FREE: Sysinternals Suite Tuesday, March 4 2008 @ 05:41 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy It can be rather tedious to download all the cool sysinternal tools individually, I'm glad someone at Microsoft thinks so too ... read more FREE: Unlocker for "in use" files Tuesday, February 19 2008 @ 12:56 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy How many times have you had to completely reboot Windows to get Explorer or some other greed process to let go of a file you needed ... read more FREE: vOptimizer Freeware Version! Friday, February 8 2008 @ 09:16 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy vOptimizer crushes a Virtual Machine's disk size by 20-60% and can increase performance dramatically - they have a freeware version now, but it's hard to find on their website... read more FREE: Windows SteadyState - Shared Computer Toolkit grows up Friday, February 8 2008 @ 09:01 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Microsoft has been enhancing their tools for computers that are in shared environments - but for software packagers that are restricted from using Virtual Machine technology, this kit has another great use ... read more Thinstall Acquired by VMWare Wednesday, January 23 2008 @ 10:20 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Thinstall is an extremely robust application virtualization solution.  This robustness makes it a natural fit with VMWare's products ... read more Microsoft Service Pack Blocker Toolkit Monday, December 17 2007 @ 05:29 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Sometimes your company is not ready for a specific Microsoft service pack and you live in fear of end users pulling them down through Windows Update ... read more Make Firefox Do IE Favorites Sunday, December 16 2007 @ 07:31 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy If you're asking yourself "why would I ever do that?", skip reading this - otherwise you already know why - here's the solution ... read more FREE: Three Undelete Tools Sunday, December 16 2007 @ 06:33 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy You've probably had that sinking feeling that you don't have a recent copy of that file you just deleted ... read more FREE: Vista Trial in a Virtual Machine - without buying a copy of Vista Monday, December 10 2007 @ 03:48 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy As far as I can tell there has been no official evaluation DVD for Vista since RC1 (correct me if I'm wrong) - you can build a evaluation build of any version of Vista from any Vista media, but what if you can't get access to your company media and need to start testing - or you're looking to check it out for professional development.  Microsoft's "VHD Test Drive" site to the rescue ... read more PUI - You Can't Afford It Wednesday, November 28 2007 @ 02:09 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy There is a specific release of a certain piece of software I love to beat up on because it never should have happened... read more RELEASED: Admin Script Editor 3.1 Tuesday, November 27 2007 @ 11:04 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Admin Script Editor has been on a steady path of upgrades and enhancements.  If you haven't had a chance to check out the latest features ... read more RELEASED and FREE: SpecOps Command Monday, November 26 2007 @ 05:32 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy PowerShell is the next big thing in Microsoft scripting - but how are you going to get it installed, and what about the prerequisites you need to deploy for your latest script ... read more Debugging Toolbox for Serious Vista Application Compatibility Testing Monday, November 26 2007 @ 08:30 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy If you are getting pretty serious about testing applications on Vista ... read more RELEASED - FREE: VMWare Server 2.0 (Beta) Thursday, November 15 2007 @ 12:28 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Vmware has released a beta of 2.0 of it's free VMWare Server software ... read more A Laptop For Every Child In The Developing World Thursday, November 15 2007 @ 08:49 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy A lofty goal to be sure - but one that seems to be gaining ground.  OLPC is making headway and is running a promotion in late November (very soon)  ... read more Thinstall Partners with Macrovision to Bring Robust Application Virtualization to InstallShield Wednesday, November 14 2007 @ 02:36 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Occasionally we have provided updates on an application virtualization product that is extremely robust, but little known to admins.  Now that they've partnered with Macrovision you're going to be seeing a lot ... read more New Version of Windows Scripting for XP: What gives? Wednesday, September 5 2007 @ 03:29 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Just when you thought you'd seen the last release of Windows Script Host and VBScript out comes version 5.7 ... read more Windows Installer 4.5 In Beta Tuesday, August 28 2007 @ 04:19 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy If you'd like to get on the beta of the next release of Windows Installer ... read more VirtualBox - Free and VMDK Compatible Monday, August 20 2007 @ 04:12 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy VirtualBox is an open source and VMDK (vmware disk format) compatible virtual machine solution ... read more FREE: Microsoft Virtual Server Management and Remote Control Utility (VMRCplus) Monday, July 9 2007 @ 12:25 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Virtual Server 2005 has gained a new tool for remote management and control ... read more Application Compatibility 5.0 Update Tuesday, May 8 2007 @ 09:45 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy The Application Compatibility Toolkit Version 5 was updated with performance improvements and bugfixes ... read more FREE: Vista Distribution Tool - Build Any Vista Distribution Source from Upgrade CD Friday, April 20 2007 @ 10:46 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Maybe like me you receive the Vista "Upgrade" CD with your Microsoft software subscription (ActionPack in my case) and are wondering how that will help you get going with your Vista customers since you have to muck about with doing an upgrade to a previous OS - vlite gets around this and does much, much more ... read more Windows Installer COM Advertising and Cross-Product Interaction Thursday, March 15 2007 @ 12:32 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Don't your users hate it when they start a software application that then triggers a request for the installation media of a totally unrelated application?  How about some relief ... read more FREE: IZArc Zip Utility Wednesday, March 7 2007 @ 12:39 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy I hate paying for every little piece of utility software I need because it adds up so fast.  The search for a free zip utility that can handle archiving Virtual Machines is over ... read more RELEASED: FREE Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 Friday, March 2 2007 @ 01:44 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Virtual PC 2007 has been released and it's gonna cost you ... read more RELEASED: wmidiag.vbs Version 2 Monday, February 5 2007 @ 02:44 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy WMIDiag is a VBScript from Microsoft that runs a complete diagnosis of the health of WMI on a computer... read more RELEASED: Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 Thursday, February 1 2007 @ 10:39 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy This release focuses on Windows Vista readiness assessment ... read more Symantec Acquires Altiris Tuesday, January 30 2007 @ 01:48 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Symantec has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Altiris.  I have to tell you the first thought that came to my mind ... read more Getting Vista into a Virtual Machine Tuesday, January 23 2007 @ 04:19 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Now that it's released, you want to play with Vista in a virtual machine?  Here is a good article with tips and tricks for getting Vista loaded into a VMWare or Virtual PC virtual machine ... read more EVENT: Thinstall App Virtualization Suite 3.0 Webinar on 1/23/07 Friday, January 19 2007 @ 10:56 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Application virtualization is all the rage and Thinstall has a unique tack on the market - unlike most other application virtualization solutions ... read more JUST RELEASED: Vista Deployment Tools - BDD 2007 1.0 Thursday, January 18 2007 @ 10:29 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy The Business Desktop Deployment 2007 offering includes documentation, project planning information and the Windows Automated Installation Kit... read more VMWare Workstation Version 6 Enters Beta Monday, January 8 2007 @ 02:17 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy VMWare has announced beta testing of version 6 of their workstation product ... read more RELEASED: Version 8 of AdminStudio SMS Edition Monday, January 8 2007 @ 02:11 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Version 8 of Macrovision's AdminStudio for SMS has been released... read more ProcessMonitor - Regmon + Filemon on a Single Process Tuesday, November 21 2006 @ 02:41 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy It has been many moons since I asked Sysinternals if they had thought of combining regmon and filemon for a single process  ... read more Pasting Text with No Formatting Thursday, October 19 2006 @ 09:20 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy It is hard to count the number of times a day I have to paste something I've copied from the web, email or a document into Notepad so I can dump all the formatting that is copied via "CTRL-C", not anymore ...  read more UAC in MSI Notes by MSI Team Member Monday, October 9 2006 @ 07:20 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Microsoft employee Robert Flaming has been publishing some excellent information about how Vista's UAC and MSI interact  ... read more Standard User Analyzer for Vista is Released (1.0.1.700) Saturday, September 30 2006 @ 09:25 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Microsoft's Vista feature for "Standard User" sounds cool, but you really wonder how many of your legacy applications will be able to use the mode?  This utility monitors your application and gives a very detailed report on whether it will likely run under Vista's "Standard User"... read more New Vesion of Microsoft AppVerifier Saturday, July 29 2006 @ 09:53 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy A new version of Microsoft's Application Verifier (part of the Applcation Compatibility Toolkit) includes "Print Verifier", reinstatement of checking operating system compatibliity for Windows Logo and ThreadPool checking.  read more Microsoft Standard User Analyzer for application compatibility Monday, May 29 2006 @ 12:22 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Microsoft's Vista feature for "Standard User" sounds cool, but you really wonder how many of your legacy applications will be able to use the mode?  This utility monitors your application and gives a very detailed report on whether it will likely run under Vista's "Standard User"... read more Wise Package Studio 7 Beta Thursday, May 4 2006 @ 06:55 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Wise has opened up the beta of their next major release of package studio.  Significant enhancements include full integration of SVS (Software Virtualization Solution) with the Repackager, Test Expert and Software Manager also the ability to include RPMs for Linux Packaging ... read more FREE: Wake On Lan Support and Central Policy Push Tool For Group Policy Wednesday, April 26 2006 @ 08:21 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Special Operations Software is focused on making Group Policy based software distribution a practical reality in corporate environments.  They have released a free plug in to Group Policy that allows administrators to wake all the computers in an OU, force a policy update ... read more FREE: Lucersoft ISO Creator Monday, April 24 2006 @ 10:40 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy For some unknown reason the maker of the most prolific disc burning software continues to make the process of creating an ISO file with their software a mystery.  In addition, everyone else wants $30 to do this simple task for you...  read more Shared Computer Toolkit Update to 1.1 Wednesday, April 19 2006 @ 05:53 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Microsoft has posted an upgrade to the Shared Computer Toolkit.  A primary target of this new Microsoft toolkit is educational computing labs and kiosks, however, the "undoable disks feature" (to use a virtual machine term) would be applicable...  read more BOOK: Visual Basic Express 2005 Friday, April 14 2006 @ 09:27 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Microsoft is making a new market play with the new free "Express" versions of their popular programming languages and development environment.  This book can be helpful to administrators who find themselves in need of creating full blown Windows executables... This book does not assume any programming background.  It has a good layout which takes the learner through practical examples throughout.  It leads the learner through the UI of the tool, then how to build a UI for an application, through programming logic (VB Style) and finally into connecting to external data sources.  Like most books on programming in Visual Basic, the overall focus is on building graphical business applications which allow end users to access and edit databases.  Many admins are in search of system programming in VB - but books that cover VB and Sytem programming are rare. read more FREE: Altiris Software Virtualization Solution Tuesday, April 11 2006 @ 02:08 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Altiris has released Software Virtualization Solution which provides software application level virtualization which helps isolate your applications from others running on the system.  The personal version is free, but devoid of any centralized management capabilities.  There is also a downloadable 120 day evaluation for the full corporate product ... read more FREE: BareTail - Log Viewing and Highlighting Tool Monday, April 10 2006 @ 03:58 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy I wonder if anyone has done any statistics on how much time an administrator spends looking at log files.  This hand free tool helps you view, highlight and analyze log files - while they are still active ... read more FREE: Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Thursday, April 6 2006 @ 09:29 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Microsoft has responded to VMWare's free VMServer ... read more New Version of SpecOps Deploy Tuesday, March 28 2006 @ 02:26 PM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy Special Operations Software has released a new version of their replacement for group policy software deployment... read more FREE: WMI Health Diagnosis Utility Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 08:14 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy WMIDiag is a VBScript from Microsoft that runs a complete diagnosis of the health of WMI on a computer... read more FREE: Enhanced VMWare Import / Conversion Tool Beta Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 10:35 AM CST Contributed By: Darwin Sanoy VMWare has announced beta testing of an enhanced standalone import tool which facilitates conversion to and from many virtual machine and backup formats ... read more