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Turn off "BitLocker waiting for activation"

This can be a pain when attempting to "sysprep" a PC's storage drive (usually the C: drive) or take an image of it using something like Acronis SnapDeploy.  In such cases, the software will complain about this BitLocker status. I keep forgetting about this every time I go to take an image! It isn't immediately obvious how to get around the issue... do you go for "Turn on BitLocker" and then turn if off when it has finished encrypting the drive?  Well you probably could if you had the time, but there's an easier way. Using the "manage-bde" tool via an administrative command line gives lots more options, and allows this to be turned off. Tip: handy way to open an admin command line is to hit  W  + R, then type "cmd" and then hit CRTL + Shift + Enter. Typing "manage-bde -status" will show you some more detail, but the command you need is: manage-bde -off c: This may take some time, depending on how much of the drive has already...
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Re-arm ESXI Evaluation License

Needed to get a little more time out of my ESXI trial so that I could migrate it to Hyper-V. This pair of commands came in very handy and gave another 60 days: rm -f /etc/vmware/vmware.lic /etc/vmware/license.cfg reboot To use them, you need to: Put your ESXI server into Maintenance Mode Enable Secure Shell access (SSH) Enable Console Access Then ssh to the server (in Windows 11 you can just type ssh username@serveripaddress and then enter password) Otherwise, you could use something like PuTTY ( https://www.putty.org/ ) Hope this helps.  
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Print Management Console Missing

I've encountered a few Windows 11 machines lately, some brand new, that haven't had the Print Management Console installed. Trying to run it from the Run menu using "printmanagement.msc" didn't work either. The fix is to run this from a command prompt:  dism /Online /add-Capability /CapabilityName:Print.Management.Console~~~~0.0.1.0
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DNS Dynamic Updates & DNS Scavenging

I was encountering an issue at a customer's site where the DNS records of their client PCs often would be behind or out of sync with the records in DHCP.  Usually the IP address would be older in DNS and this was causing issues with scripts executing and network tools correctly resolving client PC hostnames to their correct IP addresses. I realised I needed to make some changes to their dynamic DNS updating configuration.  After a lot of reading through Microsoft's documentation and various online forums, this is what I ended up configuring.  Hopefully this may help someone, some day: - Make the DHCP server a member of the "DnsUpdateProxy" group -  Create a new user account, in the "Users" OU, called "dnsdynamicupdates"   - This new user only needs to be a member of the "Domain Users" group - no special privileges   - Make the password strong and set it to never expire - Set this new user as the credentials used by the DCHP server in IPv4...
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Resolve WSUS Server issue that gives "Cannot save configuration because the server is still processing"

This is a pretty infuriating error and can sometimes crop up as a result of running a "wsusutil reset" command. First of all, give the server some time, and then a bit more...  but you've probably already done this. These steps may help to resolve the situation: - Install Microsoft SQL Management Studio (free download) - Run SQL Management Studio and start to connect to the WSUS database - Enter this in the "Server Name" box:  \\.\pipe\MICROSOFT##WID\tsql\query - Expand the "Databases" tree - Right-click on "SUSDB" and choose "New Query" - Paste this query in:     UPDATE tbSingletonData     SET ResetStateMachineNeeded = 0 - You should see a message like "1 row affected", which is good - Quit SQL Management Studio - Open "Services" and restart the "WSUS Service" - Now, open WSUS
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Convert Ruckus AP from Unleashed to ZoneDirector-managed

Here is the method to convert a Ruckus Unleashed AP to one which can be managed by a Ruckus ZoneDirector controller: - Login to https://support.ruckuswireless.com/ - Click "Downloads" - Choose the correct product, e.g. Ruckus R550 - Choose a "standalone" version along the lines of 118.2.0.0.875.bl7 or something similar - Agree to terms and download the software - Connect to the AP's IP address - It should open the setup wizard, showing "Unleashed Installation" - Click "Local Upgrade" - Choose the firmware image file you just downloaded - It will upload, process, and then be ready for upgrade when you click "Yes" - After this, the ZD should detect the new AP - The new AP will then need to be approved - The new AP will then be upgraded to the correct software by the ZD - The new AP will then reboot and should be ready to use - Don't forget that, for the ZD to even detect, let alone manage the new AP, it must have enough licenses
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Logon Scripts in Group Policy not running

Problem  Was having difficulty with a logon script I had created and was deploying to users via Group Policy. The script was to customise printer settings for certain users. But it just wasn't running when the users would logon to their PCs. The GPO was applying properly, and I could run the script manually without issue. Cause It turns out that it was happening because, by default, logon scripts don't run for 5 mins after logon occurs on a Windows client PC. Solution This can be adjusted by setting the "Configure Logon Script Delay policy" to "Enabled" and then configuring a better delay. Note: if this policy is set to disabled or not configured, the default delay of 5 mins will apply. I initially set this delay to "0" but found that wasn't successful.  Perhaps the script needed a small delay. So I set it to "1" (1 minute) and it worked nicely. I must also note that during the troubleshooting process, I read many recommendations to e...
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