"There are other users logged on to this computer."

"There are other users logged on to this computer.

If you uninstall this program while another user is running it, the program might not uninstall completely."

I'm working on a server that is currently out of space.  So I'm going through programs and seeing what I can uninstall when I get that message about other users being logged in and the uninstall might not run correctly.
So I tried to log off, and couldn't.
I checked with everyone else and no one was logged into the server.
I found that I can see who is logged in through the Terminal Services Manager
(click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Terminal Services Manager. (and yes I'm a noob))
I was able to log everyone off (there was one disconnected session) and continue with my uninstallation.  This time no error.
To log off the other user, you simply right click the user and select Log Off.
This may have happened by disconnecting RDP sessions instead of logging off first.
Hope this helps someone out there!

Updating root hints on the DNS server

As I mentioned in my previous post, root hints are easier when you have DNS servers in multiple locations.  You set all the root hints you want manually on one server, and you can pull that list to each of the other servers instead of manually entering in all the addresses.  There might be a newer, better way to do this, but I work in a 2003 environment, so this is how I did it.

Copied the following directions from here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc757965(v=ws.10).aspx

To update root hints on the DNS server

1. Open DNS.
   
2. In the console tree, click the applicable DNS server.
   
3. On the Action menu, click Properties.
   
4. Click the Root Hints tab.
   
5. Modify server root hints as follows:
   
   
   • To add a root server to the list, click Add, and then specify the name and IP address of the server to be added to the list.
     
   • To modify a root server in the list, click Edit, and then specify the name and IP address of the server to be modified in the list.
     
   • To remove a root server from the list, select it in the list, and then click Remove.
     
   • To copy root hints from a DNS server, click Copy from server, and then specify the IP address of the DNS server from which you want to copy a list of root servers to use in resolving queries. These root hints will not overwrite any existing root hints.

 

That last one is what you would do to all the additional DNS servers.  Copy from server.

DNS Root Hints and Forwarders

I work in a small office with multiple remote offices.
The offices are connected by MPLS, but each office holds its own ISP.
I found that using Root Hints, and no fowarders worked just fine.
I used the following public servers in Root Hints:
a.root-servers.net
b.root-servers.net
c.root-servers.net
d.root-servers.net
e.root-servers.net
f.root-servers.net
g.root-servers.net
h.root-servers.net
i.root-servers.net
j.root-servers.net
 k.root-servers.net
l.root-servers.net
m.root-servers.net

I like this way because I can set the DNS on one server and pull it to all the other servers without having to manually enter each address or forwarder.

list of other Root Hint DNS servers:
MIT:
4.4.4.1
4.4.4.2
4.2.2.3
4.2.2.4
4.2.2.5
4.2.2.6

SpeakEasy Nameservers
66.93.87.2
216.231.41.2
216.254.95.2
64.81.45.2
64.81.111.2
64.81.127.2
64.81.79.2
64.81.159.2
66.92.64.2
66.92.224.2
66.92.159.2
64.81.79.2
64.81.159.2
64.81.127.2
64.81.45.2
216.27.175.2
66.92.159.2
66.93.87.2

ORSC Public Access DNS Nameservers
199.166.24.253
199.166.27.253
199.166.28.10
199.166.29.3
199.166.31.3
195.117.6.25
204.57.55.100

Sprintlink
204.117.214.10
199.2.252.10
204.97.212.10

Cisco
128.107.241.185
192.135.250.69

Google:
8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

Outlook new message envelope missing

When a new message comes in, there will be an envelope in the system tray.  Users can hide this notification by accident.
To bring it back, follow this path:
Tools>Options>Preferences Tab>Email Options button>Advanced E-mail Options button
Under "When new items arrive in my inbox" make sure "Show an envelope icon in the notification area" check box is checked.

If this is checked and its still not showing, the icon is probably hidden, click the arrow to expand the system tray.

Pull computer information remotely in cmd, using WMIC

I recently had a request to pull the serial number for one of our remote workstation.  I wouldn't be able to get hands on the machine, and figured I should be able to do this without calling the user and asking them to flip over their machine.
Enter WMIC
My first search "serial number through cmd" brought me to this site:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/aviraj/archive/2010/08/13/how-to-find-a-machine-serial-number-from-command-prompt-using-wmi.aspx
where I learned the run command was
wmic bios get serialnumber

So I tried it on my computer, success, I got my serial number.  Now... how do I go about getting another computers serial number?  Remember, I would like to avoid calling the user in this scenario.

So I looked up WMIC and found Microsoft's write up on the subject.
Here is Microsoft's write up of WMIC and what it can do:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb742610.aspx

Under the "Putting WMIC to work" section they have this bit of scripting:
LISTING 1: Code to Display
Results at the
Console from a WMIC Batch File
wmic /node:SERVER1, SERVER4
     cpu get name, caption,
     maxclockspeed, systemname
     /format:textvaluelist.xsl

The part I bolded contained my answer.
The script I ran looked like this:
wmic /node:(computer's ip address) bios get serialnumber
I tried going through the computer name here, but it didn't work.

UPDATE:
I've been poking around with this wmic and figured I could get HDD processor and memory information to start building an upgrade list.
I used these commands to get the info I wanted:

HDD size: wmic /node:(ip address) diskdrive get size

Total installed memory: wmic /node:(ip address) computersystem get totalphysicalmemory

Processor Type:wmic /node:(ip address) cpu get name

Installed Software: wmic /node:(ip address) product get name,version

I had to get software for multiple computers, so instead of copying everything out of the command prompt, I ran this script:

Installed software export to file: wmic /output:c:\(path) /node:(ip address) product get name,version

I supposed one day I'll be able to script these better, but for now I'm running CMD as a network admin account (instead of just running normal, or running as admin, I ran as other user)

Word stacks letters on top of each other

Or, why does word say I have more characters than I can see?
I came across a strange one today.
User had a word document that showed it had 100s of words, but only took up about a page.  And the page looked like one of those secret government files where names and locations have been blacked out.  Or word was showing strange characters or something like that.
After a little google-fu I found highlighting all the text and changing the font or font size brought everything back.