Winrox - Architecture of Acceleration(TM) - All Comments

re: Office 365 Support Phone Number 800-865-9408

Alexander — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:26:31 GMT

WOW! Great ! Thanks for sharing!

re: 3TB Drives Gotchas

Robert — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:20:37 GMT

There is another >2 TB Gotcha involving the Windows 7/2008 backup applet here for some drives you can't backup up to them - it has something to do with sector size I believe.

Robert, this limitation is realted to a 2 TB file size on the vhd file where the backup stored. This was fixed in SP2 for Windows 2008. It should not be a problem with Win7 or Windows 2008 which are current with patches.http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960023 - Jeff

3TB Drives Gotchas

Winrox - Architecture of Acceleration(TM) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:05:05 GMT

Maybe you noticed that 3 TB drives are on the market. They come with a few gotchas. If your are a seasoned

re: XP Mode and differencing disks, Creating Multiple Virtual Machines

jeffl — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:51:09 GMT

Dave,

You will notice in my post that I do not touch the XP Mode Base VHD. You will need to restore the XP Mode Base VHD.

Secondly you can make as many changes to the XP Mode VHD prior to locking it down using the techniques described in my post. I then suggest for each Virtual Machine you want to create after that that you create a new VHD which is a differencing disk and which will reference the XP Mode VHD (not the XP Mode Base VHD).

Be sure to mark your XP Mode.VHD as read only. This step is required or else writes to the XP Mode VHD will corrupt the other differencing disks rendering them unusable. Read-only will cause your XP mode virtual machine to fail to start. Later after you have created a new differencing VHD file to reference the XP Mode.VHD you can set the XP Mode virtual machine hard drive 1 to the new differencing disk. You will be able to use XP Mode VPC again after that.

Regarding Sysprep. This technique indicates that you might be considering use on other PCs. This is not within the scope of my post. I have not investigated what happens during the XP Mode Setup which might tie the XP Mode Base to the Host Windows 7 PC. Although I suspect Microsoft may have tied the XP Mode Base VHD to the host I am not sure. In any event I am quite sure moving the XP Mode Base to another system would require proper licensing.

Please feel free to continue this conversation by phone: 905-646-1927 x. 100

re: XP Mode and differencing disks, Creating Multiple Virtual Machines

Dave — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:12:46 GMT

Hi Jeff, I've been trying to edit the base VHD (c:\program files\Windows XP Mode\Windows XP Mode base.vhd) file. I have been able to successfully add custom functionality to it, but then when I try to replace the base image with the one created it does not work.

Here is my procedure I've been using.

1 - Copy base image to new location (ie desktop)

2 - Load it into the virtual machine

3 - Make changes to the VHD

4 - sysprep the VHD

5 - Copy it back to c:\program files\Windows XP Mode\Windows XP Mode base.vhd

Then when I try to use the base image from the "Windows XP Mode" shortcut, the procedure halts with an error right at the end of loading.

Do you have any ideas?

Dave

re: Redirecting Updates and the Software Distribution Folder using Junction to another hard drive

jeffl — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:28:12 GMT

Brian,

You are probably already familiar with Simlinks or junctions. The library concept where pictures and documents are redirected is similar.

To determine if a file is a junction, specify the file name:

junction c:\test

To list junctions beneath a directory, include the –s switch:

junction -s c:\

To delete a junction, use the –d switch:

junction -d c:\Program-Files

re: Redirecting Updates and the Software Distribution Folder using Junction to another hard drive

Brian — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:22:56 GMT

Is there a way to tell by looking at the redirected folder that it is in redirected mode? I am thinking of times in the future, if someone else is managing a folder that I did this to and they dont know that its been redirected, how could they tell?

You can identify simlinks from the command prompt. - Jeff

re: can Microsoft’s BPOS sell in the SMB space against free competition

rg47 — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:55:41 GMT

can you elaborate on who this "free competition" is? I'm familiar with Zoho (but it does not appear to be free to business users) and Zimbra (but it doesn't appear to be free if you want to do it online), and of course GAPE is not free - so, what free competition are you referring to? Also, I thought Microsoft partners got 18% the first year, why does your table only use 12%? Moreover, regarding your analogies to Headhunter and Comm RE, maybe I'm wrong but 2/12's is <17%, and. in those cases. doesn't the person have to generate net new opportunity every year to generate revenue? (whereas online subscriptions represent a YoY revenue stream). I absolutely agree that Microsoft needs motivated partners having value conversations with customers to succeed in the SMB space - I just have the questions above about some of the ways you supported that conclusion.

re: End of Support for Windows 2000 and XP SP2 (not XP SP3)

jeffl — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:27:50 GMT

Eric this is important imformation for the channel and you are quite possibly the best source of things that matter! Thank you.

re: End of Support for Windows 2000 and XP SP2 (not XP SP3)

Eric Ligman — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:49:50 GMT

Thanks for helping get the word out, Jeff!

Eric Ligman

re: SCVMM 2008 R2 Rollup releases

jeffl — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:18:38 GMT

Robert,

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those that don't.

Errors like this always come from assumptions. I have made mistakes like this in the past.

Jeff

re: SCVMM 2008 R2 Rollup releases

Robert — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:02:11 GMT

Sometimes I wonder about Microsoft's testers... (Re:Issue 4: If a VM is configured with 3 virtual processors, the SCVMM Admin Console crashes. )

1. Works on 1 CPU? Check

2. Works on 2 CPU's Check

3. Works on 4 CPU's? Check

Hmmm. I seem to me missing something but I can't figure it out - Forget it - Let's order Pizza and ship this thing!

re: Cloud Myopia - Is it affecting the way partners view Microsoft?

MarkyMark — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:45:04 GMT

Personally, I think you've hit the nail on the head when he says “Partner loyalty is changing” as the messages are mixed.

IMHO, The markets are causing everyone (large, small and insignificant) to make knee-jerk decisions and those decisions have consequences. Hang on tight kids, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Cloud Myopia - Is it affecting the way partners view Microsoft?

Available Technology - For Professionals — Wed, 12 May 2010 23:30:46 GMT

It has been a about 18 months that Microsoft has shifted its talking points to the cloud and maybe longer

Cloud Myopia - Is it affecting the way partners view Microsoft?

Available Technology - For Professionals — Wed, 12 May 2010 22:04:33 GMT

It has been a about 18 months that Microsoft has shifted its talking points to the cloud and maybe longer

Active Directory Domain Services Command Fu, Part 4

The things that are better left unspoken — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:08:31 GMT

As some systems administrators have already found out, on Microsoft Windows Servers some tasks cannot

re: Has Microsoft abandoned its mid-market comptency in the Microsoft Partner Network?

Julie Bennani — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:43:15 GMT

Medium business customers are critically important for Microsoft as reflected in our creation of a specific competency in MPN to support this customer set. Planned launch of this competency is in October 2010. This is a complex customer space to serve given the range of needs from scaled down Enterprise solutions to small business-like needs and we want to support and reward partners who focus here. Partner qualifications relate to relevant licensing, sales and marketing knowledge for this space, customer references, technical certifications around WS 2008, Exchange, Sharepoint, Office, etc. as well as the standard competency fee and profile. Exam details and all other specifics are available in our "living" Value of Competency Guide located at partner.microsoft.com/40005167 (note: EBS updates have not been made yet).

Julie Bennani, General Manager, WW Microsoft Partner Network

re: Has Microsoft abandoned its mid-market comptency in the Microsoft Partner Network?

Julie Bennani — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:15:26 GMT

The Medium Business space is critical for Microsoft and we are very interested in supporting partners who have a specific focus in this customer set which has needs that vary from scaled down Enterprise-like solutions to needs similar to small businesses. That is why we are investing in a Medium Business competency planned for launch in October 2010. Partner qualifications for this competency will focus on specific licensing, sales and marketing skills relevant to this customer set as well as relevant customer references, technical certifications focused on Exchange, SQL, Office, WS 2008 R2, Sharepoint, etc., and the competency fee and profile. Specific requirements are posted in our "living" Value of Competency Guide located here: partner.microsoft.com/40005167 (needs updating for EBS shift).

re: Essential Business Server - The Product - The Vision

Jacobo Senior — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:20:48 GMT

Great analysis and comments! Thumbs up.

re: Partner Opportunities, Benefits & Requirements with the new Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) ERP and CRM Competencies - Webcast

Lisa Kemp — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:17:50 GMT

I registered for this event and never could connect to the meeting. The site just hung. Very disappointing.