VM template for Server 2008 R2 on ESX or vSphere

I came across these two articles which can be very helpful to get started with creating  VM template for Server 2008 R2 on ESX or vSphere .

http://www.jasonsamuel.com/2010/05/07/how-to-build-a-vmware-vsphere-vm-template-for-windows-server-2008-r2/#comment-12141 

http://blog.vmpros.nl/2011/01/17/vmware-my-favorite-windows-2008r2-template-configuration/comment-page-1/#comment-4429 

I hope this helps and save time for someone.

Windows 8 error code 0xc0000260

When you try to Install Windows 8 Consumer Preview from a the DVD, it fails with blue dump and gives an error code 0xc0000260.

This error is coming because you can not run Windows 8 customer preview on a PC with a CPU that does not support Physical Address Extension (PAE).  Early Pentium CPUs with the 400Mhz front side bus (FSB) do not support PAE.

PAE is a feature which allows 32 bit CPUs to access physical address space in memory and memory-mapped devices larger than 4GB such as RAM.

It is advisable to check the hardware compatibility list before trying to install Windows 8 CP on your hardware.

The Program can't start becuase MSVCR100.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.

I was trying to refresh Windows Experience Index on my computer and came across this error:

“The Program can't start becuase MSVCR100.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.”

Here is the answer:http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_programs/the-program-cant-start-becuase-msvcr100dll-is/5c9d301a-2191-4edb-916e-5e4958558090

forgot server 2008 administrator password? How to recover?

Have you forgot server 2008 administrator password and don’t know how to recover it?

Here are few free tools to recover server 2008 administrator password:

Trinity Rescue Kit: Download

Documentation: http://trinityhome.org/manpages/man8/winpass.8.html 

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ophcrack/
http://www.pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

Will post more details about them, in the mean time you can go through those links and read the documentation on how to use them to recover lost server 2008 administrator password.

Sharepoint 2007 Tutorial for beginners

Nice blog featuring Sharepoint 2007 Tutorial for beginners :

Sharepoint 2007 Tutorial for beginners | SharePoint Programming

how to identify motherboard chipset- what is my chipset

Here are few tips on  how to identify motherboard chipset  or to know what is my chipset:

Device manager:

Follow these steps to identify your chipset using the Microsoft Windows  Device Manager:

1. Open Device Manager using the steps listed for your operating system.
   
   Windows Vista*: click Start » click Control Panel » click System and Maintenance » click Device Manager
   
   Windows XP*: click Start » click Control Panel » double-click the Systemicon » click the Hardware tab » click Device Manager 
2. Click the sign to expand the System devices entry.
3. Look for the chipset name in a string similar to the following: "Intel® 955X Memory Controller Hub - 2774". In this example, the chipset is an Intel® 955X Express Chipset.

Product documentation:

Check the system or motherboard documentation for information about your chipset.

Chipset markings:

If you are not able to identify motherboard chipset using the other methods, a qualified professional might be able to help. The chipset markings on the motherboard can usually be used to identify the Intel chipset components in your computer.

Intel® Chipset Identification Utility:

This utility gives a general idea of your chipset and directs you to the appropriate support content. Download the Intel Chipset Identification Utility :http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=861 

PXE: Failed to read PXE settings. The system cannot find the file specified. (Error: 80070002; Source: Windows)

Issue :You try to PXE boot a computer to deploy operating system through SCCM  but it throw the error :

PXE-T01: File not found
PEX-E3B: TFTP Error – File not found

Upon investigating  you find that smspxe.log shows this error:

“Failed to read PXE settings.
The system cannot find the file specified. (Error: 80070002; Source: Windows)”

This error comes when boot images and related files are not ready on SCCM server  or Windows Deployment Service is not running on PXE service point role.

Solution:
1. Take ownership of this folder and delete all content : C:\Windows\Temp\PXEBootFiles

2. If that doesn’t help delete the boot images and re-create them