Technical Questions
- What does it mean to slipstream a Windows service pack?
- How do I create an unattended installation script for Windows?
- How do I configure clients to delete the cached copies of roaming profiles?
- Why do newsgroup messages disappear in Outlook Express/Windows Mail?
- Can professional support staff for departmental labs check out software?
- How do I archive newsgroups in Outlook Express/Windows Mail?
- How do I secure lab machines to prevent the installation of software?
- Where do I find information on Windows system policies?
- Where can I obtain information on known security issues?
- Where can I find information on common technical questions and issues?
- Where can I obtain answers to other technical questions?
- Can the Visual Studio Academic Faculty and Student tools be installed on other editions of Visual Studio?
- What is a debug/checked build of Windows?
- What are ISO image files and how do I use them?
Q. What does it mean to slipstream a Windows service pack?
A. Windows service packs can be installed on top of the original Setup files. This feature allows you to update the installation files, thus saving you time from installing the service pack separately after you install the operating system. This is particularly useful for deploying Windows and a service pack at the same time on a large set of machines. Many guides are available describing how to do this.
Q. How do I create an unattended installation script for Windows?
A. System administrators may create an unattended installation script to streamline the deployment of Windows on a large lab or network. This script includes the information normally acquired from the user during the Setup process. An MSDNAA Program Administrator may have a volume license key strictly for installing Windows on labs (not for distribution to students or faculty). He or she may enter this product key in the installation script.
This Knowledge Base article describes how to create an unattended installation script for the Sysprep tool.
The program administrator is responsible for keeping the volume license key (VLK) safe. It is extremely important that the VLK be kept secure and out of the hands of unauthorized individuals. Note that the script for an unintended installation will expose this product key.
Q. How do I configure clients to delete the cached copies of roaming profiles?
A. If you have a network where user profiles are saved on a server (roaming profiles), the workstations will cache that user profile by default. On Windows 2000/XP machines, these profiles are located in the "Documents and Settings" folder; on Windows Vista and Windows 7, you'll find roaming profiles in the Users folder, under <username>AppData>Roaming. (Note that you may have to "Show hidden files and folders" in order to see this directory.) Network administrators may configure the clients to delete the cached versions of roaming profiles using the Group Policy Editor.
This Knowledge Base article describes how to Use Group Policy to delete cached copies of roaming profiles.
Q. Why do newsgroup messages disappear in Outlook Express/Windows Mail?
A. By default, Outlook Express (known as Windows Mail in recent Windows releases) is set to delete news messages five days after you download them, since a number of newsgroups are very large and consume a lot of space on your hard drive. You can disable this feature by going to the Maintenance tab in the Tools | Options menu. Uncheck the "Delete news messages" option and click the OK button.
To re-download the deleted newsgroup messages, simply right-click the newsgroup folder in question and select Properties. Then click on the Reset button on the Local File tab. When you view the newsgroup, the messages will be downloaded again. (Note that you will lose your watched messages and the reply markers when you reset the newsgroup.)
Q. Can professional support staff for departmental labs check out software?
A. Yes, professional support staff whose primary responsibility is to maintain departmental labs are eligible to install MSDNAA software on their personal computers for non-commercial use. The license amendment defines "Staff" as "any personnel duly engaged by the Qualified Educational User to teach or instruct Students and/or to conduct non-commercial research or other development related activities on behalf of Qualified Educational User."
Q. How do I archive newsgroups in Outlook Express/Windows Mail?
A. You can save a copy of the '*.dbx' files that store the newsgroup messages. To determine where the files are stored, simply right-click thenewsgroup folder and select Properties.
Please see the previous question if you simply want to prevent Outlook Express/Windows Mail from deleting your old newsgroup messages.
Q. How do I secure lab machines to prevent the installation of software?
A. For departmental labs, you could secure those machines by disabling the option to boot from optical drives, external drives and USB devices in the BIOS and lock down NTFS file permissions onWindows machines so that students cannot write to the hard drive. In addition, you can utilize system policies to further lock down the machines, such as restrict access to the Registry Editor and the control panel.
Please visit Microsoft TechNet for more information on administering and securing systems.
Q. Where do I find information on Windows system policies?
A. The Windows Resource Kit documentation contains a thorough reference on the system policies available through the Group Policy Editor. This reference is available to MSDNAA members through the MSDN Library reference. In the table of contents, please look under the Resource Kits section. There is an appendix under Windows Resource Kit Reference in which you will find Windows Group Policy Reference materials.
The Resource Kits offer a wealth of information on setting up, configuring, and administering Windows and other Microsoft products. The MSDN Library includes most of the Resource Kits.
Q. Where can I obtain information on known security issues?
A. Microsoft is committed to doing everything possible to make certain that every customer can work, communicate, and do business securely over the Internet. The Microsoft Security Web site provides the latest information on known security issues and how to properly secure your systems. Patches, checklists, and much more are available at the Microsoft Security Web site.
Q. Where can I find information on common technical questions and issues?
A. Microsoft Help and Support Services maintains a vast Knowledge Base of articles on common questions and issues with Microsoft products. We encourage you to do a quick search of the Knowledge Base by keyword before seeking technical support. Often, you will find that other people have experienced similar issues or have had roughly the same question.
Q. Where can I obtain answers to other technical questions?
A. Please post your questions to the MSDNAA support newsgroup for faculty members. We visit the newsgroups frequently, and we will respond to your inquiry as quickly as we can. In addition, MSDNAA members have access to the MSDN Subscriber newsgroups, which are monitored by Microsoft Product Support Services technicians.
Q. Can the Visual Studio Academic Faculty and Student tools be installed on other editions of Visual Studio?
A. Yes, the Faculty and Student tools are supported on Visual Studio Professional, Enterprise and Enterprise Architect. However, they are not supported on the Standard edition or on trial editions of Visual Studio.
Q. What is a debug/checked build of Windows?
A. A debug/checked build contains binaries with additional debug information, assertions, trace messages, and no compiler optimizations. This version is only meant to be used to debug your applications or diagnose system problems, often with a kernel debugger. It is not meant for normal use since it is substantially slower than the retail builds.
Q. What are ISO image files and how do I use them?
A. Many products are posted as ISO-9660 image files. An ISO-9660 image file is an exact representation of a CD or DVD, including the content and the logical format. The most common use of an image file is to write it to a blank CD-R or DVD-R, resulting in an identical copy of the original disc including file name and volume label information. ISO image files may also be opened and their contents copied to a local folder, much like ZIP files. ISO files may also be virtually mounted and accessed as a device. These three methods of using ISO images are described below. Note: You may have to rename the file extension from .IMG or .UDF to .ISO, depending on your software.
- Writing ISO files to CD-R or DVD-R
- Most CD-R/DVD-R writing software includes a feature to create a disc from an image file. Note: you must use the special "copy image to CD" or "burn image" functionality. See your software’s Help for detailed information.
- The Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit includes the DVDBURN.EXE command line tool.
- Testing CD-Rs and DVD-Rs
After a CD/DVD-R has been written, you can use the CRC tool to verify that the file was successfully written. - The CRC305.exe tool can be downloaded from MSDN Subscriber Downloads in the Tools, SDKs, DDKs folder.
- From a command prompt, run CRC305 filename (where filename is the image file name).
- Run CRC305 x (where x is the drive letter of the drive containing the CD/DVD-R). The CRC values should match.
Alternatively, there are many freeware programs available for calculating an SHA-1 hash value that is provided on each download page on MSDN Subscriber Downloads. Use your favorite Internet search engine to look for sha1 hash to find them.
- Copying the contents of ISO files
The contents of image files may be accessed directly using third-party tools. Using this method you can extract the files from an image file to a temporary folder on your hard drive, then run setup. The following tools offer such image file support:
The products listed above have been known to work. Other products that can manipulate ISO files may work, but have not been tested.