Install Visual Studio 2010

Visual Studio 2010 Installation Steps:

Note: I installed VS 2010 Beta 1 on a clean virtual machine running Windows 7 Build 7100 (RC).
We start with the familiar install startup menu:


Then we get a banner page, as things start up.


Next, we get a license page, as well as an overview of what is going to be installed.  The key components are:

• VC 9.0 and 10.0 runtime libraries
• .NET Framework 4 Beta 1    (more info)
• Help 3.0 Beta 1    (more info)
• Visual Studio Macro Tools
• Visual Studio 2010 Professional Beta 1    (more info)

Next up is an options page:


Now the actual installation begins and we can see a more complete list of all the components that will be installed.  For completeness, here’s the full list:

• VC 9.0 Runtime
• VC 10.0 Runtime
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Beta 1
• Microsoft Help 3.0 Beta 1
• Microsoft Visual Studio Macro Tools
• Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional Beta 1
• Microsoft Web Deployment Tool
• Visual Studio Tools for the Office System 4.0 Runtime
• Microsoft Office Development Tools for Visual Studio 2010
• Dotfuscator Software Services – Community Edition
• Microsoft SQL Server Compact 3.5 SP1
• SQL Server Compact Tools for Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1
• Microsoft Sync Framework Runtime v1.0
• Microsoft Sync Services for ADO.NET v2.0
• Microsoft Sync Framework Services v1.0
• Microsoft Sync Framework SDK v1.0
• Microsoft SQL Publishing Wizard 1.4
• SQL Server System CLR Types
• Shared Management Objects
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express Edition

  This is going to take a while.




You’ll have to reboot after the .NET Framework 4 installation.


Go get a cup of coffee while the remaining components install..


You’ll get a warning dialog, indicating that SQL Server 2008 has compatibility issues on Windows 7 and suggesting that you install SP1.


I just clicked the Run Program button and proceeded with the install.  A little bit later, I got a second compatibility warning dialog, also mentioning SQL Server 2008.  An external DOS window was also spawned, running a setup.exe command.


Finally, everything finishes up and we’re done!


After the install completes, we get the main autorun window again and the link for checking for service releases is now active.


If you click the Check for Service Releases link, you’ll be redirected to an update web page, which in turn allows firing up the Windows Update applet.  When I tried this (29 Jun 2009), no updates were found.
Finally, we bring up Visual Studio 2010 for the first time.


As with earlier versions, when you start Visual Studio for the first time, you’re asked to choose a language, which dictates how the environment is set up.  I’m a C# guy.
When things finally start up, we see the new Start Page for the first time.


The New Project dialog also gets a fresh look.


Finally, we create an empty WPF Application.

Role Of the System Administrator

What is The Role Of the System Administrator?

The duties of a system administrator are wide-ranging, and vary widely from one organization to another. Sysadmins are usually charged with installing, supporting, and maintaining servers or other computer systems, and planning for and responding to service outages and other problems. Other duties may include scripting or light programming, project management for systems-related projects.

The system administrator is responsible for following things:

1. User administration (setup and maintaining account)
2. Maintaining system
3. Verify that peripherals are working properly
4. Quickly arrange repair for hardware in occasion of hardware failure
5. Monitor system performance
6. Create file systems
7. Install software
8. Create a backup and recover policy
9. Monitor network communication
10. Update system as soon as new version of OS and application software comes out
11. Implement the policies for the use of the computer system and network
12. Setup security policies for users. A sysadmin must have a strong grasp of computer security (e.g. firewalls and intrusion detection systems).

What is so special about the system administrator account?

The root account has full (unrestricted) access, so he/she can do anything with system. For example, root can remove critical system files. In addition, there is no way you can recover file except using tape backup.

Many tasks for system administration can be automated using perl or shell scripts. For example:

• Create new users
• Resetting user passwords
• Lock/unlock user accounts
• Monitor server security
• Monitor special services etc

Most important skill to a system administrator

Problem solving, period. This can some time lead into all sorts of constraints and stress. When workstation or server goes down, you are called to solve the problem. You should able to quickly and correctly diagnose the problem. You must figure out what is wrong and how best it can be fixed in small amount of time.

Some responsibilities based on situation  may be given to him by management.

windows performance tricks

Introduction
Everyone wants their machine to run faster. We have compiled all the special tweaks we've made into this one handy article. We focus on settings that improve the performance of Windows XP and not on user interface tweaks. Note: You can disable most of XP's user interface candy and increase performance!

These tweaks are designed for Windows XP both Home and Pro. Make sure you have at least 256 MB of RAM, any less and your machine will lag due to use of the hard drive as memory. 512MB is preferred. Backup your System before attempting any of these modifications!

Remember, we can only get so much performance out of old hardware. It might be time to upgrade to a faster machine. Check our Dell Coupons page for the latest deals

Microsoft covers performance in Windows XP. PC magazine found general application performance is faster on XP than on Windows ME.

BIOS
You need to ensure that you have configured your BIOS correctly. The BIOS is software embedded on your motherboard that loads and configures hardware before the operating system. Failure to do so can easily slow down CPU and disk performance. Consult your computer or motherboard's manual to ensure that all CPU caches are enabled, memory timings are set correctly, and that IDE data transfer modes are set correctly.

You can speed up the boot process by enabling "Rapid Bios Boot" or "Fast/Quick boot". Also turn off auto detection of IDE devices and detect them manually. Set System and Video BIOS Cacheable to OFF as well as Video RAM cacheable to off, as these are legacy operating system DOS settings.

Test CPU performance with PC Magazine's benchmarks. Test drive performance with HDtach benchmark.


Drivers
You need to ensure that you have the latest versions of all your hardware drivers. The ones on the original Windows CD-ROM are usually out of date. Updated Video and SCSI drivers can significantly improve the performance of your computer.
Video Performance
If you experience slow screen redraws and you are running the latest drivers for your video card, try selecting a lower quality video resolution. In the Display icon of the Control Panel , select the Settings Tab. If the system is set for True color try lowering it to High Color (16-bit). Many LCDs cannot show a full 32-bit color pallet. You can also reduce the Desktop Area. Upgrade to a new video card if this does not help. Using the latest Microsoft DirectX drivers can increase game performance.

Reducing XP's screen effects will also speed up performance. Goto My computer, Properties, Advanced Tab, Performance Settings, Select adjust for best performance.


Hard Drive Port
Make sure your hard drive is not connected to the same IDE port as your CD/DVD-ROM. Each IDE port is programmed to operate at the slower of the two devices on the port, so you could be slowing down access to your primary hard drive by leaving a CD-ROM on the same channel. Put your CD/DVD-ROM on the Secondary IDE port.

Intel Application accelerator lets you independently set tranfer rates for devices on the same cable.


IDE DMA
Windows does not automatically utilize faster DMA IDE data transfer modes on IDE slave drives. Programmed I/O mode is the default setting.

1)) Right click on "My Computer", select the Hardware tab, and Select Device Manager.
2) Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller" and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel"
3) Under "Advanced Settings" tab, check the "Device 1" setting. Set it to "DMA if available"
4) Repeat the step for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if devices are present there.

Remember, we can only get so much performance out of old hardware. It might be time to upgrade to a your hard drive to a faster Serial ATA model. Check our hard drive page for the latest deals

SCSI Write Cache
Many SCSI drives do not have their write caches enabled. Use a Mode Page Editor such as the one built into EZ-SCSI to enable Write Caching on all your hard drives. Windows XP allows you to enable Write Caching in the Properties page of a SCSI Drive.
Minimize Background Applications and Services
Press CTRL-ALT-DEL while in Windows and bring up the Task Manager . Notice how many programs are running in the background. Each program steals memory and CPU cycles. Offenders include: Adobe Gamma Loader, Fast Find, msmsgs (Messenger), Office Startup, qttask (Quicktime), System Agent, Real Player, Norton. To stop programs from automatically starting, remove the file from the Programs - Startup folder, left click on the icons in the System tray and turn off automatic loading, or consult the help file of each program to turn it off. Run MSCONFIG to get a list of programs that run on startup and remove unnecessary ones.
Disable Alerter, File and Print, FTP Publishing, Indexing Service, World Wide Web Publisher, Messenger, Computer Browser, Routing and Remote Access, Smart Card, Smart Card Helper, Terminal services, Uninterruptible Power Supply if they are not being used. You can always turn them off and test your machine, before setting them to be disabled on startup. Run "services.msc" from the Run.. menu and Disable any services that are unncessary. BlackViper has additional information on services.

You can also Configure Virus scanning to only scan incoming files.

Removed Unused Programs, Protocols, and Fonts
Uninstall any Programs that you do not use. Also remove any Fonts that are not used. This will free up disk space and make the machine boot faster. You should also remove any temporary files located in the C:\TEMP, c:\windows\prefetch, or C:\WINDOWS\TEMP directories. Also remove any unused Network Protocols such as NetBEUI or IPX.
Unload DLLs
Windows does not unload dll files a program has used after it has been closed, to speed up a possible restart of the program.

Use Regedit to edit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer Add the DWORD value named: AlwaysUnloadDLL and set it to 1

Virtual Memory
Windows uses your Hard Drive as swap memory but its default configuration can cause a major loss of performance with the memory swap file getting moved around.

Select System icon from the Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance , select Advanced Tab, select Performance areas, and click on Settings Under virtual Memory click Change. The Initial and Maximum size should be equal otherwise Windows will keep resizing the file. The optimal memory setting for users with 128 MB+ is approximately 1.5-2 times the RAM size, users with 64 MB should use a 2 times multiple. You should also locate Virtual Memory on your fastest drive or striped RAID volume, placing it on the non-boot drive, can help increase performance. Defragment after setting this to minimize fragmentation and force the swap file to get located on the fastest part of your disk. Third party defragmentaters can optimize the swap file.


Always make sure your system has enough RAM. 128MB is the absolute minimum, 512MB is preferred. You can bring up the Performance Tab of the Task Manager to ensure that Total Commit Charge is lower than your Total Physical Memory. If not, add ram.

Memory Tweaks
There are 3 tweaks you can make to change how XP uses memory.
Open Regedit and Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\
Disable Paging Executive:
XP pages data from RAM memory to the hard drive. We can stop this happening and keep more data in RAM, resulting in better performance. Users with a large amount of RAM (256MB+) should use this setting. The setting we change to disable the 'Paging Executive', is DisablePagingExecutive. Changing the value of this key from 0 to 1 will de-activate memory paging.

System Cache Boost:
Changing the value of the key LargeSystemCache from 0 to 1 will tell XP to allocate all but 4MB of system memory to the file system cache, allowing the XP Kernel to run in memory. The 4MB of memory left is used for disk caching, if more is needed, XP allocates more. Generally, this tweak improves performance by a fair bit but can, in some intensive applications, degrade performance. As with the previous tweak, you should have at least 256MB of RAM before attempting to enable LargeSystemCache.

Input/Output Performance:
This improves performance of large file transfers. If this entry does not appear in the registry, you will have to create a REG_DWORD value called IoPageLockLimit. The data for this value is in number of bytes, and defaults to Zero which equates to 512KB on machines that have the value. Most people using this tweak have found maximum performance in the 8 to 16 megabyte range, so you will have to play around with the value to find the best performance. The value is measured in bytes, so if you want, 12MB allocated, it's 12 * 1024 * 1024, or 12582912. As with all these memory tweaks, you should only use this if you have 256MB or more of RAM.

Use your hard drive less for Virtual Memory:
The Windows 98/ME "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" optimization does not work for XP.

Remember, we can only get so much performance out of old hardware. It might be time to upgrade to a your memory. Check our memory page for the latest deals

Defragment
Make sure you regularly defragment your hard drive with a defragmenter. Windows XP includes one. Keep your drive defragmented as a drive with even 5% fragmentation can be very inefficient.

Network Performance
Tweak XP has a nice tip on adjusting how much network bandwidth is reserved for different programs.
Offload processor tasks to network adapter's with intelligent processors.
Open Regedit and Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
Edit or Create the REG_DWORD key "DisableTaskOffload" and set it to 0 to Enable the Task Offload. By default, if this key is present, it's set to 1 to disable the task offload. Details from Microsoft.

Drive Performance
Some drives have configurable acoustic levels. They sacrifice performance for quiet. You can always turn off acoustic management for maximum performance.
Microsoft has a utility called "Bootvis" that can monitor your system bootup and optimize its performance. They removed the files from their site.
This site has a copy.
Extremetech has more bootup performance tips

Basic networking commands

ipconfig: Display basic TCP/IP configuration, such as IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway.

ipconfig /all: Display TCP/IP settings, including your Media Access Control (MAC) address, domain name system (DNS) server, and lease information.

ipconfig /release: Release your IP address.

ipconfig /renew: Renew your IP address.

ping <IP address> or ping <host name>: Send four test messages to the IP address or host name you specify; verify whether the other system is up and running.

netstat: Display TCP/IP protocol statistics and connection information. Can be used to see who is connected to your system; what ports are open; and if you use an -o switch, what the process ID is of the program that opened the port.

nbtstat: Troubleshoot NetBIOS over TCP/IP. For example, you can view a remote NetBIOS name table using nbtstat -a <IP address>.

nslookup: Troubleshoot DNS problems. For example, you can get a listing of all the records in DNS using nslookup.

arp: Troubleshoot ARP. For example, you can use arp -a to view your Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache.

Tasklist: View a list of running processes.

Taskkill /PID <pid> /F: Terminates a process when you supply the process id.

To Reset Any of database user password

To Reset Any of database user password Use the following:

SQL> connect / as sysdba

SQL> alter user <username> identified by <password>;

To UNLOCK scott user in Oracle database

ALTER USER scott ACCOUNT UNLOCK;

NTLDR is Missing.

Follow these Steps:....

Errors:

Below are the full error messages that may be seen when the computer is booting.

NTLDR is Missing
Press any key to restart

Boot: Couldn't find NTLDR
Please insert another disk

NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl Alt Del to Restart

Causes

1. Computer is booting from a non-bootable source.
2. Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS.
3. Corrupt NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM file.
4. Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file.
5. Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32.
6. New hard disk drive being added.
7. Corrupt boot sector / master boot record.
8. Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
9. Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable.
10. Failing to enable USB keyboard support in the BIOS.

Solutions

Follow these Steps:....

Computer is booting from a non-bootable source

Many times this error is caused when the computer is attempting to boot from a non-bootable floppy disk or CD-ROM. First verify that no floppy diskette or CD is in the computer, unless you are attempting to boot from a diskette.

Note: This error has also been known to occur when a memory stick is in a card reader and the computer is attempting to boot from it. If you have any card reader or flash reader make sure that no memory stick is inside the computer. Additionally disconnect all USB drives, cameras, ipods, iphones, etc. from the computer.

If you are attempting to boot from a floppy diskette and are receiving this error message it is likely that the diskette does not have all the necessary files or is corrupt.

If you are attempting to install Windows XP or Windows 2000 and are receiving this error message as the computer is booting verify that your computer BIOS has the proper boot settings. For example, if you are attempting to run the install from the CD-ROM make sure the CD-ROM is the first boot device, and not the hard disk drive.

Second, when the computer is booting you should receive the below prompt.

Press any key to boot from the CD

Important: When you see this message press any key such as the Enter key immediately, otherwise it will try booting from the hard drive and likely get the NTLDR error again.

Note: If you are not receiving the above message and your BIOS boot options are set properly it's also possible that your CD-ROM drive may not be booting from the CD-ROM properly. Verify the jumpers are set properly on the CD-ROM drive.

• Verifying the CD-ROM cables are correctly connected.

Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS

Verify that your computer hard disk drive is properly setup in the CMOS setup. Improper settings can cause this error.

Corrupt NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM file

Windows 2000 users
Windows XP users

Windows 2000 users

If your computer is using Microsoft Windows 2000 and you are encountering the NTLDR error. Create the below boot.ini file on the floppy diskette drive.

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

Copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files from another computer using the same operating system. Both of these files are located in the root directory of the primary hard disk drive. For example, C:\NTLDR and C:\NTDETECT.COM should be the locations of these files on many computers.

• How do I view hidden files in Windows?

Once these files have been copied to a floppy diskette reboot the computer and copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files to the root directory of the primary hard disk drive. Below is an example of what commonly should be performed from the A:\> drive.

copy ntldr c:
copy ntdetect.com c:

After the above two files have been copied, remove the floppy diskette and reboot the computer.

Windows XP users

1. Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
2. When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
3. Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
4. Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
5. You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
6. Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter, which in this case is "e." This letter may be different on your computer.
   
   copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
   copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\
7. Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.

Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file

Edit the boot.ini on the root directory of the hard disk drive and verify that it is pointing to the correct location of your Windows operating system and that the partitions are properly defined.

Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32

If you are getting this error message while you are attempting to upgrade to Windows 2000 or Windows XP from Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows ME running FAT32 try the below recommendations.

1. Boot the computer with a Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows ME bootable diskette.
2. At the A:\> prompt type:
   
   sys c: <press enter>
3. After pressing enter you should receive the "System Transferred" message. Once this has been completed remove the floppy diskette and reboot the computer.

New hard disk drive being added

If you are attempting to add a new hard disk drive to the computer make sure that drive is a blank drive. Adding a new hard disk drive to a computer that already has Windows installed on it may cause the NTLDR error to occur.

If you are unsure if the new drive is blank or not try booting from a bootable diskette and format the new hard disk drive.

Corrupt boot sector / master boot record

It's possible your computer's hard disk drive may have a corrupt boot sector or master boot record. These can be repaired through the Microsoft Windows Recovery console by running the fixboot and fixmbr commands.

Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP

If you have tried each of the above recommendations that apply to your situation and you continue to experience this issue it is possible you may have a seriously corrupted version of Microsoft Windows. Therefore we would recommend you reinstall Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

If you are encountering this issue during your setup you may wish to completely erase your computer hard disk drive and all of its existing data and then install Microsoft Windows.

Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable

This issue has been known to be caused by a loose or fault IDE/EIDE cable. If the above recommendation does not resolve your issue and your computer hard disk drive is using an IDE or EIDE interface. Verify the computer hard disk drive cable is firmly connected by disconnected and reconnecting the cable.

If the issue continues it is also a possibility that the computer has a faulty cable, try replacing the hard disk drive cable with another cable or a new cable.

ping ip but not with name

When using ipconfig command, you may have no IP address or no Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address. You may be receiving IP packets but not sending them.

Cause: These issues may occur if the Winsock registry keys are damaged or corrupted.

Can't ping my own IP address

Failure to ping a computer's own IP address is most likely caused by a firewall program or improperly configured.

Can't obtain/renew IP addresses from the DHCP server Symptoms: 1) you have a DHCP client which may not be able to obtain/renew IP addresses from the DHCP server intermittently. 2) after setup a workstation to obtain an IP address from DHCP, the machine can't ping others and ipconfig /all shows Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.x.x.

Resolutions: 1) If this is XP, obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP.
2) Use the Network Diagnostics tool to identify any failed settings. To do this, go to Help and Support>Use Tools to view your computer information and diagnose problems>Network Diagnostics>Scan your system. When the process finishes, check for any items marked "FAILED" in red, expand those categories, and view the additional details about what the testing showed.
3) Assign a static ip on the client and ping the DHCP server. If you can't  ping the DHCP server, check the connection and hardware.
4) If you can ping the DHCP after assigning static ip, check the DHCP settings.
5) Make sure no firewall is running on your LAN.
6) Run Repair this connection if it is XP. Or use netsh to reset TCP/IP configuration.
7) If it is win98/w2k, remove and reinstall TCP/IP.
8) Try to upgrade the new NIC driver.
9) Make sure you don't run out of IPs in the DHCP scope.
10) If you use a router as DHCP, you may want to upgrade the firmware.
11) Modify hardware settings such as speed and duplex.
12) Make sure hardware Mac control enable.