Reverse block of Windows 10 upgrade to Windows 11

On a PC that has been blocked from upgrading to Windows 11 you will see registry keys as below with similar values.

To unblock the upgrade, you need to delete TargetReleaseVersion, leave ProductVersion as it is.

Untested: I don't think the TargetReleaseVersionInfo value matters once TargetReleaseVersion is disabled.

Adding SQL Permissions to Certificates in Windows

 Faced with these certificate permissions how do you add the last two?

The correct syntax is to add each of these.

NT SERVICE\MSSQLSERVER
NT SERVICE\SQLSERVERAGENT

Jet Reports Jet Service Tier Error

 Jet Service Tier Error

The SSL certificate could not be validated. The following error was received.

Could not establish trust relationship for the SSL/TLS secure channel with authority 'host.example.com:7090'.

I tried using the Jet Services Administration Shell, this ran and immediately closed the PowerShell window, I found the script was missing that the shortcut calls.

1. I checked for a binding using netsh: netsh http show sslcert
2. I removed the binding: netsh http delete sslcert ipport=0.0.0.0:7090
3. I added the new binding using the appid from step one: netsh http add sslcert ipport=0.0.0.0:7090 certhash=my-cert-hash appid={appid from step 1}

I was then able to open Jet Administration Console and connect.

Turn off that annoying form filling pop-up in Edge

 Go to edge://wallet/settings

Scroll to the bottom of the page and turn off Save and fill basic info

This will not affect login boxes.

Turn off "Sign in to example.com with google.com"

It's so annoying, here's how to turn it off.

Go here in your Chrome settings: chrome://settings/content/federatedIdentityApi?search=Sites+can+show+sign-in+prompts+from+identity+services

Select 'Block sign-in prompts from identity services'.

RDS user gets 'User profile service failed the sign in, user profile cannot be loaded'

When an RDS user gets 'User profile service failed the sign in, user profile cannot be loaded', check the following.

Does the user have a stuck RDS session?

Is the User Profile Disk open on the file server?

If the user is not logged in and UPD is not open on the file server, is there a profile folder attached on a RDSH? It may show with a shortcut icon, delete it. The user should now be able to log in.

Set an RDS Session Host to stop new connections until a reboot

Forgetting to put an RDS session host back in the pool can cause overloading of the remaining hosts.

Using the following admin cmd commands (also works in PowerShell) can help. Especially drainuntilrestart as this is not an option in Server Manager.

To set a RDS Session Host not to allow new logins but revert to allowing them after a reboot.

change logon /drainuntilrestart

 

To check the logon availability.

change logon /query

 

You can also set the simple disable/enable statuses.

change logon /enable
change logon /disable

 

Windows 10 context menus by default in Windows 11

Get rid of the terrible context menu in Windows 11's Explorer. Run the following in CMD running in admin mode then launch Explorer and restart it in task manager.

reg add HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32 /ve /d "" /f

Expand VHDX without Hyper-V

Look up the VHDX filename including the path.

In admin cmd

1. diskpart
2. select vdisk file="E:\EXAMPLE.vhdx"
3. expand vdisk maximum=40000
4. exit

Now mount the VHDX in Disk Management to expand the partition fully, remember to detach the VHDX.

The value 40000 will give 40GB

SQL Script to display sizes of all MS SQL databases in both MB and GB.

 SELECT d.NAME

    ,ROUND(SUM(CAST(mf.size AS bigint)) * 8 / 1024, 0) Size_MBs

    ,(SUM(CAST(mf.size AS bigint)) * 8 / 1024) / 1024 AS Size_GBs

FROM sys.master_files mf

INNER JOIN sys.databases d ON d.database_id = mf.database_id

WHERE d.database_id > 4 -- Skip system databases

GROUP BY d.NAME

ORDER BY d.NAME

Upgrading a HP ProBook 450 G6 from 768p to 1080p

The LCD panel used in the ProBook 450 G6 has a 30pin connector which is very common in HP laptops, after suffering the 768p screen and finding some websites don't produce horizontal scroll bars when needed, I decided to do some research. 

The ProBook 450 G6 also has a 1080p option, so is it just a case of changing the LCD panel?

Yes it is. I looked up the replacement panel for the 1080p model and bought one, I also needed stretch-release tape strips to mount the panel in the laptop case, I got these from Amazon.

There are numerous guides by HP on replacing the panel and stretch-release tape.

Key points to remember are matching the size, connector, and type (tabbed or tabless panel).

Use Excel to split a column of text

Say you have a list of names and need to copy out the first name, last name and also combine them as a username for example first.last.

1. Copy the list of names to a column in Excel.
2. In the cell to the right of the first entry, type the first name again and press enter.
3. You are now in the cell to the right of the second entry, Hold Ctrl and press E
4. The column will auto-fill with the first name for each row.

You can use this same process for usernames by typing the first and last names with a dot rather than a space then use Ctrl+E to complete the rows below.