Jetable E-mail Addresses

I'm not sure if there's another industry out there that requires the sheer amount of access-based content that the IT industry does. What I mean by access-based content is information that requires a a login, signup or tithe (in the form of your e-mail address) for entrance to, or downloads of, eBooks, white-papers, files, blogs, forums, webcasts, trial applications, etc.

Many of the sites that require some sort of access, I will never visit again. So why give access to any of my mailboxes for a possible endless stream of unread mail? And why chance winding up on a spam list or having my address sold to "industry partners"?

This is where Jetable comes in. You can create a disposal e-mail address that will expire in one hour to one month, your choice. Jetable's service creates a time-limited e-mail forward to a real address. Just put in your real e-mail address, choose a Life Span based on how long you need (I usually choose one day) and click Create...

They support ten languages and have a Firefox plug-in (if you're into that sort of thing). Oh yeah, it's free!

Exchange Server Address List Service Failed

While creating a new user mailbox on an Exchange 2007 server a few moons ago, I received an error stating: "Exchange server address list service failed to respond", obviously stopping my creation task in its tracks.

This function is apparently one of the many that fall under the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant Service, once this service was restarted I was able to create my account and head out for a much deserved lunch.

MAPI32.DLL wrong version or corrupt

One of my clients recieved the error message "MAPI32.DLL wrong version or corrupt" a few months ago, after trying Outlook 2007 and reverting back to Outlook 2003. The fix was simpler than expected...

With Outlook closed, browse on over to C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\1033 and rename the MSMAPI32.DLL file. Open Outlook again and the MSMAPI32.DLL file will be replaced with the proper version (Office or Outlook install media may be required).

User Profile Service service failed

While attempting to log onto an Windows Server 2008 R2 system with Exchange 2010 for the first time, I received the following error: "User Profile Service service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded."

After much searching, we found that during a reinstall some bits were left in C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Exchange Server

Once the files therein were removed, I was able to login successfully. We surmised that since the files were in the Default profile, something was stopping a new profile from being generated.

WMIC to the Rescue

A recent project had me trying to script the retrieval of the Dell Service Tag. Luckily there's WMI Command-line to the rescue.

From a command line or in a script wmic bios get serialnumber will display or grab the Dell Service Tag.

Furthermore, you can use the WMI Command-line to retrieve all kinds of system data and even make configuration changes. Rob van der Woude's great site on scripting has a great primer and examples on using WMIC. TechNet Magazine also has a very useful article on gathering system data using WMIC in your environment.

Finally, checkout the WMI Admin Tools pack. It contains more than I want to type about here, but it gives you the ability to browse the various objects, classes and properties, plus a custom event viewer and much more. Check it out and make your (administrative) life better.

List of Exchange Scripts

I started following Pat Richard's blog a few months ago and have since found his scripts to be quite useful. Even if I'm not using them directly, they've been useful as a reference when writing my own.

He recently created a list of scripts available on his site; stop by and take a look.

Function Keys at the Command Prompt

This is sort of a noob post, but I'd forgotten about these, even though I use the command prompt almost hourly at work.

With a cmd shell open:

Press     To Get
F1           Last command displayed one letter at a time
F3           Repeat last command
F5           Displays the last commands one-by-one
F7           Displays the command history
F8           Cycles through the last commands, typing a character or two will cause it to match the prefix

There are a couple more, but they don't always respond correctly and IMHO are less useful.