TechNet Magazine Blog
The official blog of TechNet Magazine
Get 7 Free Tools for Managing Disks and File Systems
Manage disk usage, delete files permanently, monitor streams, and more. Here are 7 free tools every...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/17/2010
Learn Commands for Viewing and Managing Boot Configuration Data on Windows 7
Get an overview of the commands you can use at a command line to view and edit the BCD (boot...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/16/2010
Configure Offline Address Books and Autodiscover for Exchange 2010
Although Exchange Server 2010 continues to support public folders, public folders are no longer...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/15/2010
6 Easy Steps to Create Forward Mailboxes in Exchange Server 2010
Here are six easy steps to enable external users or mail systems to send mail to an address within...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/12/2010
Windows 7: Understand and Configure the Welcome Screen and Classic Logon Screen
Explore how the Welcome screen differs from the Logon screen, and discover some options you can...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/12/2010
Free Tool to Back up and Restore Personal Folders in Outlook
Download a free tool and learn how to back up and restore a user’s personal folders in Outlook....
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/11/2010
Windows 7: Use new Powercfg Options to Find and Fix Energy-Related Problems
Powercfg is a command-line utility for configuring Windows 7 power management policy. This tool...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/11/2010
Windows 7: Create a Striped Volume in Windows
The Windows 7 Disk Management interface makes it easy to create a striped volume. Here’s how. Follow...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/10/2010
Hide Mailboxes from Address Lists in Exchange Server 2010
Occasionally, you might want to hide a mailbox so that it doesn’t appear in the global address list...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/10/2010
Exchange 2010: Use a cmdlet to Create a User account and Mailbox in Exchange Server
See how you can use the Exchange Management Shell to create a user account with a mailbox. Follow...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/09/2010
Windows 7: Use Windows PowerShell to Manage BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service)
In Windows 7, the BITSAdmin tool has been deprecated and instead you should use Windows PowerShell....
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/09/2010
Exchange 2010: Configure Auditing for Exchange Server Usage
Auditing lets you track what’s happening with Exchange Server. You can collect information about...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/09/2010
Windows 7: Use Advanced Tools for Increased Control over Windows Firewall
Find out how you can delve into deeper settings for Windows Firewall, manage it from a command line,...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/08/2010
Windows 7: Learn Best Practices for Optimizing the Virtual Memory Configuration
There are some performance benefits to be gained from tweaking the page file configuration on...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/05/2010
Exchange 2010: Easily Allow a User to Access Another User’s Mailbox
Sometimes a user needs to access another user’s mailbox for business purposes. See how you can grant...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/05/2010
Windows 7: Hide Windows 7 Updates that you do not Ever Want to Install
There's an easy (but hidden) way to hide Windows updates that you don't ever want to install. Here's...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/04/2010
Exchange 2010: Set Message Send and Receive Restrictions on Individual Mailboxes
By default, user mailboxes are configured to accept messages from anyone. Find out how you can...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/04/2010
Exchange 2010: Format Output Data to Expose More of the Information You Want
When you work with the Exchange Management Shell, the standard output won’t necessarily provide all...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/03/2010
Windows 7: Make Sense of Memory Management and Key Memory Measurements
Understanding the meaning of terms like working set, virtual memory, and hard faults is essential to...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/03/2010
Exchange 2010: Quickly View the Current Mailbox Size, Message Count, and Last Logon
Learn how you can use the Exchange Management Console to look up some handy information, including...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/02/2010
Windows 7: Include the Process ID Column on the Task Manager’s Processes Tab
For detailed troubleshooting and performance analysis, we recommend that you display the Process ID...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/02/2010
Exchange 2010: Understand the Exchange Server Roles in Exchange Server 2010
Prior to setup and configuration, you need to determine what roles you will deploy, and where you...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/02/2010
February Tips: Windows 7 tips and Exchange Server 2010 tips
Hey everyone. We wanted to let you know that we're continuing our daily Windows 7 tips, but we've...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/02/2010
Windows 7 Tip: Simplify Command Entry with Doskey Macros
Here's a quick and easy way to create short macros you can use at the command prompt. Follow our...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 02/01/2010
Understand ReadyBoost and whether it will Speed Up your System
Explore the ReadyBoost feature available on Windows 7 and Windows Vista and determine if it can...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/29/2010
Initiate Remote Assistance from a Command Line or a Script
Learn the ins and outs of initiating Remote Assistance sessions directly from the command line or by...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/29/2010
Use SchTasks.exe to Create and Manage Tasks
Learn how you can use a command-line interface to create, delete, query, change, run, and end...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/27/2010
Tweak Device Manager for a more Complete View of Devices
Find out how you can configure Device Manager to view devices that use non-Plug and Play drivers and...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/27/2010
Check for and Repair Damaged System Files while Windows is Running
Learn about a command-line utility that can scan for and fix damaged system files. Follow our daily...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/25/2010
Use Different Bit Rates for Different Devices when Syncing Music and Video Files
Today’s hard drives have more than enough space for music and video collections, but space is still...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/25/2010
Customize the Start Menu Options in Windows 7
Windows 7 offers numerous options for customizing the Start Menu. Here's an overview to help you...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/21/2010
Quickly Translate Names to IP Addresses and Vice Versa
Here’s a buried treasure in Windows that lets you quickly convert a fully qualified domain name to...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/20/2010
Know and Understand the Network Troubleshooting Tools Available in Windows 7
Windows 7 contains numerous handy tools that let you diagnose, monitor, and repair network...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/19/2010
Use Network Mapping on Domains and Public Networks
Learn how you can use Group Policy to enable network mapping on domains and public networks. Follow...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/18/2010
Use Windows PowerShell to Monitor System Performance
A new feature in Windows 7 is the ability to use Windows PowerShell to gather performance data....
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/15/2010
Run Check Disk from Windows Explorer to Check for and fix Disk Errors
Yesterday we showed you how to run Check Disk from a command line to check the integrity of disks....
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/14/2010
Run Check Disk from a Command Line to Check for and fix Disk Errors
You should periodically use the Check Disk tool to check the integrity of disks. Here's an overview...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/13/2010
Use the Registry to Configure Custom Search Providers in Windows 7
Find out how you can edit the Registry to configure search providers in Windows 7 and distribute...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/13/2010
Create and Use a Virtual Hard Disk on Windows 7
In Windows 7, you can mount Virtual Hard Disks (VHDs) exactly like physical disks. Find out how to...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/11/2010
Four Free Tools that every Administrator should Know About
Some of the best tools for managing Windows are available for free. Check out these 4 downloads...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/08/2010
Use Windows PowerShell to Manage AppLocker in Windows 7
Discover how you can use Windows PowerShell to examine and manage the new AppLocker feature in...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/07/2010
Remove Accounts and Deny Local Access to Workstations on Windows 7
As workstations are moved around, you might find that previous owners still have access to its...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/07/2010
Configure a User Account to Log On Automatically on Windows 7
While it's recommended that you require users to enter credentials when the computer starts, there...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/05/2010
Create and Use Backups Using the Backup and Restore Center
Windows 7 includes the Backup and Restore Center for creating backups of personal data and entire...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 01/04/2010
Use Custom Libraries in Windows 7 to Ensure You Backup All your Data
Do you store important data files outside your user profile? Custom libraries can help you ensure...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 12/30/2009
Configure Legacy Devices to Run on Windows 7
The Windows 7 driver store includes a small collection of drivers for legacy devices. But it will...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 12/29/2009
Use the Powerful and Free Autoruns Tool to Take Charge of Startup Apps in Windows 7
Windows 7 has a few tools you can use to peek at programs and services that run automatically at...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 12/28/2009
Use a Command-Line Utility to convert a FAT32 Disk to NTFS
One of the easiest ways to convert a FAT or FAT32 disk to NTFS is to use the command-line Convert...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 12/23/2009
Use the Driverquery Command to Take Inventory of Installed Drivers
If you want a compact record of installed drivers in a format that you can review later, use the...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 12/22/2009
Repair the MBR to restore Windows 7 to your Multiboot Options
You installed Windows XP on a system already running Windows 7, and now Windows 7 is no longer on...
Author: Matt Graven Date: 12/21/2009