Win7 Lost Password

I'm embarrassed to event admit to this, but I rebuilt my Win 7 machine yesterday and then lost the password. Although in fairness I *know* what the password was, but suspect that I bumped the touchpad while creating it (normally I have the touchpad disabled, but obviously had not done so during install) so who knows what the pc thought I'd typed...


Anyway, I ended up using the 'Offline NT Password & Registry editor from http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/ . Looks to be mal/spy/virus free and worked well, just burnt the iso and ran through the options. Since I'm a little paranoid, I've run all kinds of mal/spy/virus scans since and everything still looks kosher, so all in all, a useful little tool to have about.

I want a unique document

I've recently needed to compare some data in two text documents. Unfortunately while there are some great diff tools like WinMerge available, I also discovered that the files had duplicate lines of data which a) was a mistake and b) made the diff results a great deal larger / more complex.
While some linux distro's have sort or unique commands, windows doesn't seem to have an equivalent CLI utility - so I was going to either go hunting or write a q&d vbscript... Then I remembered Powershell.
It turns out that PowerShell has a handy cmd-let called 'get-unique' - it needs a sorted list (so if it's critical your file remain in original order this example won't help). But a simple one liner resolved the duplicate problem for me:

get-content .\filename | sort | get-unique > .\outfile.txt

OR

get-content .\filename | sort -unique > .\outfile.txt

The above command gets the file, pipes to the sort cmd-let to sort the file, then passes the sorted results to the get-unique cmd-let, then passes the output to outfile.txt. The second version is an alternative that uses the unique flag of the sort cmd-let to unique-ify the output in one...
Very quick, easy, one line fix...

ArcServe Backup Errors - EC=-2005

Recently began to receive errors from Arcserve (11.5) - it would complete a backup, then all future backups would fail with error:
Failed to login to database.(EC=-2005)
At this point, even the Server manager would fail (just hung on startup) - the only resolution was a reboot, but this would only last for the first backup.


Some googling turned up the fault - a corruption with the database that Arcserve uses.
There are a few tools you can use to correct the errors (run from the Arcserve installation directory): dbdiag.exe and dbfix.exe.
The format is:
dbcheck -a -L casdb;admin;secret DBNAME
or 
dbfix -a -L casdb;admin;secret DBNAME
where DBNAME is one of the following: asjob, asmedia, asobject, asrhost, astape, astpdrv or astpsdat .
Confusingly, the servername, username (admin) and password (secret) don't actually appear to be customisable - they look like they're hardcoded values for every installation - I'll admit to spending a while trying to use our specific server details :P


Our faults were primarily in the astpsdat and asobject databases - the fix took around 30 mins to complete (the astpsdat db seemed *really* bad).

IVR Telephony fun - phantom calls

We recently had a situation where our IVR system was delivering 'phantom' calls to the call centre - this started occurring after the resolution of another (provider) telephony issue. We use a customised IVR solution (Intel Dialogic cards connected via PSTN to a Nortel based PABX system).


Essentially we had calls arrive at the IVR, then pass through to default transfer options (menu based timeout) then be transferred to an operator - but there were no callers on the end of the line. On the basis that the call transfers were timeout based rather than selection based, we theorised that the calls were either being delivered without a customer to the IVR, or a disconnection within the IVR was not being detected correctly.


Eventually we managed to find a tech at our telephony provider with a clue who could examine the low level configuration of the PBX lines. He found that the lines had had the 'COD' ('Cutoff on Disconnect') feature removed from them. This meant that (as we suspected) that any hangups within the IVR wouldn't be signalled correctly - so would hang around until the IVR transferred on a timeout basis.


A tricky one really, since we have no visibility to our providers hardware and little access to qualified techs at their end. Plus the usual Telco policy of '(in)plausible denial' at every stage....

Noice Applications

I use a variety of apps in day to day work - many of them free and or open source.

• TrueCrypt - free encryption software for Win / Mac / Linux. Allows the creation of either file or partition containers in any size and a variety of formats. It's fast, the encrypted files are easily portable and fairly secure... I use it every day on the laptop...
• Sun VirtualBox - Open source (and free) virtualisation software. Quick (pretty decent performance anyway) and with some really nice features that makes it great to use on a workstation. I run a XP virtual machine for some occasional testing / development work - just fire up the vbox app, start the vm and I can login in < 30 secs (faster than booting a regular XP machine really). It's easy to resize the VM window (dynamically resizes XP for you) and you can easily swap to full-screen (or RDP to the machine). Very very handy, I've been really impressed with it. Not sure what will happen given that Oracle has now acquired Sun though....
• Utils:
• FileZilla - good open source FTP client, but I'd recommend the 'portable' version (PortalApps) to avoid bothering with installation. I'd also recommend reading some documentation, at this point the default install tends to cache a *lot* of info (e.g. login details)! :/
• Gimp - good graphics editting software. Can't really comment how it compares to photoshop, but it handles everything I need graphics software to do - and it's free. I'd recommend the portable version again here unless you are a really frequent user.
• Scite - a good open source text editor. Not much else to say here.

Tracking down Windows license Keys

I had the unfortunate requirement the other day to track down the license keys for some Windows servers we administer (long story, don't ask). The OEM keys were (as per usual these days) stuck to the machines - but the machines are located in a co-lo across town.


So Magical Jelly Bean keyfinder to the rescue - we were able to track down all the keys and save the hassle of a trip across town... Nice.


Note that you need an earlier version 1.x if you need NT keys (tragically, we *still* have some NT machines hanging around)...

Picasa = Good

Clearly I'm a little behind the times and out of the loop, since I only just tripped over Picasa from Google.


Very nifty free software for photo editting and (helpfully) removing red-eye from photos. While Vista / Win 7 has red-eye removal built in to some packages, Picasa is a good alternative or helpful if you're on XP.

Joining Ubuntu to a Windows 2003 Domain

Tripped over the following post on joining Ubuntu to a Windows 2003 Domain:
http://ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=5712234&postcount=6


I'll re-post the item below in case the original goes missing, but credit to Abhishek (abhi300) on the Ubuntu forums.
********************* SNIP *******************

Step 1. Installing


I assume that Ubuntu has been installed with no erros.


Make sure that following packages are installed, if not, install the following packages with the Synaptic Package Manager. You may need to specify “universe” as an extra source for packages.


* Samba (version 3):
o samba
o samba-common (installed by default)
o smbclient (installed by default)
o winbind
* Kerberos:
o krb5-config
o krb5-user


Step 2. Edit configuration files


Edit the following configuration files. I assume the following:


* The local DNS domain is example.com
* The Windows 2003 server is server.example.com


Open this file "/etc/samba/smb.conf" for editing either in GUI mode or by gedit.


You will need to edit this file to look like following -


[global]
security = ADS
realm = EXAMPLE.COM
workgroup = example
password server = server.example.com
wins support = no
wins server = 10.0.20.202
invalid users = root
# Winbind settings
idmap uid = 10000-20000
idmap gid = 10000-20000
# For testing
debuglevel = 2


# A shared folder for testing purposes
[SharedFolder]
path = /home/onno2/Shared_Folder
available = yes
public = yes
writable = yes
force create mode = 0666
force directory mode = 0777


Make sure the path (/home/onno2/Shared_Folder or whatever you choose) exists and that the rights are set properly (chmod 777 or something similar)




Open this file "/etc/krb5conf" for editing to make it like this


[libdefaults]
default_realm = EXAMPLE.COM
krb4_config = /etc/krb.conf
krb4_realms = /etc/krb.realms
kdc_timesync = 1
ccache_type = 4
forwardable = true
proxiable = true
# The following libdefaults parameters are only for Heimdal Kerberos.
v4_instance_resolve = false
v4_name_convert = {
host = {
rcmd = host
ftp = ftp
}
plain = {
something = something-else
}
}
[realms]
EXAMPLE.COM = {
kdc = SERVER.EXAMPLE.COM
admin_server = SERVER.EXAMPLE.COM
}
[domain_realm]
.server.com = SERVER.EXAMPLE.COM
server.com = SERVER.EXAMPLE.COM
[login]
krb4_convert = true
krb4_get_tickets = true


Now open "/etc/nsswitch.conf" for editing.


The only change we have to do here is to add winbind twice.


# /etc/nsswitch.conf
#
# Example configuration of GNU Name Service Switch functionality.
# If you have the `glibc-doc' and `info' packages installed, try:
# `info libc "Name Service Switch"' for information about this file.
passwd: compat winbind
group: compat winbind
shadow: compat
hosts: files dns
networks: files
protocols: db files
services: db files
ethers: db files
rpc: db files
netgroup: nis


Now when you have done with editing the files...take a breath.


Step 3. Start or restart services




/etc/init.d/samba restart
/etc/init.d/winbind restart


Step 4. Join domain


type in terminal - "net ads join -U administrator" without quotes. Needless to mention that you will need to give administrator password here


If this doesn’t work, check the logs in Linux (/var/log/samba/*) and in Windows - Event Viewer.


Step 5. Test your setup


Type in terminal (without quotes)-


"testparm" to check if your smb.conf has a correct syntax.
"kinit" onno@EXAMPLE.COM test if kerberos works properly.
"wbinfo -u" should give a list of users of domain.
"wbinfo -g" should give a list of groups of domain.
"getent passwd" should give a list of users in the passwd style.
"getent group" should give a list of groups.
"ls -ltr /var/log/samba" gives a list of log files, sorted by time of last change.
"smbclient -L -U onno" should give you a list of available shares.


If this all works properly, try to access the share (/home/onno2/Shared_Folder) from any Windows machine in the domain by using network neighborhood /My Network Places.

Internet Explorer 7, Tabbed Browsing and Group Policy

HowTo: Turn off Tabbed Browsing in IE7 while maintaining the 'Classic' shell through Group Policy.


Just two entries should manage the job:

•  User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer: Turn Off Tab Browsing: DISABLED
• User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Control Panel\Display\Desktop Themes\Load a specific visual style or force Windows Classic: ENABLED (path to visual style left blank)

While I didn't test this, I have read that the following key:

• User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Explorer : Enable Classic Shell 

Can cause tabbed browsing to fail despite the first two settings - use RSOP to check if it's on for your users...

Scalextric Slot Cars - the fleet

Along with a friend, I recently returned to the hobby of Slot Cars. While previously I'd used flexi cars, this time round we're using Scalextric cars as there are a couple of local tracks that race them regularly.
I've bought a bunch of cars which I'll list below (along with a brief 'review') - this is roughly the order of purchase.... Bear in mind that the local track is probably considered a 'technical' rather than a 'speed' track - there are several places with hairpins and corners that make cornering ability as important as straight-line speed.

• Nissan 'Xanavi' Skyline (C2910) - This was actually reasonable as a first car. Not the quickest in a straight-line, but reasonable grip. It seemed competitive against an Aston Gulf DBR9 and Maserati MC12, but I wouldn't rate it as a top contender...
• Lamborghini Gallardo (C2810) - These light-weights 'high-impact' cars are quick and very competitive. They are one of the cheapest cars to buy and are usually right up there in terms of racing competition. One car (I ended up buying a second) seemed to have problems after a while with the power leads to the motor being damaged (the Skyline also suffered from this) and the rear tyres also started to get too soft / loose and actually fell off during a race (hence the second purchase). Overall, a great choice for racing...
• Ford GT40 (C2917) - this remains one of my favourite cars that I've probably raced the most with. Very consistent and quick, about the equal of the Gallardo. It is very low (which helps a lot) and reasonably quick straight-line. It's weakness tends to be a light front-end which de-slots if you're too early out of the corners. Watch for the rain of parts when it crashes - headlights, grilles, windows - they'll all fall off ;/
• Chaparral 2F (C2811) - One word - grippy! These aren't the quickest straight-line, but hold oooon around corners - you can go flat through a lot turns other cars fly off at. I suspect I cooked the motor in mine (over-heating motors seem to be an issue in this car) and it just isn't competitive due to a lack of straight-line poke. However a couple of friends have ones with decent (uncooked) motors and they are ridiculously quick. One in particular is a freak that is 2/10ths quicker than anything else I've seen. These are a relatively popular choice for racing (along with the Gallardo and GT40).
• Ford Mustang (C2890) - Awesome. I bought this to compete in the 'Muscle Car' series on the recommendation of a friend. As it turns out, these seem to be the quickest of the Muscle cars (it's virtually a one-make series, nearly everyone uses this model). Pretty decent speed and great cornering - overall a very good, very quick car. The Camaro (C2891) is supposed to also be reasonable (seems fairly comparable when I've seen them), but I suspect is probably not quite as good as the 'Stang.
• Jaguar XKRS - Redline (C2785) - awful. This is a horrific car that I wish I'd never bought. If I ever feel rich enough I'll sacrifice it to make a PlaFit car out of the shell. This car seems to have the widest and hardest tyres I've ever seen on Scalextric. Combine this with a long body and this car spins out at every corner on the way in and way out (if you add power). You can get it round the track, but you have take it slow - very slow.
• Porsche GTR3 (C2665) - smoooooth. This is a really quiet and smooth car. Reasonably quick, but not in the top league. Has pretty good grip but doesn't seem to have the straight-line to match it. This car also seems to suffer from (motor) heat build up. Looks great though, especially with the yellow lights (looked great in a twilight race).
• Seat Leon - the turtle. Grippy, quick in a straight-line and will roll-over and play dead at the first corner. Being relatively tall hurts this car a lot, it just seems to want to roll all the time. To be honest I haven't given it a huge amount of running, the constant rolling at normal speeds (speeds which other cars will happily corner at) just drove me nuts (I got tired of going to collect it).
• Ford Escort (C2920) - zippy but tippy. This one uses a FF style motor (formula 1 inline) and it is faaasssst in a straight-line. Unfortunately it's height and relatively narrow width means that it does tend to roll on the corners. Not as badly as the Leon, but still a little unpredictable. With practice on the right track this could probably be a devastatingly quick little car, but with too many corners things get a little wobbly. And when things do come unstuck, it's a big one.
• Dodge Viper (C3018) - slightly disappointed. I've only just bought this car and it's a little weird. A lot noisier than I expected and doesn't feel super quick. I've seen a few of them run fairly well, so I'll need to have a closer look and see what's going wrong.

Anyway, the top 3 cars (imo) are: GT40, Gallardo and Mustang - with the Chaparral and Porsche possibilities as well.

ASP & IIS - When good numbers go bad....

Not long after the deployment of an updated ASP (IIS 6) web-site within a new environment (and we're talking hours), the sites began to fail. Weirdly, it wasn't all pages, or pages leveraging some custom COM objects or even consistent - some would still happily work 'post-cataclysm', while others were terminal - always presenting the following:

Microsoft VBScript runtime error '800a0006' 

Overflow

So with some pages still happily banging away (including pages with ADO etc), I was forced to conclude it wasn't a complete ASP / IIS meltdown, but something specific. Anyway, an IISRESET later, everything was cruising nicely once more.


30 minutes later - it's back (and where was this error in UAT!?). Another IISRESET and things are happy once more. Some further investigation of a failing page showed that it was crashing while calculating the number of rows needed to return some data (e.g. RecordRows = NumRecords / RecordsPerRow). No divide by zero's or conspicuous problems here either.... Re-create the app_pool and site, check the settings are sane - but it all looks good. 


10 minutes later - its gone again. Starting to get worried now, I check some more failed pages. Again failing at points where it is doing calcs.... I strip out the calculation and the page loads further... until the next calc. Changing the calc to be something basic like '1 / 0.2' still causes failure. In fact a page with just:
Dim myNum
myNum=(1 / 0.2)
still causes failure... Oddness.


Some rummaging around the 'net showed a few others with a similar errors, but not a solution (most errors seemed to be coding bugs or people suggesting coding solutions). One site eventually made mention of dragging out a MS engineer to investigate a similar issue.... Apparently there was a bug with ASP (vbscript) on II6 (Windows 2003) and the C run-time checking for errors in a floating point register, but never actually resetting the error condition - meaning one floating point error takes down the site (!) Apparently the engineer wrote some code to address their issue - and because the engineer was able to resolve it on-site, MS wasn't going to make it a mainstream patch...


Some further searching of the Microsoft site for variants of ASP, IIS, Window 2003, floating point etc, eventually lead to KB955536 ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955536 ) - a hotfix.


After a few deep breaths, I installed the hotfix on one of our servers (thank god for redundant servers) and crossed my fingers.....


A week later, the unpatched server had been iisreset many, many times (ended up writing a powershell script to do this), but the patched server had been rock-solid, with no side-effects shown. So the hotfix was put onto the second server.


Two months on, both servers are still completely happy and very solid - it has actually made the upgrade from Windows 2000 worthwhile... But I would have preferred a smoother upgrade :/

Adobe Flash upgrades & Citrix - entertainment for all...

Ah Citrix. 
And Flash. 
And a locked down user environment that prevents Active-X installs.
It all adds up to a recipe for entertainment when upgrading Flash ( in this case Flash 9 to 10) on Citrix 4.5.


As it turns out, an upgrade as administrator was enough for things to kick on happily enough for admin users, but not clients. Post 'upgrade' clients effectively had no flash at all - a nice backwards step.


The trick with this one was registry permissions - administrators had them on the updated registry keys, but everyone else missed out. I tracked down some assistance at: http://www.brianmadden.com/forums/t/32557.aspx .
Admittedly I skipped most of the instructions - the critical ones (for me) were the registry permissions - namely:


1. Find the key HKCR\CLSID\{D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000} (on 64-bit Windows this one is located under HKCR\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000}) and grant READ permissions (include child keys) to the appropriate groups (usually everyone).
2. Rinse and repeat the permissions change for HKCR\CLSID\{D27CDB70-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000} .


This was pretty much a instant fix, restart IE as a user and everything was happy once more.