Hacks #1-16 We'll begin with a catchall chapter of tips and tools that cover a wide range of general Windows system administration topics. Think of this chapter as the removable top drawer of your toolbox ”usually cluttered, but containing your favorite, indispensable tools. The topics in this chapter include ways of hacking the Run As command, collecting event log information, running commands, extending your environment, shutting down processes, renaming mapped drives , and more. You'll also learn how to disable file encryption if you don't need or want it, collect configuration settings from remote machines, use automatic logon where it's safe to do so, and make it easier for users to access Remote Assistance when they need it. We'll also list some of our favorite third-party tools and a terrific online resource for Microsoft management technologies. A number of the hacks in this chapter include scripts. To ensure these scripts run properly on your systems, make sure you download the latest scripting engines on the workstation from which you run the scripts. You can get these scripting engines from the Microsoft Scripting home page at http://msdn.microsoft.com/scripting/. Also, when working with the Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI), you must have the same applicable rights you need to use the built-in administrative tools, which basically means that you need administrator credentials to run the scripts. |
