There is a great script on Windows IT Pro that helps you get a list of all workstations/servers/domain controllers in a domain and then list the Scheduled Tasks that have been configured on these machines.

The script, written by Bill Stewart, can be downloaded from the Windows IT Pro website.

Essentially, this is how it can be put to use:

1. To get a list of DC’s and dump it to a text file, type cscript enumcomputers.js /dc > dclist.txt
2. Next, feed this list of DC’s to enumtasks.cmd and ask it to dump a list of scheduled tasks for each DC to another text file: enumtasks dclist.txt >dctasklist.txt
3. Open dctasklist.txt in Notepad, any word processor or even Microsoft Excel.

AutoRuns is a Microsoft SysInternals utility that lets you take a deep-down look at what lurks under the hood when your computer/server starts. You can use Autoruns to identify programs that automatically start when your computer starts and you can disable them by unchecking the box.

This is especially useful when you are trying to boost the startup performance for your system, or even if you’re trying to locate some kind of unidentified malware or a spy program. Autoruns categorizes the images into various tabs like logon, IE plugins, Drivers, Winsock providers, etc to help you easily find what you’re looking for. The new version also has a tab that displays the Windows Vista gadgets that are loaded at startup.

I think it’s really an awesome tool. You can download Autoruns from the Microsoft SysInternals website.

If you’re facing problems logging in with your domain account to Windows Vista computer joined to a domain, and you’re wondering why you’re always getting logged on with a “temporary profile” on your Windows Vista computer, you need to read this post.

You’ve tried it all, deleting and recreating the profile, deleting the C:\users\%username% folder, etc. But the problem still remains.

This is because your domain user account is a member of either the Guests or Domain Guests local user group in the Windows Vista computer. Remove yourself from the group and feel the magic!

If that doesn’t work, here is another tip:

Open up Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

You will find one entry for each profile. Check the following for the user account in question:

1. Ensure the key name doesn’t end in “.bad“
2. Ensure the RefCount value is 0
3. Ensure the State value is 0

Thanks goes to my colleague Georgee for this tip!

You can always tell a Windows 3.1 user by the way he closes a window, even in Windows Vista. A Windows 3.1 user almost always closes a window by double-clicking on the left of the window. That’s because, back in the times of Windows 3.1, there was no close button on the right of the window.

Take a look at the left of a window in Windows 3.1:

The box with the big dash is called the control box and clicking on it will yield a menu showing options to minimize, maximize and close. Double-clicking on the control box closes the window! And that’s where it all began.

A user can activate the menu by pressing Alt+Spacebar. Why? Because the big dash on the control box is actually a representation of the spacebar. The MDI child window also has a control box, but with a smaller dash. So, how do we activate this menu? Yup, you guessed right – Alt+Hyphen!

It is rather interesting to note that the ‘double-click-on-the-left-to-close’ functionality is still available in Windows Vista, and probably forever in every release of Windows. The Alt+Spacebar and the Alt+Hyphen features are still available too, even though the control boxes don’t bear the dashes anymore. As for me, yes, I do close windows from the left at times. Ahem.

Windows Vista is getting its first Service Pack while Windows XP is getting its last.

The release candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 3 is available for download. Service Pack 3 is more of a rollup of hotfixes and updates rather than a feature/experience enhancement. In short, it contains things that make Windows XP more secure, more reliable and faster. The user will not see noticeable change in the experience in general.

The Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate is also available for download. There are large number of improvements for performance, security, reliability, interoperability, hardware compatibility, and deployment. There also some improvements for power consumption, desktop administration and is better geared for Windows Server 2008, the next version of Microsoft’s server OS.

Please note that Release Candidates are not the fully released versions and you will not receive support for it. Release candidates are for testing purposes. Please wait for the final release of the service pack before deploying to production systems.

Catchy title isn’t it?

Yes, a server for your home! Microsoft has come up with Windows Home Server, which is a server operating system for the home. If you have multiple PC’s at home, this is an excellent way of organizing and sharing digitial stuff like photos, audio and video.

Some of the cool features:

• Your family’s digital memories and media organized in one central hub
• Home PCs backed up daily, automatically
• Simple recovery of lost files or even entire PCs
• Complete access from networked PCs to all your Windows Home Server files
• A personalized Web address for sharing your photos and home videos
• Easy and quick setup
• Expandable storage space for future use
• Innovative third-party applications

The Microsoft-powered home thing is getting real. I remember Bill Gates’ vision – “A computer in every home“. What next? A server in every home?!

Now, If I were to make a wishlist of the things I need in my dream home, it would include

• A Windows Vista Media Center PC connected to a plasma screen TV with Microsoft Mediaroom
• A Windows Home Server
• Secure Wi-Fi connectivity
• A Microsoft Surface tabletop in the living room

But of course, Wishlist is one thing, money is another

Alex Feinman has developed an amazing freeware tool called ISO Recorder v3 that lets you burn ISO images directly from Windows Explorer. This, combined with the Send To > CD drive feature already built into Windows, will suffice for the basic media burning needs of most IT Pros.

If all we ever wanted to do was to burn files to a CD/DVD/ISO image or burn a CD/DVD image to media, there is no need to spend $$ on media burning software.

ISO Recorder v3 supports Windows Vista can burn both CD and DVD ISO images. Check out Alex’s website for download and more information.

I was just looking at the Windows Vista Problem Reports and Solutions feature today. Windows Vista has been observing each time an application crashed on my PC. What’s more interesting is that it was actually finding out what went wrong by searching for known solutions to the same problem.

All I had to do was click on each problem displayed on this window and a solution pops up. And the best part is that most of the solutions actually does work!

Hmmm… Self-healing Windows. Interesting.

I’ve just gathered the splash screens of all versions of Windows from Windows 1.01 to Windows Vista. Some of us reading this blog have probably lived to see all these splash screens on our desktops, others have seen only the last few.

Notice that the Windows Vista splash screen (last screenshot) doesn’t have the Windows Logo or the Vista branding. It’s essentially a progress bar and a copyright message.

I’ve been around Windows since Win
dows 3.1 all the way till Windows Vista. Long way, huh?