This timeline has been presented by a few bloggers already; but here it is again for those who might have just started following VCSY:
What we can hope for is that Microsoft mention’s VCSY in press conference and then things will really skyrocket. Also, Windows 7 has already become Amazon’s biggest pre-order to date; outselling Harry Potter.
There have big rumors floating around which hint to the fact that VCSY might be the next big stock about to skyrocket.
“Vertical Computer Systems, Inc. (VCSY) is a provider of Internet core technologies, administrative software, and derivative software application products through its distribution network.
VCSY’s primary Internet core technologies include SiteFlash™, ResponseFlash™, and the Emily XML Scripting Language, which can be used to build web services.
VCSY’s main administrative software product is emPath®, which is designed to handle the most complex Payroll and Human Resources challenges.”(Taken from www.vcsy.com.
Microsoft settled on VCSY’s 744 patent which looks to be all that Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Platform Azure is. Read the latest from the Chicago Tribune about Microsoft’s endeavor into Cloud Computing:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-mon-burns-microsoft-1012-oct12,0,3048264.column
In the most recent Microsoft 10-K from July 30th, Microsoft has a credit facility that was taken right after the VCSY settlement which was originally set to expire on March 22nd but had been extended to November 6th, right before the Microsoft PDC.
“This credit facility expires on November 6, 2009.”
I guess we will have to wait till November and see. I know that I have already grabbed a couple thousand shares of VCSY just in case. They are currently at $0.02 so you don’t have very much to lose. Leave a comment if you would like an invite to Sharebuilder with free $25.00 to start trading with.
Vertical Computer Systems
This is a short guide on how to slipstream Service Pack 2 into Microsoft Office 2007. They way Microsoft does this is that the updates are simply applied immediately after the install. However, this will still save you a lot of time from installing Office and then running Windows Updates; especially if doing a mass deployment or fresh image.
Microsoft Office 2007
First create two different folders, one for your original office install and the second for your SP2 files. To keep things simply, lets just make them on your desktop, a folder called “Office07″ and a folder called “SP2″.
Create Office Folders
You now need to copy the contents of your original office install to the “Office07″ folder on your desktop. If you have an ISO, simply extract that with either 7-Zip or WinRar; or if you have it on a DVD, stick that into your computer, browse to the drive, and copy the contents over.
Office 2007 Contents
Now you need to download SP2 for Microsoft Office if you don’t already have it. The download link is here. I would just download it to your desktop.
Download Office SP2
Now open up a command prompt window on your desktop. (Hold shift and right click on your desktop and select Open Command Prompt Windows Here)
You you are going to extract the SP2 exe which you downloaded earlier. In your command prompt window type: office2007sp2-kb953195-fullfile-en-us.exe /extract:”C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\Desktop\SP2″ (make sure you put in your username)
Extracting Office 2007 SP2
You should now be prompted with the EULA. Simply check the box and click next. It will extract SP2 into that SP2 folder on your desktop.
Office 2007 SP2 EULA
Now simply copy the contents of the SP2 folder on your desktop to the UPDATES folder within the Office07 folder on your desktop (Office07\Updates). Then you are finished. When you run the setup for Office, (setup.exe) it will now install SP2 while it installs Office 2007.
This is a short guide on how to perform a backup of your Microsoft OneNote 2010 Notebooks to two different locations. I would recommend saving it locally and also to a network drive. Or if you are not located on a network, then save the 2nd copy to a thumb drive or 2nd hard drive.
Microsoft OneNote 2010 Icon
Launch Microsoft OneNote 2010. If you have not yet created a notebook, on the left hand side right click and select “create new notebook.”
Once you have a notebook created you will need to go up to the File Menu, which is the big circle in the top left hand side, and then “Options”.
Microsoft OneNote 2010 - Options
Then go down to the save and backup option in the list. You can change the Backup Folder and the Default Notebook Location. Make sure they are going to two different physical places; not just different folders on the same hard drive. This way if your hard drive dies, you will still have a copy of your OneNote Notebooks.
Microsoft OneNote 2010 - Save & Backup Location
Now, slightly below that option select “Back Up All Notebooks Now” to test and verify they are being saved to the two different locations.
This is a short guide on how to perform a backup of your Microsoft OneNote 2007 Notebooks to two different locations. I would recommend saving it locally and also to a network drive. Or if you are not located on a network, then save the 2nd copy to a thumb drive or 2nd hard drive.
Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
Launch Microsoft OneNote 2007. If you have not yet created a notebook, on the left hand side right click and select “create new notebook.”
Once you have a notebook created you will need to go up to the “Tools” menu and then “Options”.
Microsoft OneNote 2007 Options
Then go down to the save option in the list. You can change the Backup Folder and the Default Notebook Location. Make sure they are going to two different physical places; not just different folders on the same hard drive. This way if your hard drive dies, you will still have a copy of your OneNote Notebooks.
Microsoft OneNote 2007 Save Location
Now go to the Backup option in the list and select “Back Up All Notebooks Now” to test and verify they are being saved to the two different locations.
Microsoft OneNote 2007 Backup Now
I realize this article is a little old since Windows 7 is coming out here in a few days, but I thought I would share it with you in case your business has decided to stick with XP for now. When you sysprep a machine you are basically wanting to clone the settings from that machine to another one. You also want it to copy those changes to each profile, correct? Well, in order for the sysprep to successfully copy over the administrator profile to the default profile for each user you have to add an extra line to the sysprep.inf file or else it won’t work in Service Pack 3 like it did in Service Pack 2.
The first step is to download the Sysprep App which is included in the CAB file for Windows XP Service Pack 3 Deployment Tools. (Download Sysprep Tool)
Next go to the PC you are going to be sysprepping and create a folder on the root of the C: drive called sysprep.
Next you will need to extract the contents of the deploy.cab file you downloaded in Step #1 to the sysprep folder on the root of the C: drive.
Now we are going to run the sysprep Setup Manager. Double click on setupmgr.exe.
Sysprep Setup Manager
Click Next and it is going to ask you whether you want to modify an existing Answer File or create a new one. We are wanting to create a new one, so again click next.
Sysprep - New or Existing Answer File
You now have three options: Unattended Setup, Sysprep Setup, or Remote Installation Services (RIS). In this example we are going to select the Sysprep setup option and then click next. (This creates a sysprep.inf file)
Sysprep - Sysprep.inf File
Select Windows XP Professional and click next. (This will also work on Windows XP Home, Windows Server 2003 Standard, Web, and Enterprise.)
Sysprep - Windows XP Professional
In this step it is asking you if you want to fully automate the installation. That is up to you, either way works fine. In this example I will be using the “No, do not fully automate the installation.”
Sysprep - Fully Automate or Not?
Now we are at the configuration page. There is a lot in here so I am not going to go into detail. In fact, you don’t even need to input anything here for the sysprep to just work. However, everything you input in here will save you time and help shape your image.
Sysprep - Configuration Page
Once you are all done, you should be at the bottom and selected on “Identification String”; click Finish and it is going to prompt you for a location to create and save the sysprep.inf file. The default location is fine, as it will need to be within that sysprep folder on your C: drive. Once you hit ok you will then need to click “Cancel”. There is no close button.
Sysprep - Saving the Sysprep.inf File
Now you should verify the sysprep.inf file by double clicking on it and opening it up with Notepad.
Sysprep - Verifying the Sysprep.inf File
There were a few changes with Windows XP Service Pack 3 and sysprep. The administrator’s profile is no longer copied over to the default profile. You will need to add a line within the sysprep.inf file to regain this important function. Under the InstallFilesPath section add this:
UpdateServerProfileDirectory=1
Once done, hit save.
Sysprep - Adding line to sysprep.inf so the administrator profile will copy over to default profile
Now you are ready to start the sysprep, reboot, and capture your sysprepped image. Double click on the sysprep.exe and then select the following three options in order: Use Mini-Setup, Shutdown Mode: Reboot, and click Reseal. Make sure you have your media ready to capture your image. If you reboot fully without booting to your capturing software it will ruin the sysprep and you will have to redo the sysprep.
Sysprep - Preparation Tool 2.0
This is a short guide to setting up the Canon ScanGear Tool to enable the Canon copiers to be able to scan directly from the copy machine to the computer.
First you will need to download the ScanGear Tool from Canon’s website. Version 2.21 will work with all the non-color copiers like Canon IR-2200. Version 2.30 will work with all the newer Canon color copiers.
Download Canon ScanGear Tool V.2.21
Download Canon ScanGear Tool V.2.30
Run the EXE you just downloaded. By default the EXE unpacks the contents of the EXE to your TEMP folder.
Launch the setup file located within the TEMP folder and go through the prompts to install the ScanGear Tool.
Once installed, you will need to launch the ScanGear Tool and input the IP address of the copier. Make sure it connects successfully by click the “Test Connection” button.
Canon ScanGear Tool
Now you can Scan with the copier. For this example, I am going to be using the “Microsoft Office Document Scanning” tool provided within Microsoft Office 2003 through 2010.
Now walk over to your Canon copier. Press the big SCAN button to switch the copier into SCAN mode.
Select the “Online” option to force the SCAN mode on. (It will start searching for the ScanGear client on your computer)
Place the document you are wanting to scan into the feeder tray on top of the Canon Copier. (It will not start scanning until feeder tray has paper in it)
On your computer, select Scan (black and white or color) and then the computer will begin scanning your documents.
Microsoft Office Document Scanning Tool
There is a hidden partition created by default in Windows 7. This can be very frustrating, especially for IT administrators who are working with capturing and deploying images with Sysprep and ImageX. The boot files needed for Windows 7 to boot correctly are stored on this 2nd hidden partition. This will show you how to install Windows 7 on one partition.
First, there is no way to simply delete this hidden 100MB partition in Windows 7; you simply have to reformat. So the first step is to backup your data and boot to the Windows 7 Install CD. (To boot to CD, restart your computer and normally it will be either DEL, F12, or ESC key to select CD-ROM drive, and boot to it)
Once you are up to the Windows 7 screen, you will need to select “Repair Your Computer” option.
Windows 7 Startup Repair - Picture provided by About.com
Next you will need to select “Command Prompt”.
Windows 7 Command Prompt - Picture provided by About.com
In Command Prompt we are going to reformat your hard drive in a certain way so the 2nd partition doesn’t automatically get created when you install Windows 7. Here are the comands:
Diskpart
List Disk (You might have more than one hard drive)
Select Disk 0 (By default your main boot drive will be disk 0, check it)
Clean
Create Partition Primary
Select Partition 1
Active
Format FS=NTFS Quick
Exit
Then simply walk through installing Windows 7 as you would normally. This time the setup will not create the 100MB hidden reserved partition.
Go to Run and type regedit
HKEY_Local_Machine\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds\Microsoft.Powershell\ExecutionPolicy
In that registry key, change value to Unrestricted.
I recently compiled a new library of commands since the upgrade from WinPE 2.0 to WinPE 3.0. With Windows 7 coming along they released a new way to create bootable USB sticks using Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM.exe). You might be asking yourself, what could I use this for? We are using it at my work to re-image computers, capture backup images, mount images, etc. There are many other uses for it but I will not get into that here. I have literally done this procedure a couple hundred times. In a future article I will show you how to write a simple batch script to automate this process. But it helps to understand what is going on with each command in case you have trouble. Batch scripts never work 100% of the time.
You will need the following to proceed:
Windows® Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows® 7 RC (Download from Microsoft) : 05.01.09
Once you have installed WAIK then you will need to browse to your start menu and click on “Deployment Tools Command Prompt”. I have provided a picture below.
DISM
Once you have launched DTCP you will need to follow through the commands I have compiled below. The first one I have provided a screenshot.
DISM /Cleanup-Wim
The DISM cleanup command simply cleans up any previous wims/mounts you have been working with. If you do this a lot, you will need to use this command otherwise you will start receiving errors from previous wims possibly still left on the system.
DISM Step #1
copype.cmd x86 c:\winpe_x86
copy c:\winpe_x86\winpe.wim c:\winpe_x86\ISO\sources\boot.wim
This creates a winpe_x86 folder on your C: drive and then copies the contents of the WinPE folder from the WAIK installation to your folder.
Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\winpe_x86\winpe.wim /index:1 /MountDir:C:\winpe_x86\mount
This command mounts the wim file that was copied over in step #2 so that you can browse the system32 folder and insert your custom scripts, etc.
Dism /image:C:\winpe_x86\mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:”C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\WinPE_FPs\winpe-wmi.cab”
Dism /image:C:\winpe_x86\mount /Add-Package /PackagePath:”C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\x86\WinPE_FPs\en-us\winpe-wmi_en-us.cab”
There are many packages you can add to your WINPE boot environment, these are two I always add to mine.
DISM /image:c:\winpe_x86\mount /Add-Driver /driver:C:\YOUR_FOLDER_OF_INF_DRIVERS\ /recurse
A nice addition to DISM over the previous peimg command in WINPE 2.0 is the ability to add drivers with the /recurse command. The /recurse command now allows us to simply have all of our drivers in their own directory and tell DISM to scan the root folder and everything beneath it. The number of sub directories won’t matter. I have a huge library of drivers, for example, you will want to have the network and vga drivers for anything that you boot up to in the WinPE environment. By adding the network driver to your WinPE boot environment, it allows you to access network shares for capturing and deploying .wim images.
xcopy /e /y “C:\YOUR_FOLDER_OF_SCRIPTS” C:\winpe_x86\mount\Windows\System32\
Without adding anything to your WinPE boot environment you will simply be left with a command prompt window when booting to it on a computer. I have added over 15 different batch scripts with different functions. Click here to download my WinPE discs. One thing I highly suggest adding is GImageX. GImageX is a very small GUI program that you can add to be able to capture, deploy, and mount images within the WinPE boot environment. I have provided a picture of GImageX GUI below.
For WinPE 3.0 Boot Environment - Mount, Deploy, Capture Images
Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\winpe_x86\mount\ /Commit
This commits the final changes to your .WIM file and anything you added to it. It is very important to unmount your .WIM file when you have finished.
copy c:\winpe_x86\winpe.wim c:\winpe_x86\ISO\sources\boot.wim /Y
oscdimg -n -bc:\winpe_x86\etfsboot.com c:\winpe_x86\ISO c:\winpe_x86\winpe_x86.iso
Now, if you are wanting to use a flash stick you will need to format a flash stick in a certain way, and then simply copy the contents of the c:\winpe_x86\ISO\ to your flash drive. And thats it! Stick it in a computer, restart, and boot to it. The .ISO made in step #9 can simply be burned to a CD with Nero or other program capable of making bootable CD and then you can boot to it in the same way.
xcopy /e /y “C:\winpe_x86″ E:\BACKUP_FOLDER_FOR_LATEST_BOOT_BUILD\
This step is optional, but I always like to keep a backup for the future. Also, if you ever need to create another bootable flash stick or CD you can simply go to your backup and grab the files.
