ServerWatch Staff

To learn more about Systems Management Server or to pose a question, check out the ServerWatch Discussion Forum SMS folder. The following articles about Microsoft’s SMS are available on ServerWatch. Clients with Incorrect Network Information: The article describes a problem we experienced with SMS clients automatically uninstalling themselves. We take you step-by-step through the long […]

by John Loomes OK, we’ve all read Microsoft’s MSI Whitepapers (well some of us have, the rest of you probably get out more often….), but how do you really go about producing quality MSI-based packages? Ive compiled the following list of ‘Best Practices’ to consider when writing MSI Packages, based on my experience. This list […]

by John Loomes If you’re serious about learning ADSI, WSH and VBScript, then you’ll need at least one good reference book. The books listed below are ones I’ve used in the past when learning the basics, and still refer to today. f you’re serious about learning ADSI, WSH and VBScript, then you’ll need at least […]

by John Loomes This script addresses a bug in WISE for Windows Installer 3 where if a registry entry in an MSI package has a value that contains square brackets e.g. [value], then WISE will interpret everything in between the brackets as an MSI property and attempt to resolve it via the Property table. This […]

by John Loomes This script prompts for an MSI (Windows Installer) Package, and an output location. It then queries the File table within MSI and exports all the file names within the package to a spreadsheet. You could easily modify this to run as a batch process to pump out all the files from hundreds […]

by John Loomes This WISE for Windows Installer macro will set the shared .dll attribute on all files within Windows, WindowsSystem32 or Winnt, Winntsystem32 every time you Save your MSI package. This WISE for Windows Installer macro will set the shared .dll attribute on all files within Windows, WindowsSystem32 or Winnt, Winntsystem32 every time you […]

by John Loomes This script is specifically for those using Wise for Windows Installer to create MSI Packages. It extracts the source files from the package, and places the, in the correct hierarchy under a root directory called ‘Source’, it then modifies the source path within the MSI file such that the MSI Package will […]

by John Loomes The Problem Since the beginning of time (well, since the ealiest versions of Windows first appeared anyway…), the operating system and any applications running on it have relied upon the presence of .DLL’s… Since the beginning of time (well, since the ealiest versions of Windows first appeared anyway…), the operating system and […]

by John Loomes Introduction What IS .NET?? In September 2000 Microsoft announced its new vision – .NET ” The .NET Enterprise Servers are the fastest way to integrate, manage, and Web-enable the enterprise.” Microsoft But, I hear you ask, what IS .NET?? Having been asked this question by several people I decided to write this […]

by John Loomes These links will take you to places to get eveything you need to get started with the examples in the articles. These links will take you to places to get eveything you need to get started with the examples in the articles. N.B Additional components may be required for Windows 95 users, […]

by John Loomes This script takes a text file as input (you could easily modify this to be a query, or members of a container…) It then uses WMI to walk through all the services running on each machine in the list, and pipes the results to a text file. This allows you to view […]

by John Loomes Microsoft have finally decided on the names of their next generation Windows and Office products (formaly known as Windows Whistler and Office 10 respectively). The products will be released as Windows XP and Office XP. The ‘XP’ stands for ‘Experience’ apparently. Microsoft have finally decided on the names of their next generation […]