Blog

MSSQLSERVER Log On As a Service

2019-07-26T20:01:14Z

So I have just a simple thing here:

When giving MSSQLSERVER the "Log on as a service" right (required for the SQL instance to run), it is taken away after every restart. How to resolve this in an easy way?

First, create a GPO and add "Local SQL Services" to the "Log on as a service" PolicyNext, apply that policy to an OU that contains the SQL server.

Note: in my case the SQL server is under "Member Servers" so I applied the GPO to that. This isn't an issue for the other non-SQL servers because the local group "Local SQL Services" doesn't exist on them anyway.

On the SQL Server, create a group called "Local SQL Services".

Put the user "NT SERVICE\MSSQLSERVER" into that group.

Run "GPUPDATE /FORCE" at an admin command prompt.

Restart the SQL server and you should find that the SQL services have started.

Sophos EndPoint Protection - Bug

2017-01-04T17:41:32Z

I've used Sophos EndPoint Protection for several of my customers. It's detection capabilities are terrific and it's been a great antivirus for them. However, I've recently found a little bug in it.

After installing Sophos EP it can disable your DVD drive(s) with this error appearing in the device manager: "Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete or damaged. To fix this problem you should uninstall and then reinstall the hardware device. (Code 19)". A short term fix is to uninstall the drive, then do a "Scan for hardware changes". The drive will work again... until you restart the computer.

The most common other solution I've found is removing the uppperfilters and/or lowerfilters for the DVD drive's registery key (which also doesn't help in this case).

The solution to fix the Sophos problem is this:

Uninstall the DVD drive in the device manager.
Scan for hardware changes (the drive should be redetected and will work again).
Browse to: C:\ProgramData\Sophos\AutoUpdate\Cache\decoded\savxp\
Search for the file sdcfilter.inf (you'll find it in a subfolder somewhere, possibly multiple copies of the same file).
Right click on the file and choose Install.
Restart the computer.
The drive will still work.

I found this solution at community.sophos.com (see references for the link). The post appears to be closed to comments so I figured it should be duplicated here. I spent hours trying to fix this problem on two new Windows 10 Pro computers and I hope I save someone else a little time.

As of today I still sell Sophos EndPoint Protection and Sophos UTM, SG, and XG products.

Solution - GPO Folder Redirection Not Being Applied

2016-02-26T22:08:28Z

Well, I haven't posted anything in a while so here's somehting for all my fellow techs:

If you've done everything you can think of to a GPO that's applying folder redirection but just can't get it to work for some users, check this:

Click Start button, right-click on "Documents", choose "Properties":

If it's been customized, the GP won't override it. Revert to defaults and ta-da, it works!

(obviously, the above documents folder is not directed to a server - I didn't want to show the customer's info publicly so I screen captured mine for the example).

In my situation I was moving a customer's profiles from one server to another and this user's folder (135 GB) moved automatically (mostly - 8.5 GB was left behind) but his computer was still referencing the old server location. From the user's perspective, his files were missing (only the 8.5 GB was visible to him). Once I hit the "Restore Defaults" button, and I manually moved the remaining files, everything worked perfectly.

Could I have manually configured this to solve my problem? Yes, but then it would have bit me next time too. This should solve it for good.

I couldn't easily find a solution to this on Google so I've posted it here.

Loose Micro HDMI

2014-03-10T21:20:20Z

To fix a loose micro HDMI port in my Asus UX31A laptop/ultrabook I bought a "portsaver" from monoprice.com. Item #7603 is what I bought but #7703 may also work

Remove IE 11?

2014-02-19T19:24:24Z

IE 11 has been a problem for many people that need to access older web sites. It can be removed so the computer will go back to version 9 or 10 and this will usually restore compatibility. The real problem though is that the web sites aren't being updated and we should question why and whether we should really do business with a company that doesn't at least make an effort to keep up with current technology (and support not only recent versions of Internet Explorer, but also Google Chrome and Firefox).

Hoax?

2013-10-23T21:22:28Z

PC Internet Data Center (pcdomainname.net) appears to be trying to confuse people and entice them into registering domain names in China in order to "protect" their company's brand.

What is a virtual machine?

2013-08-28T23:32:38Z

I get asked occasionally what a virtual machine is. This is usually when I'm proposing using them in a business. The concept is actually very easy: we're running multiple computers inside one physical computer.

Special software (called a hypervisor) creates a generic "environment" within the computer that allows the computer to run more than one operating system at the same time. The most common use of this is to run several virtual servers inside a single physical computer.

Why do we like this for even small businesses? Well, there are lots of reasons:

A virtual machine can be moved to a different physical computer with no reconfiguration (such as if you have a computer fail).

If you need, 5 servers for example, you can buy one big computer to run them all for less cost than buying 5 cheaper servers to run individually. By "big" I mean redundant, fast, lots of disks, lots of memory, etc.

Tasks can be separated easier: one server for files, another for email, another for printers, another for ... whatever you want. If you try to do this with physical servers, you have to buy hardware for each.

Management is easier. We assign a server some drive space, some ram, a processor (or several) and start it up. If it needs more of something, we simply assign more or assign it a higher priority with what it already has.

We can even convert a physical server to be a virtual server. This makes it so we can replace several old physical servers with a single new computer and still have the same "servers" running on the network. Nothing has to change from the users' perspective.

Overall it takes less time, costs less, is more manageable, and we can use better hardware.

If you're looking to upgrade your servers you should absolutly consider virtual servers.

Lastly, note that I didn't mention "cloud". That's because "virtual" doesn't mean "cloud".

Press 1 to Update Your FREE Google Listing

2013-05-02T23:12:14Z

Don't fall for the "Press 1 to update your free Google listing" or "It's time to update your free Google listing" scams. They aren't free and won't do anything for you.

Check for UPNP Problem

2013-03-01T05:43:56Z

UPNP is a technology to make router configuration easier. It makes it so devices inside your network can automaticlly configure the router to allow various inbound services (easpecialy for online gaming).

There is a problem in many routers that exposes the UPNP service to the Internet, making it possible for someone on the Internet to configure your router to allow themselves access into your network. Of course, this would be a very bad thing to have happen.

You can check easily for this flaw by doing this:

Go to grc.com/shieldsup
Click on the Proceed button.
Click on "GRC's Instant UPnP Exposure Test"

Most likely, you'll get a good result and you don't have to do anything more!

But if you get a bad result, you need to do something as soon as possible. The resolution will be to do one of these (in order of least expensive to most expensive, provided you can do it yourself):

Turn off your UPNP services in your router.
Update your router's firmware (and turn off UPNP).
Switch your router to different firmware (such as DD-WRT or Tomato) and make sure UPNP is off.
Replace your router and make sure UPNP is off.

And then you should test it again to make sure the problem is gone (if it's not, you should try one of the other options). If you don't know how to do these things and are unable to solve the problem, you'll want to hire a tech to do it for you. There is a lot more information about this problem at grc.com so feel free to read about it there or ask me about it.

If you're one of my customers and I setup your router, I've probably disabled UPNP anyway because I never trusted it and have been turning it off for several years.

Unfortunatly I've heard that in some routers, even turning UPNP off leaves it on and exposed to the Internet, so it's still worth testing.

Good luck!

Success (in Chrome)

2013-02-23T16:52:42Z

Of IE, Firefox, and Chrome, Chrome is the only one that will play most Youtube videos without Adobe Flash Player.