EXPLORE THE NOTEBOOK
Notes from the command line, the workbench, and the vintage computer shelf.
Register the Microsoft Update service through the Windows Update Agent's own COM API, so devices pick up Office and other Microsoft product updates, not just Windows.
Windows Update, untangled · Note 4 ↗One report for every kind of service account, gMSAs and old-school user accounts alike, showing password age, SPNs, delegation and who can read the gMSA password.
Keeping Active Directory tidy · Note 6 ↗Create a Tier 0 admin group, keep it where only Tier 0 can touch it, and give it full control of the Tier 0 OU. Preview the whole thing with -WhatIf first.
Keeping Active Directory tidy · Note 1 ↗Put a BIOS admin password on new Dells, or change the old one across the fleet, with both passwords handed over at runtime.
Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain · Note 1 ↗Repack ZIPs as 7z, see exactly how much space each one saved, and keep the ZIP when the 7z wouldn't be any smaller.
Archive conversion workshop · Note 3 ↗Find project folders that haven't changed in N days, zip each one to an archive location with the date of its last change, verify it, and optionally clear out the original.
File wrangling · Note 2 ↗Switch workstations to High Performance (or Ultimate Performance) by GUID, restore the plan if the image hid it, and don't end up with five copies of it.
Packaging with ConfigMgr · Note 3 ↗Integrity-test every ZIP, 7z, RAR and TAR in a folder, then optionally repack the good ones into a single format. Broken archives never get touched.
Archive conversion workshop · Note 1 ↗Clear the BIOS setup password on Dell PCs and see exactly what changed, with the password supplied at runtime instead of sitting in a package.
Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain · Note 2 ↗One uninstall script for every retired app. Give it a display name and it finds the right uninstall command, MSI or not, and runs it quietly.
Packaging with ConfigMgr · Note 2 ↗Find out which Chrome version a machine is really running, whether an update is stuck waiting on a restart, and kick Google's updater into checking now.
Spring cleaning for Windows PCs · Note 7 ↗Stop the spooler, clear out the wedged job files, and bring it back up, with -WhatIf and an option to leave recent jobs alone.
Spring cleaning for Windows PCs · Note 5 ↗