Create 3TB virtual drive for virtualbox

You can not use the GUI to accomplish this, but you can with the command line like:

vboxmanage createhd --filename 3TB.vdi --size 3000000 --format VDI --variant Standard

how to create fix disk:

Change this

--variant Fixed

♠Windows 10 Edge can’t be opened using the built-in administrator account♣

With the release of Windows 10 today, many are spinning up VMs and loading the new workstation on test boxes to take a look at the final build version.  If you are like me, one of the first things I wanted to test drive was the final release build of the Edge browswer.  Quickly however, I ran into an issue (security feature) out of the box with the built-in administrator account attempting to launch Edge.  I received the error Microsoft Edge can’t be opened using the Built-in Administrator account.  Sign in with a different account and try again.


Microsoft has went the direction of making the Edge browser a true app now and additional security is in place much like the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security that we have grown to love and hate.
In order to get around this message in your test environment and be able to use your Built-in Administrator account to navigate Edge, follow the following steps to get up and running.

• Navigate to your local security policy on your Windows 10 workstation – You can do this by typing secpol.msc at a search/run/command prompt.
• Under Local Policies/Security Options navigate to “User Account Control Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account“
• Set the policy to Enabled

 


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

• Create a DWORD value if it doesn’t already exist called FilterAdministratorToken
• Set Value To: 1

Next we need to navigate to the registry and make an additional change:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\UIPI\
• Change the Default string key to 0x00000001(1)

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Over on the right-hand side, you should see a setting for EnableLUA, which you’ll want to customize as follows:

• Change EnableLUA
• Set Value To: 1

OPERATION COULD NOT BE COMPLETED (ERROR 0X00000709) DOUBLE CHECK THE PRINTER NAME AND MAKE SURE THAT THE PRINTER IS CONNECTED TO THE NETWORK

PROBLEM:

You will get the following error when you are trying to set your printer as default

“Operation could not be completed (error 0x00000709) Double check the printer name and make sure that the printer is connected to the network”



SOLUTION:

Open Registry editor by typing REGEDIT in the RUN Prompt

Traverse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows

Right Click the Windows key and click Permissions…

Select Allow on Full Control permission and click OK

Close the Registry Editor and restart the machine.

♠Change the Remote Desktop Connection port to your Windows♠

The instructions below apply to machines under Windows=> xp, 7, 8, 8.1, 10,   Server 2012, 2008 R2, 2008, and 2003. Follow these steps:

1. Connect to your server via Remote Desktop
2. Click simultaneously on the Windows logo + R to open the “Run” dialog and execute the “cmd” command
3. Open the registry editor by typing the “regedit” command
4.  Search for this registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TerminalServer\WinStations\RDP-Tcp\PortNumber
5. Double-click or right-click on the “PortNumber” registry subkey, select the decimal base and type the port number of your choice (the default port is 3389, in this example, we selected port 3390). Click on “Ok” to save your selection.
6. IMPORTANT: Make sure that remote access to your server through the new port is authorized in your Windows firewall before executing the next step.
7. Exit the registry editor
8. Restart your server

After the reboot, specify the Remote Desktop port number.

@Configure the RemoteApp Host (Server)@

WORKS ONLY=> Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows Server

Configure the RemoteApp Host

When configuring the host, I’ve been using been using a 1-to-1 setup, I haven’t tested this with pooled virtual desktops yet.
To enable RemoteApp on the host, install the hotfix, then configure the TsAppAllowList key in the registry. In this example, I’ve configured the required entries for running Calculator. Here’s a listing of the registry values I added with the pertinent values highlighted.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\TSAppAllowList] "fDisabledAllowList"=dword:00000001 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\TSAppAllowList\Applications\calc] "CommandLineSetting"=dword:00000000 "RequiredCommandLine"="" "IconIndex"=dword:00000000 "IconPath"="%windir%\\system32\\calc.exe" "Path"="C:\\Windows\\system32\\calc.exe" "VPath"="%SYSTEMDRIVE%\\Windows\\system32\\calc.exe" "ShowInTSWA"=dword:00000001 "Name"="Calculator" "SecurityDescriptor"=""

The simplest method of discovering the required registry keys for each RemoteApp entry is to configure the applications on Windows XP Mode or Windows Server 2008 running Remote Desktop Services.

Creating RemoteApp Connections

I’ve originally based the .RDP file on those created by the RemoteApp Manager in Windows Server. There is documentation on TechNet on how to configure RemoteApp programs and creating the .RDP file for each application here: Configuring RemoteApp Programs.
The important entries for connecting to Windows XP and Windows Vista, that you may need to add manually, are disableremoteappcapscheck (set to 1) and alternate shell (set to rdpinit.exe). These were the only additional entries I need to add the .RDP file to get this working. DisableRemoteAppCapsCheck fixes the ‘remote computer does not support RemoteApp’ error, and Alternate Shell makes sure you actually get a published application and not a remote desktop.
An .RDP file to connect to a RemoteApp program then looks like this (the added lines are highlighted):

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

redirectclipboard:i:1 redirectposdevices:i:0 redirectprinters:i:1 redirectcomports:i:1 redirectsmartcards:i:1 devicestoredirect:s:* drivestoredirect:s:* redirectdrives:i:1 session bpp:i:32 prompt for credentials on client:i:1 span monitors:i:1 use multimon:i:1 remoteapplicationmode:i:1 server port:i:3389 allow font smoothing:i:1 promptcredentialonce:i:0 authentication level:i:2 full address:s:winxp1.domain.local remoteapplicationprogram:s:||calc remoteapplicationname:s:calculator remoteapplicationcmdline:s: alternate full address:s:winxp1.domain.local disableremoteappcapscheck:i:1 alternate shell:s:rdpinit.exe screen mode id:i:2 winposstr:s:0,3,0,0,800,600 compression:i:1 keyboardhook:i:2 audiocapturemode:i:0 videoplaybackmode:i:1 connection type:i:2 displayconnectionbar:i:1 disable wallpaper:i:1 allow desktop composition:i:0 disable full window drag:i:1 disable menu anims:i:1 disable themes:i:0 disable cursor setting:i:0 bitmapcachepersistenable:i:1 audiomode:i:0 redirectdirectx:i:1 autoreconnection enabled:i:1 prompt for credentials:i:0 negotiate security layer:i:1 remoteapplicationicon:s: shell working directory:s: gatewayhostname:s: gatewayusagemethod:i:4 gatewaycredentialssource:i:4 gatewayprofileusagemethod:i:0 use redirection server name:i:0

RemoteApp in Action

When launching the RemoteApp program, the UI isn’t quite as seamless as you get with the XenApp client. You will first see a warning prompt if the .RDP file is not signed, and then a dialog box while the client connects:

If the RemoteApp host is Windows XP, the user will be required to click the Details button to see the remote login dialog box and enter their credentials:

If the client is Windows XP or above and the host is Windows Vista or above, you can configurecredential pass-through (single sign-on) to make connecting seamless. You must first enable CredSSP on Windows XP SP3 clients. Pass-through won’t work for Windows XP hosts – although you may be able to save the username and password in the .RDP file instead.
So finally with all of the pieces in place, here’s what you’ll see with applications running via RemoteApp. In this screenshot I have Calculator running remotely from Windows XP and Windows Vista next to the local version.

One thing to note is that the remote applications are all group together on the taskbar; in this screenshot, the two remote Calculators are grouped with Remote Desktop Connection – users’ won’t see separate remote buttons as you get in competing products.

♦ Mklink command: Create symbolic links in Windows 7 ♠

I frequently use symbolic links on Linux, but I rarely use them on Windows 7. However, creating symlinks in Windows 7 is really easy via mklink. Here’s the syntax and a simple example.

Tip: When using the mklink command, never forget the quotes. Also, deleting the symlinks via the Windows Explorer works, you’re not deleting the actual folder

Mklink Example

Enter mklink /J "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\audiosurf" "D:\audiosurf"
In this example I create a directory junction in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\audiosurf that points to the actual game folder D:\audiosurf

Mklink Command Syntax

MKLINK has 3 options /D, /H and /J. You also need to specify the path to the new symbolic link and the path to the original file or directory.

The Syntax:
/D – used to create symbolic links for directories (d for directory)
/H – used to create hard links (h for hard link)
/J – used to create directory junction (j for junction

What Are Hard Links

Hard links can be defined as “real” links to a file. Windows will treat that link as if it was the original file or directory
Soft links are only shortcuts to a directory, they will not be treated as the real file

What Are Directory Junctions?

A directory junction is basically a hard link (see above) to a directory. We will use this in our example.

When To Use Junction Points vs. Symlinks

Most hard links on Windows will be junction points, but certain programs may only support Symlinks. According to TechNet, symlinks were first introduced for better Linux compatibility (although I fail to see how it is compatible at all). In any case, it is a good idea to first create a junction point and then if that does not work out, create a symlink. Symlinks are also great for relative file links e.g. ..\..\..\..\my-nested-folder

Mklink: Syntax Incorrect

A common mistake of people who are new to creating symlinks is that they forget to add the quotation marks. If you enter a long path and you don’t add the quotation marks to the paths it will output a syntax error, because of the many spaces.
You can either cd to a directory and use relative paths or you can simply add the quotation marks like
mklink /J "path" "path"
If you have any questions how to use mklink or if you need further examples to fully understand it, you may post your request below.

♠How to Fix VirtualBox “UUID already exists” Errors♦

If you’re running VirtualBox on a Windows computer, you’ll probably run into errors from time to time. When I migrated my virtual hard drives from one physical disk to another I ran into a permissions error. Apparently when Virtualbox creates a .vhd (or other format virtual hard drive) it bakes in a universally unique identifier that it uses to recognize VHDs. Normally it doesn’t cause problems, but in this case it prevents duplicates or moved virtual disks from running from an unknown location.
The error looks like this:

“Failed to open the hard disk E:\VirtualBox VMs\Windows 8 \Windows 8 Enterprise2.vhd.
Cannot register the hard disk ‘E:\VirtualBox VMs\Windows 8 \Windows 8 Enterprise2.vhd’ {ca2bdc6a-a487-4e57-9fcd-509d0c31d86d} because a hard disk ‘E:\VirtualBox VMs\Windows 8 Enterprise\Windows 8 Enterprise2.vhd’ with UUID {ca2bdc6a-a487-4e57-9fcd-509d0c31d86d} already exists.
Result Code:
E_INVALIDARG (0x80070057)
Component:
VirtualBox
Interface:
IVirtualBox {3b2f08eb-b810-4715-bee0-bb06b9880ad2}
Callee RC:
VBOX_E_OBJECT_NOT_FOUND (0x80BB0001)”

Oracle has a chapter in the VirtualBox manual that covers UUID problems, which may reveal how to fix this. Or you can just follow the steps below.

How to Reset the UUID

To fix this you’ll need to run some text commands. Open up the Command Prompt. In both Windows 8 and Windows 7 it can be found by typing “cmd” into the Start Menu search box.

Now change the cmd prompt’s directory to the folder you installed VirtualBox in. If you put it in the default the command is this:

cd C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\

Now type in the following command (or copy/paste using right click):

VBOXMANAGE.EXE internalcommands sethduuid “pathtovhdfile”

If everything worked you should see a message saying “UUID change to: …” and then the VirtualBox should work. All fixed!

♦VBoxManage control and manage Virtualbox from command line◘

Introduction
VirtualBox is according to developers:

VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). See “About VirtualBox” for an introduction.

And according to Wikipedia:

Oracle VM VirtualBox is an x86 virtualization software package, originally created by software company innotek GmbH, purchased by Sun Microsystems, and now developed by Oracle Corporation as part of its family of virtualization products. It is installed on an existing host operating system; within this application, additional guest operating systems, each known as a Guest OS, can be loaded and run, each with its own virtual environment.

Supported host operating systems include Linux, Mac OS X, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Solaris, and OpenSolaris; there is also a port to FreeBSD (only OSE version). Supported guest operating systems include a small number NetBSD versions and various versions of Windows, Linux, DragonFlyBSD, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, OS/2 Warp, Solaris, OpenSolaris, Haiku, Syllable, ReactOS, and SkyOS.

From this, we may know that it is a powerful and useful tool, for those trying to test new Operating Systems, or try new configurations on Known Operating Systems. I use it a lot to test new Linux distribution, without the need to install them on my Hard Disk.
Another great use for it, is to have separated servers on the same hardware just to improve security, I mean: Why to have DNS server, FTP server, Web server and all others on the same environment, where an attack to one of these server may compromise all the others, you can install Linux on a good Hardware, and VirtualBox on it, and three or four different virtual machines running Linux to have all those functions mentioned before on different Virtual Machines, thus increasing the security of your configuration.
But, enough talking about this, this will be material of another article, let’s focus on how to manage VirtualBox from the command line, as you usually will do it from the GUI.
List virtual machines from command line
The command we will use for this is VBoxManage and different sub-commands it has, to list the virtual machines installed run:

 VBoxManage list vms

Oracle VM VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.2.12
(C) 2005-2010 Oracle Corporation
All rights reserved.

"win7" {3f157880-c642-4be2-b641-85d7aedb5090}
"msn" {acc458d0-435b-44c7-806d-41c4948bb490}
"itunes" {41238c30-5f05-4fda-b008-5169d69505f6}
"Linux-Mint" {c25e1257-dfed-4789-a22b-8489c4d4df05}
"ubuntu" {fee70808-ab0e-473a-8991-d9b711773672}
"xp" {c75ec9b7-90b2-4f97-9e07-1267a3a03cb1}
"ubuntu-netop" {3d216ab8-3b44-46fd-8738-8c631801176e}
"slackware" {f65d5b26-6491-4523-8c06-970cbe6844d5}
"peppermint" {32b1845f-dd72-4c8a-bfe7-8cc3e83d0109}

-----> "slackware" is your OS UUID <------

If you specify -l then, you will get a detailed information about each one of those.

VBoxManage list vms -l

How to start virtual machines from command line
Now that you know which virtual machines are already installed, let’s see how to start them.

VBoxManage startvm "slackware"

or

VBoxManage startvm f65d5b26-6491-4523-8c06-970cbe6844d5

You can add those commands to your startup scripts, so virtual machines are started when you to boot your primary Linux server.
How to stop a virtual machine from command line
Now we know how to start virtual machines, we need to know how to stop them, there are some options.
Pause the virtual machine
This will just put the virtual machine on hold, until un-paused.

VBoxManage controlvm "slackware" pause

Resume the paused virtual machine

VBoxManage controlvm "slackware" resume

Reset -restart- the virtual machine

VBoxManage controlvm "slackware" reset

This will close the virtual machine, and restart immediately, you unsaved data on the virtual machine will not be saved, and will be lost! you have been warned.
Poweroff or shut down the virtual machine

VBoxManage controlvm "slackware" poweroff

This will poweroff the virtual machine, and once again any unsaved data will be lost.
Stop virtual machine, and save data

VBoxManage controlvm "slackware" savestate

This will save current state of the virtual machine and stop it, I think of this more or less, like hibernate the virtual machine.
Create a new virtual machine
You can also create new virtual machines from command line:

VBoxManage createvm -name "LinuxMint" -register

This create a new virtual machine, with default options.
Change Settings on the virtual machine from command line
Now we have a new virtual machine created, let’s change some of its default settings, like the allocated RAM:

VBoxManage modifyvm "LinuxMint -memory "1024MB"

Check the complete set of parameters
Conclusion
As you can see, VirtualBox is very flexible and fully managed from the command line, so it can be used on a Dedicated server, in a remote data center, and you may have all your virtual machines under control.
I’m not saying this is the best option to go for professional virtualization, but it is certainly a good one, and an easy one too.

♥Hide and Restrict drives or partitions in Windows♥

Today everyone need to hide or secure data from anonymous user. Here, I have three simple tricks to hide and restrict use of drive.

1. Using Group Policy
2. Using Windows Registry Trick
3. Using Disk Management – An easy way

Using Group Policy
1. Run Group Policy: Type gpedit.msc in Run dialog box or in Start Search in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
HIDE DRIVES
2. Now navigate to: Local Computer Policy > User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Explorer. Now look for “Hide these specified drives in My Computer” and double click and set the state “Enabled” and pick one combination to hide specified drives.
NOTE: You can access these drive by typing path or drive letter in Run dialog box or in address bar.
RESTRICT ACCESS
3. It’s same as above but it restrict access instead of hide a specified drive. At the same location in Group Policy look for “Prevent access to drives in My Computer” and double click and set the state “Enabled” and pick one combination to hide specified drives.
NOTE: We can hide and restrict specified drive or combination of drives
Using Windows Registry Trick
1. Its perform the same as above but We can hide or restrict any specified drive or group of drives. Run Registry Editor and Type regedit.exe” in Run dialog box or in Start Search in Windows 7 and Window Vista.
HIDE DRIVES
2. Now navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer and Right click on right side pane and create a new DWORD value and name it NoDrives
3. All drives will be visible as long as its value is set to 0. Now set the value of NoDrives in decimal (make sure you have selected decimal not hexadecimal)
Set the value of NoDrives according to following list.

Drive	Value
A	1
B	2
C	4
D	8
…
…
Z	33554432
All	67108863

To hide multiple drives, just add drives value. For example we want to hide B: and D: drives, the NoDrives value should be 2+8=10. Logoff or restart the system to take effect.
RESTRICT ACCESS
4. Now navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer and Right click on right side pane and create a new DWORD value and name it NoViewOnDrive
5. All drives will be visible as long as its value is set to 0. Now set the value of NoViewOnDrive in decimal (make sure you have selected decimal not hexadecimal)
Set the value of NoViewOnDrive according to following list.

Drive	Value
A	1
B	2
C	4
D	8
…
…
Z	33554432
All	67108863

To restrict multiple drives, just add drives value. For example we want to hide B: and D: drives, the NoViewOnDrive value should be 2+8=10. Logoff or restart the system to take effect.
Using Disk Management – An easy way
It is the simplest way among all three. We can assume that today anyone that have knowledge in Windows Administration; can  remove security. But it’s new and easier. The advantage of this trick is that there is no access via typing path in Run Dialog box or address bar.
1. Run Disk Management: Right click on Computer or My Computer > Manage and navigate to Disk Management and select the drive that to be hide and secured. Right click on specified drive and click on Change Drive Letter and Paths. Here click on “Remove” button and “OK” and then “Yes” to commit changes.
NOTE: No need to Restart or Log off Windows. System partition or contain pagefile of Windows partition can’t be hide and secured.
TO REVERT BACK TO DEFAULTS: REMOVE ALL REG SETTING AND ASSIGN DRIVE LETTER.
Applies To:

• Windows Server 2008 R2
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows 7 Ultimate
• Windows 7 Enterprise
• Windows 7 Professional
• Windows Vista Ultimate
• Windows Vista Enterprise
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows XP Professional
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

♠Mozilla Firefox Blazing Fast♦