IE10 breaks RWW

Guess what? A recent update of IE from 9 to 10 stops Remote Web Workplace from working!
One solution is to click the compatibility mode button and thus lets you connect.
However, my rww opened with scroll bars bottom and right - so I assumed it was not a 100% fix.

(I had forgotten to run IE at 100% zoom - as any other zoom will cause the remote page to load with scroll bars - even when set to Full Screen).

So I UNinstalled the IE10 update (Hint: Use the Search box on the Installed Updates to quickly find the "Internet Explorer 10" update.)
Voila.
Here's a picture of the cause and the effect ;)

Oh, and you may need to HIDE the IE10 update form Windows Updates or else it will rise like a Phoenix to haunt you!

(This screenshot shows the AutoUpdate of IE10 and later Unticked..but it was ticked by defaulkt when I first encountered it)

Google Apps Sync supports only Outlook 2003 or greater

Take that.
Upgrade your client/s to 2003 from 2000 or 97 first...?

Reissue a certificate on SBS2008

Every few years the self-issued certificate that allows remote access to the remote web workplace expires, and needs to be reissued.
Here is an illustrated guide of the steps which I completed successfully:

From the SBS console, there were errors reported - followed my nose till I got this;







Ignore the configure modem - you do not want to be changing this
(I should have unticked all but the certificate - but there's only one way to find out!)


Nothing went wrong.

Check the date and time to make sure they are the fresh ones.

Your next challenge is to get them to the client PCs. RDP direct to the server and copy the file if you can. Zip the folder, rename it as a .txt and attache to a gmail? Or get out your sneakers and usb thumbdrive :)

Ah - I remember know how I started the process:
(See also the useful url on the screenshot)
And if adding a third party (purchased) certificate then I suppose you would use the link above the one highlighted?

Steps to get RWW working

The first time you run a RWW site that needs the Activex you should get prompted



Then you right click the yellow area to accept the diag



Then you'll get the login, BUT NOTE THE RED CERTIFICATE ERROR in all the above screens so far!



This means you need to run the InstallCertificate app from the folder where the certificate is that you issued from your SBS2008 server and copied to the local PC:



(Note - you may have needed to reissue the certificate on the server - see this post )

Now you can finally connect to the local PC including mapping local printers and clipboard. Note the address bar is no longer red..

Job done. :D

iExpert?

Ok. So I am the iExpert?
Scenario 1
Neighbours kids come to me for help on their new iPod to redeem a $20 voucher. The catch: kid is twelve and has no email yet and no credit/debit card. Oh, and its Saturday afternoon when I should be mowing or watching America's Cup!
Payment: 1 bottle of cheap red.

Scenario 2
iMac, iPad, iPhone, setup with 7 (yes seven) email accounts from 4 different providers must all be visible on all devices including the sent, trash and drafts, oh, and must work overseas, oh, and a new assistant must be able to use one of the accounts.
Payment: $60 hourly rate

Scenario 3
Retired gentleman is tired of his old Windows7 stuff, but likes his new iPad and iPhone, so gets me to help him order the latest greatest iMac and AppleTV. Now "just" have to it all up so he can "do" stuff like photos, music and so on.
Payment: $60 hourly rate


Which would you prefer.. And how would you go about it?

Lessons
1
An AppleId is required, and user must be 13 years old (so amend accordingly the first time you try, or it will fail when you try again!)
A credit card is NOT required. However to get past this step during the AppleID sign up, you MUST do it on the iPod by selecting a free app to install from the App Store. (The option is missing if try from iTunes on iPod or on the computer) horror

2
Patience, perseverance, perspicacity. Get a new gmail account. Use this as the main coalescing point, and use the Chrome interface exclusively. No more trouble. Oh, and never change passwords again ;)

3
Read up on what AppleTV can do ahead of the job. Oh, and use all your cunning obtained from past experience mixed with enthusiasm for the product, hubris for the wonderful outcomes.

Outlook 2003 cannot open this email

This generic error has a host of possible causes and therefore suggested solutions.. the most tempting of which was to go "Open Source" ;) removing Add-ons, safe mode, repair install had no effect.
I even tried changing the default viewing and composing fonts. Desparate, eh?

However the fix was simply taming that terrible excuse for a program that is Macafee. Still, the customer has just made the mistake of shelling out online for it, so no chance of demanding a refund...

THE SOLUTION:
I disabled the parental control and safe surf components leaving the main antivirus bit running, and voila, I could once again see the body of emails without having to first reply in plain text! Grrr (Not sure which of the two components was the culprit, but I would suggest the surf part.. due to the attempt at web'ing everything back in 2003.) How well did that work out?!

Dreaded Office XP 1706 error - The SOLUTION

You will have found this post searching for Office XP or version 2002 and the error 1706 which pops up every time you load Word or Excel. It prompts for the installation files, in my case PRO.MSI, and gives no clue as to whether these are expected on a fileserver, a CD or some local path.
No doubt you will have somehow located an old copy of an Office XP pro cd, resourceful IT guru that you are, but despite pointing the dialog to all the possible folders on the cd, it refuses to find or open the files it needs.
Next, you make sure it's patched up to date [how much longer will patches be available for these old versions?]
Then you tried a Repair install - rather than an un- and reinstall...
All that accomplished for me was to loose the profile in the accompanying Outlook 2003 installation, meaning the I had to fix the nickname file (more on this below).
Oh, and of course you tried running the app in safe mode, and the repairs etc as admin?
You even got desperate and tried the reg file fix Tip 171 (from memory).. here http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
But this alas made no difference either.

THE SOLUTION:
Copy the PRO.MSI file onto the hard disk somewhere and point to it there instead of on the cd. I chose the same folder as the Office exes were located, not sure if that made a difference, but seemed to work for me.
This got me past the now well-known first hurdle locating the file, but two new dialogs popped up prompting me to install some ttfs, (I forget which as I was certain I was not getting any further), yet I just chose "Ignore" to these two, and, Voila, the error did not reoccur!

Regarding the Outlook Profile issue, it seems that a repair install of Office 2002 affects Outlook 2003 by renaming the profile from Outlook to Copy of Outlook.
The most marked effect of this is that the autosuggest feature (when typing an email address) is reset to empty - ie no entries in it at all
Needless to say, this can result in very grumpy customers if they rely on it heavily. (Especially where the addresses are a combination of those in the Contacts folder address book, and the Windows address book, heaven knows why that particular mess never got sorted out over the many version of Outlook even to parent day!?)

THE SOUTION: rename the .NK2 file to match the changed profile name, in my case "Copy of Outlook.NK2". Fixed!

A user on Kelly's corner reports the following fix:
What did work:
Make the limited user an Admin gp member
Open Word, respond do the installer prompt
Remove Admin gp membership from the limited user acct
No more install prompt

Problem scenario:
Win XP Pro, SP1
Standalone computer (no domain involved)
Office 2000 SP3
Admin gp member did initial install of Office, SP1a, SP3

Create a limited user acct
Reboot, logon as that user
Open Word
Error 1706 dialog displays