MUSINGS

How to automate the uninstall of Java from Windows PC’s

How to automate the uninstall of Java from Windows PC’s

The following script will identify all versions of Java installed on a Windows computer (it may have several different versions installed) and then proceed to silently remove them. This script can be setup as part of a group policy to run at either Windows Startup or Shutdown. By using a group policy Java can be mass uninstalled across a large number of Windows computers at once. Read more about How to automate the uninstall of Java from Windows PC’s

Where in the world is my server? Or how to change timezone on a Debian Lenny 5.0 computer

Where in the world is my server? Or how to change timezone on a Debian Lenny 5.0 computer

One of the most important functions a computer does is to keep time. For instance in a Windows AD environment if the Servers and client computers are more than 5 minutes askew then Kerberos authentication will fail. In other words they refuse to talk to each other. Try supporting that.

To ensure your computers are all on the same time use an NTP server to synchronise against. That will keep all the computers on the same time and make your support team’s life happy. Exactly how to Setup an NTP daemon such as ntpd or the Windows time service will be the subject of another post.

So let’s assume your computer is nicely synchronising but you check the time and it’s out by 4 hours. What do you do? Read more about Where in the world is my server? Or how to change timezone on a Debian Lenny 5.0 computer

How to turn on auto adjust for daylight savings using a VBscript

How to turn on auto adjust for daylight savings using a VBscript

Daylight savings changes can often pose a problem for IT support professionals. Usually these issues arise when governments decide to change daylight savings rules or your organisation operates in multiple time zones. A common problem often encountered is the computers clock doesn’t adjust for daylight savings time. This can occur because either the wrong time zone is selected or the “Automatically adjust clock for Daylight Saving Time” is deselected in the time zone settings. For example the Queensland time zone may be selected for a Hobart computer which means the time will be correct until daylight savings kicks in and then the time won’t adjust.
In the first example the solution is to change the computer to the correct time zone. In the second example the solution is to simply select the “Automatically adjust clock for Daylight Saving Time” option, but what if you need to apply the setting to multiple Windows computers? The answer is to use a script via group policy or other method.
The following simple script will re-enable daylight savings. Read more about How to turn on auto adjust for daylight savings using a VBscript