• Date: September 9th, 2008
• Author: Mark Kaelin

This blog post is also available in PDF format as a TechRepublic download.

Sometimes, depending on the manufacturer and on the particular layout, your keyboard can be a great source of frustration. For TechRepublic reader Frank Reeves, the Caps Lock key is the one that drives him crazy. After seeing the TechRepublic How do I… about how to disable the Insert key in Word, he asked for information on how to similarly disable the Caps Lock key.

There are several ways to accomplish this task. One way is to discover the scan code for the Caps Lock key and for the key you want to map it to and then edit the Windows registry. The folks at Annoyances.org explain this method. However, their explanation is more complicated than it needs to be, and there are easier and safer ways to accomplish the same thing.

Third-party keyboard layout and mapping tools are available that will allow you to change the behavior of the Caps Lock key, but many of these really boil down to a .reg file, which edits the Windows registry for you. In general, these .reg files are fine and come from people and organizations just trying to help make your life easier, but it still involves a stranger editing your Windows registry files. That makes me uncomfortable.

The best way to remap the Caps Lock key or any key on your keyboard is with a free utility from Microsoft called remapkey.exe. This little utility is available in the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools. It is one of many utilities included in the kit and works with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista. This TechRepublic How do I… shows you how to use the remapkey.exe utility to remap the Caps Lock key.

Remapping

Once you download and run the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools file, you will have a long laundry list of utilities located in a single directory. I used the default location (Figure A):

Figure A

Tools

When you start the remapkey utility, it presents a screen displaying two keyboards, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

Remapkey utility

The top keyboard is the standard base keyboard layout. To remap the Caps Lock key, in the top keyboard, click on the key you would like the Caps Lock to be remapped to, drag it to the bottom keyboard, and drop it on the Caps Lock key there. In my example, I am remapping the Caps Lock key to the left Shift key. (Note the red key in Figure C.)

Figure C

Caps Lock is now left Shift.

When you are satisfied with your remapping choices, click the Save And Exit icon to implement the change (Figure D). A reboot of the operating system will be required for the change to take effect.

Figure D

Save your settings and exit.

As you can see in Figure E, the remapkey utility is writing to the Windows registry, just like the methods mentioned earlier were going to do, but this gives you more control over that delicate editing process.

Figure E

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Remapkey writes to the Windows registry.

Note: For Windows Vista, you will have to run the remapkey utility in administrator mode.

Microsoft’s Patch Tuesdays (the second Tuesday of every month) are an important part of every user’s regular Windows operating system maintenance. In fact, regular fixes, patches, and updates should be part of every user’s regular routine, no matter which operating system they use.

But sometimes Windows XP gets stuck in update mode. It will continue to show the flashing yellow shield in the System Tray suggesting you need to download and install important security patches. Windows may even display a chat bubble reminding you there is a system patch available. This may appear even after you have already applied all the patches — Windows just doesn’t recognize its current status.

Or, as in the case of TechRepublic member Riggy001, Windows may be telling you that SP3 is available, even though you have decided you don’t want to apply it right now or in the near future. This is the dilemma Riggy001 described in a TechRepublic Discussion Thread. To relieve this annoyance, Riggy001 called Microsoft support and finagled a procedure to reset the Windows update management system.

This blog post is also available in PDF format in a TechRepublic download.

Resetting Windows

Figure A

Services dialog box

1. From the list of services, right-click and then click Stop for the following services:

• Automatic Updates
• Background Intelligent Transfer Service
• Cryptographic Services

1. Next click Start | My Computer.
2. Double-click the drive where XP is installed, usually C:\.
3. Double-click Windows.
4. Right-click on the file folder SoftwareDistribution and rename it SoftwareDistribution.old.
5. Next double-click on the System32 file folder.
6. Right-click on the folder Catroot2 and rename it Catroot2.old.
7. Right-click on the folder SoftwareDistribution and rename it SoftwareDistribution.old.
8. Close C:\Windows\System32 explorer window.
9. Now, go back to the Services folder, right-click and then start the following services:

• Automatic Updates
• Background Intelligent Transfer Service (unless it was originally set to manual and you never had to stop the service in the beginning)
• Cryptographic Services

1. Close the Services Window and go to the Administrative Tools window (which should still be open).
2. Click the Back Button on your toolbar to get back to the Control Panel.
3. Double-click Automatic Updates (Figure B).

Figure B

Automatic Updates

1. Select “Notify Me but Don’t Automatically Download or Install Them” radio button and then click the OK button.
2. Close the Control Panel and resume computing.

One annoyance gone

This procedure forces Windows to reset the files that track what updates you have installed. This means that the automatic update will stop nagging you to update even though you already have. For Riggy001, this procedure means Windows will stop trying to download and install SP3.

One word of warning though, in general Windows updates are important not only for your security and peace of mind but also for the security of everyone else. I highly recommend that you apply cialis 40 mg the patches as soon as you can. Our Windows Patch Tuesday feature will keep you informed of just what each patch contains.

Mastering the features in the Microsoft Windows Vista Navigation pane will improve productivity and efficiency.

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While Vista’s Windows Explorer provides you with what appears to be a standard Folders pane, just like the previous versions of Windows, the Vista version is actually called the Navigation pane and it consists of two sections — the Folders section and the Favorite Links section. Because the Folders section provides a very familiar interface, a folder tree, chances are good that this is all you use to navigate your hard disk in Vista. That’s unfortunate because you are probably missing out on two of Vista’s most useful file management features — Search Folders and Favorite Links.

In this edition of the Windows Vista Report, I’m going to take a closer look at the features in the new Navigation pane. As I do, I’ll show you how you can use these features to improve efficiency and wean yourself from the folder tree.

This blog post is also available in PDF format as a TechRepublic download.

The folder tree aspect

When you look at Windows Explorer in its default configuration, as shown in Figure A, you’ll notice that the Folders section with its folder tree is the most prominent part of the Navigation pane. However, if you look closer, you’ll see that the Navigation pane is actually separated into two sections, Folders and Favorite Links. The real power of the new Windows Explorer is in the Favorite Links section.

Figure A

The Navigation pane is actually separated into two sections, Folders and Favorite Links.

Favorite Links

To take real advantage of the Navigation pane, you need to close the Folders section. To do so, click the arrow control in the Folders section. When you do, the Folders section essentially is minimized and the Favorite Links section takes over the entire Navigation pane, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

You can essentially minimize the Folders section and display only the Favorite Links section in the Navigation pane.

As you can see, by default, the Favorite Links section of the Navigation pane contains six links. However, you can customize the Navigation pane by adding other links as we’ll see in a moment. To begin with, the first three links — Documents, Pictures, and Music – are simply shortcuts to these common folders. Since these are the folders that contain the files that you most likely need to access on a regular basis, having these links at the top of the Navigation pane will allow you to quickly find what you need without having to drill down through a standard folder tree.

The next link is titled Recently Changed and is designed to show you files from your Documents, Pictures, and Music folders that you have created or modified in the past 30 days. As you can see by its icon, the Recently Changed link is actually a Search Folder.

The next link is titled Searches and is the main container for all the Search Folders, as shown in Figure C. As you probably know, Search Folders are essentially searches that you saved and are designed to make it easy for you to quickly find your files, regardless of where they actually exist on your hard disk. When you open a Search Folder, the operating system instantly runs that saved search and immediately displays up-to-date results.

Figure C

Search is the main container for all the saved Search folders.

As you can see, there are six saved searches in the Searches folder — four for various file types, the main Recently Changed catch-all, and a special saved search, Shared By Me, which shows all files and folders that you have shared.

Just below Searches is a link to the Public folder, which is the folder where you can store files that you want to share with other people on the same computer or network.

Customizing the Navigation pane

To really make the Navigation pane shine, you will need to customize it. As you do, keep in mind that your goal should be to create a navigational tool that contains as many of your most frequently accessed items as possible so that you can reduce your dependence on the folder tree. Of course you’ll still have to use the folder tree sometimes, but the more you can use the features of the Navigation pane, the more efficiently you’ll be able to find what you need.

To begin with, you’ll want to add your saved searches. When you create saved searches, they are automatically added to the Searches folder, but you can use drag-and-drop to move them directly to the Favorite Links section.

For example, I have written lots of articles about scripts in VBScript and often need to reference them, so I type VBScript in the Start Search box and then click Search Everywhere, as shown in Figure D.

Figure D

Use the Start Search box to launch your search operation.

When the Search Results appear, I then click the Save Search button, as shown in Figure E, and save the search in the Searches folder. When the saved search shows up on the Searches folder, I then use the right-click, drag-and-drop action to move the VBScript saved search to the Favorite Links folder.

Figure E

When the Search Results appear, click the Save Search button.

Now, I can click the VBScript saved search and immediately locate all my files and information about VBScript, as shown in Figure F.

Figure F

You can add custom saved searches to the Favorite Links section of the Navigation pane.

You can also customize the Navigation pane by adding links to a specific folder. For example, as I write each week’s Windows Vista Report for the month of September, I access the C:\Users\Greg\Documents\TechRepublic\Articles\2008\9) September 08 folder. So rather than having to drill down through the folder tree, I can create a shortcut, via drag-and-drop, and add it to the Favorite Links section of the Navigation pane, as shown in Figure G.

Figure G

You can add your own links to the Favorite Links section of the Navigation pane.

When you are dealing with a folder in Microsoft Windows containing numerous images, it is often very helpful to see thumbnail representations of those images in the Windows Explorer display. This built-in functionality is available in both Windows XP and Windows Vista, but how you turn the feature off and on is slightly different for each version.

One caveat for the resource-sensitive: turning on the thumbnail feature will increase the amount of resources being used by the operating system. Those little thumbnails take up space on the hard drive and in memory when they are being displayed. Depending on your system, the available resources, and the number of images involved, you can quickly bog down your PC if you are not careful. This is why many users will be interested in this tip for the opposite reason — they want to know how to turn off thumbnail creation in Windows.

This blog post is also available as a TechRepublic gallery and TechRepublic download.

Windows XP

Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder of images for which you would like to see thumbnails. On the Windows Explorer menu, click Tools | Folder Options to get to the Control Panel. Click the View tab, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

XP Folder Options – View

Under the Files And Folders section, you will see the Do Not Cache Thumbnails check box. If this box is checked, there will be no thumbnails cached on your hard drive. So if you want thumbnails, you will want to uncheck it. Click OK after you’ve made your selection.

To start seeing thumbnails, you have to change views in Windows Explorer. On the menu bar, click View | Thumbnails, and Windows will replace the normal file icons with thumbnails of the images. Windows will also create a new file in that folder called Thumbs.db, where the thumbnail information is stored, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

cialis 20 mg tadalafil align=”justify”>Thumbnails – XP

The Thumbs.db file will be created in every folder you designate to display thumbnails. To apply your changes to all Windows Explorer folders, navigate to Tools | Folder Options and click the View tab. From there, make your changes and then click the Apply To All Folders button before you click OK.

Windows Vista

Turning on the thumbnail feature is slightly different in Windows Vista. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the images folder where you would like to see thumbnails displayed. On the menu, click the Organize tab and then Folder And Search Options. On the ensuing control applet, click the View tab, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C

Vista Folder Options – View

Under Files And Folders, uncheck the Always Show Icons, Never Thumbnails check box. That will turn on thumbnails for that particular folder. If you want to apply the change to all folders, you should click the Apply To Folders button. Click OK to finish the process.

Just as you did in Windows XP, for Vista you have to take one more step to actually reveal thumbnails in Windows Explorer. On the Explorer menu, click the down arrow next to Views and select a view other than List or Details (see Figure D).

Figure D

Thumbnails – Vista

Windows Vista has an additional way to view thumbnails in Windows Explorer. Click Organize | Layout and choose to add the Preview Pane. That selection will add an area to the right of the display where a larger thumbnail of each image will be displayed as you highlight it, as shown in Figure E.

Figure E

Preview Pane – Vista

Once again remember the caveat: thumbnails take up resources. Be careful how you use them. And if there comes a time when you want to turn them off, just do the opposite of the procedures described here. In Windows XP, you would also want to delete the Thumb.db file in each folder.

When you take a look at Windows Server 2008, you’ll discover big changes — including some legitimate improvements.  Justin James outlines a few of the unexpected aspects of the new OS, both good and bad.

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Windows Server 2003 felt like a refresh of Windows Server 2000. There were few radical changes, and most of the improvements were fairly under the surface. Windows Server 2008, on the other hand, is a full-size helping of “new and improved.” While the overall package is quite good, there are a few surprises, “gotchas,” and hidden delights you will want to know about before deciding if you will be moving to Windows Server 2008 any time soon.

Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.

#1: The 64-bit revolution is not complete

There have been 64-bit editions of Windows Server for years now, and Microsoft has made it quite clear that it wants all of its customers to move to 64-bit operating systems. That does not mean that you can throw away your 32-bit Windows Server 2008 CD, though! Over the last few months, I have been shocked on more than one occasion by the pieces of Microsoft software that not only do not have 64-bit versions, but will not run under a 64-bit OS at all. This list includes Team Foundation Server and ISA Server. If you are planning on moving to 64-bit Windows Server 2008, be prepared to have a 32-bit server or two around, whether it be on physical hardware or in a VM.

#2: Who moved my cheese?

While the UI changes in Windows Server 2008 are not nearly as sweeping as the Aero interface in Vista, it has undergone a dramatic rearrangement and renaming of the various applets around the system. In retrospect, the organization of these items is much more sensible, but that hardly matters when you have years of experience going to a particular area to find something, only to have it suddenly change. Expect to be a bit frustrated in the Control Panel until you get used to it.

#3: Windows Workstation 2008 might catch on

In an odd turn of events, Microsoft has provided the ability to bring the “Vista Desktop Experience” into Windows Server 2008. I doubt that many server administrators were asking for this, but the unusual result is that a number of people are modifying Windows Server 2008 to be as close to a desktop OS as possible. There have always been a few people who use the server edition of Windows as a desktop, but this makes it much easier and friendlier. These home-brewed efforts are generally called “Windows Workstation 2008,” in case you’re interested in trying it out on your own.

#4: Hyper-V is good, but…

Hyper-V was one of the most anticipated features of Windows Server 2008, and it’s surprisingly good, particularly for a version 1 release from Microsoft. It is stable, easy to install and configure, and does not seem to have any major problems. For those of us who have been beaten into the “wait until the third version” or “don’t install until SP1″ mentality, this is a refreshing surprise.

#5: …Hyper-V is limited

Hyper-V, while of high quality, is sorely lacking features. Considering that it was billed as a real alternative to VMWare and other existing solutions, it is a disappointment (to say the least) that it does not seem to include any utilities for importing VMs from products other than Virtual PC and Virtual Server. Even those imports are not workaround-free. Another real surprise here is the lack of a physical-to-virtual conversion utility. Hyper-V may be a good system, but make sure that you fully try it out before you commit to using it.

#6: NT 4 domain migration — it’s not happening

If you have been putting off the painful migration from your NT 4 domain until Windows Server 2008 was released, don’t keep waiting. The older version (3.0) Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) supports migrations from NT 4, but not to Windows Server 2008. The latest version (3.1) support migrations to Windows Server 2008, but not from NT 4. Either migrate from NT 4 before changing your domain to be a Windows 2008 domain or get your NT 4 domain upgraded first.

#7: The ashtrays are now optional

In prior versions of Windows Server, a lot of applications came installed by default. No one ever uninstalled them because they did not cause any harm, even if you didn’t use them or installed an alternative. Now, even the “throwaway” applications, like Windows Backup, are not installed by default. After installation, you need to add “features” to get the full Windows Server suite of applications. This can be frustrating if you are in a hurry, but the reduced clutter and resource overhead are worth it.

#8: Licensing is bewildering

Continuing a hallowed Microsoft tradition, trying to understand the licensing terms of Windows Server 2008 feels like hammering nails with your forehead. So maybe this isn’t so much a surprise as a gotcha. The Standard Edition makes sense, but when you get into the issues around virtualization in Enterprise and Datacenter Editions, things can be a bit confusing. Depending upon your need for virtual machines and the number of physical CPUs (not CPU cores, thankfully) in your server, Enterprise Edition may be cheaper — or it may be more expensive than Datacenter Edition. One thing to keep in mind is that once you start using virtual machines, you start to like them a lot more that you thought you would. It’s easy to find yourself using a lot more of them than originally expected.

#9: There’s no bloat

Maybe it’s because Vista set expectations of pain, or because hardware has gotten so much cheaper, but Windows Server 2008 does not feel bloated or slow at all. Microsoft has done a pretty good job at minimizing the installed feature set to the bare minimum, and Server Core can take that even further. Depending upon your needs, it can be quite possible to upgrade even older equipment to Windows Server 2008 without needing to beef up the hardware.

#10: Quality beats expectations

Microsoft customers have developed low expectations of quality over the years, unfortunately, with good reason. While its track record for initial releases, in terms of security holes and bug counts, seems to be improving customers are still howling about Vista. As a result, it has come as a real surprise that the overall reaction to Windows Server 2008 has been muted, to say the least. The horror stories just are not flying around like they were with Vista. Maybe it’s the extra year they spent working on it, or different expectations of the people who work with servers, but Windows Server 2008 has had a pretty warm reception so far. And that speaks a lot to its quality. There is nothing particularly flashy or standout about it. But at the same time, it is a solid, high quality product. And that is exactly what system administrators need.