Invalid partition table on a new Windows 7 install (UEFI vs legacy boot)

I rarely ever edit anything having to do with UEFI, but I found a situation where I was getting "invalid partition table" on a new Windows 7 installation from DVD.

The problem was that I was booting to the DVD from UEFI and then botting Windows from legacy BIOS (or so I think).  When pressing F12 on my Dell Latitude E7240, I got these options:

I was booting to the DVD ROM using "UEFI: HL-DT-ST DVD+/-RW GU60N"

However, presumably when the machine rebooted, it was trying to boot from the legacy hard drive.  If I booted to the UEFI hard drive when botting from the UEFI DVD drive, it would work.  But if booting to the Internal HDD from the legacy boot, I get "invalid partition table."

That's my theory as to why I was getting "invalid partition table"

Based on a sample size of one, this holds true.

Intel 7265 wireless trouble on Unifi WAP

I'm running the latest driver (as of 6/29/15) of the Intel 7265-AC wireless card.  As of this writing, it's 17.16.0.4.  Oddly, the connection to the Unifi access points (Unifi-AC and standard Unifi access points) drops intermittently.  I still have an IP address, but I can't ping anything on the network.

My fix at this point is:
Ad Hoc QoS Mode - WMM Enabled
HT mode - HT Mode
U-APSD support - Disabled

I'm testing this fix (documenting what I've seen here):
http://blog.benkonicek.com/2014/10/24/fixing-the-intel-wireless-n-7260-connection-issues/
(this is where I got most of the info from)

Downloading Youtube videos

Came across an easy way to download youtube videos from this youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFJWGAEqBgU

add "ss" in front of youtube.com in the link of the video you're watching.

So if you want to download https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFJWGAEqBgU - you'd go to https://www.ssyoutube.com/watch?v=MFJWGAEqBgU

This worked great in my test.

Office 2010 Office Customization Tool (OCT) adjustments

This post documents the changes I make to the Office 2010 Customization Tool to get settings the way I like them.

Microsoft Outlook 2010 -> Outlook Options -> Preferences -> Junk E-Mail -> Enabled
Set to No Protection

Microsoft Outlook 2010 -> Outlook Options -> Other -> Autoarchive
Disable FileArchive -> Enabled

Microsoft Outlook 2010 -> Outlook Options -> Other -> Autoarchive
Autoarchive settings -> Enabled
Clear the box for Turn on Autoarchive

Microsoft Office 2010 -> Privacy -> Trust Settings
Disable Opt-in -> Enabled
Enable Customer Experience -> Enabled
Automatically receive -> Enabled

I also add shortcuts for Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to the desktop in Configure Shortcuts.

When using Office365 or Google Apps as I only do, I do not configure the mail profile.  Other than inserting the installation key in Licensing and User Interface, I don't make any changes.

Get list of active users and last logon time in Office365 PowerShell

This PowerShell command will give you the list of users in the system and their last logon time:

Get-mailbox -resultsize unlimited| Get-MailboxStatistics | select displayname, lastlogontime | sort-object lastlogontime

checklist for new laptop purchases - updated 4/23/15

This is my checklist when buying a new computer.  I've had some Dell reps not key in my information properly, which has caused problems - so I need to check over each order to make sure all I want is included.

Items to check:

1. Processor: Core i5 or better
2. RAM: 4 GB or more (as required)
3. Hard drive: 256 GB or more (SSD preferred for most laptops)
4. Webcam built in
5. Warranty as required (3 year with accidental damage protection preferred)
6. Docking station (if required)
7. Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
8. OEM software (Office or Adobe Acrobat as needed)
9. Dual band wireless card
10. Battery size as required (4 cell or larger)
11. Default display resolution as preferred

Office365 Whitelist and Blacklisting

This is a consolidation of information I've found on blacklisting and whitelisting in Office365:

Whitelisting or blacklisting by IP address:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ_oRstwdgLIv5vRX6VQlGA0QGL4ZcT6-2iEWPnTmyyWeV3iI-LV_4J-64rlxpEQ4VlBbag6HA_STunISwGfyvWvJxDHAh9Rm8g3iiK1wPO29nIZBNK7NpOlkxbmtw3M9COO_lSjb_hNU/s1600/20131125.king.net.office365.howto.whitelist.JPG

Exchange Admin Center -> Protection -> Connection Filter -> connection filtering by IP address



Whitelist by domain name:
http://www.mattwharton.co.uk/2014/08/how-to-whitelist-a-domain-in-office-365-exchange-online.html
or
http://www.office365tipoftheday.com/2013/12/02/whitelist-a-domain-to-bypass-exchange-online-protection-spamfilter/

Exchange Admin Center -> Mail Flow -> Create New Rule -> Bypass spam filtering -> Apply this rule ... if the sender domain is


Powershell configuration:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2545137?wa=wsignin1.0