Windows 8.1 includes the email application Windows Mail. This application can access email via IMAP or ActiveSync. Yes, that's right ACTIVESYNC!
I've been wondering why ActiveSync was good enough for mobile devices, but not desktop computers. It appears that this has finally arrived. Perhaps paying Microsoft a licensing fee for use of ActiveSync is holding other vendors back.
A standard IMAP client will synchronize only email messages. An ActiveSync client can synchronize messages, your calendar, and contacts. This is now an effective option for home users that want to access work email from their computer through a full email client but without purchasing a version of Office that includes Outlook.
Remote wipe is also supported for this application. However (and this is good news), remote wipe affects only the Exchange email data. This is unlike a phone remote wipe which wipes the entire device.
For more information see:
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Forcing ECP to open in Exchange 2013
One of the annoyances I've been finding in Exchange 2013 during migrations is that when an administrator with a mailbox in Exchange 2010/2007 attempts to access Exchange Control Panel to administer, they are redirected the the older version of Exchange 2010. This happens because Exchange looks up where the user's mailbox is and assumes that you want to access the server where the mailbox is located.
Fortunately, there is an easy fix for this. Append the url with ExchClientVer=15 to force it to stay on Exchange 2013. For example:
Fortunately, there is an easy fix for this. Append the url with ExchClientVer=15 to force it to stay on Exchange 2013. For example:
- https://server.domain.com/ecp?ExchangeClientVer=15
IE 11 Problems with OWA
I haven't had a chance to verify yet, but IE 11 appears to have issues working with OWA in Exchange 2007-2013. IE 11 is included in the Windows 8.1 Service Pack.
The core issue seems to be the at IE does not identify itself as IE anymore. Consequently, Exchange Server dumbs down the OWA experience to be sure that it is compatible.
You can update Exchange 2013 to work with IE 11 properly by installing Cumulative Update 2 for Exchange 2013.
You can update Exchange 2010 to work with IE 11 properly by installing update rollup 3 for SP3:
For Exchange 2007 there is currently no update available to fix the server side. Instead, you need to use compatibility mode in IE or InPrivate Browsing.
For a nice article about this and further explanation, see here:
*Updated Nov 26th to include new update that is available for Exchange 2010
The core issue seems to be the at IE does not identify itself as IE anymore. Consequently, Exchange Server dumbs down the OWA experience to be sure that it is compatible.
You can update Exchange 2013 to work with IE 11 properly by installing Cumulative Update 2 for Exchange 2013.
You can update Exchange 2010 to work with IE 11 properly by installing update rollup 3 for SP3:
For Exchange 2007 there is currently no update available to fix the server side. Instead, you need to use compatibility mode in IE or InPrivate Browsing.
For a nice article about this and further explanation, see here:
*Updated Nov 26th to include new update that is available for Exchange 2010
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Error Creating Outlook 2010 Profile for Exchange 2013
We were recently connecting some newly imaged computers to Exchange 2013 and got an 0x80070057 error when attempting to create the user profile. This error did not occur when connecting to the older Exchange 2007 server. This error was a result of Office 2010 not being up to the correct update level.
Outlook 2010 must have at least Service Pack 1 with the November 2012 cumulative update. In this case, we installed Service Pack 2 and all was good.
Here is the link to the required versions of Outlook for Exchange 2013:
Update Oct 24/13: I have also seen this problem at a client using the HTTP proxy settings in IE. Make sure your Exchange servers are an exception that does not require the use of the proxy.
Outlook 2010 must have at least Service Pack 1 with the November 2012 cumulative update. In this case, we installed Service Pack 2 and all was good.
Here is the link to the required versions of Outlook for Exchange 2013:
Update Oct 24/13: I have also seen this problem at a client using the HTTP proxy settings in IE. Make sure your Exchange servers are an exception that does not require the use of the proxy.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
New Tool to Remove Unneeded Windows Update Files
Microsoft has just released an update for Windows 7 that enables you to remove old files that allow Windows Updates to be removed. This will save a ton of disk space on many computers. If you are using a small SSD drive, the extra few GB would be nice to have back.
After applying the update, the Disk Cleanup wizard is updated to include the option Windows Update Cleanup. After performing the Windows Update Cleanup, you will not be able to remove Windows Updates that are cleaned up.
My only caution related to using this tool relates to Internet Explorer. We have several clients that require Internet Explorer 8 to use web-based applications. All of our new computers with Windows 7 have IE 9 preinstalled and we need to roll back to IE8. I'm concerned we would lose this ability if Dell starts to use this tool before shipping out computers. That said, I haven't had time to test yet.
For more information, see:
For the update go here:
After applying the update, the Disk Cleanup wizard is updated to include the option Windows Update Cleanup. After performing the Windows Update Cleanup, you will not be able to remove Windows Updates that are cleaned up.
My only caution related to using this tool relates to Internet Explorer. We have several clients that require Internet Explorer 8 to use web-based applications. All of our new computers with Windows 7 have IE 9 preinstalled and we need to roll back to IE8. I'm concerned we would lose this ability if Dell starts to use this tool before shipping out computers. That said, I haven't had time to test yet.
For more information, see:
For the update go here:
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Video on Basic Network Setup
Each year I help out with a networking class at the Asper School of Business in the University of Manitoba. I do a demonstration of basic server installation and configuration. Last year I made it into a video, and this year I've uploaded it to YouTube for the students.
In case anyone is interested the video is located here:
This video includes:
In case anyone is interested the video is located here:
This video includes:
- Installation of Windows Server 2008 R2
- Joining a domain
- Basic IP configuration
- Create and configure file shares
- Create and configure shared printers
- Drive mappings via Group Policy preferences
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Windows 7 Unable to Pin to Start Menu
In Windows 7, there is a little know registry that limits the names of items that you can pin to the taskbar and Start menu. Any item that contains one of the listed keywords cannot be pinned. However, you can modify the list if you desire.
The default list contains:
The registry key that contains the application names is:
The default list contains:
- Documentation
- Help
- Install
- More Info
- Readme
- Read me
- Read First
- Setup
- Support
- What's New
- Remove
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileAssociation\AddRemoveNames
- SETUP.EXE
- INSTALL.EXE
- ISUNINST.EXE
- UNWISE.EXE
- UNWISE32.EXE
- ST5UNST.EXE
- MSOOBE.EXE
- LNKSTUB.EXE
- CONTROL.EXE
- WERFAULT.EXE
- WLRMDR.EXE
- GUESTMODEMSG.EXE
- MSIEXEC.EXE
- DFSVC.EXE
- WUAPP.EXE
The registry key that contains the application names is:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileAssociation\AddRemoveApps
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