Migrate Workgroup to Domain

1) Reboot and log onto the machine as local admin. Copy the profile of the local user.(old user profile) Name it “copyofusername” or something similar. (optional)
2) Join the domain (under local admin as Domain Administrator). Reboot. Login as Domain Admin.
3) Add domain users to local admin group. Log off.
4) Log on as the domain user. Reboot.
5) Log on as domain admin. Rename the new domain profile to “username.domain.old” or something similar. Rename the “copyofusername” file to whatever the new domain user profile was called. Log off.
6) Log on as domain user.Note: Everything should work as it did before. You may need the users email username and password.

Tags: Domain, Workgroup

Cannot change paging file

Try this
Start regedt32.exe (not regedit.exe)

Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

or

Run regedit32 and change the location of the page file from C:\pagefile.sys to C:\windows\System32\temppf.sys

Tags: Paging file

Quick Launch disappears each reboot

After reading through these (and many other similar forums) and not finding a solution that worked for me, there appears to be a 3rd form of the problem ‘Quick Launch disappears each reboot’ which I was able to fix as follows:

1) Run ‘Regedit’. Browse to the following registry location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\windows\currentverion\polices\explorer

2) Locate the Registry entry ‘NoSaveSettings’and double-click to bring up the ‘Edit DWORD value’ diaglog

3) Change the ‘Value Data’ from ‘1′ to ‘0′ (i.e. where 0 = Explorer Settings – including Quick Launch Settings – are saved)

4) Close Regedit

5) Restart the Computer

6) Ensure that the Quick Launch Toolbar is displayed (Right-click anywhere on the toolbar to bring properties and check ‘Show Quick Launch Toolbar’.

7) Restart the Computer

Note: The 2 restarts are necessary in order to actually see the changed behaviour. The first restart saves the registry change so that Explorer settings (such as Quick Launch settings) are saved during the second and all subsequent restarts.

Display remote computer Task list

Add Administrator Account to Log In Screen

Add Administrator Account to Log In Screen

When Windows XP is first installed it requires you to enter at least one name of a user who will access the computer. Once you create this name the default Administrator account vanishes. To access it, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete twice at the Welcome screen to retrieve the standard Windows 2000 logon dialog. Log on as Administrator from this point. To log the Administrator off, click [Start] [Log Off] and [Log Off] when the [Log Off Windows] selection box appears. The Log On screen with the available users will be displayed.

To Make the Administrator Account Always Visible on the Login Screen

[Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key: HKEY_LOCALMACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
Modify/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.
Data Type: DWORD// Value Name: Administrator
Setting for Value Data: [0 = Disabled / 1 = Enabled]
Exit Registry and Reboot

Registry Edits for Windows XP (Tweaks and Tips)

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

To use the Regedits:  Save the REG File to your hard disk. Double click it and answer yes to the import prompt. REG files can be viewed in Notepad by right clicking on the file and selecting Edit.

To use the VBS Files: Download .vbs file and save it to your hard drive (you may want to right click and use Save Target As).  Double
click  the vbs file. You will be prompted when the script is done.

NOTE: If your anti-virus software warns you of  a “malicious” script, this is normal if you have “Script Safe” or similar technology enabled.  These scripts are not malicious, but they do make changes to the System Registry.

Disclaimer: These registry edits and script files are presented “as is”.  Every effort has been made to ensure the files work as stated.  I assume no responsibility for your use of these files.

Tags: Registry tweaks

How can I disable the Administrative Share creation in Windows NT/2000/XP/2003?

How can I disable the Administrative Share creation in Windows NT/2000/XP/2003?

Every Windows NT/W2K/XP/2003 machine automatically creates a share for each drive on the system. These shares are hidden, but available with full control to domain administrators. The drive letter, followed by the $ sign is the name, and it is shared from the root. When trying to attain a highly secure network, you may wish to address this potential security issue by disabling these shares, or at least restricting their permissions to specific users or services.

The default-hidden shares are:

• C$ D$ E$ - Root of each partition. For a Windows NT workstation/W2K/2003/XP Professional computer only members of the Administrators or Backup Operators group can connect to these shared folders. For a Windows NT Server/W2K Server computer, members of the Server Operators group can also connect to these shared folders.
• ADMIN$ - %SYSTEMROOT% This share is used by the system during any remote administration of a computer. The path of this resource is always the path to the W2K/NT system root (the directory in which W2K/NT is installed usually C:\Winnt and in XP it’s C:\Windows).
• FAX$ - On W2K Server, this used by fax clients in the process of sending a fax. The shared folder temporarily caches files and accesses cover pages stored on the server.
• IPC$ - Temporary connections between servers using named pipes essential for communication between programs. It is used during remote administration of a computer and when viewing a computer’s shared resources. This share can be very dangerous and can be used to extract large amounts of information about your network, even by an anonymous account.
• NetLogon - This share is used by the Net Logon service of a W2K, 2003 and NT Server computer while processing domain logon requests, and by Pre-W2K computers when running logon scripts.
• PRINT$ - %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\SPOOL\DRIVERS Used during remote administration of printers.

It is possible to simply remove the share from Server Manager (in NT) or Shared Folders (in W2K/XP/2003) but the problem with this method is that the shares will automatically be recreated when the machine reboots.

You can disable the automatic administrative share creation via Group Policy, but this is a much simpler way:

In order to disable these shares permanently, a registry edit will be necessary.

Servers

For NT 4.0/W2K/Windows Server 2003s, the change is:

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer\Parameters
Name: AutoShareServer
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0

Idiot proof note: If you can’t find the value in the registry under the exact location (i.e. it does not exist) – please right click in the right pane of the window and create it.

Note: A reboot is necessary for this to take effect.

Workstations

For NT 4.0 Workstation/W2K Pro/XP Pro, the change is:

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer\Parameters
Name: AutoShareWks
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0

A double idiot proof note: If you can’t find the value in the registry under the exact location (i.e. it does not exist) – please right click in the right pane of the window and create it.

Note: Again, a reboot is necessary for this to take effect.

If you want the administrative shares to be re-created, you can change the value back to 1.

Note: Some applications depend on the presence of these shares. If things stop working you’ll know to re-enable the shares.

Security note: Unfortunately this registry hack does NOT stop the IPC$ share and this is a share that is often used by hackers to enumerate systems before attack since it can yield a wealth of information about your system names, your user names, and more. If your ACL permissions are not correct or you haven’t disabled anonymous user access or you haven’t disabled the guest account then this port can lead to total system compromise within minutes!