"The mind of a Mad Tech!"

This article covers both Windows workstations and servers.

Windows does not include a function that lets you mount an ISO into the Operating System, which normally would force you to convert that ISO to a CD. However there are utilities that will allow you to mount an ISO, which comes in handy, especially if you are wanting to convert CD’s to ISO’s  for transfer to your server.

Virtual Clone Drive

Virtual Clone Drive is a free to use ISO mounting utility that will work on Windows 98/XP/7/Vista and Windows 2000/2003/2008 server. You just install it and it will associate with your ISO’s which you can then can simply double click on an ISO or right click on it and choose to mount it.

Installing Virtual Clone Drive

1. You can download Virtual Clone Drive by going to http://www.slysoft.com/en/download.html. This install file works for both 32-bit and 64-bit, so there\’s no need to look for different versions of the install. Downclick the application and follow the directions.
2. Either elect to take the default assoications or choose to manually selection the associations.

   

3. You will need to specify a directory if you choose not to use the default location.

   

4. Once installed, you will need to click on the icon that was placed on your desktop or choose the application from your programs list. There you will be able to set the options for Virtual Clone Drive, such as the amount of drives to emulate and how long the mount history can be seen.

   

5. Finally to mount an ISO, you will need to click on one of the drives you created and choose “Mount”. You will then be able to browse to the ISO and mount it.

Now you can view the contents of the ISO now by opening the drive, just like you would with a CD or DVD.

*Edit* I updated this article  to include both Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 R1 / R2. The basic concept is the same just the wording is different depending on the OS.

This article explains how to make changes to how Windows 2008 R2 handles the remote desktop connections since they are left in their default configuration from the start. Please note this also can be used to make the very same changes to Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 / R1, the one difference is that Windows 2008 R2 refers to the sessions as Remote Desktop Services where Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 / R1 refer to them as Terminal Services

1. Start -> Administrative Tools -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration or you can access it by typing in “tsconfig.msc” at the run command prompt. For Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 /R1 navigate Start -> Administrative Tools -> Terminal Services Configuration  or type “tscc.msc”
    
2. This will take you to the Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration / Terminal Services Configuration  home screen. To your immediate middle will be a screen that lists your server name and the remote connections. You will need to either right click on the connection name which will be labeled “RDP-tcp Microsoft RDP 6.1″ for Windows 2008 or “RDP-tcp 5.2″ for Windows 2003 or double click on it to bring up the “RDP properties” screen.

   
    

3. In the “RDP properties” screen you will now be able to click on the “Sessions” tab and change how the server handles Disconnected” sessions, Idle Sessions and Active Sessions.

   
    

4. Once you have made your changes click “Apply” and then “Ok”. Changes made will not go into affect until a new Remote Connection is made to the server.

To enable PAE in Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 (and Windows XP), append the /PAE switch to the end of the line of operating system in the Boot.ini file. To disable PAE, use the /NOPAE switch. The Boot.ini normally located in the root folder (i.e. C:\) with Read-Only and Hidden attributes, which are required to be removed before the file can be edited.

For example,

Original Boot.ini:

[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT=”Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server”
/fastdetect

Change the Boot.ini to become:

[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT=”Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server”
/fastdetect /PAE

For Bootcfg command, use:

bootcfg /raw "/pae" /A /ID 1

Restart the computer after modification to make the change effective.

Note that even with PAE enabled, there is still memory limit imposed by the operating system itself. The table below list the maximum memory support with PAE enabled for Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. Most 32-bit client based Windows operating system, such as Windows XP and Windows Vista (see way to use large memory of more than 4GB in 32-bit Windows Vista), has OS level limit that restricts the maximum amount of memory able to be used to 4GB.

Sadly, migrating settings that are saved in Horde is not supported by Plesk 8 as of 8.6, and likely not in Plesk 9. However there is a way to migrate the data, however it will need to be done manually. To do so, you will need to goto the server where the information that you need to migrate is. Once there, you need to login via shell / SSH. Once logged in, we need to backup 3 things;

kronolith_events

kronolith_storage

Horde Mysql database

To do this, we need to backup the tables as such;

~# mysqldump -uadmin -p`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow` horde --tables kronolith_events > kronolith_events.dump
~# mysqldump -uadmin -p`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow` horde --tables kronolith_storage > kronolith_storage.dump

Then we need to backup the Horde database;