David Vielmetter

Adventures in stupid technology

  • Troubleshooting ping general failure aaand it’s Symantec

    Having worked in IT for some years, I’ve developed a special kind of hate for Symantec. I remember Symantec Mail Security for Exchange recursively quarantining all email messages with .ppt (powerpoint) attachments across your datastores, failed tape backups with every Symantec Backup Exec update or Symantec Endpoint Protection Management (SEPM) log files overfilling the OS…

  • Deploying TeamViewer unattended host

    So I’ve been playing with deploying TeamViewer 13 unattended host for several hours today and have reached the conclusion that the deployment documentation is just grossly inadequate. Here’s what I’ve learned after looking at several forum posts: Don’t try to deploy your customized TeamViewer unattended host MSI application via the GPO software installation package method…

  • Skype for Business 2016 breaks Office 2013

    In this particular case Skype for Business (SfB) 2016 Basic was installed on a system running Windows 7 Pro and MS Office 2013 with all patches up-to-date. Oddly enough, while Skype for Business 2016 was installed the system appeared to be running problem free; the SfB integration in MS Outlook 2013 indicating availability status colors…

  • Skype for Business 2016 on Remote Desktop Server 2016

    I had an interesting request lately. Install Skype for Business (SfB) 2016 Basic on an existing Remote Desktop Services Server (formerly Terminal Services) which already had a volume licensed install of Microsoft Office 2013 Standard. A little background on this particular customer is that they licensed Office 2013 Standard for their users and the RDS server…

  • How to fix a Dell P2210T 22″ Monitor with a broken backlight

    Alright, so admittedly this video will not help you fix all possible backlight issues with a Dell P2210T, but it may help you fix the most common problem I’ve seen. I have a lot of these monitors in production (many were deployed in 2012-2013) and most of them have exhibited the same issue: 4 failed…

  • PPTP VPN: testing whether GRE 47 traffic is allowed

    Some networks block the basic requirements for PPTP VPN connections. Hotels sometimes do this prevent guests from skirting their internet content policies. To establish a PPTP VPN connection, the host network must allow traffic on port 1723 and Generic Route Encapsulation (GRE) 47 traffic. Both requirements must be met by the host network to establish a successful PPTP…

  • Getting ready for single sign-on in a hybrid cloud environment

    I’m seeing a lot of small businesses change change their IT budgets from a CAPEX/ROI model to an OPEX/Subscription model. If you’re one of those businesses enticed by moving chunks of your IT infrastructure to the cloud to simplify your IT budget, then you may want to consider setting up a hybrid cloud environment. One of…

  • GA-990FXA-UD3 firmware issues with overheating

    I’ve got a Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 rev. 4.0 and my system had issues with turning off after resuming up from sleep or hibernate. Initially, I thought it was a problem with my Windows 10 installation because of my windows insider preview build, but after investigating a bit more, it turns out the issue was firmware F3 released 5/28/15. The…

  • Changing your DHCP Scope (to increase IP addressing)

    Say you were conservative when you first created your DHCP scope and now your company has grown past those initial conservative estimates. Now you’re stuck with a DHCP scope you can’t expand. Whether you’re trying to add 50 hosts or thousands, you’re stuck in the same situation. Delete and re-create your DHCP scope. Use netsh…