I recently discovered this website, WhatIsMyTenantID.com which provides a quick and easy way to find your Microsoft Azure Tenant ID information. It’s very simple to use. Visit the website, type your domain name, and click “Find my tenant ID” to obtain the results.
Category Archives: Tips & Tricks
How To Install ConfigMgr Client On VDI Template
The installation of the ConfigMgr client on workstations and servers is pretty straight forward, and can be done manually, with Client Push, and Software Update Based client installation to name a few. However, it is not as simple when dealing with Windows VDI systems, where extra steps need to be taken to avoid duplicate ConfigMgr client GUIDs and certificates on cloned VDI systems. Below are the steps to follow.
On the master or template system:
- Install the ConfigMgr client. Ensure it is properly functioning and has all the necessary components and actions.
- Stop the SMS Host Service. This can be done by launching the Command Prompt (CMD) as Administrator and running the following command:
net stop ccmexec - Delete the SMSCFG.ini file from the Windows folder location. In Administrator CMD, run the following command:
del %WINDIR%\SMSCFG.ini - Delete the SMS Certificates. To do this, launch PowerShell as Administrator and run the following command:
Remove-Item -Path HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\SMS\Certificates\* -Force - Remove the Inventory Action ID 1 in WMI. You can run the following command:
wmic /namespace:\root\ccm\invagt path inventoryActionStatus where InventoryActionID=”{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001}” DELETE /NOINTERACTIVE - Once the above steps have been completed, shutdown the master template, capture a snapshot, and provision the VDI systems. At this point, each VDI system will generate a unique ConfigMgr GUID and will function as expected.
For step number 5, this can be achieved by using the wbemtest tool with the following steps:
- Launch wbemtest as Administrator
- Click Connect
- Change the Namespace field as root\ccm\invagt, and click Connect
- Click on Enum Classes
- Select Recursive and click Ok
- Scroll down and locate InventoryActionStatus, and double click
- Click on the Instances button
- Select the Inventory GUID and click Delete
Free Certification Exams at Microsoft Ignite 2019
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:
- 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:
- AZ-900 – Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
- AZ-103: Microsoft Azure Administrator
- MS-900: Microsoft 365 Fundamentals
- MS-300: Deploying Microsoft 365 Teamwork
- MS-301: Deploying SharePoint Server Hybrid
- MS-100: Microsoft 365 Identity and Services
- MS-101: Microsoft 365 Mobility and Security
Good luck on your exams and have a great Microsoft Ignite conference.
How To Disable Blur on Windows 10 Sign-In Screen
Starting with Windows 10 “19H1” or build 18237, you have likely encountered a blurred background on the login screen. Some users like this feature and some don’t. If you’d like to change the blurred effect to a clear image, then you can do it in two ways:
1. Group Policy or Local Policy
2. Registry setting
Change using Group Policy or Local Policy:
- Launch the Group Policy Editor > gpedit.msc
- In Group Policy Editor, go to: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Logon
- Enable the policy option: Show clear logon background
- Restart the computer for good measure
Change using Registry setting:
- Launch the Registry editor (make sure you backup the registry prior to making any changes) > regedit.exe
- Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
- Create a new DWORD (32-bit) value: DisableAcrylicBackgroundOnLogon
- Set the Value data to 1 to disable the blur effect on the login screen
- Restart the computer
Now, you should have a clear login screen background.
Sony A6500 Bulb Mode Setting
Bulb Mode is a shutter speed option which can be used in Manual setting to capture subjects in long exposures such as fireworks, trailing lights, night sky, light painting, and other creative photo captures. In general, DSLR cameras limit shutter speed captures to a maximum of 30 seconds which can be limiting or too much depending on what subject is being captured. Using Bulb Mode, a photographer has the ability to control how long the shutter needs to stay open by pressing down on the shutter and then releasing for the desired exposure required for a particular shot.
On my Nikon DSLR cameras such as the D700, the Bulb option was straight forward to find under the Manual setting and scrolling the wheel for the shutter speed until the screen displayed “BULB”. On my Sony A6500 camera, I had difficulty locating Bulb Mode, with the maximum option of only 30 seconds available. I then realized that I had to change a few other settings which I had configured from the factory settings in order to activate Bulb mode.
If you are using the following settings below, you will not be able to set the shuttle speed to Bulb mode. In this case, the shutter speed will be limited to 30 seconds.
- Smile Shutter
- Auto HDR
- Picture Effect is set to HDR Painting or Rich-tone Mono
- Multi Frame NR
- When Drive Mode is set to the following:
- Cont. Shooting
- Self-timer (Cont)
- Cont. Bracket
- Silent Shooting
Once you have reset the above settings, follow these steps to use Bulb mode on your Sony A6500 camera:
- Set the mode dial to M (Manual Exposure).
- Turn the control wheel counterclockwise until [BULB] is indicated.
- Set the aperture value (F-value) by turning the control dial.
- Press the shutter button halfway down to focus.
- Press and hold the shutter button for the duration of the shot. The shutter will remain open as long as the shutter button is pressed.
Enable Windows 10 Administrator Account
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
ConfigMgr Guidance For SQL CE Levels
What is Cardinality Estimation or SQL CE Level?
The Cardinality Estimator is a SQL Server Query Processor component that is responsible for predicting the number of rows that the query will return. Microsoft provides some great documentation about SQL CE which you can read more on Microsoft Docs.
As for how SQL CE works and it’s importance with ConfigMgr, Umair Khan of Microsoft has shared a great blog post explaining the details, which you can read more here:
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/umairkhan/2019/01/28/configmgr-current-branch-1810-guidance-for-the-sql-ce-levels-with-various-sql-versions