Synchronizing Time Server on the Domain

Recently I was asked why the time on domain was 10 minutes slow compared to the "real" time.  I guess trying to get everyone to stay an extra 10 minutes at work wasn't working anymore.

Now by default the Primary Domain Controller gets its time from the BIOS clock on the server motherboard.  If this time is not accurate ALL the computers in the domain will have incorrect time and date settings.

I suppose you could down the server and reset the BIOS clock but why not just synchronize to an external time source??  The government has a pile of time servers available.  Most of these are associated to the NIST or National Institute of Standards and Technology.  They keep a compehensive list of servers at the following address:  http://tf.nist.gov/tf-cgi/servers.cgi

Obviously pick your time zone for best results!!

The commands are pretty straight forward.  Open a Command Prompt on your DC and enter this command
w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:198.60.73.8 /syncfromflags:MANUAL

Put in the IP address of the time server you want in place of the 198.60.73.8 above.  You can add more than one server if you separate them with commas.  Then you should issue this command:
w32tm /config /update

Make sure you get a 'completed successfully' message.  The time will update on a interval between 64 - 1024 seconds.  If you want to force an update enter this command:
w32tm /resync

Now everyone in the domain and all the servers should start showing the updated time, but only after each device goes through its timesync interval with the server.  Give it a day or so.

-SP

Windows 7 Release Candidate - Download Now

For those of us who jumped into Vista relatively early and had the distinct feeling of being Beta Testers who paid for the privilege, we have been looking forward to the "fix" from Microsoft. It was clear early on that Microsoft had a buggy product and SP1 came out pretty fast but rumors started swirling about a new OS on the horizon. From late 2008 the rumors got loud and then in Jan 2009 it was announced that a Windows 7 Beta was available. Since then the reviews have been positive about the performance and it was clear the Redmond was determined to get it out in 2009 which was probably a year earlier than originally forecast.

Now with the RC available for download by everyone starting May 5th or MSDN subscribers starting April 29th it looks like Microsoft is ready to start giving code to system builders to get them ready. (Yes - my download is already running and will soon be running on a virtual machine)

After running Vista Business for 18 months and seeing a variety of weird hang-ups and bugs I have to say that if my RC candidate install goes well then I won't be waiting to upgrade to Win 7 when it is formally released for sale.

One major gripe that I have and it appears that MS will go through with is the number of versions and SKUs they will be releasing. Current rumors are that there are 5 SKUs released for Win 7 and that painfully reminds me of the mess they made of all the versions in Vista.

(CAN WE PLEASE JUST HAVE 2 VERSIONS?? HOME AND PROFESSIONAL)

-SP

USB 3.0 Spec coming Nov 17th

Intel and others having been working on a new specification for USB for quite a while now. I recall several months ago reading an article about some of the delays and setbacks for getting this new spec completed. All that waiting will pay off on Monday November 17th, 2008 when the official spec will be released.

The new USB 3.0 plugs and devices won't be available anytime soon but maybe by Q3 of 2009???

The really good news is that the plugs are exactly the same size and design and that the USB 3.o plugs will work with current USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 devices so the overall majority of devices will work fine. However if you have a USB 3.0 device plugged into a USB 3.0 plug you can expect throughput speeds of around 4.8 Gbps. Here is how Intel shows the increase.

A brief performance comparison sample for data transfer of a 25GB HD movie:

USB 1.0: 9.3 hours
USB 2.0: 13.9 minutes
USB 3.0: 70 seconds

The first things I've read say that Microsoft isn't promising native support in the new Windows 7 that is due out in late 2009 or 2010 depending on who you ask. That means it will have to come as a service pack or update later on. I couldn't find the news on Mac's but you can bet they will adopt pretty early on.

E-Waste Recycling and Ethical Recycling

As our digital age starts to age we are seeing a complete turnover of electronic equipment at a pace that is astounding. We get asked regularly about recycling computer and equipment. To date we have found a few companies that offer that service but you never know what is happening once they take it from you.

After doing some reading and watching this episode from 60 Minutes you start to ask yourself do I know for sure our recycling was done properly or was it sent to some other country like China where the people doing the work are being exposed to hazardous things because the money is good for them??

Most E-Recyclers will charge a small fee to take your electronics but isn't that worth it to know your waste was handled properly and all the metals & plastics recycled while the hazardous chemicals are dealt with properly.

The Basel Convention was formed to stop industrialized countries from dumping their toxic waste on 3rd world countries.

The website www.ban.org is to create awareness and keep a list of certified e-recyclers who have passed requirements of how they treat the waste.

While most of these charge a few to drop off equipment, the fee is normally small and worth the price to know we are not polluting impoverished nations to satisfy our lust for new electronics.

Our local Utah recycler is Guaranteed Recycling Xperts (GRX) and their Utah location is in Clearfield at the Freeport Center. Here is their contact info and I hope we will all start to use these certified companies and ask other recycling companies to get certified.

GRX - Salt Lake City
Eric Anderson
Freeport Center
P.O. Box 160127
Building E 16
Clearfield, UT 84016
Phone: (801) 386-2533

Vista Snipping Tool

Those who are Vista pros might consider this a little silly but FINALLY Microsoft has created a useful tool for screen capture. Just recently I figured out what it was and it was actually useful.

You can type Snipping into the start search bar or go to 'All Programs’ then ‘Accessories’ then ‘Snipping tool’

With this tool you can cut blocks from the screen or even do a free form draw with the mouse. While the tool is modest and simple and there are better tools out there you can buy, this is a cool new tool that is free is all versions of Vista but Home Basic (that is another gripe story for another time).

Killing the bubble to tell you just printed!!!

While it had never really crossed my mind too much, someone asked me how to kill the bubble that pops from the system tray when you print. Since having that conversation and digging up the answer it has annoyed me more and more when I see it. The thought of "I know I just printed something you idiot" comes to my brain as I wait for the message to time out and go away.

So with that, I can't help but post the instructions on how to kill the annoying print pop-up bubble. Instructions for WindowsXP and Vista is almost the same.

1. Click 'Start' then 'Control panel' then open the "Printers and Faxes" window.
   
2. Click 'File' (ALT-F), then select Server Properties (In Vista just right click in the whitespace where the printers are listed and select "server properties".
   
3. On the 'Print Server Properties' window click the "Advanced" tab up at the top of the window.
   
4. Make sure that both "Notify when remote documents are printed" and "Show informational notifications for network printers" are both UNCHECKED.
   
   1. In Vista UNCHECK "Show informational notifications for network printers" AND "Show informational notifications for local printers"
      
5. Click 'Apply' the 'OK' and close the printers window
   

For some networked printers it seemed to need to reboot the system for the effect to happen but perhaps I just wasn't patient enough, but hey it is Windows and can always use a good reboot, right?!!!!

-Scott

Quickbooks won't launch after joining computer to domain

It won't work after uninstalling and reinstalling, either. Inside the Quickbooks 200X folder there will be a reboot.bat file. It works like a champ.