Dan Thomson at myITforum.com

Scripting List solutions: IE History - Is this possible?

Question:

Lets say you work for a company that does not currently use any IE History reporting software like ISA or whatever else is out there. And your boss came to you and said "We need to pull the internet history of 100 machines"...

Could you script that?

Solution:

The attached zip file contains two files that were pulled from the Tek-Tips Want to know what websites people go to? forum posting.

Paraphrasing the author:

Try the html file if you ever wonder if it's possible to find out what websites individuals visit when logged onto the server/PC? Besides checking the Proxy server, or the firewall. Also, try the vbs script if you ever want to remove the entries.

Bloggers note: There are other samples floating around too.  I'll post them here as well when I find them.  BTW: I've not tested these, so use at your own risk!

Posted Monday, September 17, 2007 8:22 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Scripting List solutions: Add machine names to a collection

Question:

 Is it possible to add machine names to a collection from a text file via vbscript?

Solution:

There are several programs to do this.. Below are some of my favs
 
Collection Membership Wizard from Steve Ognibene: http://www.myitforum.com/articles/8/view.asp?id=7981
 
Collection Injection from SMS Expert: http://www.myitforum.com/articles/8/view.asp?id=8568

Notes:  The sample HTA found in Greg Ramsey's article titled Right-Click, add Machines to a Collection! can be a good illustration of how to get it going in VB Script

Posted Sunday, September 16, 2007 9:39 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Scripting List solutions: "Please wait" in a VB Script

Question:

I'd like to display a window that pops up and says "Please wait ..." while the script is running and then disappears when the script finishes.  I'm looking for something that does not require user interaction. 

Solution:

I've used the code posted on this forum in the past for putting up a progress bar while the rest of the code in the script is running.  It uses an IE window as a popup type message box.

Progress / Activity Bar as a Class

There's also an HTA version.

 

Posted Sunday, September 16, 2007 9:31 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Scripting List solutions: Using a custom progress bar in SMS Installer

Question:

Has anyone ever written a script with SMS Installer that displays a progress bar while the script is running?  In Installation Properties, under the Screen tab, I set the Progress Bar Based On: item to Position in EXE, but when I run the script, I don’t see a progress bar displayed.  Am I missing something?  I tried setting it to Position in Installation Script, as well, but it didn’t make a difference.  I’d appreciate any input anyone has to offer.

Solution:

Refer to Rod's article titled Using a Custom Progress DLL for details on how to configure SMS Installer to use a progress bar.

Posted Sunday, September 16, 2007 9:24 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Scripting List solutions: Disabling the system beep

Question:

Is there an easy script I can run that will disable the system beep? This is listed under device manager (showing hidden devices) –Non Plug-Play Hardware- … Beep.

This is the same “beep” you get from the internal system speaker during post. We no longer want this to happen. It is occurring during a pop up which causes the users to complain.

Solution 1:

sc \\remoteMachine stop beep && sc \\remoteMachine config beep start= disabled

Or, this command can be pushed via bat file through SMS:

sc stop beep && sc config beep start= disabled

Notes:

• SC.exe is included with Windows XP and Server 2003 and is available in the resource kit for Windows 2000.
• The command after the && will only execute if the previous command was successful. See Command shell overview and The Windows NT Command Shell for more info.

Solution 2:

Net Stop Beep && Reg Add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Beep /v Start /d 4 /t REG_DWORD /f

Posted Sunday, September 16, 2007 8:56 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Scripting List Solutions: VBScript to upload file to website

This was  posted to the myITforum Scripting email list a while back by  Scott Klassen.  He says it took him a little bit to get going and wanted to share it in case it can help somebody else.

srcFolder = "\\server\share\"
strUserID = "MyID"
strPassword = "APasswordGoesHere"
strURL = "https://www.theuploadwebsite.com/puthere/"

Set HTTP = WScript.CreateObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP")
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set folder = fso.getfolder(srcFolder) 
 

For Each File in Folder.Files
  If fso.GetExtensionName(File)="TXT" Then
    Set objStream = CreateObject("ADODB.Stream")
    objStream.Type = 1
    objStream.Open
    objStream.LoadFromFile(srcFolder & fso.GetFileName(File))

    HTTP.open "PUT", strURL & fso.GetFileName(File), False, strUserID, strPassword
    WScript.Echo "Now uploading file " & fso.GetFileName(File)

    HTTP.send objStream.Read

    WScript.Echo "Uploading complete for file " & fso.GetFileName(File)
    fso.DeleteFile(File)
  End If
Next
WScript.Echo "All files uploaded."

Set HTTP = Nothing

Posted Sunday, September 16, 2007 7:22 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Home Construction Tip #5: Slope your garage floor outward

Heavy things and liquids go downhill.

To maintain safety in the garage, it is neccessary to slope the garage floor 1/4" per foot so things like gas fumes (which are heavier than air), fuel, water, etc. can exit the garage safetly without building up and possibly causing a hazard.

If you are having a new floor added to your garage, be sure that it is sloped toward the garage door(s).  After the floor has been poured, skimmed, and aloowed to set for a bit, a quick test is to run a garden hose over the floor making sure that water does not pool anywhere and that it runs efficiently out via the garage door entrance.

Another side note here:  Be sure the garage door gaskeet does not fully seal at the ends.  This will keep the water and fumes from getting out properly.  New garage doors usually have 3 inches cut off the ends of the rubber seal that seals the bottom of the door to the floor.

Yea, I checked this and found that the concrete guys goofed and my new garage floor sloped inward allowing an inch or more of water to pool in various spots throughout the garage (a real ice and fire hazard).  I was extremely generous though and allowed the builder to not bust the floor up and repour, but instead to add another few inches on top of the previous pour.  This will most likely come back to get me because it is around 2" thick at the thinnest part and could crack up.  My goof....

Posted Monday, September 10, 2007 10:08 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Home Construction Tip #4: Use Proper Fasteners

It is best to use the most appropriate fastener for your construction project.  For instance, when building or assembling things for outdoor use (such as a deck), be sure to use properly treated nails or screws that have been rated for outdoor use.  Failing to do so may result in the fasteners rusting and possibly failing.  Yes, I will at some point be disassembling and rebuilding an 8' x 8' 2nd story deck that was constructed using improperly rated fasteners and 'green' wood.

Posted Monday, September 10, 2007 6:52 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Home Construction Tip #3: Prepping for Tile

As homes age and weather the seasons, things begin to sag and flex a bit, especially during seasonal change.

I have noticed something with the floor tile in one of my bathrooms that didn't hit me when the construction guys laid down the plywood sub-flooring in preparation for tiling.  I do know though, if there is any movement in tile flooring, the grouting will slowly crack over time.  Properly securing the base flooring will ensure that there will be little to no movement in the floor.

I now know this lesson first hand that it is extremely important to secure the layers of plywood flooring not only to each other, but also to the floor joists.  To fasten the flooring to the floor joists, be sure to use construction adhesive and 3" screws.  I have heard it is also wise to use construction adhesive between the two layers of plywood and to add additional rows of screws between the floor joists if the floor joists are at a fair spacing. 

I have movement in my sub-flooring and my tile grout began to crack in no time.  If I was still in good terms with my builder, I would have him come out to fix things up properly.  However, it looks like I'll be ripping out my bathroom floor sometime in the coming year so I can get everything installed properly.

Posted Monday, September 10, 2007 6:10 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Sapphire X1950 Pro

I've been living with poor video ever since I had a video card succumb to the heat over a year ago.  I had reverted back to an ATI Fire GL2 card as a temporary replacement, but it was fairly underpowered and had issues attempting to drive my Dell 2405FPW wide format flat panel monitor.

About a month ago, I purchased a Sapphire X1950 Pro card so I can get back to really using my screen and so I could watch videos (which are a key part of any IT training regiment and are needed for certain aspects of the side work I do).  The card has plenty of RAM (512MB) and has dual DVI outputs so I can someday run an additional monitor (see Paul Thomsen's multi monitor setup).

I had to buy an AGP based card since I'm still running an older Dell Precision 530 workstation and there were some initial issues with getting the card working, but it is now working great after having to do a BIOS upgrade and making some adjustments to a couple BIOS settings.

If you're interested in a new video card and are still stuck with an AGP based system, then you might want to check this one out.

Posted Friday, September 07, 2007 2:38 PM by dthomson | with no comments

Adding favorites to Regedit

Going back to a recent post by a post from Joseph Hinkle that brought out the customizations that Richard Smith is making during build creation and image deployment, here is something else to possibly add.

Are you tired of having to manually navigate the registry to some usual locations?  Did you know you can add Favorites to Regedit?

Importing this registry file will add a number of items into the current users Regedit Favorites so you can instantly jump to one of the specified locations.  This would be great to add to a Group Policy so it is done automatically whenever you logon to a new system.

Posted Monday, September 03, 2007 5:37 PM by dthomson | with no comments