Things to consider before migration to new hardware

• Are you going to keep same DC host name ?
• Are you going to use same IP address?
• If you are changing your name and IP if it will have influence on your network ( Firewall Roles etc..)
• Is the server DHCP server
• Is the server root CA? – I’m not sure if you can migrate Enterprise Root CA – May be Restore from Backup
• Is the server Global Catalog ?

Preparation steps

• Make full Backup of your Active Directory
• Install new server and join it to your domain
  • Install DNS Service (use active directory integrated zone) that will allow DNS records to replicate
  • Install DHCP service on. Migrate DHCP database. Read MS Article
    
  • Migrate FSMO roles to new installed server: See transfer FSMO rules
    
  • Set New server as Global Catalog if you don’t have other DC in your site that operates as Global Catalog: Read MS Artcle
    

Remove old machine from domain

• Demote the domain controller by running DCpromo
  
• Disjoin the server from the domain.

Hope It helped

Hibernation button is missing in windows vista

The hibernate button disappears after a disk cleanup utility was been used

Or after you delete the hibernate file.

You can return hibernation by running command prompt (CMD)

Right click on the command prompt. Run(CMD) as administrator.

Type the following command:

powercfg /hibernate on

This should return your hibernate button.

Please note if you run CMD not as administrator you will receive error “You do not have permission to enable or disable the Hibernate feature.”

Outlook Connection States

Outlook 2003 regularly transitions between a number of different connection including

connected, disconnected and offline. This document will endeavor to document these

conditions, explain how these conditions are entered and how they can be exited, and

explain how to determine which of the connection states Outlook is in at any given time.

The Connected State

You can send and receive email in the connected state. When Outlook 2003 is running

on a Windows XP machine with a valid connection to the Internet, Outlook should be in

a connected state. Being in the connected state means that an authenticated connection

has been made to the Exchange Server and that connection is currently available for use.

This is the normal state of Outlook 2003.

The current state of Outlook 2003 is always displayed in the lower right corner of the

Outlook 2003 main window. When in a connected state, Outlook will typically display

the following:

When Outlook shows this, you can be assured that everything is in working order.

The Disconnected State

You cannot send and receive email in the connected state. Through information provided

by the operating system, Outlook 2003 is aware of network connectivity. For instance, if

Office 2003 is in a connected state and the network cable is suddenly disconnected, the

operating system will realize this and will inform Outlook 2003. At that point, Outlook

2003 will enter a disconnected state. Outlook 2003 only enters a disconnected state when

Outlook cannot contact the Exchange Servers as expected. Usually, this happens when a

network cable is unplugged, when there are network issues between the client and server,

or when the server is actually down.

When your Outlook 2003 application enters the disconnected state, you will see this

status represented in the bottom right corner of the main Outlook window, as shown

below:

Notice that a “last updated” time is displayed as well. This last updated time can give

You some indication of when Outlook went into a disconnected state.

It should be noted that even when Outlook 2003 is in the disconnected state, it is able to

automatically reconnect to the Exchange server as soon as network connectivity is

restored.

Trying to Connect…

When network connectivity is restored to a computer where Outlook 2003 is in the

disconnected state, Outlook 2003 will begin to reestablish a connection to the Exchange

server. While doing this, Outlook will present the user with a variety of messages as

detailed below.

First, Outlook will begin “Trying to connect…”. These are the first steps in the

connection process. You will notice that the “last updated” time is still presented here

because that folder has still not been updated and no connection exists as of yet.

Next, Outlook will present a “Waiting to update this folder” message alongside the

“Trying to connect…” message. This means that some of the connections have been

made to the Exchange server, and a request for an update of the currently displayed folder

has been sent.

Next, Outlook 2003 will go into a connected state. When we reach this point, Outlook

has established the required network connections, and data will begin to be exchanged

Between the client and the server.

Next, messages and any associated attachments are transferred between Exchange and

Outlook 2003. Sometimes, when there is a significant amount of information to be

transferred, you might see a message indicating how much information is being

transferred between the server and the client. You might also see information about other

folders being updated as well. This is generally seen on a first synchronization, or when

you have received a significant number of emails into a folder between connections to the

server.

After all folders have been updated completely, you finally get to the connected state as

discussed above. In this state, Outlook 2003 is just waiting to send or receive email.

This should be the most common state for Outlook 2003.

The Offline State

You cannot send and receive email in the connected state. The offline state is a state

where Outlook has disconnected from the Exchange server computer. Outlook will not

automatically try to restore that connection. When you are in an offline state, email will

not be sent or received, even if a network connection is available and functioning

properly.

There are various indicators to show when Outlook has entered the offline state. For

instance, if we look back to the bottom right corner of the Outlook 2003 main window,

we will see something similar to the following:

This shows that Outlook is in an Offline state, and as with the disconnected state

described above, we have a “last updated” message that might indicate when we were last

in a connected state with our Exchange Server computer.

There are a couple of other indicators for the offline state. If you click once on the

“offline” icon in the lower right corner and you see that a context sensitive menu pops up

and it shows that “Work Offline” has a checkmark next to it.

In addition to that context sensitive menu, the main File menu in the upper left corner of

the main Outlook 2003 window will show us whether Outlook 2003 is in an offline state.

As shown below, near the bottom of the menu, there will be a checkmark next to the

“Work Offline” menu choice.

How Did I Get Into The Offline State and How Do I Get Back Online?

Outlook goes offline through user intervention. Outlook should not enter an offline state

automatically. Outlook 2003 will typically switch between connected and disconnected

automatically as shown above, but those are the only “automatic” state changes that it

should make.

With that said, there are a few things that a person could do to put Outlook 2003 into an

offline state without intentionally doing so. Each time you log in to Outlook 2003, when

Outlook is making the initial connection to Exchange, you will be queried for credentials.

It should be noted that you will be challenged in this manner each time you start Outlook,

and you must enter your credentials each time you start the Outlook 2003 application or

are otherwise prompted.

When this challenge happens, you will be presented with a window similar to the

following:

When this dialog box is presented, if you choose to “Cancel” rather than enter their

credentials, Outlook will be opened in an offline state. Since you are already

authenticated to the local machine, you have access to the offline store that Outlook 2003

uses when in cached mode even if you do not authenticate. The cached Outlook files will

be opened, and your mailbox will be presented as it was the last time an authenticated

connection was made. (You have access to your mailbox because this is a file on the

local file system, and you have access to that file when you log on to your computer.)

Instead of cancelling, if you type your credentials incorrectly, you will not be

authenticated. The easiest way to check that you are authenticated is to click the

“Send/Receive” button.

If you have accidentally mistyped your name or password, you will be prompted to reenter

your user name and password in the authentication window pictured above.

Remember that your user name is in the format of Centerfirstinitial+last name such as:

Hqjdoe Also, remember that your password is case sensitive. Check the Caps lock key

on your keyboard to be sure that it is not on.

A second way that you could put Outlook into an offline state is to change either of the

two menus where we checked the offline status earlier. On either the file menu as below:

…or on the context sensitive menu from the bottom right of the Outlook main window, as

shown below:

By selecting (putting a checkmark in front of) “Work Offline” on either of these menus,

you can force Outlook into an offline state. By deselecting (removing the checkmark in

front of) “Work Offline” you can force Outlook to work online.

Once you remove the check in front of “Work Offline,” the easiest way to verify that you

are authenticated and working online is to click the “Send/Receive” button.

You should be aware of the fact that when you exit the offline state, you may be

challenged for credentials. This just means that Outlook has been in an offline state since

it was started, and it has never had the credentials to pass on to the Exchange server for

access to your mailbox. As always, you must input these credentials when prompted, or

you will be left in an offline state.

If you were working offline and now wish to work online, you may be prompted to enter

your user name and password in the authentication window.

It should be noted that if Outlook is shut down in an offline state, when you start Outlook

again, Outlook will remain in an offline state. Outlook will stay in this state until you

bring Outlook into an online state by performing the steps described above.

Thanks to NASA Operations Messaging & Directory (NOMAD) for this beautiful guide

Sizing is the most important part before ESX implementation.

I’m using the Hp Vmware solution sizer as first step before VMware infrastructure implementation.

You can run it from here : http://g3w1656g-vip.houston.hp.com/SB/VMware/page_init.asp

This is an automated tool that assists the user with the size and scope of a server environment supporting VMware. The sizing information and algorithms have been developed using testing and performance data on HP Servers running the VMware ESX Server.

Some times removing Corporate edition is not that easy.

Don’t worry that tool will do the job.

Download the zipped file scscleanwipeto your desktop

Warnings about SCSCleanWipe:

SCSCleanWipe removes ALL Symantec products, not only the AntiVirus program. If you have other Symantec programs installed, make sure you can reinstall them after running SCSCleanWipe.

The SCSCleanWipe User’s Guide says: “…SCSCleanWipe is an unsupported Symantec tool provided as a fallback resource in case a regular uninstallation cannot properly commence. The tool is provided as an “as is” state and Symantec takes no responsibilities with any unforeseen errors resulting from usage of the tool.”

How to download and use SCSCleanWipe

1. SaveSCSCleanWipe.zip to your desktop
2. Close the browser
3. On the desktop, double click SCSCleanWipe.zip
4. Double click SCS_CleanWipe.bat
5. Click Extract all
6. Click Next
7. Click Next
8. Click Finish
9. Close both SCSCleanWipe windows
10. Find the SCSCleanWipe folder, double click it
11. Double click SCS_CleanWipe.bat

The SCSCleanWipe manual is in the Docs folder, SCS CleanWipe Users Guide.doc.

If you want manualy remove . Go To Symantec Site