Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE--October 24, 2005

Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE, October 24, 2005, —brought to you by the Windows IT Pro Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site
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FAQs

FAQs

Q. How can I determine the logged-on user's distinguished name (DN)?

A. The simplest way to determine the logged-on user's DN is to query the ADSystemInfo object, as the following sample code and output shows:

Set objSysInfo = CreateObject("ADSystemInfo")strUser = objSysInfo.UserNameWScript.Echo strUser

This code outputs the user's DN. Now that you know the DN, you can fetch the actual object for the user to get additional information (e.g., the email address) as the following example shows:

Set objUser = GetObject("LDAP://" & strUser)WScript.Echo objUser.mail

Q. Can I run Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 32-bit edition on the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003?

A. No, this configuration isn't supported. Remember that 64-bit OSs can't run 32-bit drivers. Exchange 2003 has the Exchange Installable File System (ExIFS) 32-bit driver that runs as a kernel mode driver. You'll need to wait for a 64-bit version of Exchange. Most 32-bit software can run on a 64-bit OS via the Windows on Windows 64 subsystem, which provides an emulated 32-bit environment, but this interoperability doesn't apply to drivers.

Q. Can I use Group Policy to set Power Options?

A. Currently, all Windows platforms store power configurations as part of binary values, which native Group Policy doesn't affect. In the Windows Vista and Longhorn releases, Microsoft has made changes that let you use Group Policy to configure Power Option settings as the figure shows.

An alternative is to use the Group Policy Extensions for Desktops from Quest Software. These extensions supplement the Group Policy capabilities of native Windows to include, among other things, the ability to set Power Options. Visit http://wm.quest.com/products/grouppolicyextensions/features_and_benefits.asp for more information about the extensions./P>

Q. What is the Xinput driver?

A. With the Xbox 360, Microsoft is moving to a common peripheral approach in which the games controller for the Xbox 360 will work on Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later machines. This approach is known as the Microsoft Common Controller Driver model. To enable this functionality, you must install the Xinput driver, which you can download from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0e989b12-576b-42f2-b7c1-2a17ce25188b&DisplayLang=en .

Q. How can I determine the amount of data stored in the registry?

A. Microsoft has a command-line tool called DuReg, which you can download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/dureg-o.asp. You can use DuReg to displays the total size of the registry or just the size of a particular part. Execute the downloaded file to install the application to the %SystemDrive%Program FilesResource Kit folder.

To retrieve the size of the entire registry, use the command with the /a switch, as the following example shows:

C:Program FilesResource Kit>dureg /a

Which will display the following output:Size of HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT : 10259940Size of HKEY_USERS : 2269159Size of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE : 22187727Total Registry data size: 34716826To return the size of only a particular portion of the registry, use the command with the switch that specifies the portion of the registry (/cr for HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, /cu for HKEY_CURRENT_USER, /u for HKEY_USERS, and /lm for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) followed by the subfolder. For example, to determine the size of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion, you use this command:

C:Program FilesResource Kit>dureg /lm    "SOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion"

which will display the following output:Size of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion: 1923887

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