creating new profile for existing user on Vista

Every now and then you want to create a new profile in Vista if the original has become corrupt or you feel it has become problematic. In XP, you just had to rename the folder with the user's name in c:\documents and settings.

With Vista, you also need to alter a registry record. You'll need to alter one of the S-15 entries from here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

One of the folders there will be for the user profile in question. You need to reboot after making the registry changes.

removing metadata from Office documents

Metadata is information stored inside an Office document about the document's history. It includes data like who edited the document and for how long. It includes old file names, paths, and accepted track changes. You can see this metadata by clicking File -> Properties in Word 2003 or 2002. For a number of reasons, people like to remove metadata before sending files to clients - especially in the legal setting.

There are a number of pay tools that can remove metadata (you can just google metadata removal) in bulk from files, but Microsoft has a tool that can remove metadata from one file at a time. The Microsoft tool is free. You can obtain the free tool here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=144E54ED-D43E-42CA-BC7B-5446D34E5360&displaylang=en

Run the file your download and it will install an add-in to your Office programs. Here are Microsoft's instructions on using the tool:

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After you install the Remove Hidden Data add-in, open the document you want to review then, on the File menu, click Remove Hidden Data.

Note: If you do not see the Remove Hidden Data command on the File menu, check the following:

1. On the Tools menu, point to Options, and then click the Security tab. 2. Under Macro Security, click Macro Security.

3. Click the Trusted Publishers tab.

4. Select the Trust all installed add-ins and templates check box, and then click OK twice.

fixing zip associations in Vista

I had a computer where the zip file got associated with some program other than the compressed file and folder thing. But I wanted it associated it back.

I found these good instructions:

http://blogs.msdn.com/mikeormond/archive/2008/04/17/zip-file-extension-association-in-vista-again.aspx

which asked me to run this from a command prompt with admin privilages:

assoc .zip=CompressedFolder

but it didn't work, and then that link led me to these registry fixes, which did work.

http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/105/1/File-association-fixes-for-Windows-Vista.html

speed up Outlook

Here are some general, basic tips for speeding up Outlook:

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/03/microsoft-outlook-2007-running-slow-fix.html

Custom IMF weighting

IMF (Intelligent Message Filter) has its flaws, but it's free. Instead of rewriting all the steps, here is an excellent guide on IMF custom weighting:

http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Intelligent-Message-Filter-version-2-IMF-v2.html

Of note - it's possible I've never done this right until today, when I saw that you need to do this to make custom weighting work properly:

regsvr32 Drive_letter:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin\MSCFV2\MSExchange.UceContentFilter.dll

Also - it's CRUCIAL that you save the XML file as type Unicode and not ANSI. Afterward, restart the SMTP service.

Symantec Endpoint Protection LiveUpdate fails

I had an unmanaged SEP install that failed to update itself - even after I uninstalled and resintalled.

Turned out the answer was to update from LiveUpdate 3.3 to LiveUpdate 3.5 via this link:

ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/liveupdate/3.5/lusetup.exe

SBS 2003 licenses disappear after reboot

A couple times, I have seen SBS 2003 licenses disappear after a reboot. You're only left with the original 5 licenses. The consensus seems to be that antivirus scanning the licensing files is the cause. However, in this case, the license files were already immune from scanning. Anyway, here is a way to fix this issue:

1. Look for licstr.cpa & Autolicstr.cpa files under c:\windows\system32 folder.

2. Exclude these two files from being scanned by Anti Virus.

3. Make a backup copy of both the files on a different folder.

4. Delete licstr.cpa from c:\windows\system32 folder.

5. Rename autolicstr.cpa file to licstr.cpa.

6. Restart the Licensing Service.

7. Goto Server Management Console -> Licensing & you will have the actual no. of CALS.