If you are using multiple user accounts in your Windows computer and have installed Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in one of your users, when you try to run WSL in another account you will encounter the WSL has no installed distributions error.
If you try going to another Windows profile, you will end up with the same error.
Continue reading How to install WSL on multiple Windows User AccountsIf you have launched a new Windows Server 2016, 2019, or 2022 and opened Internet Explorer it will automatically open a page saying Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration is enabled.
When you open a website, it will then prompt you that the content that you are accessing is being blocked by Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration.
Windows recommends adding this to a list called Trusted sites zone, but adding all the many websites that you are accessing is tedious.
The solution to this is to disable the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration. Follow the tutorial below on how to disable it.
Continue reading How to Disable Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration in Windows ServerWhen I switched to Windows 11 I had to adjust to the changes in the Taskbar. One of the things that I do not find useful is the Widgets and Chat icon in the Taskbar.
If you want to remove the Widgets and Chat icon in the Taskbar follow the steps below.
Continue reading How to remove the Taskbar Chat and Widgets icon in Windows 11If you’re like me who just recently switched to Windows 11, you might find the taskbar icons in the center a little awkward.
If you want to move the taskbar icons to the left, just like in their original position in Windows 10, then just follow the steps below.
Continue reading How to move the Taskbar Icons to the left in Windows 11If you need Active Directory Users and Computers on your Windows Server, you need to install Active Directory Administration Tools.
The walk through below will also install other AD Administration Tools like DNS configuration and optional if you want to install Group Policy Management.
Tutorial below have been tested in Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019 and Amazon Workspaces Windows 10.
I learned the steps below when I was configuring Amazon Workspaces Windows 10 to do Active Directory Administration. I was avoiding to RDP to the AD Domain Controller to lessen the impact when I make adjustments that is why I needed the Active Directory Management Tools inside my Amazon Workspace.
Note: It is best if your Windows Server is already joined to an Active Directory Domain.
Click on Start Menu and click Server Manager.
On Server Manager click Add roles and features.
Continue reading How to install Active Directory Administration Tools in Windows ServerWhen selecting a program installer to download it usually has 2 options: 64-bit installer or 32-bit installer. How do I know which one to download?
TL;DR – click here for instructions.
Nowadays, websites can know which version of Windows you are running and would only give you one link to download the installer. Sometimes, it is not that easy like how I installed Visual Studio Code for all Users in Windows which gave me lots of options, Windows, Linux, Mac, 32-bit or 64-bit versions.
It is important to download the correct version of the installer or else it might not work correctly with your system.
To see what architecture your Windows Operating System is running, see the different ways below.
3 ways to check if your Windows Architecture is 64-bit or 32-bit
To check if your running a Windows 64-bit or 32-bit, right-click on the Start Button (Window button on the lower left of your screen) or on your keyboard click Window+X.
Then click System.
This will open a Settings window that shows details about your computer.
Continue reading How to check if your Windows 10 is 64-bit or 32-bitI will be transferring a lot of files to my Windows Server and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) would be a great way to do this.
Below is a step-by-step instruction on how you can install and configure FTP via Windows Internet Information Services (IIS).
By the way, I have tried the instructions below on Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019.
1. On Windows Server open Server Manager.
Click on Start Button on the taskbar, then click Server Manager.
Start Button is the window icon on the bottom left of the screen.
2. On Server Manager window, click on Manage then Add Roles and Features.
3. On Add Roles and Features Wizard window, click on Next.
Sometimes when I create a Windows EC2 Instance from one of my custom AMIs I get an activation failed Windows Server.
Follow the instruction below to Activate your Windows Instance. (For Windows Server 2016, 2019 and later only).
Open Powershell on your Windows Server and run the command below.
C:\ProgramData\Amazon\EC2-Windows\Launch\Scripts\InitializeInstance.ps1; cscript "${env:SYSTEMROOT}\system32\slmgr.vbs" /atoThere are other ways to Activate Windows on your AWS EC2. You can check them all here.
After setting up an Active Directory (AD) on our Windows Server it is advisable to have another server to be a Secondary Active Directory Domain Controller to become the failover for Active Directory in case something happens to the first AD Server.
Below is a detailed tutorial on how to properly set up a Secondary Active Directory Domain Controller on Windows Server 2016.
Primary refers to the first Windows Server that we setup Active Directory with.
Secondary refers to the the Second Windows Server we will set Active Directory. This is what we will setup here.
Here are the major steps that we need to do
Login to your Primary Active Directory Windows Server.
Right-click on the Window Icon on the bottom-left of the screen. Then click Command Prompt.
On the command prompt window type ipconfig then Enter.
Note the IPv4 Address. You will need this later on the Secondary Windows Server. Continue reading Adding a Secondary Active Directory Domain Controller on Windows Server 2016
The very first thing I do after installing Active Directory (AD) on Windows Server is to change the password of my AD Administrator. I do this because I use Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 as my servers and AWS automatically generates the password for my Windows Server.
The AD Administrator is a very powerful user for Active Directory as you can restrict or open capabilities to other users and computer, install/uninstall programs and can even shut down any member computer using the Admin user. That is why you should really keep your AD Administrator User password in a safe place.
Whatever the reason you have for wanting to change the password of your AD Administrator below is a step-by-step tutorial on how to change it.
Login to your Windows Server.
Click on the Window Icon on the bottom-left and click on Server Manager.
Click on Tools then Active Directory Users and Computers.
Click on the ‘>‘ sign beside your domain on the left sidebar. This will expand the tree. Continue reading Change Password for Active Directory Administrator on Windows Server 2016