SOLVED! Microsoft Live Group Invitation Not Received

I've created a group in Microsoft SkyDrive, with a Group Calendar to share with my friends. In the past, I was able to send an email invitation to others. So users can check their mail, click on a button to join. Just the receivers will receive these invitation to join group in their Junk mail (this is unbelievable enough, Microsoft treated its own mails as "junk"!).

Recently, strange things happens, even in Junk box there's nothing found. The invitation to My Group is really sent, and if I try to send again, it told me that I'm still waiting for the user to reply...

After searching through so many settings at the user side, what I found is that Microsoft HAS CHANGED its way of handling invitations!

Solution: Ask the user to log in their Hotmail/Outlook account, go to People, Manage, View Invitations. There you go! REALLY, MICROSOFT IS UNBELIEVABLE!

Updated Solution:
Ask the user to log in their Hotmail/Outlook account, go to SkyDrive, Groups, View Group Invitation.

SOLVED! - Why Windows Search for Words Only in Filename, not Content of the File

Many Windows 7 users are very confused of the built-in search function on Windows Explorer. At the top right corner of your Windows Explorer is the Windows Search, but why typing a keyword shows only filenames with the keyword!??

For example, when you want to search a keyword like "Mary" in a Microsoft Word document, instead of just typing "Mary", you should type as "content:Mary".

Other filters follow this syntax, such as kind:, type:, datemodified:, size:, etc. Also when available, drop-down list will be shown for your convenience.

However, the found "keyword" is not highlighted as in the case of Google Desktop, which has officially stopped by Google...too bad.

SOLVED - Missing Snipping Tool in Windows 7

Snipping Tool is an easy yet very practical screen capture tool. However, many users of Windows 7 do not even realize its existence.

To access the Snipping Tool, press your Windows button (bottom left corner), type "Snipping" in the "Search programs and files" box. The Snipping Tool shows on list, click on it to run.

Sometimes, though rare, users were not able to search the program. If this happens, you may create a desktop icon link to your C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SnippingTool.exe

Note that Snipping Tool is only available to Windows 7 Home Premium or higher versions.

SOLVED! - Cannot Connect to Local Drive on Terminal Server Session

Copying a remote desktop profile file (.RDP) from one PC to another, may not have the local drives available. The reason is strange enough - Microsoft's .RDP file will even recognize your drive "label". By default, if you haven't set a drive label for your local drive, the display name is "Local Disk". However, problem arises if for example you've set your D: labeled as "Data".

Now, you create a .RDP file and copy this file to another PC, with its local D: having no drive label. A user using your given .RDF to connect terminal will lost his local D:, even though both are connecting to the same terminal server using the same .RDP file with the local resource D: checked.

Solution? Standardize your local drive labels, either leave it blank, or set to the same name. Then, when you want to deploy your .RDP file to all your users, the drive label will always match.

For your interest, a .RDP file is JUST A TEXT FILE!! Open it with your notepad and have a look what's actually happening when you save your remote desktop settings to a .RDP file.

Your start to understand what I want to say... Microsoft...

SOVLED! - Missing "Search Programs and Files" in Windows 7

A very convenient way to start a program and search for files in Windows 7 is by using the "Search programs and files", by clicking on the Windows button (bottom left corner).

In some installations, this valuable feature is gone. To bring it back, do this:

1. Go to Control Panel, Programs and Features
2. Left hand side, click on Turn Windows features on or off
3. From the Windows Feature list, check "Windows Search", press OK.
4. Reboot your computer and the feature is back.

Notes & Tips - Search programs and files
By typing the program or key word, you can quickly access to many important programs, features and tools of Windows. Common programs key word like "command", "management", "manager", "information", "log", etc. are command keywords that many network administrators will use.

Another great use is that when the program is shown on list, you can HOLD Shift + right click on the item to run the program as a different user.

Some programs are not so easy to access without the help of the "Search programs and files", such as the Snipping Tool and Credential Manager. If you type "environment" as the search word, Windows will give you choice of accessing two sets of environment variables.

SOLVED! Outlook Sent Emails Go To Wrong Sent Items Tray

It's very common that an Outlook user will have several email accounts, some of these accounts are shared with work colleagues. When the user sending an email in behalf of a group, team, or department, he will want to have the Sent copy falls into the Sent Items tray under the related account, but not his personal Sent Items tray.

However, for some "unknown" reasons, sometimes users find mails like these will drop into their own Sent Items. That means, your work colleagues sharing the email account will not be able to keep track of these "Sent Out" emails.

To resolve the problem, try this:

• Set the DWORD value of the following registry key to 1:

Outlook 2007   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Preferences\DelegateSentItemsStyle

Outlook 2010   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Preferences\DelegateSentItemsStyle

Close your Outlook and start again. It suppose to be a known issue of Outlook 2007, but sadly carries on unresolved to Outlook 2010.

Reference: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/972148/en-us

SOLVED! HOW TO - Silent Install and Uninstall Google Pinyin

If you know how to type Chinese characters, Google Pinyin Chinese Input Method shouldn't be something new to you.

For network administrator though, a headache is how to deploy such a good Chinese input method to users. Here're the steps & tips on how to silent install and silent uninstall Google Pinyin.

To silent install:

• Download the install executable file from there: http://www.google.com/intl/zh-CN/ime/pinyin/
• Save the file to a network share. 
• Create a batch file to silent install. It could be a very simple command like

          \\server\share\GooglePinyinInstaller.exe /s

• Include this in the login script for your network users, or simply send a shortcut of that batch to your users by email

To silent uninstall:

• Look for the uninstaller file at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google Pinyin 2\GooglePinyinUninstaller.exe" for 64-bit Windows or just "C:\Program Files\Google\Google Pinyin 2\GooglePinyinUninstaller.exe" for 32-bit Windows
• Just copy this file to your network share
• Similar to silent install, make a batch statement, which looks like this

          \\server\share\GooglePinyinUnInstaller.exe /s

• Include this in the login script for your network users, or simply send a shortcut of that batch to your users by email

HOW TO - Choose Your Laptop Computer

With so many choices available, I was often being asked, "I want to buy a laptop computer, what is your suggestion?" In essence, the answer depends on your answers to the following questions:

1. WHY DO YOU NEED A LAPTOP?
2. WHAT APPLICATIONS ARE YOU GOING TO RUN ON YOUR LAPTOP?
3. DO YOU HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS?
4. WHAT IS YOUR BUDGET?

Let's discuss them one by one.

(1) WHY DO YOU NEED A LAPTOP?

Many people looking for a laptop actually already had an old laptop. They are actually looking for an upgrade, a replacement. So, what is your experience with your old laptop? Are you happy with some special features or stylish design of your laptop brand. Different laptop manufacturers build their laptops, often with their unique "signature" features and style. That's why, often times Lenovo users love Lenovo. And, Dell fans love Dell. The opposite is also true, users of a certain brand name may hate a certain thing of that brand and promised not to buy from that brand name again.

Well, this could be very subjective, sometimes even unfair, as manufacturers may have improved their technology and design over time. A loved feature may have become obsolete. Still, your feelings should be respected. I love Lenovo, but I won't insist a Toshiba-lover to change over.

Are you looking for a performance upgrade? You may feel that your old laptop is tooooo slow. You may be surprised that simply buying a new computer may not solve your problem.

Examples:

• It's not uncommon that Windows XP users when upgraded to their new computers running on Windows 7, can't feel much improvement
• If a laptop user tries to run his same applications on a Atom netbook, he's going to suffer a lot

A more scientific way to evaluate a performance upgrade is by comparing the processor speed. Though not precisely accurate, still you get a general idea of what does it mean in performance gain.

Examples:

• Suppose you are currently using a Pentium 4, 1.7 GHz CPU laptop computer, with a CPU benchmark of 202; your upgrade to a laptop with a Core i3 2330M 2.2 GHz CPU, with benchmark 2589, means an upgrade of processing speed about 12 times*

*Note that this DOES NOT mean that your computer will actually faster 12 times. Factors like hard disk drive bottleneck, network bottleneck, software getting more complicated, OS loading more features, etc. will slow down your new machine.

For a list of CPU benchmarks - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

That's also why the different names - a NETBOOK and a LAPTOP. You will find most NETBOOK runs on CPU with processor benchmarks below 1,000. Even an entry level LAPTOP computer has 2 or 3 times higher in processor benchmarking.

What could affect the performance of a laptop? A number of factors, here are some items should look at.

• CPU benchmark (as explained above); not just the "GHz", which is very misleading
• Hard disk type, SSD (Sold State Drive) surely out-performs a SATA disk
• For SATA-disk laptop, check the rotation speed; a 5400 rpm HDD is slower than a 7200 rpm HDD
• Laptop with a separate graphic card generally speaking has higher performance than one with integrated graphic card
• Chipset technology, which may be difficult to compare, but can have a great impact on your system's performance

... to be continued.

HOW TO - Set Permanent Environment Variables in Windows 7

Sometimes, certain programs may need to set and read user or system environment variables. However, the problem is if you just run a batch to set those values, they'll only be available in the command prompt session. We need a way to write permanently the environment variables.

Some may suggest using Power shell scripts, modifying registry, or writing VB codes. However, I found using the built-in command of Windows - the setx command - the easiest and cleanest in doing the job.

Here's what Microsoft said, "[setx] Creates or modifies environment variables in the user or system environment, without requiring programming or scripting. The Setx command also retrieves the values of registry keys and writes them to text files...

...

• Setx provides the only command-line or programmatic way to directly and permanently set system environment values. System environment variables are manually configurable through Control Panel or through a registry editor. The set command, which is internal to the command interpreter (Cmd.exe), sets user environment variables for the current console window only."

Reference:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc755104(v=ws.10).aspx


Setx command applies to Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista and Windows 7, these are platforms very widely used.

The exciting thing of setx is, especially for network administrators, that it supports setting environment variables remotely. Otherwise, you will have to go to each machine and adjust the Environment Variables in the Computer Properties. You may also put these setx commands in your login scripts for your Windows users to run when they logon Windows.

HOW TO - Remove Personal Information from Microsoft Office Documents

Often times, you may want to remove personal information from your Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, etc. This is especially true when you're going to send such a file to someone else, and you don't want to tell people who has prepared the document, or other internal comments, tracking information, template names, even internal email address headers, etc.

In Office 2010 and also 2013, you have a handy tool for sharing files with others without exposing such "confidential" or hidden information in your Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Follow these Steps:

1. Go to "File", select "Info".
2. Look for  "Prepare for Sharing" and the big button "Check for Issues", select "Inspect Document".
3. Check everything and press "Inspect" button.
4. If hidden data (personal information) found, a button named "Remove All" will be available, Press it to remove the hidden data

For more information, check this out:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/remove-hidden-data-and-personal-information-by-inspecting-documents-HA010354329.aspx

For example, Office Starter Word has limitation of certain hidden data will not be able to be removed.