Nice windows GUI git/mecurial client: SourceTree (By those fine Atlassian folks)
Seems to co-exist nicely w/ TortoiseGIT as well.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
WPKG - Open Source Windows software deployment option
Here's a deployment option/ Partial-Group Policy replacement that doesn't get enough love:
http://wpkg.org/
From the site: WPKG is an automated software deployment, upgrade and removal program for Windows.
http://wpkg.org/
From the site: WPKG is an automated software deployment, upgrade and removal program for Windows.
It can be used to push/pull software packages, such as Service Packs, hotfixes, or program installations from a central server (for example, Samba or Active Directory) to a number of workstations.
It can run as a service to install software in the background (silent install), without user interaction.
It can install MSI, InstallShield, PackagefortheWeb, Inno Setup, Nullsoft, other software installers or .exe packages, .bat and .cmd scripts and similar: no more repackaging to perform software installation.
WPKG is open source software.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Google Update error 0x8004070 - Solved!
Error 0x8004070 when installing the Music Manager, which actually kicks off a GoogleUpdate.exe process.
Lot's of people have seen this error with various google products, I tracked it down to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Update\ - had to kill active GoogleUpdate.exe process, then deleted whole folder. Success!
Lot's of people have seen this error with various google products, I tracked it down to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Update\ - had to kill active GoogleUpdate.exe process, then deleted whole folder. Success!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Local Update Publisher (Software deployment via WSUS)
This is a quickstart tutorial/demonstration of Local Update Publisher
"Local Update Publisher allows system administrators to publish their own updates to Windows Server Update Services using local publishing."
Pros:
Consolidates management and storage (one console, minimal Group Policy fiddling, no separate fileshare.)
Users can install updates on their schedule and/or admins can force schedule.
Cons:
Relies on a (small?) 3rd party project. (Though open-source, and using an official Microsoft API.)
Can't assign or offer to users, only per machine.
This tutorial assumes you have a working install of WSUS, and a basic knowledge of .MSI packages.
Remember everything is stored on your WSUS server, LUP is "just" a gui that talks to it, similar to the WSUS admin console. So download and install the EXE, run it (you will need to "Run as Administrator"), point it at the WSUS server ("Localhost" if you're on the server, in our case "guard.ourdomain.com", port 80, no SSL for now), and go!
To publish:
First, acquire your MSI. In this example, we'll use the Frontmotion - supplied package of Firefox.
Select Tools -> Create Update. Point it at your .MSI. Confusingly, you *DON'T* provide the "MSI Path". (This is only if it is contained in an .EXE).
LUP (WSUS?) requires a Vendor and Product to be defined. Fill in any other details you think are relevant.(I like to include the version number in the name.)
You can then click through the next few screens, accepting the defaults for now. (These let you write more complex rules, to only target x64, for instance.) Click "finish". You'll get a progress window as it re-packages it for WSUS and uploads it the server.
Notice in this example there are now two versions of the package. Be sure to retire/remove the old version, or else clients will do weird things, i.e. continually install one then the other in the case of Firefox updates.)
Now, we just approve this update (in this case, only for the METRO-TEST group:
"Local Update Publisher allows system administrators to publish their own updates to Windows Server Update Services using local publishing."
Pros:
Consolidates management and storage (one console, minimal Group Policy fiddling, no separate fileshare.)
Users can install updates on their schedule and/or admins can force schedule.
Cons:
Relies on a (small?) 3rd party project. (Though open-source, and using an official Microsoft API.)
Can't assign or offer to users, only per machine.
This tutorial assumes you have a working install of WSUS, and a basic knowledge of .MSI packages.
Remember everything is stored on your WSUS server, LUP is "just" a gui that talks to it, similar to the WSUS admin console. So download and install the EXE, run it (you will need to "Run as Administrator"), point it at the WSUS server ("Localhost" if you're on the server, in our case "guard.ourdomain.com", port 80, no SSL for now), and go!
To publish:
First, acquire your MSI. In this example, we'll use the Frontmotion - supplied package of Firefox.
Select Tools -> Create Update. Point it at your .MSI. Confusingly, you *DON'T* provide the "MSI Path". (This is only if it is contained in an .EXE).
LUP (WSUS?) requires a Vendor and Product to be defined. Fill in any other details you think are relevant.(I like to include the version number in the name.)
You can then click through the next few screens, accepting the defaults for now. (These let you write more complex rules, to only target x64, for instance.) Click "finish". You'll get a progress window as it re-packages it for WSUS and uploads it the server.
Notice in this example there are now two versions of the package. Be sure to retire/remove the old version, or else clients will do weird things, i.e. continually install one then the other in the case of Firefox updates.)
Now, we just approve this update (in this case, only for the METRO-TEST group:
Now to see the results of our labor, first we have to assign our testing machine to the METRO-TEST WSUS group.Open up the WSUS admin console, find your target machine(s), right-click and give them membership the appropriate group.
From the LUP wiki:
"The WSUS clients have a locally stored cookie that stores the groups that the client is associated to. Until that cookie expires the client will not create a new one. This means that if you add clients to a group and then immediately try to force a client in that group to detect updates it will likely not find updates you have approved for your new group. You can either wait an hour or force the cookie to expire by running wuauclt with the /resetauthorization flag."
Once I did this, then re-ran "Check for updates" (CLI version: "wuauclt /detectnow"). Looks promising...
Now, go forth and publish!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Older XP system, most any (un)install failed:
"this installation is forbidden by system policy"
Event Type: Information
Event Source: MsiInstaller
Event Category: None
Event ID: 11729
Date: 3/9/2012
Time: 12:25:26 PM
User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer: VH229A
Description:
Product: Sophos Anti-Virus -- Configuration failed.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 7b 30 33 34 37 35 39 44 {034759D
0008: 41 2d 45 32 31 41 2d 34 A-E21A-4
0010: 37 39 35 2d 42 46 42 33 795-BFB3
0018: 2d 43 36 36 44 31 37 46 -C66D17F
0020: 41 44 31 38 33 7d AD183}
Event Type: Information
Event Source: MsiInstaller
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1035
Date: 3/9/2012
Time: 12:25:18 PM
User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer: VH229A
Description:
Windows Installer reconfigured the product. Product Name: Sophos Remote Management System. Product Version: 3.0.14. Product Language: 1033. Reconfiguration success or error status: 1625.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 7b 46 46 31 31 30 30 35 {FF11005
0008: 44 2d 43 42 43 38 2d 34 D-CBC8-4
0010: 35 44 35 2d 41 32 38 38 5D5-A288
0018: 2d 32 35 43 37 42 42 33 -25C7BB3
0020: 30 34 31 32 31 7d 04121}
Most troubleshooting posts I found reference "Prohibit non-administrators from applying vendor signed updates" or Software Restriction Policy "All users except local administrators." Sorta close, same area in local policy editor: Local Computer -> Computer Config -> Admin Templates ->Windows Components -> Windows Installer. However "Disable Windows Installer" was enabled! Unconfigured, instant success.
"this installation is forbidden by system policy"
Event Type: Information
Event Source: MsiInstaller
Event Category: None
Event ID: 11729
Date: 3/9/2012
Time: 12:25:26 PM
User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer: VH229A
Description:
Product: Sophos Anti-Virus -- Configuration failed.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 7b 30 33 34 37 35 39 44 {034759D
0008: 41 2d 45 32 31 41 2d 34 A-E21A-4
0010: 37 39 35 2d 42 46 42 33 795-BFB3
0018: 2d 43 36 36 44 31 37 46 -C66D17F
0020: 41 44 31 38 33 7d AD183}
Event Type: Information
Event Source: MsiInstaller
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1035
Date: 3/9/2012
Time: 12:25:18 PM
User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Computer: VH229A
Description:
Windows Installer reconfigured the product. Product Name: Sophos Remote Management System. Product Version: 3.0.14. Product Language: 1033. Reconfiguration success or error status: 1625.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 7b 46 46 31 31 30 30 35 {FF11005
0008: 44 2d 43 42 43 38 2d 34 D-CBC8-4
0010: 35 44 35 2d 41 32 38 38 5D5-A288
0018: 2d 32 35 43 37 42 42 33 -25C7BB3
0020: 30 34 31 32 31 7d 04121}
Event Type: Information
Event Source: MsiInstaller
Event Category: None
Event ID: 11729
Date: 3/9/2012
Time: 12:07:50 PM
User: DEPT-LAWR\0mparsons
Computer: VH229A
Description:
Product: Spelling Dictionaries Support For Adobe Reader 8 -- Configuration failed.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 7b 41 43 37 36 42 41 38 {AC76BA8
0008: 36 2d 37 41 44 37 2d 35 6-7AD7-5
0010: 34 36 34 2d 33 34 32 38 464-3428
0018: 2d 38 30 30 30 30 30 30 -8000000
0020: 30 30 30 30 33 7d 00003}
Event Type: Information
Event Source: MsiInstaller
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1035
Date: 3/9/2012
Time: 12:07:50 PM
User: DEPT-LAWR\0mparsons
Computer: VH229A
Description:
Windows Installer reconfigured the product. Product Name: Spelling Dictionaries Support For Adobe Reader 8. Product Version: 8.0.0. Product Language: 1033. Reconfiguration success or error status: 1625.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 7b 41 43 37 36 42 41 38 {AC76BA8
0008: 36 2d 37 41 44 37 2d 35 6-7AD7-5
0010: 34 36 34 2d 33 34 32 38 464-3428
0018: 2d 38 30 30 30 30 30 30 -8000000
0020: 30 30 30 30 33 7d 00003}
Most troubleshooting posts I found reference "Prohibit non-administrators from applying vendor signed updates" or Software Restriction Policy "All users except local administrators." Sorta close, same area in local policy editor: Local Computer -> Computer Config -> Admin Templates ->Windows Components -> Windows Installer. However "Disable Windows Installer" was enabled! Unconfigured, instant success.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Win 7 Updates fail with error 0x80071a90 0x800705b4
(And the error causes everything installed to be rolled backed.)
The fix is at
http://www.davewolf.net/2011/05/windows-7-x64-updates-failing-april-2011
Manually installing at least one of them worked around the issue for me. Thanks Dave!
Addendum: On another system, (7x64), I narrowed it down to KB2515325. Manually download/install that one, then run Windows Update and install the rest.
The fix is at
http://www.davewolf.net/2011/05/windows-7-x64-updates-failing-april-2011
Manually installing at least one of them worked around the issue for me. Thanks Dave!
Addendum: On another system, (7x64), I narrowed it down to KB2515325. Manually download/install that one, then run Windows Update and install the rest.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Win 7 and SSD's (Swapfile is good!)
From http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2009/05/05/support-and-q-a-for-solid-state-drives-and.aspx
Should the pagefile be placed on SSDs?
Yes. Most pagefile operations are small random reads or larger sequential writes, both of which are types of operations that SSDs handle well.
In looking at telemetry data from thousands of traces and focusing on pagefile reads and writes, we find that
- Pagefile.sys reads outnumber pagefile.sys writes by about 40 to 1,
- Pagefile.sys read sizes are typically quite small, with 67% less than or equal to 4 KB, and 88% less than 16 KB.
- Pagefile.sys writes are relatively large, with 62% greater than or equal to 128 KB and 45% being exactly 1 MB in size.
In fact, given typical pagefile reference patterns and the favorable performance characteristics SSDs have on those patterns, there are few files better than the pagefile to place on an SSD.
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