Windows

Change SSL Certificate from 1024 bit to 2048 bit on II6

Just a short posting in this subject. I needed to renew our SSL certificate on one of our Windows Server 2003 machines. We’ve always used GoDaddy, and never had a problem renewing in the past.

This time around, GoDaddy no longer issues 1024 bit certificates. You have to replace those with a minimum of 2048.

I attempted to just replace the 1024 bit certificate with a 2048 bit replacement and found that I could not do that on II6.

Save yourself a little aggravation. You have to remove the old 1024 bit certificate and then install the new 2048 bit certificate in its place. Doesn’t take too long at all.

Windows Key Shortcuts Revisited

When Microsoft introduced Windows 95 on August 24, 1995, they also created a new key that was to be used henceforth to control various Windows functions. It still exists today, as can be seen on my Dell Latitude D620 -

It’s looked slightly different over the years, but it’s still functions as a special key that when pressed along with another key, will perform some function.

No, I have used a notebook for most of my work and leisure since 1995 when I bought my first IBM Thinkpad. The reason I bring this up is that until recently, IBM was a hold out in putting Windows keys on their ThinkPad line of notebooks. IBM was very committed to keyboard design and there was never room for that Windows key until recently. I don’t know if it had something to do with Lenovo buying the IBM personal computer line, but all Thinkpad do have the Windows key. Anyway, because of this, I never developed the habit of using the Windows key, even though I saw it on the occasional desktop or notebook that I might use.

Since my Thinkpad T42 is waiting for me to repair it, and I’m now using the D620 full time, I decided to learn more about the Windows key.

Here’s a brief rundown:

Windows Key by itself-
Opens the Start Menu

Windows Key + “Break”
Display “Systems Properties”

Windows Key + “D”
Display Desktop

Windows Key + “M”
Minimize open windows

Windows Key + “E”
Open Windows Explorer

Windows Key + “F”
Search for files or folders

Windows Key + “F1″
Display Windows Help

Windows Key + “L”
Lock the computer

Windows Key + “R”
Open the Run dialog box

This one is for Vista and Windows7 –

Windows Key  + “TAB”
Cycle through open programs on the taskbar by using Windows Flip 3-D (I like this)

These are for Windows 7 –

Windows Key + “Space bar”
Preview the desktop

Windows Key + “Up Arrow”
Maximize the current window

Windows Key + “Down Arrow”
Minimize the current window

Windows Key + “Left Arrow”
Maximize the window to the left side of the screen

Windows Key + “Right Arrow”
Maximize the window to the right side of the screen

Windows Key + “Home”
Minimize all but the active window

Windows Key + “Shift” + “Up Arrow”
Stretch the window to the top and bottom of the screen

Windows Key + “P”
Choose presentation display mode

Windows Key + “G”
Cycle through screen gadgets

Windows Key + “U”
Open the Ease of Access Center

Windows Key +X”
Open the Windows Mobility Center

So, there you have it. Not using a keyboard with the windows key for the most part, I really was not aware of some of the great functionality that is available using that key. I think that was what the makers of the Thinkpad eventually realized.

Windows 7 Taskbar Progress Bar

As my ThinkPad T42′s fan was dying I decided to pick up an off lease Dell Latitude D620. Nice machine and pretty low cost, too. It came with Windows XP SP3, so I blew that away and installed Windows 7 Ultimate. As I was transferring files from the T42, I noticed a feature that I had not noticed on my Windows 7 desktop, probably because the desktop has a high resolution display with a lot of room. Here’s what  I noticed on the D620 – if you’re like me, you tend to multi-task a lot and windows that you are working on can get hidden behind others and get forgotten. For example, one of these types of windows -

Can get hidden behind another window, and if it’s a very long operation, you can forget it and not realize that the operation has finished. Since the screen on the latitude is not high resolution (1280×800), I had a number of windows open and the window above was well hidden while I was working on on other things.

While I was working, I happened to glance down at the taskbar, and found out that Windows 7 has a feature that let’s you keep track of the progress bar, even if it’s hidden behind other windows. Notice the green shading on the windows explorer icon on the task bar -

As the file transfer occurs the green shading actually moves across the icon and then finally disappears when the transfer is over. This was nice touch added to the Windows 7 interface by Microsoft.

God Mode in Windows 7

This has been circulating for a few days now.  Someone found what is being called a God Mode in Windows 7.  If you’re a gamer, you know that God Mode gives you special powers something like unlimited ammo or supplies or stops you from being killed.

Well, this God Mode for Windows 7 is nothing like that. Here is how it works. Create a new folder anywhere. The rename it with this:

God.Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Once the folder is renamed, the icon for the folder will change into that for the Control Panel. That’s because what you are doing is creating a view for the Control Panel in list view.

So, I wouldn’t consider this a God Mode, but it certainly puts a lot of the things you can tweak out there for easy access.  My list view showed 274 different items.  I like this because I have never cared for Microsoft‘s iconized presentation of Control Panel, and would always put it back into classic view.

By the way, this doesn’t have to be named God Mode. You can call it anything you want, just so you have the period at the end of the name and before the first “{“.

This will work under Windows 7 32bit or 64bit. It will also work under Vista 32bit, but will crash Vista 64bit.  I understand that someone has come up with a work around. It definitely does not work in Windows XP.

So, definitely not God Mode, but this is useful for someone who likes to experiment and tweak their settings.

No Flash for IE 64-bit

I’ve had a desktop with 32-bit Vista, which I upgraded to Windows 7 32-bit. I have not really had time or the need to mess with the 64-bit version of either.

When one of our users came to me and said that she had bought a notebook for home that had Windows 7 64-bit installed and was unable to install Flash, I did some checking and found out that Adobe had not come up with a 64-bit version of Flash. When they do come out with a new version, I hope it’s not as much of as resource hog as the 32-bit version is, God help us.

I was astounded to say the least. I also found out that each 64-bit version of Vista and Windows 7 has a 32-bit version of IE installed. It can be found in the All Programs, “Programs Files x86″ folder.

RWW and Least Priviliged Users

When using RWW (Remote Web Workplace) on Windows Server SBS2003, you’ll have to change a setting on the user’s worksation in local Group Policy or the user will not be allowed to log in remotely via RWW.  I found this out when changing over all our users to not having administrator privileges on their desktops. They now only have user rights. after logging onto the workstation with administrative rights, you’ll need to add the user to “Allow logon through Terminal Services” :