The Technician’s Toolkit
Autumn 2011
The Technician’s Toolkit Introduction In this session, I showed you ten of the utilities I have used (and still use) on Microsoft® Windows® computers when I need to perform some actions. In this session I demonstrated to you the usefulness of these utilities and in here I will give you the links to where you can download these utilities and also an overview of their use. I have also provided in here some other useful utilities, both for computers and on the Internet that you may find useful. As a general warning, with any of these utilities they may make changes to the computer’s operating system files, registry or file system. Before using them you should make sure you have a good, tested backup of the system – either a backup in the case of the server or a restore image in the case of a Community Connect® 4 computer - if there are files that would be lost if it was rebuilt. Many of these utilities provide detailed information on there website or perform a Google search if you need further help or information. Throughout the session I sent Tweets to links for all the utilities I included in this session. I also encouraged the audience to tweet their utilities as well and you will be able to find these by searching for the hashtag #techstoolkit on: www.twitter.com If you don’t have a Twitter account, you will be required to sign up before you can look at the Tweets from this session. Of course if you have utilities you can also Tweet them and don’t forget to include the hashtag above so other people looking for them can also see them.
Recuva http://www.piriform.com/recuva/download Recuva allows you to try and restore files, which have been accidentally deleted. As well as being able to restore files from a computer, Recuva can also attempt to
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restore files from removable devices like USB sticks or digital cameras. This can be useful if a class have been on a field trip, uploaded the files from a camera, (or digital video camera) and then deleted them from the source. Often this is an option after transferring to a computer. Obviously with utilities such as Recuva, it may not be able to restore files if the area of the disk, (or memory card), have been overwritten by other files. Recuva can attempt to restore files even if the original media has been formatted.
A limitation of the free version is that it will not work on network drives, such as a user’s home folder or the Shared Resources drive on a Community Connect 4 computer. Although Recuva can be installed on Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008, if a user deletes a file from the N: or W: drive it cannot be used to restore the file if Recuva is launched from a server installed copy. The version I demonstrated during the session was installed on the Community Connect 4 computer, however the software developer, Piriform also provide a portable version that you can run from a USB stick. This version can be downloaded from: http://www.piriform.com/recuva/download/portable 7-Zip http://www.7-zip.org/ Most versions of Windows support compressed files, however Windows only supports the most basic functionality. 7-zip provides complete and flexible support for compressed files, such as .zip files, but can also allow you to extract archives that self-extract, often as a .exe file.
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One of the most useful things I have used 7-Zip for in the past is to look inside application setup files to see if there is a Windows Installer Package (.msi) file contained within in. This has saved me many hours packaging applications as the msi is already available and I have just had to import using RM Application Wizard, (after I have tested it, of course).
CCleaner http://www.piriform.com/download CCleaner is a utility that allows you to clean a Windows computer. CCleaner examines the computer and allows you to remove or fix the following: •
Temporary files, history, cookies, autocomplete information from Internet Explorer and other popular browsers
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Empty the Windows Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary and Log files from Microsoft Windows
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Remove unused and old registry settings
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One of the best things I like about CCleaner is its speed – it usually only takes a couple of seconds to scan a computer for issues and it deletes or fixes any issues it finds very quickly. Of course, what you want to scan and fix is completely customisable so if you wanted to retain browser cookies, for example, then you can exclude these from any cleaning. A network version is also available of CCleaner that allows you to optimise the entire network from your management computer.
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If you are interested in the network version of CCleaner then more information can be found here: http://www.piriform.com/business/ccleaner-network-professional
inSSIDer 2 http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/ I have talked about inSSIDer in a previous Technical Seminar session, but I am presenting this to you again as I think it is so useful. InSSIDer is a wireless networktroubleshooting tool that allows you to view the wireless network around you, and also their signal strength.
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Wireless network performance is a problem in school and using a utility like inSIDDer, you can discover if there are any other wireless networks close to your establishment (from commercial or home wireless networks) causing interference, or if there are any deadspots in the wireless network coverage of your school. Many things can cause wireless interference, including metal objects, wireless landline telephones and, if you were in my session in autumn 2010, even microwaves! More information on wireless networks can be read in my seminar notes from this round and are available here: http://www.rm.com/Support/GeneralDownload.asp?cref=DWN1805363&nav= 0&referrer=KLBrowse&Search=&recordno=3&cluster=All
InfraRecorder http://infrarecorder.org/ Like compressed files, the latest version of Microsoft Windows allows you to create CDs or DVDs within the operating system. Applications such as Nero provide more functionality than what Microsoft Windows provides, however there is a cost associated with using this product. InfraRecorder, on the other hand, is free.
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InfraRecorder is a free CD/DVD burning solution for Microsoft Windows. It offers a wide range of powerful features, all through an easy to use application interface and Windows Explorer integration. If you build Community Connect 4 computers using CDs, then you need CD authoring software so you can burn the RM Default Build Disk image to a blank CD. InfraRecorder allows you to do this.
As well as burning ISO images, InfraRecorder integrates with Windows Explorer so you can add files on the fly to a DVD or CD you want to copy them to.
RMprepUSB http://www.rm.com/Support/GeneralDownload.asp?cref=DWN1424530&nav=0&refe rrer=KLSearch&Search=&recordno=2&cluster=All As well as using CDs to build Community Connect 4 computers, you can also use a USB stick to build them (we call them UFDs – USB flash devices). In order to use a UFD it has to be bootable. In the past, you had to purchase special UFDs or use a utility such as one provided by HP that sometimes would not work correctly.
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RM now produces a utility that will format a UFD so it can be used to boot a computer.
RMprepUSB supports: •
Simulating USB-FDD, USB-ZIP and USB-HDD devices
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Formatting as FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS (no Windows 32GB FAT32 size limitation)
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MS-DOS, FreeDOS, XP, BartPE, WinPe v1, WinPE v2, WinPEv3, Windows Vista®, Windows® 7, Syslinux and Grub bootloaders.
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USB device imaging
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USB flash memory test function
After making the UFD bootable, it is simply a case of copying the files from the Default Build Disk folder to the USB flash device. You can use the device to boot a computer in to the Community Connect 4 build environment to build or rebuild computers.
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It’s important to remember that when a drive is made bootable using RMprepUSB, it erases all the data on the USB flash device so any files on there will be lost.
Proxyswitcher http://www.onyxbox.co.uk/software/downloads/ps.htm Many schools configure teachers on their staff notebooks to be Privileged Users. In many cases this is so staff can connect their notebooks to their wireless broadband connections at home. Often they can connect to their wireless network but, by default, they are unable to change the proxy settings in their browser. Most establishments use a proxy so that they can filter their Internet so users cannot browse inappropriate content in school. At home though, the teacher doesn’t, (and can’t), pass through the proxy server the school uses so, by providing them with Privileged User access, they are able to remove the tick so they get a direct connection to the Internet. Proxy Switcher allows you to configure different proxy settings that the user can then switch between – including their direct connection at home. In the notification area, Proxy Switcher adds an icon which allows you to choose your connection type based on your location:
When Home is selected, the proxy settings are removed. When Office is chosen then the proxy settings are enabled (which would be from the Group Policy Object).
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You need to be careful with Proxy Switcher sites however because some may suggest proxy bypass sites which obviously is not an ideal solution in our environment. Proxy Switcher does not allow a user to make proxy suggestions; simply use the settings which are already applied, or switch to a direct connection.
Microsoft SyncToy http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?DisplayLang=en&id=15155 In Community Connect 3 we had a tool called RM Synchronise, which allowed a user to use files away from the network. RM Synchronise isn’t available for Community Connect 4, however a tool provided by Microsoft performs a very similar task. SyncToy synchronises folder pairs – one folder to another, meaning that users can synchronise files from their network home folder on the N: drive to a local folder on their laptop (if they have access to their C: drive) or a USB stick. In the latest version of SyncToy, dynamic drive letters are supported. So, for example, if the driver letter of a user’s USB stick is drive G: when they connect to a desktop computer, and drive F: when they connect it to a notebook, then SyncToy recognises this and the configured folders can still be synchronised.
Additionally, SyncToy supports devices such as digital cameras. As with RM Synchronise, users must remember to synchronise their folders before taking their USB stick away from the network.
TrueCrypt
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http://www.truecrypt.org/ There have been many reports in the media about sensitive information being lost by notebooks or removable media being lost. Education establishments must also be conscious that users use removable media to move files to and from school, and some of these files may contain sensitive information. TrueCrypt allows those files to be encrypted so they cannot be read if the device is lost. TrueCrypt works by creating a virtual, encrypted, disk on the removable device and mounting it as a real disk when it is connected to a computer. TrueCrypt encrypts and decrypts files on the fly and is almost transparent to the user with very little speed decrease while these operations take place.
With TrueCrypt installed on a computer the files are completely encrypted and safe, so users can be confident that any files on the device cannot be read by anybody else should the device go missing.
VirtualBox https://www.virtualbox.org/ Many schools have virtualised their networks, meaning the Community Connect 4, and other servers, run in a virtualised network. However, this isn’t the case for all schools and there may be times when, as the network support team, you could make use of a virtualised environment.
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In order to create packages for a Community Connect 4 network, you must create them on a clean computer. Some schools have computers that they can build as clean and use them to create packages. Many schools, however, have to rebuild their management computer, or computers from the ICT suite, to build packages. VirtualBox allows you to create a virtual computer and run that in a sandboxed environment – ideal for creating clean computers that you can use to build packages. VirtualBox allows you to use virtual computers that support the Open Virtualization Format (.ovf), so it is possible to create a virtual computer from one that has been built on to your network. Note: You can create .ovf virtual computers using a tool such as VMware Converter that can be downloaded from: http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/ VirtualBox is available for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux so you can use virtual computers on many different host operating systems, or run a virtual Linux computer on your Windows computer.
It is important to remember that you should ensure you have sufficient Microsoft Windows and Community Connect 4 client licences if you intend to use virtual
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computers. Also, VirtualBox doesn’t provide the power and flexibility as products such as VMware ESXi, which we use, to virtualise Community Connect 4 or Community Connect 3 servers.
Other utilities Tweaks.com Logon Changer http://tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon/ Download from: http://en.kioskea.net/download/download-10260-tweaks-com-logon-changer-forwindows-7 Some other utilities I didn’t have time to demonstrate during the session include Tweak.com Logon Changer. Many establishments liked the functionality in Community Connect 3 where the logon box could be modified to include a customised image for the school. With the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft prevented software developers like RM from changing the Windows logon box so we couldn’t include this functionality in Community Connect 4. Tweaks.com Logon Changer however allows you to change the default image used in the background of a Windows 7 computer.
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This would allow the network support team to change the login wallpaper on Windows 7 computers, whilst still allow the Community Connect 4 logon banner to work. Microsoft state that the background image should be 245KB in size. However if the image you want to use on the wallpaper is larger than that, then the Tweaks.com Logon Changer will resize your picture so it is that size.
Jing http://www.techsmith.com/jing/ Jing makes use of an application and the Internet to allow you to quickly and easily create screencasts, (recordings of your screen). Jing is an excellent way to provide quick, simple support to your users. Should you receive a support call from a user asking for assistance on performing a task, you can quickly launch Jing and create a video which can be automatically uploaded to: •
Screencast.com
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Flickr
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Twitter
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Facebook
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for the user to view. Jing allows you to create up to a five minute video, and once uploaded, the user requesting the help can view the video using a unique URL you provide them with.
Summary The Internet is a source for thousands of utilities that can help you, for free, in your day to day job. I have provided you with some of the utilities I find useful and I hope you do as well. Once again, please ensure that before using any of these utilities, you have a backup of any important files and settings before using any of the tools I have shown you. If you would like any more information then you can contact me in the following ways: Email:
[email protected]
Twitter:
@rmdavidwright
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Skype:
rmdavidwright
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Autumn 2011
