Well, several months back I decided I wanted a Zune 80gig. So, I got online, found out who carried them locally and went and got one. I will have to say it has been a great investment. It is much better than my wife's 80gig video IPOD. Bigger screen, more vibrant colors, etc..

But, today I started the Zune software to update my Podcasts and found that they would not download. Each podcast showing this error:

Various Google searches did not return any helpful suggestions. One said: clear the Zune and Re-Sync. That didn't work. One said: uninstall the Zune software and reinstall. That didn't work either.

Then I made a startling discovery. One I'm almost ashamed to admit. Um, see I store all my Zune content on an external hard drive. And, um, I noticed that that drive was not showing up in "My Computer". So, I turned it off and back on, it came back. And, then my Zune software started downloading podcasts again. It seems like it wants to actually be able to access the drive where it is supposed to store it's content. How insane is that?? Why couldn't it just say: Destination drive not found. That would have been better than: error C00D1316.

So, if you are getting error C00D1316. Try checking your storage location and make sure it is accessible to the Zune software. That may be all you need to do to fix the problem. Let my stupidity guide you.

Here's a "duh" for you...

If, when trying to log onto a Win XP machine via Remote Desktop, you get:

This can occur if the account you are using to connect with has a null (blank) password.

Apparently you cannot establish Remote Desktop connections when you are using an account with a null (blank) password.

This had eluded me.. But I just found the solution so I thought I would post it... I had to reinstall a Windows 2003 Small Business Server last week.. This particular customer made use of the Fax Service. Before the reinstall the Fax Service would e-mail a receipt through Exchange to the sending user but this was no longer happening.

After a little digging I found the reason why.. It was not turned on. So, to turn on The Fax receipt function in SBS 2003 you will need to do the following:

1. Open Server Management.
2. Right-click on Fax (Local) container.
3. Select "Properties".
4. Select "Receipts" tab.
5. In the Message Box, enable the "Enable Message Boxes as receipts" checkbox.
6. In SMTP E-mail, check the following:
   1. "Enable SMTP Receipts e-mail receipts delivery" is enabled.
   2. "Use these SMTP Settings for the Route through E-mail incoming routing method" is enabled.
   3. Under Authentication, try setting to Anonymous access if not set already".

That should do it.. Now your users should get e-mail receipts from their sent faxes.

Ever had to move an SSL to a new server? Well I have and, I can never remember the steps. I end up spending and hour or so just looking it up on the web so I can accomplish this 5 minute task. It's pathetic really. But, once you get them installed moving them is not something that you do everyday.

So, I've decided to use my site to hold these directions for the next time I SPAZZ out. Maybe they will be of some use to someone else?

---

Step 1: Create a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Snap-in for managing certificates.

You do this by clicking "START" ---> "Run" ----> "MMC"

Then you will need to ADD the Certificates "Snap-In"

Click "File" ---> "Add Snap-in"

» read the rest of this entry «

I am using my Vista Ultimate machine primarily now for day-to-day work.. And everything is running quite smoothly to be honest. No crashes, no freezes, no spyware.. Everything is great.

I help manage SEVERAL serers across my WAN and use Remote Desktop to great effect. But, last week a new Server was added. I logged in with my trusty Remote desktop to start setting up an SFTP server. Only, this time everythig was WAY WAY WAY Slow... I mean I was waiting a good thirty seconds between clicks. I thought it might be my connection so I logged off, ran some speed tests, logged into another server and everything was great. So, I logged back into the server in question. SLOW! What's going on?? On a whim I tried to log in to the server from my XP machine... It was Super Speedy??

Time to hit Google. Did a search and ran across the VoIP & Gadgets Blog. Looks like Tom was having the same trouble and found a solution.

Remote Desktop 6.0 leverages a new feature called auto-tuning for the TCP/IP receive window that could be causing the trouble. What is auto-tuning for the TCP/IP receive window? Well, the new Microsoft TCP/IP stack supports Receive Window Auto-Tuning. Receive Window Auto-Tuning continually determines the optimal receive window size by measuring the bandwidth-delay product and the application retrieve rate, and adjusts the maximum receive window size based on changing network conditions.

In Vista, Receive Window Auto-Tuning enables TCP window scaling by default, allowing up to a 16 MB window size. As the data flows over the connection, the TCP/IP stack monitors the connection, measures the current bandwidth-delay product for the connection and the application receive rate, and adjusts the receive window size to optimize throughput. The new TCP/IP stack no longer uses the TCPWindowSize registry values which many third-party utilities used to "tweak".

Receive Window Auto-Tuning has a number of benefits. It automatically determines the optimal receive window size on a per-connection basis. In Windows XP, the TCPWindowSize registry value applies to all connections. Applications no longer need to specify TCP window sizes through Windows Sockets options. And IT administrators no longer need to manually configure a TCP receive window size for specific computers.

This setting can be turned off in Vista. First open a command prompt (cmd) as Administrator.. It's not good enough for your user to have Administrative privileges... Right click on the Icon and select "Run as Administrator" Then when the command window opens type: To re-enable this feature you need to type: Tom also says that in some cases you may need to type: But I did not have to.. The first command solved my problem immediately!!

This also makes this my Site of the Week! Because it was WAY handy, Go by and check it out.. Maybe Tom has some answers for you?

I periodically receive Security Bulletins from Microsoft and thought I would share the latest...

********************************************************************

Title: Microsoft Security Bulletin Re-Release Issued: September 27, 2007

********************************************************************

Summary

The following bulletin has undergone a major revision increment.

Please see the appropriate bulletin for more details.

* MS07-042 - Critical

Bulletin Information:

* MS07-042 - Critical

- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-042.mspx

- Reason for Revision: Bulletin Updated: Added Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats and Microsoft Expression Web as affected products.

The Bulletin has also been updated to inform customers that a potential reliability issue exists in applications that have installed Microsoft XML Core Services 4.0 on Windows Vista, which can be addressed by applying the download available in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 941833.

- Originally posted: August 14, 2007

- Updated: September 27, 2007

- Bulletin Severity Rating: Critical

- Version: 2.0

The other day a client called me reporting that he was unable to download his e-mail with Outlook 2003. He reported this error:

Now, this is a horrible error.. Really only because it is so vague. Microsoft says this about that error:

Well, this did not remotely work for me. Then I noticed something.... Norton Antivirus was installed. Did I ever mention.... I HATE NORTON ANTIVIRUS!?!?

Ok. On a whim, I disabled Norton. Hit send/receive.. The e-mails started whizzing in! I re-enabled Norton, sent a test message to this account. Hit send/receive.. It failed with the above message.... I ran an update on Norton, sent a test message to that account again and now it worked.

Moral of the story: Don't EVER install/use Norton Antivirus.