Windows Server How ToYour Windows Server Knowledge Base

By default Exchange server 2007 Stardart database size limit is 50Gb.

Exchange server 2007 Enterprise edition has no limit for database size.

In this post we will see how to change size for the mailbox database named “FirstDB”.

We will work with Exchange 2007 Standart “TestExchange” running on Windows server 2003.

First we need to retrieve GUID ID for “FirstDB” database, which can be found in FirstSG storage group.

To do it open exchange powershell and type:

Get-MailboxDatabase -Identity “TestExchange\FirstSG\FirstDB” | Format-Table Name, GUID

When you have GUID for your database open registry editor and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\TestExchange\Private-<database GUID>

If you can see DWORD value Database size limit in GB open it ant type your new limit for database in GB.

If value cannot be located, create new DWORD value with “Database size limit in GB” name and set value in GB.

This post will show you how to change print spooler directory path in your Windows system.

It is recommended to relocate print spooler directory to dedicated disk or disk array (Raid 0) in your Print server. This will increase printing performance considerably.

By default print spooler directory is located in %systemroot%\System32\Spool\Printers on your Windows computer.

To change path click Start>Settings>Printers and Faxes.

Press “File” in menu and select “Server Properties”.

Select “Advanced” tab.

Type new path for spool folder in “Spool folder:” field.

Note that new path for spool folder cannot be root of disk (for example G:) and target path must exist before relocating spool folder.

This quick post will show you how to delete files that are being used by system or running processes.

When you try to delete that kind of files on your Windows machine  you get error:

“Access denied”

or

“File/Folder is being used by applications. Please close the application and then try again”

To delete these “corrupted” files you can use  tool named “Unlocker”. It removes lock from file or folder and you can delete it afterwards.

You can download this tool from here .

Cheers!

This post will show how to list all Organizational Units in your domain using command line tool netdom. To list all OU in domain named “testdomain.com” type:

netdom query /d:testdomain.com OU

Note that netdom is part of Windows server 2003 support tools. They can be found on your OS CD (Support\Tools directory).

This post will show you how to start “Administrative Tools” via Run on your Windows computer. To start Administrative Tools press “Start” > “Run” and type:

control admintools

Press “OK” and you are Done!

This post will show you how to remove invalid boot paths from boot.ini file on your Windows machine.

To do it press “Start” > “Run” and type:

msconfig

Press “OK”.

In “System Configuration Utility” window press “Check All Boot Paths” button.

Computer will check all boot paths and will remove invalid ones.

After check restart your computers and you are Done!

This post will show you how to reinstall Internet Explorer on your Windows computer.  Note that you will need Windows install CD or Windows install files on your disk to reinstall internet explorer.

To perform reinstal press “Start” > “Run” and type:

rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 %windir%\inf\ie.inf

Press “OK” and browse to Windows install CD or files on your disk to start reinstall.

This post will show you how to start “Event Viewer” via Run on your Windows computer. To start Event Viewer press “Start” > “Run” and type:

eventvwr.msc

Press “OK” and you are Done!

This post will show you how to block unwanted web sites by editing hosts file on your Windows computer. Lets say you want that all computer users were unable to browse web site named www.badsite.com .

To block web site click “Start” > “Run” and type:

notepad c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Note that there is space between notepad and c:\windows…

In “hosts” file select empty row and type:

127.0.0.1 www.badsite.com

On “hosts” file menu click “File” and and select “Save” to save changes you just made.

After saving changes you can close file and you are done!

This post will show you how to disable automatic restart when system error occurs on your Windows computer. If this option is enabled you are unable to view Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) output and to check system error code for further investigation.

To disable auto restart right click mouse on “My Computer” icon and choose “Properties”. In “System properties” window select “Advanced” tab.

In “Advanced” tab click “Settings” under “Startup and Recovery” section. In “Startup and Recovery” window uncheck “Automatically restart” option.

Press “OK” and You are done!

This post will show you how to clear up Winsock Catalog on your Windows server 2003 or Windows XP machine. To do it open command line and type:

netsh winsock reset

Restart your computer after this.

Note that you might need to run IP reset afterwards to completely rebuild your IP stack.

? Winsock catalog – is the interface between your applications and internet. Many spyware reside there when they infect your OS.

If you are looking for quick way to get information about remote system this how to is for you. I present you network scan tool – Winfingerprint. This tool is designed to gather information about Microsoft systems and applications. It can use RPC, ICMP, SMB, SNMP, TCP and UDP to obtain various information. You can quickly get information about remote OS version, users, groups, SID, password policies, services, shares, disks and much more.

You can read more about this tool here .

Tool can be downloaded from this location .