Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc) stuff

Remote check users logged in, and log them off

qwinsta /server:<serverName>
quser /server:<serverName>

logoff <sessionId> /server:<serverName>

Windows 2012

customizing Windows 2012

1. Display "Hidden items" on your C: Drive
   Open File Explorer and browse to your C: Drive. On the View tab, check the "Hidden items" checkbox.
2. Add a New Toolbar on your Taskbar.
   Right-click on a blank area of your Taskbar and select Toolbars > New Toolbars.
3. Browse to the Start Menu\Programs folder.
   In the New Toolbar dialog box, browse to the "C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" folder.
4. Click the "Select Folder" button.
   Click the "Select Folder" button to add the new Toolbar to your Taskbar.
5. Set the rest of the view settings and apply to folders
6. under the "General Tab" click all for Navigation pane
7. Install Desktop Experience if you are allowed to reboot the server

Windows 7

Windows 7/Vista GodMode Control Panel

1. Open a folder.
2. Rename it GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} .

Quick run as administrator

Adjust UAC settings

Turn on/off features/built-in apps in Windows 7

Check what's crashing your windows 7 box

Keystrokes

• Windows-<numeral> - open that icon off of the task bar

Create how-to docs - psr

Missing windows 7 tools

Applocker

Work fast using Powershell

Windows 8

Windows Desktop Shortcuts

Win-C: Open charms bar
Win-Q: Open Search charm
Win-H: Open Share charm
Win-K: Open Devices charm
Win-I: Open Settings charm
Win-W: Search Windows settings
Win-F: Search files
Win-Z: Open Metro app options
Win-Tab: Cycle to next open app
Win-.: Snap Metro app to left
Win-Shift-.: Snap Metro app to the right
Win-PgUp and Win-PgDn: Move Metro desktop between displays
Alt-F4: Close Metro app (exactly like a real desktop app)
Win-D: Open the Windows Desktop (if you're already at the desktop, this toggles between minimizing and restoring all windows on the desktop)
Win-B: Switch back to to the Windows Desktop
Win-X: Open fast-access menu with links to common system tools, such as the power options, Mobility Center, and Command Prompt (regular and admin-level)

Simplify and privatize Win 8.1 interface

1. Go to desktop - go to the old-fashioned desktop, right-click on any blank area down on the taskbar, and choose Properties. Then, in the Taskbar and Navigation properties dialog box, click the Navigation tab. Every native desktop user should check the box marked "When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start" down in the Start screen section. That's the boot-to-desktop option, and it works well.
2. Disable Charms - uncheck the first box on the Navigation Properties dialog: "When I point to the upper-right corner, show the charms."
3. turn off metro task switcher - Uncheck "When I click the upper-left corner, switch between my recent apps."
4. Show all apps - Uncheck last four settings in the Navigation Properties dialog control
5. Install desktop replacements - PDF-Xchange for PDFs (don't let it install the toolbar), VLC Player for audio and video, IrfanView for pictures, and Firefox.
6. Pin the programs you need to the task bar
7. Install Start Menu replacement - e.g. Start8

1. Turn off smart search - Settings Charm (WindowsKey + C), Change PC Settings, upper left, click/tap back arror until you see Search and Apps, Click/tap Search and Apps. Turn off switch marked Use Bing to Search Online.
2. disconnect local account from MS account - When you create account (control pannel), Click 'Create a New Account' at bottom, click 'sign in iwthout a Microsoft Account'.
3. de-deprecate libraries
   • First, make Windows 8.1.s File Explorer show you the Libraries: On the desktop, in File Explorer, click on the View tab; under the Navigation pane icon, check the item marked Show Libraries.
   • Second, put the buried Public folder back in File Explorer.s Favorites list: In File Explorer, navigate to C:\Users, then click and drag the Public folder to the top of the left side, dropping it in the Favorites list.
   • Finally, rebuild your Libraries the way you want them. Navigate to a folder that MS would like you to forget -- for example, \Public\Public Documents, right-click on the folder and choose .Include in Library, Documents.. Repeat for Music, Pictures, and Videos, at least.

Working with wireless network profiles

1. Show wireless profiles
   
   netsh wlan show profiles
2. Stop auto connecting to network that's out of range
   netsh wlan set profileparameter name="ProfileName" connectionmode=manual
3. Show security key for profile that's out of range
   netsh wlan show profile name="ProfileName" key=clear
4. Delete profile
   netsh wlan delete profile name="ProfileName"
5. Export profile
   netsh wlan export profile folder=FOLDERPATH interface="INTERFACE_NAME"
6. Import profile
   netsh wlan add profile filename="PATH/FILENAME.xml" interface="InterfaceName"

Windows 10

Customizing background colors

  control /name Microsoft.Personalization /page pageWallpaper

Turn off wifi sharing

Disable Windows Start menu ads

Disable advertising personalization

Disable Cortana

...you can remove the search button or box completely if you're really convinced you won't use it. Right-click the taskbar and then click Cortana > Hidden.

With that option set, you can still access Cortana's full feature set by tapping the Windows key and typing. If you want to turn off all of Cortana's features, leaving only the ability to search for local apps, files, and settings, you need to make a simple registry edit.

On a system running Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise edition, you can use Group Policy to apply this setting across multiple machines+ in an enterprise network; on a single PC, use the local Group Policy Editor, gpedit.msc, to open the policy Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search > Allow Cortana and set it to disabled.

On a system running Windows 10 Home, you need to make a manual edit to the registry. Find the key HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search (you might need to create this key if it doesn't exist), and then create the DWORD value AllowCortana and set it to 0.

In either case, this change applies to all user accounts on the PC you're configuring. Sign out and sign back in and you'll notice that the text in the search box has changed from "Ask me anything" to "Search Windows." Clicking in the search box displays only a simple prompt. In addition, Cortana's Notebook is unavailable, only a few settings are available when you click the gear icon, and there's no option to search the Web from the search box.

Windows 11

Shortcuts

Looking up PCI HW IDs

grabbing tcp/udp ports associated with a process

CLI - bouncing Terminal Services

net start TermService (start them up)

  if you get error - reg hack...
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server" /v TSEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

net stop termservice
  or
tasklist /svc | findstr /C:TermService
taskkill /F /PID  process_id

To enable or disable
sc config TermService start= disabled
sc config TermService start= auto
sc config TermService start= auto

Win7 and others - Personalization Checklist

1. Set Startmenu Properties
2. Personalize Desktop...
3. Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Ease of Access Center\Make the mouse easier to use
• (check) Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the enge of the screen
4. Control Panel/Ease of Access Center/Make the mouse easier to use/Prevent windows from being automatically arranged...
5. Firefox - about:config browser.search.openintab set to true.
6. In MS Office Apps, pull down menu, select 'Minimize the ribbon'.

Return of the Multi column Programs Menu

Taken from PC Magazine February 22, 2000 - pg 94 left side column...

In Windows 95, the Programs menu would expand to multiple columns if necessary, but this behavior disappeared in Windows 98. I found a way to re-enable this feature:

StartMenuScrollPrograms

FALSE

I think this tip requires that you have Internet Explorer 5 installed. Hope this is helpful to those who miss the Windows 95 behavior.

XP - Cascading Control Panel and Printer menus

• Create new folder icons with the following values:
  • Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
  • Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

XP - Reactivating XP

        If you're worried about OS reactivation or need to run a repair
        when you don't have Internet access, you can make a copy of the system
        license file (wpa.dbl) which is in the \winnt\system32 folder, before
        you run the repair. After the repair finishes, copy wpa.dbl back to
        the system32 directory and you won't need to reactivate. Be aware that
        this process works only with retail copies of XP.
        

Turn Off the "Low Disk Space" Warning

Create Start-Up Disks

There are times when you can't boot your system from the hard drive, thanks to either a system problem, a lost password, or the simple fact that the OS hasn't been installed. Windows XP offers a number of options for booting from floppy disks, but you must prepare them before they're needed.

A computer with no operating system installed will usually boot from the Windows XP CD. For that rare system that won't, Microsoft offers downloadable programs to create the necessary set of bootable floppy disks. Navigate to http://support.microsoft.com and search for article 310994. Find the download link for your Win XP version and language. The downloaded program will create six setup disks, which can be used to start your system up and begin installing the OS from a CD in a nonbootable drive.

If something goes wrong with the boot drive, you may be able to recover the system using a bootable floppy disk. Don't just format a disk with the box Create an MS-DOS Startup disk checked; you want to boot Windows XP, not MS-DOS. Start by formatting the disk without checking that box. Then copy the three files Boot.ini, Ntdetect.com, and Ntldr from the root directory of the boot drive (C:\) to the floppy disk. Boot the computer from this disk and verify that Windows XP starts (this may require that you change BIOS settings to boot from a floppy disk). Label the disk clearly and store it in a safe place.

If you ever forget your password, a password reset floppy disk can save the day. This isn't the same as writing down your password and storing it in a safe. The password reset disk lets you reset your password without revealing what the previous password was. The precise technique for creating and using a password reset disk varies by account type and log-on type. Search on password reset disk in the Help and Support applet for details specific to your situation.

Turn Off Hidden Shares

Administrative Shares let network administrators perform maintenance remotely. The feature.which is turned on by default.works by sharing your entire hard drive, and then hiding the share by adding a $ character as a suffix. But unless you're in a corporate environment, you have nothing to gain by leaving this back door open.and everything to lose.

1. Everything Looks Peachy
   Open Windows Explorer, navigate to the Network folder in the tree, and select your own PC to see all (visible) shared folders.
2. Expose the Hidden Shares
   To see a hidden share, type it into Windows Explorer's address bar, complete with trailing $, and press Enter. Easy.if you know the name.
3. See Everything That Can Be Seen
   Use the Computer Management tool (comp mgmt.msc) to see a complete list of all hidden and visible shares on your PC. You can right-click any shared item here and select Stop Sharing to get rid of it, but Windows will share it again when you restart unless you disable the feature altogether.
4. Plug the hole
   In the Windows Registry (Start | Run, regedit), navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters, and create two new DWORD values, AutoShareServer and AutoShareWks, both set to zero.
5. Reboot and take stock
   You'll need to restart Windows for the change to take effect. But this time, the hidden shares have been banished to the land of wind and ghosts!