How to Kill a Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows Server 2012

Hyper-V virtual machines can, for lack of a better term, get stuck every now and then. There could be a number of reasons why the VM got stuck, but killing the process that equates to a virtual machine might not be obvious to everyone. It wasn't obvious to me, and it took me bit to figure it out. Here's how to do it in Server 2012.

How to Setup a Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Server 2012

Microsoft's Hyper-V has come a long way since it was introduced in Server 2008. Hyper-V 2012 is a mature and full featured hypervisor. Setting up virtual machines in Hyper-V is a breeze, here's how.

How to Disable the Write Protection on Dell Windows 10 USB Recovery Sticks - ROUND 4

The world is full of different kinds a people, but one thing that seems to bring us all together is that everyone wants to be able to write to their Dell USB recovery drive. I'm not yet convinced that this one little slice of common ground can end wars and dispel years of hatred, but the one thing I am sure of is that with just the slightest effort... we can all write to these things.

How to Get Classic Calculator Back in Windows 10

Microsoft has changed many things in Windows 10. Some of those changes are great and some of them are not quite that good. One of the changes that has users scratching their heads is the "update" of the calculator app. The new app is stylish and more touch friendly, but something's missing. I liked the old, classic, calc.exe and I want it back. Here's how to do it.

How to Disable Aero Shake in Windows 10

Aero Shake is a feature that debuted in Windows 7, and it has been aggravating me ever since. It allows the user to minimize all the other open windows on the desktop by grabbing and shaking one of the windows. For some reason, this feature has been carried over to Windows 8 and now Windows 10. If you're annoyed by Aero Shake like I am, here's how to turn it off.

How to Disable the Write Protection on Dell Windows 8 USB Recovery Sticks - ROUND 3

Dell has been including the option to receive recovery media on a read-only 8GB USB flash drive for several months now. Many of us have a bunch of these drives and have been searching for ways to disable the write protection on these drives so they can be used for something else. Here's the solution for the drives currently shipping with Dell PCs.

How to Setup NIC Teaming in Windows Server 2012 R2

NIC Teaming is a new feature in Windows Server 2012 that allows multiple network adapters to be aggregated for load balancing and failover. Let's take a brief look at NIC Teaming and walk through an example of how to set it up.

How to Disable the Write Protection on Dell Windows 8 USB Recovery Sticks - ROUND 2

If you've purchased a PC from Dell lately you might have noticed that there is an option to get the recovery media, specifically Windows 8.1, on an 8GB USB flash drive. After collecting a few of these, you may start asking yourself if you can use these for something other than recovery media. This is about when you discover that the the freaking things are read only. Here's how to reformat the newer, "Blue Label", Dell USB Recovery drives.

How to Install Hyper-V Manager on Windows 8

When remotely managing virtual machines on a Hyper-V server, the client version should match the server version to keep pace with the changes and updates to Hyper-V. Using Windows 8 to manage Hyper-V 2012, for example, results in access to the full feature set but provides only a reduced set of Hyper-V 2012 R2 features. On the other hand, Hyper-V Manager on Windows 7 may not be able to connect to a Hyper-V 2012 R2 server at all. Here's how to set up Hyper-V manager on Windows 8 or 8.1.

How to Setup Data Deduplication on Windows Server 2012

Data can grow at an alarming rate and there are large amounts of redundant data stored on the world’s file servers. Software manufactures have seen the need for data deduplication and have created systems that reduce the space used on disk arrays while maintaining the integrity of the data. Starting with Windows Server 2012, Microsoft includes data deduplication with its server operating system. Data Deduplication can save a ton of storage space in the right environment. Let’s look at how to set it up and monitor the results.

How to Setup Hyper-V on Server 2012

Microsoft's virtualization environment, Hyper-V, has been growing up right before our eyes. Hyper-V for Windows Server 2012 has a number of new and improved features that bring it up to date and help it compete with its rivals like VMWare, et al. Let's take a look at setting up Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012.

How to Disable IPv6 in Windows 10

Disabling IPv6 in Windows has solved many issues for users, but, in all fairness, it's also caused a few. If you're sure you need to disable IPv6 in Windows 10, here's how.

How to Disable the Write Protection on the Dell Windows 8 USB Recovery Stick

If you've purchased a PC from Dell lately you might have noticed that there is an option to get the recovery media, specifically Windows 8.1, on an 8GB USB flash drive. If you work in an IT department, these flash drives might start piling up and you might want to try and use them, at least some of them, for something else. Here's the rub... the freaking things are read only.

How to Set Up DFS Replication in Windows Server 2012 R2

DFS Replication is an effective way to replicate data between servers across a room or on the other side of the world. DFS Replication uses remote differential compression (RDC) to replicate only the changes in a file on a block by block basis instead of replicating the entire file. Consequently, replication is very efficient even across limited bandwidth connections.

How to Disable IPv6 in Windows Server 2012

The world is running out of Internet addresses. IPv6 is the answer to that problem, but in some cases and implementations it can cause problems of its own. There's no reason to disable IPv6 if it's not causing a problem. If it is, it can be disabled with an easy registry hack.

How to Disable Website Pinning in Windows 8 Home Edition

Sometimes Microsoft adds things to the new version of Windows that are contrary to the habits users have developed. Website pinning was a new feature in Windows 7 and has been carried over to Windows 8. Luckily, Microsoft usually provides ways to get around things or disable new features.

How to Disable Aero Shake in Windows 8 Home Edition

Depending on how you work, Aero Shake is either a somewhat handy or somewhat annoying feature. It minimizes all the other open windows on the desktop when any given window is wiggled with the mouse. In How to Disable Aero Shake in Windows 8 we looked at using gpedit to disable Aero Shake in Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise. Windows 8 Home Edition, known by Microsoft as Windows 8, doesn't include gpedit, but fear not. You can still disable Aero Shake in Windows 8 with a simple registry hack.

How to Install the Desktop Experience on Windows Server 2012

There are two options when installing Window Server 2012: Server Core Installation and Server with a GUI. If you’re running a Server with a GUI installation, you might find a few things missing compared to the typical Windows client. Things like Media Player, desktop themes, Snipping Tool (I use this a lot), and more are not installed by default with Windows Server 2012. You’ll need to install the Desktop Experience feature to use those things.

How to set a User's Password to Never Expire in Office 365

Many settings in Office 365 can only be access through PowerShell or through directory synchronization of your on-premises servers. Setting passwords to never expire is one of those settings. We could debate the merits of passwords that expire but let's not. Instead, let's just take a look at how to change this somewhat controversial attribute with PowerShell.

How to Disable Website Pinning in Windows 8

One of the new features in Windows 7 was the ability to “Pin” websites to the desktop. Microsoft carried this feature over to Windows 8, but it’s still contrary to how some people work. Fortunately, website “pinning” it’s easy to disable. Let’s take a look.