NOTE: Always create a backup before doing any type of Windows registry modifications!!!! With the full public release of Windows 8 right around the corner it is inevitable that people will want to get in there and check it out. If you are working someplace that uses the Cisco VPN client you may run into a little issues getting it to work on Windows 8. Luckily the fix is REALLY simple. I’m...
NOTE: Always create a backup before doing any type of Windows registry modifications!!!! With the full public release of Windows 8 right around the corner it is inevitable that people will want to get in there and check it out. If you are working someplace that uses the Cisco VPN client you may run into a little issues getting it to work on Windows 8. Luckily the fix is REALLY simple. I’m...
I recently decided to move over to Windows 8 so I can take advantage of Hyper-V and get off a third party tool for virtualization. In the process I decided to rebuild my VM set up and modify the layout a little. Previously I had made each VM a domain controller that needed to be joined to a domain. This was ok in the previous setup as communication between VMs was a pain. With Hyper-V though I...
Modifying the Windows host file can be a great way to ensure that you don’t accidentally modify production while doing development or just redirecting traffic on your computer. For instance, while at a client’s office I was able to access a server by entering just the server name, but when working remote via VPN I was required to enter IP address or the server. Luckily while on the...
It’s about that time again, PASS Summit 2012 is right around the corner in Seattle, WA. It will be held at the convention center from November 6-9. This year will feature more than 170 sessions across 6 tracks from 90 speakers in addition to 2 days of pre-cons; and that doesn’t even include the sessions from Microsoft! I have spoken at a lot of SQL Saturdays, code camps and done a...
If you have ever gotten this error message you may have been left scratching your head wondering why…kinda like me. The Windows Search Engine is currently disabled. Outlook will not be able to provide fast search results using the Instant Search functionality unless the service is running. Well, like any tech savvy user I went into the Windows features section and found that Windows Search...
Virtualization is awesome! It really helps when you are a developer. On my laptop I don’t even have SQL Server installed on the OS directly. In fact the only thing I have installed on my host is Office, Skype and Chrome. Everything else gets run on a VM. SSIS package creation using BIDS: VM. SQL Server Management Studio: VM. SharePoint sandbox: VM VPN: VM. One of the advantages of doing...
If you are like me then you like to reinstall Windows on your laptop every few months to keep things fresh and running smoothly. That or your even more like me and you download some beta version of software and install it on your laptop rather than a VM and screw something up to an unrepairable state. Either way Windows is being reinstalled. I have a laptop without an optical drive in it. The...
Those who know me will know that this post is a little out of the ordinary… I am posting about PowerShell. I have done one previously about Backing up and restoring site collection in SharePoint, so believe me I will admit that it has its place. Well I was onsite with a client today and found another use for PowerShell: checking the size of and free space on mount points on an HP appliance...
Perfmon is a great tool to get a closer look at what is going on in your environment as queries and packages run. There are a ton of counters ranging from OS to third party. In our case we are concerned with SQL Server. I know, that was pretty obvious. The problem is from time to time things break, and therefore counters can disappear. It could be something as simple as a registry key...
Bradley Schacht is a Principal Program Manager on the Microsoft Fabric product team based in Jacksonville, FL. Bradley is a former consultant, trainer, and has authored 5 SQL Server and Power BI books, most recently the Microsoft Power BI Quick Start Guide. As a member of the Microsoft Fabric product team, Bradley works directly with customers to solve some of their most complex data problems and helps shape the future of Microsoft Fabric. He frequently presents at community events around the country, is a contributor to sites such as SQLServerCentral.com, and is a member of the Jacksonville SQL Server User Group (JSSUG).