nmX.Memnoch

Short of calling HP for a replacement screen...probably not. The replacement screen will probably cost you as much as just purchasing a new laptop as well. We had to do that last year for one of our HP Compaq laptops and it cost us over $600US to have the screen replaced. We didn't pay much more than that for the laptop when it was originally purchased...

DX10 itself won't do anything, but the NVIDIA 8x00 GPUs have optimizations for video decoding. I don't think they have anything in the way of encoding optimizations...but that can me made up for by pairing the right software with the right CPU. Drive speed and space is also something to consider for video editing. I do agree on checking out an 8600GT based card though.

Yes, just the RAID. Which is why it's odd that Asus claims ICH9 doesn't support AHCI, but ICH9R does. BTW, you're going to drive yourself bonkers if you try to load either the Intel SATA drivers or the JMicron SATA drivers during WinXP setup. If you try, WinXP setup will BSOD every time. Don't load any drivers, then install the chipset drivers after setup finishes. This information is strictly for the P5K line (ICH9 versions only, ICH9R versions supposedly have AHCI support).

I was even nice enough to link to it above so I wouldn't have to explain it all over again... *sigh* The P5K line is still a good choice. Asus is just a little confused as to whether or not ICH9 supports AHCI (Intel's site says it does, Asus claims Intel says it doesn't).

Two 2950's, something for backups and a VPN capable router would be a very good start. Just so you know, you're going to end up spending some bucks for this. While a 2950 with a base configuration is $5K USD...the price quickly jumps to between $10-15K when you start adding the things you really need. Of course, $10-15K for a server with that kind of power is relatively cheap compared to 5-10 years ago. Below are my recommendations. I purposefully "over" powered the SBS 2003 R2 server because it'll be running the majority of your stuff. You can get away with less power on a simple file/print server, but what I've configured still has enough power should you need to add some sort of server-side application (for networked multifunction devices, etc). Both are configured with WAY more power than you're going to need initially. But, the last thing you want to do is purchase something that you'll have to replace in a year. These servers should have more than enough power to last you at least 3-5 years, even accounting for some pretty serious growth. Rack: That's a full rack and will give you plenty of room to grow. When you install the equipment in the rack, put the UPS in the bottom and leave 2U open (closed by a 2U filler panel) between the UPS and the next piece of equipment. This will leave you room to add another UPS in the future without having to move equipment around.I have a pair of fully configured PE6850's (4xdual-core CPUs, six hard drives, 20GB RAM, dual PSU's, etc) in a rack with a complete SAN that includes 30 hard drives. We have two 3000VA UPS'es running that equipment with everything evenly balanced across the two UPS'es. They both run on about a 30% load, which is very good considering the amount of equipment we have running on them. You also need to add a keyboard/video/mouse switch to the above. They've got some really nice (and really expensive) ones, but you probably don't need anything fancy. SBS 2003 R2 Premium Edition Server: The 6x146GB drives in RAID10 will give you about 438GB of useable space. I configured this storage strictly for your Exchange mailboxes, although it could be used for the SharePoint site's database if you decide to use that functionality. I would start with setting every mailbox to a maximum of 3GB. That's A LOT of mail. That'll leave you with some space for the SharePoint site if you need it, and some space to set certain mailboxes with a larger size limit (management, organiztional/shared mailboxes, etc). The Dual-External-Port SAS 5/E HBA for PowerVault MD3000 is so that you can add a PowerVault MD3000 for additional Exchange storage space in the future, should you need to.You also need to decide if you want user or device CALs. You can mix them, but then it becomes a license management nightmare. Since you're going to have users working from home, you probably want to go for the User CALs. File/Print Server: The configuration is nearly identical except for the CPUs and software options. The RAID10 set on this server would be for your data shares. This is probably WAAAAY more space than you really need, but again, you don't want to find out in a year that you need to replace the drives because you're running out of space. I did, however, also include the controller card so you can add a PowerVault MD3000 in the future if you have to.Router w/ NAT, firewall and VPN: Dell also sells this piece of equipment so you can stick with one vendor (good for support purposes). There's also a wireless version if you need wireless access. The model number for that is the X55e-W. You may want to opt for getting the non-wireless version and then getting seperate wireless access points...again, if you need wireless. Switches: This will provide internal Gigabit connectivity for your servers and workstations/laptops. There are two reasons for getting four of the SFP transceivers: 1. You can aggregate the connections to provide 4Gbps full duplex throughput between the switches 2. It'll provide a redundant path between the two switches Also note that both servers come with dual NICs integrated. You can do the same for your servers (connect both and aggregate the connection for higher throughput, while also providing a redundant path). Again, a lot of this is waaaaaay overkill for what you need starting out. But migrating services after just a year of operation is senseless. Cheaping out on the warranty support is a bad idea as well. Now...where do I send my bill?

Done. The StartUp Utility has been updated for additional error checking. The user must be completely configured for it to start (the account must exist in the SessionManager user group and the registry entries must exist). Download Here If you've already downloaded and installed you can simply install over the previous installation. If InGroup("@WKSTA\SessionManager") And KeyExist("HKLM\SOFTWARE\SessionManager\@WKSTA\@USERID") Shell '%COMSPEC% /C START "" "%PROGRAMFILES%\SessionManager\SessionManager.exe"' EndIf jcarle: Let me know if you want a copy of all the source scripts.

Thanks...we aim to please. Thanks and you're welcome. Which startup is this created in? All Users or the individual user's account? Just curious... wondering if the "restricted" user can just right-click delete the shortcut in the startup account.It's in the All Users so a regular/restricted user can't delete it. The Configurator also won't run if a non-admin account attempts to run it. In other words, the account MUST be in the Administrators group to run the Configurator, otherwise it'll give a warning message and exit. Here's the code for the StartUp script (it's compiled into an executable by AdminScriptEditor): If InGroup("@WKSTA\SessionManager") Shell '%COMSPEC% /C START "" "%PROGRAMFILES%\SessionManager\SessionManager.exe"' EndIf Thinking about it I should make a slight modification to that so that it checks for the existance of the configuration key for that user as well. It's another level of error checking that may not be necessary, but I'll add it anyway. The installer also sets custom permissions on %PROGRAMFILES%\SessionManager and all files within it so that a regular user can't edit or delete anything in it (everything is compiled into EXE's anyway). So in otherwords, send the s*** my way, eh? Not at all...I just don't want to take credit for something that isn't mine. I noticed that as well...but other people seemed interested anyway.

Like FAT64 said...that's the point of setting up a domain. You don't want them installing things? Don't make them administrators on the workstations. Setup a Group Policy Object for Restricted Groups, only allowing those you want to have Admin privs. You want to restrict web access? SBS 2003 R2 Premium comes with Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server. ISA Server includes a firewall and a proxy...you can block any website you want. You don't want to go to each computer to configure settings? That's what Group Policy is for. You can control whether or not Automatic Updates is on, and even point it to an internal Automatic Updates server (Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) comes with SBS 2003 R2). WSUS even allows you to specify which updates will be applied to your workstations/laptops. And people you want to work from their home office...I'd recommend a router with VPN capabilities instead of using RRAS.

I wouldn't go with Abit either. The last good board they made was the BX6-2. Yeah, yeah...they had a lot of fanboys after that board who all thought Abit's boards were the best thing since sliced bread. To be honest, I put them in the same class as VIA chipsets...never buy the first generation because it's just not quite right (although VIA now takes 3 or 4 generations lately to get "close" to right). As for the P5K line from Asus...see this post. At this point with P35 based boards, I gotta go with the Gigabyte recommendation as well. The P5K boards are good...I'm just PO'ed at Asus for not fixing the AHCI issue by now.

Here it is...it's only been tested on my machine so I hope it doesn't disappoint. Instead of running in each user's "Run" key, I changed it to a StartUp shortcut. There's a local group created by Setup. When a user is configured, the user is added to this group. The StartUp shortcut checks to see if the user is a member of this group. If so, then it starts SessionManager. If not, it just exits. Uninstalling the application completely removes all user configurations and the local group. Domain accounts aren't supported by the configurator at this time so manual configuration would still be required. Also, keep in mind this is jcarle's application...I only created the installer and configurator. Download here Here are some screenshots:

I wouldn't have them do anything through RDP unless they're on the road...and even then I would opt for VPN instead. Also keep in mind that you have to have enough Office licenses for the number of users who could be using Office on the server at any one time. Purchasing one license and letting multiple users use it isn't going to (legally) cover you. The only other reason I can see for a single point of application would be for patch management...but WSUS takes care of that nicely so that's not really a concern either. As Stoic Joker said, it also becomes a single point of failure...not a good thing. Just put Office on all the desktops/laptops and be done with it. You can purchase a router with VPN capabilities to provide remote connectivity to the office so they can access documents, databases, email, etc...and that'll be an encrypted tunnel. So, looking at your requirements I would recommend one PowerEdge 2950 to run Small Business Server 2003 R2 Premium Edition and another for File/Print Services (running Server 2003 R2, Standard Edition). Those 2950's ROCK by the way. I've worked with a couple 2900's (tower version of the 2950) and have a 2950 on the way. They're pretty fast. I'll put together my recommended configurations later today...after I've had a few hours of sleep.

Small Business Server 2003 R2 is good for up to 75 users or devices (you have to choose which Client Access License (CAL) type you want). Once you grow beyond that point you have to move to the standalone versions of the individual products (Server 2003, Exchange 2003, etc). The CAL type you choose needs to be planned out before you start. For example, if some of your users will be accessing the network remotely (from home) then you'll probably want to choose User CALs. The 75 user/device limit is why I asked about the number of users/computers. If you only plan on a maximum of 50 users within the first year then I'd probably start with SBS 2003 R2...unless you know for sure that you're going to grow beyond that after the first year. Additionally, SBS 2003 R2 includes Exchange 2003 with a maximum limit of 75GB per mailbox. The latest version of Exchange is 2007. You need to make a decision on which version of Exchange you want to run. Obviously your mailbox size limits will actually depend on how much drive space you have. 75GB is A LOT for a single mailbox, but your mailbox usage can also explode a lot faster than you expect. Say you set each mailbox to a 10GB limit and you have 50 users. In that case you'd need to make sure you have at least 500GB of space available just for Exchange. Please tell me you're not planning on trying to run PhotoShop via Terminal Services ... There's not a right to do that. What is it you feel you need a terminal server for? Agreed...running any image manipulation software over TS is not a good idea. Are you planning on having all of the users login to the TS to use Office applications?

If I'm not mistaken, even if you choose option 3 you still have to put in the full domain logon information when logging into the FTP.

You say "in the beginning". What's the growth plan? Four servers (1 DC, 1 Exchange, 1 TS and 1 FS/PS) is a lot for just 15 computers and 25 users. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about splitting up resources...but I'm also all about not putting in more equipment than is necessary for a given task. If you're only talking growing to about say 50 users, I would just get one server with Small Business Server for the DC/Exchange and another server for FS/PS/TS. I take it this is for a new business?

We need some information first... How many users? How many workstations? How many Exchange users (include possible organizational mailboxes in the count)? Are you planning on using one as a file server (or is this already in place)? Are you planning on using one as a print server (can be consolidated on the file server)? A Dell PowerEdge 2950 should provide plenty of power (and then some) for 15-30 clients. It's hard to recommend servers for the other services without knowing the above information though.

Turns out the latest version of AutoIt has a built in function for hex conversion... $H = Hex($DEC) Edit: If you're going to use that to write a registry value, then you have to add the "0x" to the beginning: $H = "0x" & Hex($DEC)

From the original post I can't imagine that he would have less than 10 connections. Suppose, for instance, that it was 2 printers and 6 PCs/users. Connecting each PC/user to both printers counts as two connections per PC/user. That's 12 connections...which exceeds the limit. Unless you only have 1 printer and a handful of PCs/users, using XP as a print server in a business environment is a Bad IdeaTM.

Errr... Back to the task at hand. Is there any possiblity of changing the LoginsPermitted and SessionLength keys to REG_SZ as opposed to REG_DWORD? If not then I may end up having the script convert the decimal input to hex. Not that I can't do that...but I'd like to preserve what little of my sanity I still have left. It's going to be at least one more night. I know how I'm going to handle most everything with the configurator now...I'm just too spent to finish up the coding tonight.

The Search function is a wonderful thing. http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=82711 The USB floppy drive you're using isn't natively supported by setup. That thread will tell you how to add support into setup...and do it directly from the floppy drive!

IIS FTP isn't designed to work that way. It's not really designed to be used on a domain since...well...on a domain you can setup shares. Obviously it'll work, but that isn't the intent.

I hope to have the configuration utility and the installer finished up tonight. But for now...off to my side job!

Try putting in the full logon information for the domain users. For example, either DOMAIN\User or user@domain.tld in the logon information. I believe by default IIS only looks for accounts that are local on the FTP server.

I'm almost done with the configuration utility. It currently won't work in a domain environment (because I've specifically excluded domain users when it parses the users). I had to figure out how I was going to handle enumerating the users and then how I was going to prompt for the information. Now that I've figured that out I need to update it to actually write the registry entries. Can someone verify that REG.EXE does exist on XP Home Edition? I'm pretty sure it does...I just don't have access to an XP Home machine right now to check.

Errr...this is the "fix" to PCIe. It's not even the first one. Current PCIe motherboards use the 1.1 specification. This one is 2.0...as in an update to an existing technology, not something new.

First, identity is written out as machine_name\username\ always when there is no domain, when there is a domain, you'll know because I don't have a domain to test it on. I've completely reworked the registry handling. Now... it works like this... Read HKLM for settings, if not found, read HKCU, if not found, write out default settings to HKCU and use those. In otherwords, it never writes to HKLM and only to HKCU, however if HKLM settings exists, they will override those of HKCU. HKLM settings are in HKLM\SOFTWARE\SessionManager\(machine_name/domain)\(user)\ HKCU settings are in HKCU\SOFTWARE\SessionManager\ And that should do it. Like I said, I think it would be best to keep the configuration strictly in HKLM. If the settings don't exist in HKLM then it should exit. That would force proper configuration of the app for each user. But that's just the way I would do it...