Posted on
October 27th, 2009 by
.rev
During the Beta days I had created my own USB loader for Windows 7, and you can find all kinds of web pages out there devoted to help you create your very own USB based Windows 7 Installer…..but why do it yourself when Microsoft has taken the time to write a free utility to help you burn the ISO to DVD or create a Windows 7 USB 
based installer. If you buy Windows 7 from the online Microsoft Store you have the option to download an ISO or if like me you have a TechNet Subscription or something similar like an Action Pack or MSDN account you can download the ISO file for your version of Windows 7. In my case I am using Windows 7 Ultimate.
Read more »
Filed under: .uncategorized | 1.comment »
Posted on
September 11th, 2009 by
.rev
I had to find a place for this poem while justafreak.com is down and being moved to a new server. I simply could not not post this today. I wrote this 8 years ago today to help remind me.
My heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims in New York City and Washington DC. September, 11, 2001 will be a day that lives in infamy. Please take a moment to reflect on these events and how they will directly affect our future. I know speculation of war is eminent, and I hope and pray that this issue will be resolved with as little causality as possible.
September Eleventh, Two-Thousand and One
A day to remember; a day that is done
An amalgam of emotion, this world has sent
The lives of our loved ones, so quickly were spent
A place in time for a moment of pause
These things that happen; these things that cause
Our lives to stop, and our hearts to poor
The time for people to open this door
This door of peace through a time of hate
A world unites, a moment too late
These lives are lost, these lives are taken
But we will resolve, be not mistaken
Our time here is valuable, but short at best
And I know the we will pass this test
Those who kill will pay the ultimate price
For a game they play; For a roll of the dice
Our World, Our Nation; we will prevail
We are not near the end of this tail
Our Brothers and Sisters will all unite
We will go on; We’ll live through this night
Copyright: © 2001 Stephen Charles Rea (rev)
Filed under: .uncategorized | 0.comments »
Posted on
July 16th, 2009 by
.rev
I’ve been using Robocopy for a some time now to synchronize information between folders, servers, sites, etc and recently had a client requirement to update a schedule on one job in particular and log error events to the Windows Event Viewer. Due to other requirements on these servers I could not use PowerShell to write the script so I went old school and cracked open my notepad and wrote a VBS file (Visual Basic Script) and a CMD file (Old School Batch Command) to pass the VBS variables and invoke the Robocopy application. The VBScript itself is universal and can be used to pass multiple Robocopy log files from. So you only need one script for which multiple Robocopy Batch files can make calls to for log processing.
When using this VBScript it will log the success of failure of the Robocopy job by examining the log for errors. If an error is found it will rename the log file with a Date and Time Stamp then create an Error Event in your Windows Application Log (Event Viewer). The script also lets you decide how long to keep your logs (Robocopy is appending the log each time). For example if you wish to keep current and archive logs for 10 days you would pass a 10 to the VBScript from the CMD file you are making your call with. (CMD File Example Below) The Script will keep the current Robocopy Log and the Last Archived Robocopy Log for 10 days, which would give you between 10 and 20 days of logs dependant upon when you reviewed them. The error logs however are not deleted programmatically as they may require your attention. Other information required needed to pass are the name of and location you want for the log file generated by Robocopy.
Read more »
Filed under: .computers, .howto | 0.comments »
Posted on
June 22nd, 2009 by
.rev
I know its been forever since I’ve written anything, but that’s life in the fast lane I guess. But I recently ran into something that I wanted to share. I’ve been working with a client trying to get some issues resolved with one of their applications and at one point they asked me to gather a snapshot of all the locks and activities going on with the server at the time the application failed. Now SQL 2005 does have this great Activity Monitor, however it doesn’t include any ability to export the report. In the activity monitor you can also take a look at the last SQL statement that a particular SPID ran if there is one. So I wanted to find a way to export all that data into an Excel Document to get a nice snapshot of the processes that are running and the locks, wait times, statements, etc that would help me figure out what is going on with this server. So after a couple days worth of digging and trying to dust of my T-SQL skills I think I’ve managed to do exactly that. I wanted to share this with everyone because it’s not a client specific query and if you find your self in need actually grabbing this information to analyze later I think this might help.
Read more »
Filed under: .computers, .howto | 0.comments »
Posted on
November 1st, 2008 by
.rev
If you are at least a part-time student in the United States at a college or university than you need to checkout the Ultimate Steal from Microsoft. Right now Microsoft is offering a full version of Office 2007 Ultimate for $59.95 and an Upgrade Version of Windows Vista Ultimate for only $64.95.
Eligible students are allowed to purchase up to one license from each of the four sections below:
- Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2007 (USD$59.95): Perpetual license, which includes the following applications:
- Access® 2007
Accounting Express 2008
Excel® 2007
InfoPath® 2007
Groove® 2007
OneNote® 2007
Outlook® 2007 with Business Contact Manager
PowerPoint® 2007
Publisher 2007
Word 2007
- Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2007 (USD$55.95): Perpetual license, which includes the following application:
- Microsoft Office Language Pack 2007 (USD$9.95): Perpetual license for a single language pack, which includes the following application:
- Windows Vista® Ultimate Upgrade (USD$64.95): Perpetual license, which includes the following application:
- Windows Vista® Ultimate Upgrade
You can find more information and the full terms and conditions about this promotion at the Ultimate Steal web site here .
Filed under: .uncategorized | 0.comments »
Posted on
October 22nd, 2008 by
.rev
I was recently interviewed by Microsoft for a couple of projects. If you would like to hear what they had to say about me. Head over to Born to Learn a new blog for Microsoft Learning for all your certifications needs. In the meantime here is a snippet, enjoy.
It’s widely-known that Microsoft Certified Trainers are some of Microsoft’s most active evangelists. They showcase our products to their students and speak on behalf of MS at events such as TechEd and user group meetings. Over the past few years, a number of MCTs have taken their support of MS beyond the classroom and onto the internet.
AskTheMCT.com is Stephen Charles Rea’s entry into the MCT blogosphere and has tallied more than 25,000 hits since it started on January 1, 2008. Steve, or as he’s know to his friend, the Rev or .rev, is an MCT at the New Horizons in Greensboro, NC where he specializes in the ITPro curriculum. A former stand-up comedian and radio disc jockey, Rea now delivers most of his jokes in the classroom, with a few sneaking into the interview he did with Microsoft in July.
Read the rest of the article…
Filed under: .uncategorized | 2.comments »
Posted on
August 13th, 2008 by
.rev
Have you been using Microsoft Office 2007? Have you had a hard time trying to find all those options you knew in Office 2003? Do you wish you had access to some sort of interactive help program to show you where the most popular Microsoft Office related tasks are in the new Ribbon? Well if you answered yes to all of those questions then look no further then the amazing Office 2007 Interactive Command reference Guide! That’s right friends you to can find what you’re looking for with these five (5) reference guides and matching ribbon mapping Excel Workbooks today! Act now supplies are not running out and this is not a limited time offer, but if you don’t act now you will be another day without the knowledge to complete your tasks with ease.
Read more »
Filed under: .computers | 1.comment »
During the Beta days I had created my own USB loader for Windows 7, and you can find all kinds of web pages out there devoted to help you create your very own USB based Windows 7 Installer…..but why do it yourself when Microsoft has taken the time to write a free utility to help you burn the ISO to DVD or create a Windows 7 USB 
based installer. If you buy Windows 7 from the online Microsoft Store you have the option to download an ISO or if like me you have a TechNet Subscription or something similar like an Action Pack or MSDN account you can download the ISO file for your version of Windows 7. In my case I am using Windows 7 Ultimate. 
