Solved

Permantently stop Windows Update on Windows Server 2025

2025-01-03T12:46:00.003+00:00

In this post, I describe how to permanently stop Windows Update from running on Windows Server 2025.

On a test server, you may not want Windows Update to run because it consumes CPU resource.

I recently discovered that disabling the Windows Update service does not stop Windows updates as the service can re-enable itself e.g. the service status switches from Disabled to Manual when you open Windows Update settings.

Resolution

To permanently stop Windows Update service:

1. Create a new user account e.g. windowsupdate

2. Change the Windows Update service to Log On as this account

The service will now now fail to start and Windows update will be unable to run.

Manually set a certificate to archived status in Windows

2024-11-08T16:14:00.006+00:00

In this post, I describe how to manually set a certificate to the status "Archived" in Microsoft Windows.

Usually, when renewing certificates, old ones get archived automatically. However, you may want to manually set a certificate to the Archived status e.g. for testing purposes.

Resolution

To manually set a certificate to Archived:

1. Open a command prompt as Administrator

2. Run certutil -store my to view the certificates in the Personal (my) store:

3. Make a note of the Cert Hash(sha1) of the certificate you want to archive

4. Create a new file called archive.inf and insert the following text:

[Properties]

19 = Empty

This file is used to archive the certificate.

5. Save archive.inf e.g. to c:\

6. In the command prompt, change directory to where you saved archive.inf e.g. cd c:\

7. Run certutil -repairstore my "9a0bf9cfc3c9573121fa38fea3360ba7572a78e5" Archive.inf replacing 9a0bf9cfc3c9573121fa38fea3360ba7572a78e5 with the Cert Hash(sha1) noted earlier.

The certificate is now Archived!

View archived certificates in MMC

To view archived certificates in MMC:

1. Left click the Certificates node then right click and go to View then Options:

2. Check the Archived certificates checkbox:

Add Rack and Chassis to Nodes in Failover Cluster Manager

2024-11-07T11:20:00.002+00:00

In this post, I describe how to add Rack and Chassis information to a node in Failover Cluster Manager on Microsoft Windows Server.

When you view nodes in Failover Cluster Manager, you will see that there is a Rack and Chassis column but no way to add this data in the user interface.

Resolution

Create Fault Domains in PowerShell to add Rack and Chassis information to a node:

1. Open PowerShell ISE as administrator

2. Check your existing fault domain hierarchy using Get-ClusterFaultDomain

3. Create your desired hierarchy (Site > Rack > Chassis > Node):

# Define a site

New-ClusterFaultDomain -Name "Site-1" -Type Site

# Define a rack within the site

New-ClusterFaultDomain -Name "Rack-1" -Type Rack -Parent "Site-1"

# Define a chassis within the rack

New-ClusterFaultDomain -Name "Chassis-1" -Type Chassis -Parent "Rack-1"

# Assign the node "HYPERV-2K16-1" to "Chassis-1" in the cluster

Set-ClusterFaultDomain -Name "HYPERV-2K16-1" -Parent "Chassis-1"

# View the fault domain structure

Get-ClusterFaultDomain

4. The node you assigned will now have a Rack and Chassis in Failover Cluster Manager:

A driver cannot load on this device - Windows Server 2025

2024-11-06T15:18:00.001+00:00

In this post, I describe how I resolved the warning:

"A driver cannot load on this device"

This warning was raised by the Program Compatibility Assistant on Windows Server 2025 when I attempted to run the program Process Explorer.

Cause

This warning is caused by device protection in Windows Security which helps to prevent drivers from being used to run malware.

Resolution

Because this warning occurred on a virtual machine used only for testing, I was happy to resolve this issue by disabling the device protection security.

To do this on Windows Server 2025:

1. Open Windows Security:

2. Go to Device Security:

3. Turn off Microsoft Vulnerable Driver Blocklist:

4. Restart the computer for the settings to take effect.

I was then able to run Process Explorer without getting the warning.

VM boot fail after VMware Tools v12 install – Windows 7

2024-10-29T09:42:00.000+00:00

In this post, I describe how I fixed an issue whereby my Windows 7 virtual machine did not boot after I installed VMware Tools v12.4.5.

Cause

The issue was caused by driver signature enforcement and a lack of SHA-2 code signing support in my Windows 7 VM.

According to this post from Broadcom (who now own VMware), some driver packages updated in VMware Tools version 11.1.0 are signed by Microsoft using SHA-2. My Windows 7 VM was previously running VMware Tools v11.0.0.

This issue could also occur on Windows Server 2008 R2.

Resolution

In order to be able to boot the virtual machine:

1. During the boot sequence, keep pressing the F8 key to enter Advanced Boot Options

2. Select Disable Driver Signature Enforcement

This should allow the VM to boot but it is not a permanent fix.

3. To permanently fix the issue, once Windows has loaded, install the following updates:

- SHA-2 code signing support update

- Servicing stack update

The driver signature verification should now pass and the virtual machine should boot successfully without disabling the driver signature enforcement.

How to use Google Trends for Google and YouTube SEO

2024-10-14T11:19:00.000+01:00

In this post, I summarise how to use Google Trends for Google and YouTube SEO. This post summarises the Google Trends for SEO video posted by Google Search Central.

Introduction

Goal: Produce content inspired by search interest.

SEO focusses on:

Helping search engines understand your content (in-page optimization)

Helping users find your site by improving your presence in search results (off-page optimization)

No special secrets that will rank your site first on Google! But there are best practices that can make it easier for search engines to crawl, index and understand your content. The most important SEO techniques are in the SEO starter guide.

SEO techniques involve:

Technical or policy requirements (see Search Console Training)

Content optimization

Google Trends helps SEOs:

Stay up-to-date with rising topics and terms

Perform keyword research

Create a content calendar

Plan video strategy on YouTube

Staying up-to-date with rising trends

One of the important aspects of SEO is to be continuously on top of rising trends and know when a new topic is becoming popular in your industry. If you know a search term is rising or likely to rise in the future, you can get ready with high-quality content for search users.

Google Trends offers multiple ways to monitor trends:

Trending Now page

Explore page

Performing SEO keyword research

You can use Google Trends to identify terms and topics that are relevant to your target audience and identify which of them has a high or fast-growing search volume.

For example, every year, Cheese has spikes of interest around Thanksgiving and the end of year holidays:

Select Top in the Related topics or the Related queries drop down to show what is already getting a lot of interest:

Select Rising to see what is getting more interest recently:

Use Related queries to find close variants to your main keywords.

Compare

Add more keywords to compare interest over time:

Creating a content calendar

Try to find seasonal trends in the data e.g. cheese at Christmas:

Try to put content related to this on your site a little before that time.

Check your audience e.g.

United States

Create content related to Gruyere and Brie for Thanksgiving and at the end of the year.

United Kingdom

Don't do content related to Gruyere.

Create content related to Brie and Stilton just at the end of the year.

YouTube SEO

Google Trends can be a great source for planning your video strategy on YouTube.

Lots of things you can do for video SEO. Start by focussing on video titles and descriptions.

Web search and video search are different.

Web Search

Cheese recipes higher than Cheese sandwich.

YouTube Search

Trends are opposite, Cheese sandwich higher than Cheese recipes.

So, prioritise creating content related to cheese sandwiches over cheese recipes on YouTube.

Show Recent Places from Windows 7 on Windows 10

2024-10-11T11:19:00.001+01:00

In this post, I describe how to show the Recent Places from Windows 7 Favorites on Windows 10.

Bonus: I also describe how to show Recent Items which displays recent files and folders.

Resolution

To show Recent Places on Windows 10:

1. Copy and paste the following text %windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{22877a6d-37a1-461a-91b0-dbda5aaebc99} into a Run prompt then press OK:

2. Recent folders is shown (this is the same as Recent Places):

3. Left click drag and drop the Recent folders text from the address bar over Quick access in the tree view on the left to pin Recent folders to Quick Access:

Bonus

To show Recent Items in Windows 10:

1. Copy and paste the following text Recent items into a Run prompt then press OK:

2. Recent Items is shown:

3. Drag and drop the Recent Items text from the address bar to Quick access to pin Recent Items to Quick Access.

4. Click the Date modified column header to sort the items and show the most recently modified files and folders at the top.

Silence Bedtime mode notification on Android v14

2024-10-10T14:23:00.002+01:00

In this post, I describe how to silence the Bedtime mode notification on Android version 14.

When Bedtime mode turned on, I got a notification which included a sound. This was not desirable as I was going to bed and my wife was already in bed and I did not want to disturb her!

Resolution

Fortunately, silencing the notification was straight forward.

1. Drag down from the top of the screen on your phone to view your notifications

2. Find the Bedtime mode is on notification

3. Press and hold the Bedtime mode is on notification to open the sound settings.

4. Select Silent to silence future notifications:

The file system on the system storage is corrupted and will be restored - PlayStation 3

2024-10-07T23:21:00.005+01:00

In this post, I describe how I fixed the error:

The file system on the system storage is corrupted and will be restored.

This error occured when turning on my Playstation 3. The restore process took hours and when I returned to check it, the same error appeared.

Resolution

To resolve the issue:

1. Hold the Playstation 3 power button down until it beeps once, then once again, then twice. Release the power button when following message is shown:

2. Connect the controller using a USB cable, and then press the PS button to enter Safe Mode:

3. I was happy to lose my data so I selected 5. Restore PS3 System.

Delete duplicate custom notification sounds or phone ringtones in Android v14

2024-10-05T11:24:00.003+01:00

In this post, I describe how to delete duplicate custom notification sounds or phone ringtones in Android v14.

This issue can occur if you've used Add notification to add a custom sound and added the same sound more than once.

Resolution

To delete duplicate sounds:

1. Open the Files app.

2. Find the duplicate files (mine appeared in Recent as I had added them recently):

3. Press the 3 vertical dots button in the bottom right of each the duplicate file then select Move to bin.

4. The duplicate sounds are now removed from the list in Settings:

- Add custom phone ringtone or notification sound to Android v14

Add custom phone ringtone or notification sound to Android v14

2024-10-05T11:09:00.003+01:00

In this post, I describe how to add a custom phone ringtone or notification sound to a phone running Android version 14.

Resolution

To add a custom phone ringtone or notification sound:

1. Go to Settings then press Sound and vibration:

2. Press Phone ringtone or Notification sound:

3. Scroll down to the bottom of the list then press Add notification:

4. Once you have selected the custom notification sound you would like, this is not automatically selected. You need to find the sound you added in the list then select it in order for this sound to be used.

5. Press OK to apply your change.

- Delete duplicate custom notification sounds or phone ringtones in Android v14

Add a filter to more than one column in Microsoft Excel

2024-10-04T12:28:00.000+01:00

In this post, I describe how to add a filter to more than one column in Microsoft Excel.

If you just select one column then press Filter, Excel will only apply a filter to that column:

Resolution

To apply a filter to more than one column:

1. Ensure there is no filter currently applied and that only a single cell is selected:

2. Go to the Data tab on the ribbon then press the Filter button. A filter is then added to every column:

3. Use the drop down arrows to apply a filter to each column:

Take a full screen screenshot of a webpage using Chrome

2024-10-03T15:29:00.001+01:00

In this post, I describe how to take a full screen screenshot of a webpage using the web browser Google Chrome.

A full size screenshot is useful if you want to capture the whole page rather than just the part that you can see due to the constraints of the size of the browser window.

Resolution

To take a full screen screenshot in Google Chrome:

1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to the webpage you'd like to take a screenshot of

2. Open Developer Tools, either by clicking the 3 vertical dots button at the top right of Google Chrome then selecting More tools then Developer tools or by pressing F12 on the keyboard.

3. Open the Device Toolbar, either by selecting the device icon at the top of the Developer Tools window or by pressing Ctrl + Shift + M

4. Take a full size screenshot by pressing the down arrow icon then Capture full size screenshot.

Add Bcc to blind copy in an email sent in Microsoft Outlook

2024-10-03T12:04:00.001+01:00

In this post, I describe how to add a Bcc (blind copy) to an email in Microsoft Outlook so that you can specify people who will receive the email secretly.

Resolution

To add a Bcc to an email in Microsoft Outlook:

1. In the new email window, press Options on the ribbon at the top:

2. Press the Bcc button:

3. The Bcc field is now shown below the To and Cc fields:

Once the option to show the Bcc field is toggled on, it will also show for future emails.

Keyboard Shortcut

You can also access the Bcc button via the keyboard by pressing ALT + P:

Then press the B key.

Search along route directions in Google Maps

2024-09-26T17:33:00.004+01:00

In this post, I describe how to search along the route when you are getting directions using Google Maps.

Resolution (mobile app)

As per the screenshot above, to search along the route in Google Maps in the mobile app:

1. Press the 3 vertical dots button to the right of the first direction location

2. Press Search along route from the context menu

The following text box is shown:

Resolution (computer browser)

If you're using a computer and browsing to https://google.com/maps then you can simply click into the Search along the route text box:

What does anxiety do to you? How to cope with anxiety?

2024-09-24T15:52:00.002+01:00

In this post, I describe my recent experience with some very intense anxiety, what it did to me and how I dealt with it.

I'm feeling much better now and thought I'd share this online just in case anyone else is having lots of anxiety and wanted to find out how anxiety has affected someone else.

What anxiety did to me

When I started to feel anxious, I'd worry about more things, which would make me feel more anxious and worry more, a negative downward spiral...

Looking back, I was certainly worrying about things I shouldn't have, but at the time it was very hard not to worry about them!

Anxiety overwhelmingly takes over the brain and affects the behaviour of many different parts of it:

Interpretation

Anxiety changes how you interpret things and twists the interpretation to what you're anxious about rather than what actually happened.

Thinking

Anxiety makes it hard to think of things other than what you're anxious about.

Memory

Anxiety makes it hard to remember things other than things related to what you're anxious about.

Ideas

Anxiety influences the ideas that randomly pop into your brain when you're doing things towards what you're anxious about.

Dealing with short-term intense anxiety

Breathing, deep breaths in (through nose if you can) and out.
5-4-3-2-1 technique, 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 things you can taste.
Stretching, hold the stretch, mind body connection, feel the stretch
Body scan, start at the top of your head, scan down to the tips of your toes

Dealing with long-term anxiety

Yoga - mind body connection
Do something physical e.g. with your hands
Reading
Writing (but not about the anxiety or what caused it)
Walking/Running/Exercise
Hot drink (not too much caffeine) e.g. hot chocolate or camomile tea
Routine e.g. 3 meals a day, bath before bed
Music
Talk to friends/family/those that you love

Getting better

For me, getting better involved going to the doctor and being prescribed medication to help reduce my anxiety. This is not an overnight fix. The anxiety still came in waves but the waves gradually reduced day by day, small steps.

Automatically document IIS servers and compare settings with XIA Configuration 16.1

2024-08-14T16:38:00.000+01:00

XIA Configuration 16.1 has been released with the following new functionality:

IIS Server Documentation

More settings are now included in the IIS documentation automatically produced by XIA Configuration.

Compare IIS servers

Compare IIS configuration of two servers including sites, applications or the entire IIS server.

IIS Reporting

Perform your IIS reporting using XIA Configuration with additional built-in reports.

Download the free trial today >

Automatically document Microsoft online services with XIA Configuration 16.0

2024-06-06T14:41:00.002+01:00

XIA Configuration 16.0 was released earlier this year with the following new functionality:

Microsoft Entra ID

Support for documenting Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).

Azure

Scanning and documenting Azure no longer requires the Az cmdlets.

Multifactor Authentication

The ability to scan Microsoft online services such as Azure, Microsoft Entra and Exchange Online using multifactor authentication with a new Microsoft Online Agent UI tool.

Service Principal Creation

The ability to automatically create a service principal to scan Azure, Microsoft Entra and Exchange Online.

Try XIA Configuration for free today >

Windows couldn't complete the requested changes. Error 0x800F0907

2024-05-15T16:31:00.005+01:00

In this post, I describe how to fix the error:

"Windows couldn't complete the requested changes.

Because of network policy settings, Windows couldn't connect to the Internet to download files that are required to complete the requested changes. Contact your network administrator for more information.

Error code: 0x800F0907"

Cause

This error can occur when you try to install a Windows feature e.g. .NET Extensibility 3.5 in Internet Information Services:

And the policy 'Specify settings for optional component installation and component repair' has 'Never attempt to download payload from Windows Update' checked:

Resolution 1

To resolve the issue, go to the policy in Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System, uncheck the 'Never attempt to download payload from Windows Update' checkbox.

Ensure the policy is updated on the computer e.g. gpupdate.

The Windows Features installer can now proceed by letting Windows Update download the files:

Resolution 2

Alternatively, use DISM to install the feature and specify an alternative source to the Windows installation media e.g.

DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3 /All /LimitAccess /Source:D:\sources\sxs

This Microsoft post contains more detail on the .NET Framework 3.5 installation errors.

This update is not applicable to your computer error 2149842967 Windows6.1-KB2506143-x64.msu

2024-05-15T14:56:00.006+01:00

In this post, I describe how to fix the error "This update is not applicable to your computer" which can occur when trying to install Windows Management Framework 3.0 on Windows Server 2008 R2.

Cause

If you check the Setup log in Windows Event Viewer, you may also see "Windows update could not be installed because of error 2149842967":

The cause of the error is that, as per the system requirements on the Microsoft download page, WMF 3.0 requires Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 (or later).

Resolution

To fix the error, I installed .NET Framework 4.8 using Windows Update:

I was then able to install WMF 3.0

No overload for matches delegate 'EventHandler' Error CS0123

2024-01-11T15:05:00.002+00:00

In this post, I describe how to fix the error:

Compiler Error Message: CS0123: No overload for matches delegate 'EventHandler'

Cause

This error can occur when, in ASP.NET, you've created your own Web Control or User Control which contains an EventHandler e.g.

public event EventHandler CountChanged;

Then, when configuring the markup, you use Visual Studio to automatically create an event.

The method is automatically created in the code behind but it's missing the parameters e.g.

protected void WebUserControl_CountChanged()

Resolution

To resolve the issue, ensure the method parameters match the EventHandler e.g.

protected void WebUserControl_CountChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)

Automatically remove orphans from paragraph text blocks - CSS

2024-01-07T13:57:00.001+00:00

In this post, I describe how to use CSS to automatically remove orphans from the end of paragraphs or text blocks.

An orphan is a single word that sits on its own at the bottom of a paragraph and should be avoided if possible.

Resolution

To automatically remove orphans using CSS, use the text-wrap property with the value pretty, e.g.

p {
text-wrap: pretty;
}

Orphans are now automatically removed:

This paragraph of text is long enough to wrap onto two lines and the last word is no orphan.

Check for empty string in SELECT statement - SQL

2023-11-21T09:29:00.002+00:00

In this post, I describe how to check for empty string in the SELECT statement in SQL.

Resolution

To check for an empty string in the SELECT statement in SQL, use ISNULL and NULLIF:

SELECT ISNULL(NULLIF(s.[Name], ''), 'None') [Name]
FROM [Sales].[Store] s

In this example. if the Store Name is empty, NULLIF will return null.

If NULLIF returns null, ISNULL will show the value 'None'.

Group Policy Object Analyzer - GPO Reporting Tool

2023-11-14T15:41:00.002+00:00

In this post, I describe two tools you can use to analyze your Group Policy objects.

They serve as an alternative to the Save Report... function built into the Group Policy Management Console which is very limited.

Issue

If you want to analyze or run reports on your Group Policy objects, you can use the Group Policy Management Console user interface or the Save Report... function but this can be very slow and inefficient, particularly when auditing lots of Group Policy settings.

Resolution

Free GPO Analyzer Tool

CENTREL Solutions has produced a C# data model API which allows you to access your GPO settings and analyse them more easily, either in PowerShell or in .NET code:

You can download this tool for free here:
Group Policy Report API for C#.NET and PowerShell

XIA Configuration

CENTREL Solutions has also produced a documentation tool called XIA Configuration which includes support for detailed GPO settings:

You can run reports to audit GPO settings across all your GPOs at once:

You can find out more here:
Group Policy Documentation Tool

A free trial version is available:
https://www.centrel-solutions.com/xiaconfiguration/request-free-trial.aspx

Apply a box shadow to a clip path element - CSS

2023-11-14T10:24:00.000+00:00

In this post, I describe how you can apply a box shadow (or drop shadow) to an element which also has the clip-path style.

Issue

If you add the box-shadow style to an element with clip-path, the shadow does not appear:

You can deduce the clip-path style is the reason by toggling this style on and off.

Resolution

To add a drop shadow to an element which also has the clip-path style, simply wrap that element in another element:

<div class="hexagon-wrapper">
<div class="hexagon">Hexagon</div>
</div>

Then apply a drop-shadow filter to that parent element:

.hexagon-wrapper {
filter: drop-shadow(2px 2px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1));
}

To apply multiple shadows, you can add more drop-shadow filters:

.hexagon-wrapper {
filter: drop-shadow(2px 2px 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)) drop-shadow(-1px 0 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1));
}

Thanks to Chris Coyier for his excellent post on this subject:

- https://css-tricks.com/using-box-shadows-and-clip-path-together/

Solved

Permantently stop Windows Update on Windows Server 2025

Resolution

Manually set a certificate to archived status in Windows

Resolution

View archived certificates in MMC

Add Rack and Chassis to Nodes in Failover Cluster Manager

Resolution

A driver cannot load on this device - Windows Server 2025

Cause

Resolution

VM boot fail after VMware Tools v12 install – Windows 7

Cause

Resolution

How to use Google Trends for Google and YouTube SEO

Introduction

Staying up-to-date with rising trends

Performing SEO keyword research

Compare

Creating a content calendar

United States

United Kingdom

YouTube SEO

Web Search

YouTube Search

Show Recent Places from Windows 7 on Windows 10

Resolution

Bonus

Silence Bedtime mode notification on Android v14

Resolution

The file system on the system storage is corrupted and will be restored - PlayStation 3

Resolution

Delete duplicate custom notification sounds or phone ringtones in Android v14

Resolution

Related Posts

Add custom phone ringtone or notification sound to Android v14

Resolution

Related Posts

Add a filter to more than one column in Microsoft Excel

Resolution

Take a full screen screenshot of a webpage using Chrome

Resolution

Add Bcc to blind copy in an email sent in Microsoft Outlook

Resolution

Keyboard Shortcut

Search along route directions in Google Maps

Resolution (mobile app)

Resolution (computer browser)

What does anxiety do to you? How to cope with anxiety?

What anxiety did to me

Interpretation

Thinking

Memory

Ideas

Dealing with short-term intense anxiety

Dealing with long-term anxiety

Getting better

Automatically document IIS servers and compare settings with XIA Configuration 16.1

IIS Server Documentation

Compare IIS servers

IIS Reporting

Automatically document Microsoft online services with XIA Configuration 16.0

Microsoft Entra ID

Azure

Multifactor Authentication

Service Principal Creation

Windows couldn't complete the requested changes. Error 0x800F0907

Cause

Resolution 1

Resolution 2

Related Posts

This update is not applicable to your computer error 2149842967 Windows6.1-KB2506143-x64.msu

Cause

Resolution

No overload for matches delegate 'EventHandler' Error CS0123

Cause

Resolution

Automatically remove orphans from paragraph text blocks - CSS

Resolution

Related Links