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TechNet Magazine: The Desktop Files rss

All TechNet Magazine Columns

  • The Desktop Files: Network-Booting Windows
    Wes Miller - July 2008
    Explore the history of Remote Installation Services (RIS) and other PXE-related technologies used at Microsoft.

  • The Desktop Files: Security vs. Compliance
    Wes Miller - June 2008
    IT professionals often find themselves with objectives that contradict one another. Take a look at how being compliant often comes at the expense of being less secure.

  • The Desktop Files: Leaving the Administrator Behind
    Wes Miller - May 2008
    Why is everyone running as Administrator? Wes Miller looks at the risks of running as Administrator and explores the benefits of transitioning your users (including yourself) to running as Users.

  • The Desktop Files: Deploying Windows XP with the WAIK
    Wes Miller - April 2008
    The Windows Automated Installation Kit was designed primarily for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. But did you know that it can also help you deploy Windows XP and Windows Server 2003? Here's what you need to know to get started.

  • The Desktop Files: You Can't Be Too Rich or Too Thin
    Wes Miller - March 2008
    Thin clients come and thin clients go, but there always seems to be some scenario that can benefit from them. Today, they're used in kiosks and in environments where Web browsing is all that is needed. Here's a look at how you can repurpose old hardware with a client app to save some money.

  • The Desktop Files: Dual Booting with Windows XP and Windows PE 2.0
    Wes Miller - February 2008
    There are a number of advantages to booting Windows PE 2.0 from the same partition as Windows. Learn how to dual-boot Windows XP and Windows PE 2.0 from the same partition and explore the problems this can solve.

  • The Desktop Files: Shared Computing with Windows SteadyState
    Wes Miller - January 2008
    The new Windows SteadyState toolkit can help you improve security and simplify management of Windows XP systems in a shared-use environment? Take a guided tour to find out how.

  • The Desktop Files: Deploying Windows in a Virtual World
    Wes Miller - December 2007
    Thinking about virtualization? If not, you should be. Find out what you need to know to deploy virtual systems, what to avoid, and how virtualization works under the covers.

  • The Desktop Files: The Truth about Defragmentation
    Wes Miller - November 2007
    Myths about the pitfalls of defragmentation have prevented many an administrator from performing this important maintenance task. Find out which problems are real, which ones are unlikely, and how you can avoid them.

  • The Desktop Files: The Power User's Guide to WIM and ImageX
    Wes Miller - October 2007
    Dive into ImageX, finding out about changes for Windows Server 2008 and the right way to use command switches when creating or updating WIM files.

  • The Desktop Files: PC Recovery with Windows PE
    Wes Miller - September 2007
    Windows Vista offers some valuable tools that make system recovery quite easy. But for large, diversified organizations, out-of-the box solutions don’t usually work. If you’re in a large company that needs to build customized self-recovery solutions, don’t miss this discussion about building your own recovery solution with Windows PE.

  • The Desktop Files: Getting to Know RDP
    Wes Miller - August 2007
    The Remote Desktop Protocol, which allows you to access machines remotely, is a useful piece of technology that gets better with every version of Windows. Get an overview of Remote Desktop, looking at many of the benefits and limitations it has to offer.

  • The Desktop Files: The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack
    Wes Miller - July 2007
    Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack brings together a number of valuable utilities that Microsoft has recently acquired—and one that was built internally. Explore all of its components and see how they can save your IT department a lot of time.

  • The Desktop Files: How Not to Lose Your Data
    Wes Miller - June 2007
    It’s surprising how often important data is lost. But the reality is that information is lost because people fail to protect it. Explore the important steps you can and must take to secure your organization's data.

  • The Desktop Files: Revisiting Windows Deployment Services
    Wes Miller - May 2007
    Get an update on Windows Deployment Services, or WDS, which will ship with Windows Server "Longhorn," and get answers to some frequently asked questions pertaining to ImageX, WDS, and Windows PE.

  • The Desktop Files: When I’m x64
    Wes Miller - April 2007
    Take a look at an implementation of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 on x64 systems, examining some of the deployment benefits and hurdles you can expect to run into. And get familiar with Windows Vista x64 support, migration, and deployment.

  • The Desktop Files: PsTools Primer
    Wes Miller - March 2007
    PsTools provides a gaggle of useful utilities for system administration. Explore all the tools this free suite has to offer and learn how you can use them to do everything from changing a user account password and viewing a user's SID to gathering system information and managing processes.

  • The Desktop Files: Extending Windows PE
    Wes Miller - February 2007

  • The Desktop Files: Windows Automated Installation Kit
    Wes Miller - January 2007

  • The Desktop Files: Inside the Windows Imaging Format
    Wes Miller - December 2006
    With the release of Windows Vista comes a change in how Windows is installed and deployed. These changes are built around the new Windows Imaging Format (WIM). Here’s an overview of the new format, how it works, and the decisions that went into its design.