Tips

• Access remote desktop... remotely...

Use putty ssh tunneling to a ssh/linux server in your house to access a Microsoft remote desktop: local port: 3395 -> remote port:ip-of-windows-wkstn:3389; then specify localhost:3395 when connecting with remote desktop. I randomly choose the port 3395, you can pick any unused port on your local system.

Applications

• Shrink the size of Word Docs by removing imbedded objects

Use CTRL+a to select all then CTRL+SHIFT+F9 to convert the embedded objects. I was able to reduce a 3Mb file with a lot of graphics to 300K. If there are sections you don't want to unlink don't select them, but follow the same procedure.

• Putty is a good terminal client and now supports telnet, ssh, and serial ports

I do not use the built in session saving. I create file explorer short cuts specifying the login information on the command line. The sessions that I do save are profile templates for particular operating systems (i.e. Solaris w/ ^? backspace, riverstone routers, or Linux). I also change the default colors to be black on white:
Default Foreground: 0,0,0
Default Bold Foreground: 85,85,85
Default Background: 255,255,255
Default Bold Background: 187,187,187
Default Cursor Text: 0,0,0
Default Cursor Color: 0,255,0

Example command line:
"C:\Program Files\PuTTY\putty.exe" -load "riverstone" -telnet 10.10.199.239
"C:\Program Files\PuTTY\putty.exe" -load "sun Ctl-h" -ssh 10.10.203.92

The one thing I "wish" I could do is set the window title from the command line!

Customizing Windows

• Change the cmd environment

My Computer / Properties / Advanced / Environment Variables

• Open a CMD prompt in the current directory

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\PromptCMD]
@="&Prompt CMD"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\PromptCMD\command]
@="cmd  /f:on /k @cd /d %1 & title Prompt"

• Change the Places Bar in Save/Open

I like to add "favorites" to the list. I also add a short cut to favorites to my quick launch bar. This opens favorites in an explorer window. From there I create deep links (short cuts) to the files directories for my active projects.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp
Edit the Common dialogs / Places Bar

• Using NTP on Windows

Configuring Windows 2000 and Windows XP to use NIST Time Servers provides a lot of background information and a list of NTP servers.

net time /setsntp:{Server Address}
net time /querysntp
net time /set
net stop w32time
net start w32time

Firefox

• Customize firefox by entering about:config in the location bar

Check out the options in the open forum: http://kb.mozillazine.org/About:config
Some great options:

• network.http.pipelining true
• network.http.pipelining.maxrequests 30
• browser.tabs.tabMinWidth 50
• Add new integer value: nglayout.initialpaint.delay 0

• Add-ONs
  • IE Tab - Use this to load IE in a tab for specified websites. I use it for radio.launch.yahoo.com

• Quick Search

Best productivity feature ever; I add these to all my Firefox based browsing platforms! Thanks LifeHacker:
Geek to Live: Fifteen Firefox Quick Searches
To set up a Quick search, go to any search engine page with an input box using Firefox, like say, the Flickr photo search page. To set up a Quick search for Flickr tags, right-click inside the tag search input box and choose "Add a Keyword for this Search..."
Manually: Under the bookmarks menu create a folder called "Quick Searches"
stove :: http://www.google.com/search?&q=site:stovenour.net+%s


If you want to use the same bookmark for both regular access and keyword searches try a little javascript:
javascript:if('%s') location.href='http://lifehacker.com/search/%s';else location.href='http://lifehacker.com/';

Debugging

• Listing processes that are listening on a port:

netstat -ano | findstr -i listening
netstat -ano | findstr -i established
netstat -ano | findstr [port #]
tasklist | findstr [pid from netstat]

MS SysInternals / TCPView

• Portqry.exe command-line utility
• msinfo32 - Display many hardware and software properties
• msconfig - Enable / Disable startup applications

• Identify an exact Intel processor model

Intel® Processor Identification Utility
Intel Processor Numbers - Reference Lists

Remote Desktop Tips

• Reboot the a system from a remote desktop session
  • Open: CMD.EXE
  • Type: shutdown -r [-f if needed]
• Kill a process on a system from a remote desktop session
  • Right Click on the remote desktop's task bar and choose taskmanager
  • or
  • Open: CMD.EXE
  • Type: tasklist
  • Type: tskill "PID# from tasklist"

Microsoft Word

• Document Template Examples

Simple report template - Very complete

File / Printer Sharing

Enable File / Printer Sharing on OpenVPN
I use OpenVPN in a routed mode where the remote system is given a different IP subnet. As such there are a few things that are required to make file/printer sharing work in Windows XP (may be similar for newer versions).

1. Permanently add a static route on all local windows systems
This is only necessary if the default route (router) for the local windows systems is different than the OpenVPN server.
In a CMD window type: route add -p 192.168.173.0 mask 255.255.255.0 192.168.171.207

2. Open the Microsoft Firewall on all local windows systems
By default the Microsoft Firewall only allows file/printer sharing IP traffic for hosts on the local subnet. For each of the TCP/UDP ports in the File/Priter Sharing; add additional subnets: 192.168.171.0/255.255.255.0,192.168.173.0/255.255.255.0

3. Create an lmhosts file
To browse by name, File/Printer sharing needs either a wins server or an lmhosts file for name resolution. IP addresses can be used even if name resolution is not provided. To provide name resolution without enabling a wins server, create the following file on the remote systems:

192.168.171.203 dell
192.168.171.206 gateway

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314108 and the file lmhosts.sam for more information.