IT Crumbs – Tech Leftovers

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Should I re-install the versions of the .NET Framework in a specific order?

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2010/12/22/10108400.aspx

Question:

I used the instructions and the cleanup tool in this blog post to remove all versions of the .NET Framework from my computer, and now I want to re-install them.  Do I need to re-install them in any specific order?

Answer:

In general, the versions of the .NET Framework allow you to install in any order you choose.  However, I recommend installing in reverse order from newest to oldest, like this:

  1. .NET Framework 4
  2. .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (this will install the .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 and 3.0 SP2 behind the scenes so you do not have to install them separately)
  3. .NET Framework 1.1 (if you have any programs installed that need it, this blog post can help you decide whether or not you need it)
  4. .NET Framework 1.0 (if you have any programs installed that need it, this blog post can help you decide whether or not you need it)

Even though it is a little counter-intuitive, there are a couple of reasons that I recommend installing in reverse order:

  • To help avoid some possible setup bugs in older versions of the .NET Framework – there are a couple of setup bugs (like this and this) in older versions of the .NET Framework that are fixed in service packs and later versions.  Installing a later version of the .NET Framework first will update some files that are shared by all versions of the .NET Framework, and that will allow you to avoid these bugs when installing older versions of the .NET Framework.
  • To minimize the number of separate downloads and installs – if you install the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 first, it will automatically install the .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 and 3.0 SP2 for you, so you don’t need to install them separately.  Also, if you install older versions of the .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.0 before installing the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, the 3.5 SP1 installer will automatically uninstall them as a part of its install process.  That means you will just end up wasting time if you install the .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.0 before installing the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

Microsoft Security Essentials Exclusion List

To add exclusions, click on Settings > Excluded files & locations, then click the Add button to add an entry.

For Windows XP, add the following exclusion:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Essentials

For Vista/Windows 7, add the following exclusions:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Essentials
C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Microsoft Security Essentials
C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware

 

From:

http://msmvps.com/blogs/kwsupport/archive/2010/07/20/microsoft-security-essentials-exclusion-list.aspx

Scheduling complete pc backup

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsbackup/thread/dc7efd4f-b13c-4ab9-ba3e-688a13981742

how to schedule complete pc backup?

wbadmin.exe is the command line that is included in vista as well as windows server 2008. it can be used to schedule to backup all volumes hosting critical system data and/or user data volumes. if all system critical volumes are backed up – system can be recovered from a hard disk disaster when computer does not boot back.

command line : wbadmin.exe start backup -allcritical -include:m: -backuptarget:t: -quiet
where m: is data volume
-allcritical will select backup all critical volumes hosting sysstem critical data.
t: is the backup location.
note – backup target t: should not be on the same disk as other critical system partitions. this is to ensure that backup is not lost in case of hard disk disaster. for exmaple – you can have it on an external usb disk.
steps to create task scheduler task
launch task scheduler UI
1. click start button
2. type ‘task’ – select ‘task scheduler’ program found as result of search. this will launch task scheduler UI.
3. click action — ‘create task’

Fill details
4. In general tab – fill task name, select ‘run with highest privileges’ checkbox. this is required since the task should run as an administrator.
5. select the user account which has administrative privileges
5. in trigger tab – add a new trigger. only user the settings to schedule daily/weekly/monthly as needed. leave the advanced settings as is.
6. in actions tab – add a new action. type %windir%\system32\wbadmin.exe in the program or use browse button to select the same.
7. add arguments – type : start backup -allcritical -include:m: -backuptarget:t: -quiet
m: and t: need to be replaced with drives on your machine. if you do not have any data drive other than critical volumes – you can remove "-include:m:"
8. click ok to save the task

to test the task runs fine –
1. click ‘task scheduler library’ in the task scheduler UI
2. right click your task name and click "run".
3. this should launch a command prompt and display backup progress.

once the task completes successfully – you are all set. the schedule task should run as scheduled by you and create complete pc backups.

you can ran a command prompt as administrator ( start button-> type cmd.exe -> right click -> run as administrator) and use command
wbadmin get versions to see all versions which are available for recovery.
HTH

——- this information is provided as-is without any warranties, implicit or explicit.

Website prompting for username and password – Plesk 9.2 Windows 2008

http://24x7servermanagement.com/blog/?p=731

Many times when you create a website from Plesk it works fine initially but suddenly one day you get a username and password prompt on your website which is very frustating and annoying.  We have been gone through such issues quite enough so here is what you need to do.

1.) Check permissions for the domain. Open Plesk panel – Click the Domains shortcut in the navigation panel. Select the check box corresponding to the domain name you want to perform permissions check on. Click Check permissions.

2.) Delete file .Security from the domain directory: ( Basically under yourdomain.com folder )

%plesk_vhosts%\domain.tld

3.) Reconfigure the domain settings:

“%plesk_bin%\websrvmng.exe” –reconfigure-vhost –vhost-name=yourdomain.com

4.) Reset the domains password from Plesk panel

Restart the website from the IIS , Well if the problem still persists you need to check the permissions from IIS , Make sure you have proper authentication setup for IUSR_Username and proper authentication for the domains application pool.

Usefull Plesk SQL Statements

http://www.thesupportsystem.co.uk/?p=344

FTP ACCOUNTS
SELECT account_id AS ‘ID’, login AS ‘USERNAME’, password AS ‘PASSWORD’, home AS ‘HOMEDIR’ FROM sys_users S, accounts A WHERE S.account_id = A.id;
MAIL ACCOUNTS
For all Domains
SELECT account_id AS ‘ID’, mail_name AS ‘USERNAME’, password AS ‘PASSWORD’, postbox as ‘MAILBOX?’, name AS ‘DOMAIN’, redir_addr as REDIRECT FROM mail M, domains D, accounts A WHERE M.account_id = A.id AND M.dom_id = D.id ORDER BY name;
For a Specific Domain
SELECT account_id AS ‘ID’, mail_name AS ‘USERNAME’, password AS ‘PASSWORD’, postbox as ‘MAILBOX?’, name AS ‘DOMAIN’, redir_addr as REDIRECT FROM mail M, domains D, accounts A WHERE M.account_id = A.id AND M.dom_id = D.id AND D.name=’****DOMAIN_NAME****‘;
MySQL ACCOUNTS
Plesk 7
SELECT d.name AS DOMAIN, db.name AS DB, du.login as USER, du.passwd as PASS FROM db_users du, data_bases db, domains d WHERE du.db_id = db.id AND db.dom_id=d.id ORDER BY d.name, db.name;
Plesk 8 & 9
SELECT d.name AS DOMAIN, db.name AS DB, du.login as USER, a.password as PASS FROM db_users du, data_bases db, domains d, accounts a WHERE du.db_id = db.id AND db.dom_id=d.id and du.account_id=a.id ORDER BY d.name, db.name;
CLIENT ACCOUNTS
Plesk 7
SELECT id as ‘ID’, login as ‘USERNAME’, passwd as ‘PASSWORD’, cname as ‘COMPANY’ FROM clients  ORDER BY login;
Plesk 8 & 9
SELECT c.id as client, a.id as account, c.login, a.password from clients c, accounts a where a.id=c.account_id;