXtart comes with inbuild pre-tokenization system for faster loading and smaller scripts and providing some level of intellectual property protection through obfuscation.

In simpler terms it allows you to code simple logon scripts to meet practically any demand. KiXtart supports Windows 3.1 all the way to Windows Vista.

How you use it...down and dirty method.

• Download it from www.kixtart.org, expand the .zip file.
• Copy the files...kix32.exe, kx16.dll, kx32.dll, kx95.dll to the following folder on one of your domain controllers (windows system folder)\SYSVOL\DOMAIN\SCRIPTS. Copying the files here will cause them to replicate to the other domain controllers (if present).
• Create a logon batch file such as logonKiX.bat and assign it to a user.
• Edit the file to look something like this...(this file is for 32 bit Windows)
  

@echo on
kx32.exe logonKiX.kix

• Create a text file with a .kix extension such as logonKiX.kix
• Edit the file to contain your commands, a simple one is as follows...; indicate a comment and are ignored.
  

; check a group membership and if present map a drive
if ingroup("Domain Admins")
use i: "\\ad01\technology$" /PERSISTENT
endif

; map some drives
use f: "\\ms02\apps$"
use v: "\\ad01\district$" /PERSISTENT

; Set the local workstation time to the domain time
run "net time \\dc01 /SET /Y"

; Make sure group policy is current
run "gpupdate /force"

What happens then. At logon the domain controller runs the .bat file you created for the user. The .bat file calls the kix32.exe script application which executes the script. There are several variables that can be added to the kix32.exe command to add to the script execution.

This is a very simple script that is just a start, try it out it works wonderfully. The possibilities are maybe limitless.

Visit the KiXtart site for a full manual, examples, forum, and more. www.KiXtart.org

Windows Server Remote Desktop Connection - The Console

Did you ever need access to your server's console remotely and only have remote desktop? Knowing that remote desktop on a server is actually a terminal session and you can't get to see what is actually running on the desktop. Sometimes this is needed if there is a data engine or what not running that is only accessible from the console.

There are some solutions like install VNC in a remote desktop session and start the VNC server. Then connect to the server console using VNC viewer. This method is pretty effective but what if you didn't want that installed?

Try this click, Start, Run. Type "mstsc /console" without quotes. The "mstsc" command is Microsoft Terminal Server Client, aka Remote Desktop but the /console allows full access to the console similar to Windows XP remote desktop. Try it out.

HP Proliant Server G5 Series Tid-Bit - BBWC Enabler

I bought several HP Proliant DL380 and DL360 servers. All equipped with the new small form factor SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) drives. Some servers had 2 to 5 drives. As with any new server install I wanted RAID 5 on all the servers equipped with more than 3 drives. In usual fashion my HP reseller wasn't aware that the Proliant series servers don't come with a controller capable of RAID 5 right out of the box! Yes, that means there is another component that needs to be purchased and installed. Personally, I can't imagine why a server with 8 drive slots doesn't come equipped with all you need (HP this is a tip) I mean, the part is only about $200 but it's the time involved waiting for the part to get ordered and arrive. The part is a 128MB BBWC Enabler for Smart Array 641/642. You should double check with HP for an exact part for your particular server.

Accessing an Exchange Server with a WAP capable cell phone

I wanted to be able to check my Exchange based e-mail from my Verizon LG8300 cell phone. Recently, I switched from Nextel which had a fancy e-mail interface that ran on a computer at my work. This interface continuously syncronized my Exchange e-mail with the Nextel on-line service. This allowed me to send and receive e-mail from my phone. Since it sync'd both ways deleting a message on the phone also deleted it from the Exchange mailbox.

Verizon doesn't offer any service like that but I figured out how it can be done. First, I needed to get the Verizon on-line service. Verison offers two versions, a $4.99 that gives access but uses air time, and $15.00 that gives access without using airtime.

Accessing an Exchange 2003 server is rather easy and can give a similar experience to what I was used to with Nextel. The Exchange 2003 server must be configured to allow Outlook Mobile Access (OMA). This is enabled within the Exchange System Manager.

From the mobile device (yes this will work with a Windows CE device) go to the URL for the Exchange server and add the extension /OMA onto it.
Example: "http://www.mailserver.com/OMA"

That should work, you may need to check the selection on the OMA setup in the Exchange System Manager to allow non-supported devices.