TClock and TClockEx

http://homepage1.nifty.com/kazubon/tclocklight/index.html
http://www.rcis.co.za/dale/tclockex/

These modify the clock in the Systray.  I used TClockEx for many years, especially on users' machines to warn them of low-RAM problems.  TClock Light seems somewhat cleaner, though no RAM readout.

Enabling root SSH login on an ESX host

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/8375637
...because it's disabled out of the box.


To create a user in ESX host for using a SSH client:

1. Log in to the vSphere Client as a root user.
2. Click Users & Groups.
3. Right-click on a blank area and click Add.
4. Enter a username and password. Confirm your password.
   Note: Starting in ESX 4.0, the password needs to be at least 8 characters in length.
   
5. Select Grant shell access to this user.
6. Select root group from the dropdown and click Add > OK.
   
   Note: By default it assigns to the users group and does not allow SSH access.

After you are logged in SSH session, switch to the root user with the command:
su -

Edit the configuration file for SSH with the command:

nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Find the line that starts with PermitRootLogin and change the no to yes. You can find this line about 2 pages down from the top.

Save the file by first pressing Ctrl-O and then Enter. Exit with Ctrl-X. Restart the sshd service with the command:

service sshd restart

... or alternatively, use the command:

/etc/init.d/sshd restart

WWW ping

http://ping.eu/

Web-based tools for ping, traceroute, etc, in case you doubt your network is working.

Erasing Registry Values, Keys

http://www.robvanderwoude.com/regedit.php

As easy as using a minus in the .reg file.

Erase a value

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SomeKey\SomeOtherKey]
"RemoveThisValue"=-

Erase a key

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SomeKey\RemoveThisKey]

TrendMicro Sysclean

http://downloadcenter.trendmicro.com/index.php?regs=NABU&clk=latest&clkval=353&lang_loc=1

Apparently, you can use the stand-alone Sysclean from Trend Micro to clean an offline system.  You need to download the Enterprise CPR definitions from
http://www.trendmicro.com/download/viruspattern.asp

http://downloadcenter.trendmicro.com/index.php?clk=tab_pattern&clkval=5&regs=NABU&lang_loc=1

Add Search back to Folder-Directory Context Menu

http://www.petri.co.il/add-context-menu-search-back-to-windows-vista-sp1.htm
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/restore-the-search-item-to-the-folder-context-menu-in-windows-vista-sp1/

Ours is not to ask why.  Ours is to see and rename these "LegacyDisable" regvals.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\find

[REG_SZ:LegacyDisable]

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\find

[REG_SZ:LegacyDisable]

Setting to "0", "no", or "false" doesn't work.  Renaming or deleting works.  Takes effect immediately, even on open windows.  You may want to remove the LegacyDisable from the corresponding Drive key, et al.

From the Command Prompt:

reg delete HKLM\Software\Classes\Directory\shell\find /v LegacyDisable /f

reg delete HKLM\Software\Classes\Drive\shell\find /v LegacyDisable /f

Removing Windows Mail on Terminal Server 2008

http://jrudd.org/2010/02/windows-server-2008-r2-and-windows-mail/

Looking to save some User Profile space on TS2008, this pointed in the right direction.  On my systems, Autoruns showed these settings on the Logon tab (or Everything tab), and the Description for each was "Windows Mail".

Earthquakes on Google Maps

http://earthquakes.tafoni.net/

OK, more fun than tech, but thank you for merging the USGS earthquake data with the Google Maps!

http://www.petri.co.il/download_free_reskit_tools.htm

Petri is a wealth of knowledge.  Today we're tracking down Userenv Event ID 1097, "Windows cannot find the machine account. The clocks on the client and server machines are skewed."  Also maybe related, Kerberos Event ID 5, "The kerberos client received a KRB_AP_ERR_TKT_NYV error from the server...."

Ages ago I'd seen issues in the past when the machine account fell out of sync with the domain, and this sounded similar.  Googling "command line recreate server machine account" set me in the right direction, the NLTEST looked promising, but ultimately finding the NETDOM utility with the RESET command.  Did it work?  A reboot later and the messages were gone.

I did actually download the XP version of NETDOM from the below link, but Mental Note to grab all the old versions of these Resource Kit tools.
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=49AE8576-9BB9-4126-9761-BA8011FABF38

Deleting ServicePackFiles or relocating to LAN

http://ask-leo.com/can_i_remove_the_servicepackfiles_folder_from_my_windows_folder.html

I inherited VM servers with a too small 4GB sys volume, in need of space cleared.  The ServicePackFiles is a nice 400MB target.  This page details how to relocate the files to a LAN.

Summary:
In the Registry, the HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup key has regvals that can be repointed to a LAN-based folder:
SourcePath  points to D:\ or the folder above the \I386 installation dir
ServicePackSourcePath  points to the ServicePackFiles folder to be moved
ServicePackCachePath  points to the ServicePackCache folder underneath