Category Archives: Microsoft

Microsoft

How to encrypt your HDD/USB Stick/USB HDD using BitLocker (Windows 10)

<!> Important: BitLocker is not available on Windows 10 Home Edition (check here how you can upgrade)! 

1. Open My Computer and right click on the Drive (HDD, USB Stick, USB HDD) you want to Encrypt / click on Turn BitLocker on:

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2. You can either use a password or a smart card to unlock the drive. For this example we will use a password / click Next: 2

3. You have multiple options to save a recovery key. For this example I will save it to my Microsoft Account / Click Next:

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4. At this step you need to select how much of the drive you need to encrypt. If you just setup a new Computer select option #1, if you are installing on an existing computer select #2 / Click Next:

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5. If you are planning to use the Encrypted drive on other Windows Versions select Compatible. If not select New Encryption Mode / Click Next:

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6. We reached the last step. Confirm by clicking Start encrypting:

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7. The encryption process is going to start. Depending on the speed of the drive/number of files it may take a while.

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8. After reboot, when you will want to access the Encrypted drive you will be prompted for the password/smart card.

Enjoy!

How to disable clutter folder in Office 365

  1. Login on your OWA Account (web access): https://outlook.office.com/owa/
  2. In the upper-right corner click on Settings / and then click on Mail (lower-right).

  3. Click on Clutter / and then deselect “Separate items identified as clutter” 

  4. Click on Save 
  5. Enjoy!

Windows Server 2016 – Step-by-Step Installation & What’s new?

For this Step-by-step installation of the Windows Server 2016 we installed/used a VM with:
– Windows Server 2016 Standard (Desktop Experience – GUI) 
– 2 Processors
– 8GB DDR4 
(System requirements can be found here).
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Windows Server 2016 StandardWindows Server 2016 Standard

 

But before we start, what is new in Windows Server 2016?
I would say that the new Windows Server takes us closer to the Cloud, granting excellent integration with the Azure services, especially on the SQL/DB side and on the Identity & access (cloud deployments that require AD services, allowing to manage in a very smooth way a hybrid environment with both on-premises and cloud-based applications). 
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1. For the first time in the history, Microsoft improved the time accuracy due to the development of the Win32 Time and Hyper-V Time Sync service.
2. Hyper-V got a complete new refactoring, with better hardware management, better and simpler network management, support for Windows Containers of Windows 10 VMs, etc. Check more about Hyper-V here.
3. Nano Server has now a new module for creating Server imagines, with support for different Windows Server Editions. More info here.
4. Identity and Access: This is where Microsoft made tremendous progress, allowing smooth integration of on-premises & cloud-based applications that are requiring secure Active Directory access.
5. Management & Automation: the new PowerShell 5.0 adds amazing new features, which are going to be of great help to developers (new predefined classes), and the ability to run PowerShell on Nano Server.
6. Networking:  Microsoft added new Software-Defined Networking, but also many TCP performance improvements.
7. Security: The new “Just enough Administration” allows you to delegate administration for anything that can be managed with PowerShell, and the new Credential Guard uses virtualization-based security to isolate areas so that only specific software can access them.
8. Storage: Storage Spaces Direct allows the building of highly available storage using servers with local storage. This also includes a new Failorver Clustering (more info here)

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But how to install it? 

1. Select the language settings and keyboard/input method:

Windows Server 2016

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2. Insert the product key: 
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3. Select the version you want to install. For this installation we used the GUI one:

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4. Select the drive/hdd/SAN(external storage) you want to install it on:

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5. Select the local admin’s password (it needs to be complex):

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6. The installation is ready & we can start playing!

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7. I will come back with further tutorials about how to setup a domain and how to integrate it with older Forests/Domains. 

Enjoy!

How to encrypt your HDD/USB Stick/USB HDD using BitLocker (Windows 10)

<!> Important: BitLocker is not available on Windows 10 Home Edition (check here how you can upgrade)! 

1. Open My Computer and right click on the Drive (HDD, USB Stick, USB HDD) you want to Encrypt / click on Turn BitLocker on:

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2. You can either use a password or a smart card to unlock the drive. For this example we will use a password / click Next: 2

3. You have multiple options to save a recovery key. For this example I will save it to my Microsoft Account / Click Next:

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4. At this step you need to select how much of the drive you need to encrypt. If you just setup a new Computer select option #1, if you are installing on an existing computer select #2 / Click Next:

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5. If you are planning to use the Encrypted drive on other Windows Versions select Compatible. If not select New Encryption Mode / Click Next:

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6. We reached the last step. Confirm by clicking Start encrypting:

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7. The encryption process is going to start. Depending on the speed of the drive/number of files it may take a while.

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8. After reboot, when you will want to access the Encrypted drive you will be prompted for the password/smart card.

Enjoy!

Upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro (Professional)

Microsoft improved a lot the upgrade process in Windows 10.

If you just bought a laptop with Windows 10 Home and you want to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro in order to have access to more advanced features (like the Bitlocker Drive Encryption), you need to follow just a few simple steps:

1. Go to Start / Settings

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2. Go to “Update & Security”

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3.  Go to Activation / Change Product Key*

*In order to receive the Product Key, you have to go to the Windows Store and buy a Windows 10 PRO licence. The S/N you receive you can insert here.

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4. After you insert the product Key, your Windows will prepare for the upgrade*. This is going to require a few reboots.

*All the software/files are kept on your computer! However, having a backup is always a good idea, and I recommend you to keep one either by using the a Cloud Storage solution (Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox etc), or by keeping a backup on an external hard-drive (and constantly updating it by using different specialized software).

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5. After a few reboots you will be able to use your new Windows 10 PRO.

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Enjoy!

If you have questions please drop a line in the comments section!

Windows 10 File Explorer crashes | Solved

Recently I saw that many people have issues with the File Explorer from Windows 10.

Symptoms: When you open File Explorer it blocks / crashes / stops responding

How to fix it:

  1. Right click on File Explorer / Open a folder from the history (Example Pictures)
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  2. Go to File / Change Folder and search Options 
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  3. Un-check “Show recently used files in Quick access” and “Show frequently used folders in Quick Access“
  4. Click on Clear 
  5. Click on OK 
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  6. Enjoy!

If you still have problems drop a message!

Cheers!

Windows was unable to connect to eduroam – Windows 7 | Fixed

There is a classical problem with the Eduroam network, when connecting from a computer that is joined in a domain.

The error is:

“Windows was unable to connect to eduroam”

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How to fix it? 

1. Click on the Wifi icon / Open Network and Sharing Center:

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2. Click on “Manage wireless networks“:

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3. Click on “Add“:

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4. Click on “Manually create a network profile“:

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5. Add:

Network name: eduroam
Security type: WPA2-Enterprise
Encryption type: AES
Click Next:

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6. Click on “Change connection settings“:

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7. Go to Security tab / Click on “Settings“:

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8. Click on “Configure“:

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9. Deselect “Automatically use my Windows logon (…)“:

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10. You can now connect to Eduroam, and you will be prompted for your uni credentials:

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11. After successfully entering your credentials, you have to click “Connect“:

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12. Enjoy!

How to check who logged on your computer? | Windows7

To view these events, open the Event Viewer – press the Windows key, type Event Viewer, and press Enter to open it.

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Navigate to the Windows Logs –> Security category in the event viewer.

Look for events with event ID 4624 – these represent successful login events.

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To see more information – such as the user account that logged into the computer – you can double-click the event and scroll down in the text box. (You can also scroll down in the text box underneath the list of events.)

If your security log is cluttered, you can click the Filter Current Log option in the sidebar and filter by event ID 4624. The Event Viewer will display only logon events.