When logging into a system it generally would show you the current version in a MOTD style window. This server had the MOTD changed so I needed to grab the pertinent information.
lsb_release -d
cat /etc/issueOr on newer systems (16.04 or later)
cat /etc/os-release
hostnamectlWe utilize KACE (SMA K1000) for our helpdesk/ticketing, and inventory management. Part of our deployment packages include the KACE agent – this agent is required to send back data about the system it is installed upon (username, OS specs, hardware specs, etc).
Unfortunately, there are some times that the KACE agent doesn’t play nicely and it needs to be reinstalled. Or, in my case (pun intended), I needed to make a new GM image for deployment and it is recommended to NOT have the KACE agent installed prior to sysprep.
Open an administrator command prompt:
wmic product where "name like '%kace%'" call uninstall /nointeractiveThis will find and remove any “KACE” related software currently residing on your system. You should see the messages “Method execution successful” and “ReturnValue = 0” if this runs successfully.
Note: This does not remove any existing firewall rules or files created outside of the standard install/uninstall configuration.
Like all good companies, we have dynamic distribution groups / lists that are based on the location of the user. Example, a user has the Office location of “Australia”, the dynamic list has the filter of:
((((((Office -eq 'Australia') -and (RecipientType -eq 'UserMailbox'))) -or (((CustomAttribute2 -like 'IncludeAllAUSLists') -and (-not(CustomAttribute1 -like 'excludefromdynamic')))))) -and (-not(Name -like 'SystemMailbox{*')) -and (-not(Name -like 'CAS_{*')) -and (-not(RecipientTypeDetailsValue -eq 'MailboxPlan')) -and (-not(RecipientTypeDetailsValue -eq 'DiscoveryMailbox')) -and (-not(RecipientTypeDetailsValue -eq 'PublicFolderMailbox')) -and (-not(RecipientTypeDetailsValue -eq 'ArbitrationMailbox')) -and (-not(RecipientTypeDetailsValue -eq 'AuditLogMailbox')) -and (-not(RecipientTypeDetailsValue -eq 'AuxAuditLogMailbox')) -and (-not(RecipientTypeDetailsValue -eq 'SupervisoryReviewPolicyMailbox')))The user was added and then the office location was of Australia was added (after troubleshooting below). He complained he did not receive an email that was sent to this distribution list, so I had to verify he was a member.
Connect to your Office 365 online powershell (I have it previously documented if you don’t remember).
$GROUP = Get-DynamicDistributionGroup "All-Australia-Employees"
Get-Recipient -RecipientPreviewFilter $FTE.RecipientFilter -OrganizationalUnit $FTE.RecipientContainerHad a user with full modify permissions to some directories on a file server. They managed to completely fubar up the permissions when trying to 1) lock it down to just them and 2) disallow other users. You can see where this is going.
The backup user and local administrator no longer had access. I attempted to take ownership using the GUI, but it would just fail saying I don’t have permissions. I even “ran as administrator” to no avail.
Command line to the rescue!
Needed to connect to O365 when my account has MFA enabled.
New computer, so here’s the full setup.
Using Internet Explorer or Edge, open your ECP/EAC (Admin of Exchange) portal page on your O365 account.
Click on Hybrid
Click on Configure
This installs a clickonce app for the Exchange Online powershell module.
Open PowerShell as an Administrator winrm quickconfig
Enable per the wizard winrm set winrm/config/service '@{AllowUnencrypted="true"}'
winrm set winrm/config/service/auth '@{Basic="true"}'
Now connect to your O365 system
Open PowerShell (the exchange-based one from the first steps)
Connect-EXOPSSession -UserPrincipalName yourusername@yourdomain.tld
If prompted, sign in
Windows 10 Pro 1809/1903/1909, Pro N 1909 have all experienced this issue in my tenure. I’m sure it’s more than that.
Basically when I have a maximized application on my primary screen, the top of the screen is blank (black bar). This has happened with Chrome, Slack, and Adobe so far. I should point out that this is both through a docking station as well as direct monitor connections; in any case I have 2 total displays active.
I’m not sure of a permanent fix, but the temporary ones include:
The reset of the video driver is not very impactful and definitely fixes my issue, so I usually try that one first.
So my freshly-installed Windows 10 Pro N 1909 had an issue – I have gotten so used to pressing Windows Key and then typing “settings” or “control panel” or “my document name here”. Unfortunately I was greeted with a blank search box instead. Nothing loaded. Just blank. Gray even. Light gray.
So I searched trusty Dr. Google for the answer.
One recommendation was to remove Bing Search from showing in my search box. Fired up regedit:
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search
Add DWORD "BingSearchEnabled" =0Since I haven’t rebooted yet I don’t know if that will actually fix anything. But here we are anyway.
Next I restarted the Windows Search service.
Start > Run > Services.msc
Right-click and restart Windows Search serviceThat didn’t help either.
Finally I just killed the SearchUI.exe in task manager (don’t worry, it auto restarts itself).
Open Task Manager
Click on the Details Tab
Right-click on SearchUI.exe and select End Task