Category Archives: SysAdmin

Windows ADK 2004 For Windows 10 Now Available with Add-On

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With the release of Windows 10 version 2004, the following tool to support this latest Windows 10 build, Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) version 2004 is now available.
You can download it from: Windows 10 Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK).

NOTE: There is a change with this ADK which requires an add-on installation to include Windows PE.

Starting with Windows 10, version 1809, Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) is released separately from the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK). To add Windows PE to your ADK installation, download the Windows PE Addon and run the included installer after installing the ADK. This change enables post-RTM updates to tools in the ADK. After running the installer for the WinPE add-on, the WinPE files will be in the same location as they were in previous installs of the ADK.

See Download and install the Windows ADK and ADK tools to get the ADK and WinPE add-on.

The Windows ADK is also available to Windows Insiders. Join the Windows Insider Program to get the Windows ADK Insider Preview.

The latest version of the Windows ADK includes:

Windows Performance Recorder (WPR)

New SkipPDBGen Option – During WPR stop, you can now specify in the command line the ability to skip generation of PDBs (NGen & Embedded) to help reduce trace stop time.

  • wpr -stop <recording filename> <Problem description> [-skipPdbGen]

Learn more about Windows ADK v2004 for Windows 10.

Free Certification Exams at Microsoft Ignite 2019

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Microsoft Ignite 2019 Conference is taking place in Orlando, Florida from November 4-8, 2019. There’s some great news for everyone who will be attending the conference. Microsoft is offering free certification exams at the convention center during the conference, and these exams range from $99 to $165 each. Please note the free exams are for the Role-based certifications only (MS-xxx, AZ-xxx, MD-xxx, MB-xxx) such as Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. Sign up in advance to lock in your spot, and get certified! Below are the steps to do so:

  • Go to this landing page or here with the list of Role-based certifications available.
  • Select your preferred certification and click on Schedule exam
  • Fill out your profile information. Make sure your name matches your legal IDs which will be required to sit for the exams
  • Select “Continue To Pearson Vue”
  • On the Select Exam Delivery Option page, choose “At a local test center”
  • Click on Schedule this exam
  • On the Test Center Search page, type “Orlando, FL” and click search.
    Choose option 3 from the search results for “Microsoft Event Test Center, Orange County Convention Center”, and click next
  • On the Choose Appointment page, change the month to November and pick a date which you prefer to sit for the exam. You will be given a selection of times to choose from. Pick one.
  • Click on Proceed to Checkout, and confirm your personal information on the following page and click Next
  • Agree to the terms and conditions and click Next
  • Confirm the payment information which would be USD$0.00
  • Click Submit Order to confirm
  • And Voila, your free Microsoft certification exam confirmation

My friend Vlad Catrinescu has has usual study guides to help you study for a few of the role-based exams. See below:

Good luck on your exams and have a great Microsoft Ignite conference.

Enable Windows 10 Administrator Account

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This post is not to emphasize or promote the use of the local administrator account or provide such level of access to your users. IT Professionals and security experts will tell you that providing local administrator account privileges for end users is risky as it can introduce lots of issues such as ransomware attacks, malware infections, risk of compromised systems, and Pass-the-Hash attacks to name a few.

The local administrator account on a Windows 10 system is disabled by default. If you need to enable it for troubleshooting purposes or for some management tasks, you can do so in 3 ways.

Option 1: Computer Management

  • Click Start > search for Computer Management
  • Expand Local Users and Groups
  • Expand Users
  • Right-click on Administrator account
  • Uncheck Account is disabled box > click Apply and OK
  • Right-click Administrator account
  • Click on Set Password
  • Click on Proceed
  • Enter new password as desired
  • Confirm password > click OK

Option 2: Command Prompt

  • Click on Start > search for Command Prompt
  • Right-click and Run as Administrator
  • Type the following command and press enter:

net user “Administrator” /active:yes

Option 3: PowerShell

  • Click on Start > search for PowerShell
  • Right-click and Run as Administrator
  • Type the following command and press enter:

Get-LocalUser -Name “Administrator” | Enable-LocalUser

To disable the local Administrator account:

Get-LocalUser -Name “Administrator” | Disable-LocalUser

Windows Server 2019 Now Available

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The ISO download for Windows Server 2019 has been released and is now available from the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) portal. You’ll find the 64-bit ISO file with a download size of 4351 MB.


Here’s a short description of Windows Server as seen in the VLSC portal. To learn more about Windows Server 2019, such as features, deployment, management, system requirements, and more, read HERE!

Windows 10 October 2018 Update (v1809) Available in VLSC

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The ISO download for Windows 10 October 2018 Update edition (version 1809) has been released and is now available from the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) portal. You’ll find the 64-bit ISO file with a download size of 4505 MB. The 32-bit version is also available for download (3278MB).

Here is a good article on “How to verify if you have downloaded or installed the latest version of Windows 10”. I would recommend that you check out Michael Niehaus’ blog post where he shares some important information regarding the changes with the volume license media and upgrade packages with Windows 10, starting with v1709. There is only one ISO with a single WIM (Windows Image) file that contains all the volume license images as listed below:

Here’s what’s new in Windows 10 October 2018 Update and Office. And here’s some additional information on how to get Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

You can check out the known issues HERE!

Windows ADK 1809 For Windows 10 Now Available with Add-On

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With the release of Windows 10 version 1809, the following tool to support this latest Windows 10 build, Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) version 1809 is now available.
You can download it from: Windows 10 Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK).

NOTE: There is a new change with this ADK which requires an add-on installation to include Windows PE.

Starting with Windows 10, version 1809, Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) is released separately from the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK). To add Windows PE to your ADK installation, download the Windows PE Addon and run the included installer after installing the ADK. This change enables post-RTM updates to tools in the ADK. After running the installer for the WinPE add-on, the WinPE files will be in the same location as they were in previous installs of the ADK.

See Download and install the Windows ADK and ADK tools to get the ADK and WinPE add-on.

Johan Arwidmark has written a nice PowerShell script to automate the installation of the Windows ADK and Windows PE Add-On. You can grab it from his script repository on GitHub. This is very useful.

The Windows ADK is also available to Windows Insiders. Join the Windows Insider Program to get the Windows ADK Insider Preview.

The latest version of the Windows ADK includes:

  • The Windows Assessment Toolkit and the Windows Performance Toolkit to assess the quality and performance of systems or components.
  • Deployment tools such as WinPE, Sysprep, DISM and other tools that you can use to customize and deploy Windows 10 images.

Learn more about Windows ADK v1809 for Windows 10.

Microsoft MVP 2018-2019 Renewal

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I’m so Thankful, honored, and excited to receive the above email from the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award team confirming my award renewal for the 2018-2019 year. This is my second consecutive award since receiving my first one on January 1, 2017. It has been a wonderful, exciting, fun, challenging, and rewarding experience with endless opportunities.

The MVP award has provided some great opportunities for me in terms of my career growth, skill development, and avenues to give back and help others in the IT Professional community. I have been invited to speak at conferences such as Microsoft Ignite (Orlando 2017), MVP Community Connections (Boston and New York City), TechMentor, IT/Dev Connections, MMSMOA, user groups, webinars, as well as opportunities to guest blog, expert panelist, review technical books, test and evaluate software, provide technical expertise, guest podcaster, community reporter at Ignite 2017, community engagement specialist at various events, and much more.

I am very grateful and appreciative for my MVP award and various opportunities provided to me over time. Thank you very much to each and every one of you for making me successful in my efforts as a MVP, IT Professional, and community contributor, and for providing me with the valuable resources and networking opportunities. Thank you!

ADMX Template For Windows 10 April 2018 Update (1803) Now Available

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On April 30, 2018, Microsoft released the Windows 10 April 2018 Update (1803) build to customers worldwide. The following tools to support this latest release has been made available, which includes Windows 10 Administrative Templates (.ADMX), Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK), and the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows 10 April 2018 Update.

Windows 10 Administrative Template (.ADMX)

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10 (RSAT)

Windows 10 Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK)

Microsoft Office 2016 Administrative Templates and Office Customization Tool is also available for download.

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Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) For Windows 10 v1803

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The latest version of the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows 10 April 2018 Update v1803 have been released. The download is available here. You will find the following download files available for version 1.0 corresponding to x86 or x64 Operating Systems:

  • WindowsTH-RSAT_WS_1803-x64.msu (95.1MB)
  • WindowsTH-RSAT_WS_1803-x86.msu (69.9MB)
  • WindowsTH-RSAT_WS2016-x64.msu (92.3MB)
  • WindowsTH-RSAT_WS2016-x86.msu (69.5MB)

See here if you would like to determine if a computer is running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows OS.

Additional Information:

When to use WS_1803 RSAT Package: When managing Windows Server, version 1803 or Windows Server, version 1709
When to use WS2016 RSAT Package: When managing Windows Server 2016 or previous versions

Known Issues that may impact RSAT functionality:

Issue: DNS Tools missing
Impact: WS_1709 RSAT package users
Resolution: Use the WS_1803 or WS2016 RSAT package or apply this workaround

Issue: Cannot turn off individual RSAT components
Impact: WS_1803 and WS_1709 RSAT package users on Windows 10 1803/1709 (April 2018 Update/Fall Creators Update)
Resolution: Use the WS2016 RSAT package on Windows 10 1607 (Anniversary Update)

Issue: Tabs missing from MMC Properties
Impact: Windows 10 clients before 1607 (Anniversary Update)
Resolution: Update to the latest version of Windows 10 client and reinstall RSAT

Issue: Shielding Data File Wizard cannot create shielding data files
Impact: WS_1709 RSAT package users on Windows 10 1709 (Fall Creators Update)
Resolution: Use the WS_1803 RSAT package on Windows 10 1803 (April 2018 Update), or use the WS2016 RSAT package on Windows 10 1607 (Anniversary Update) to create shielding data files for Windows shielded VMs, or the built-in RSAT tools in Windows Server, version 1709 to create shielding data files for both Windows and Linux shielded VMs.

Issue: Template disks created from the Template Disk Wizard do not boot
Impact: WS_1709 RSAT package users on Windows 10 1709 (Fall Creators Update)
Resolution: Use the WS_1803 RSAT package on Windows 10 1803 (April 2018 Update), or use the WS2016 RSAT package on Windows 10 1607 (Anniversary Update) to create template disks for Windows shielded VMs, or the built-in RSAT tools in Windows Server, version 1709 to create shielding data files for both Windows and Linux shielded VMs.

Follow me (@Hoorge) on Twitter and join Tech Konnect on Facebook and Twitter (@TechKonnect) to stay current on technology related matters.

Windows ADK 1803 For Windows 10 Now Available

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With the release of Windows 10 version 1803, the following tool to support this latest Windows 10 build, Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) version 1803 is now available.
You can download it from: Windows 10 Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK).

Note: You must use Windows 10 build 1803 with this version of the ADK.
The Windows ADK is also available to Windows Insiders. Join the Windows Insider Program to get the Windows ADK Insider Preview.

The latest version of the Windows ADK includes:

  • The Windows Assessment Toolkit and the Windows Performance Toolkit to assess the quality and performance of systems or components.
  • Deployment tools such as WinPE, Sysprep, DISM and other tools that you can use to customize and deploy Windows 10 images.

Learn more about Windows ADK v1803 for Windows 10.