Find a User in Active Directory or Reset Password – Command Line

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Find a user in Active Directory using Command Line

dsquery user -name “jdoe”

 

Reset a user’s password

dsmod user “CN=John Doe,OU=Users,DC=domain,DC=com” -pwd NewPass123 -mustchpwd yes

How to register and unregister a VM in vmware esxi using cmd

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You can unregister a VM from ESXi directly using ESXi Host Shell / SSH (vim-cmd), vCenter will update automatically.

  1. List VMs:

              vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms

Note the VMID.

  1. Unregister the VM:

vim-cmd vmsvc/unregister <VMID>

  1. Register:

              vim-cmd solo/register /vmfs/volumes/<datastore>/<vmname>/<vmname>.vmx

              You will need to know the datastore and VM names.

How to Lock Windows Computer from Command Line

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In command line type:

rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation

That will lock Windows.

How to reset Office 365 licenses on MAC – macOS

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How to reset Office 365 licenses on MAC/MAC OS

Download Outlook Reset Tool, and choose to reset License info
https://office-reset.com

Then run Terminal on the MAC and type the following command

defaults write com.microsoft.Word ResetOneAuthCreds -bool YES

Adding Microsoft Account on Entra Joined Computer to Local Admin Groups

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If you have a Microsoft account logged in to a Windows machine that’s also joined to Microsoft Azure/Entra, and you want to add that Microsoft Account to the local Administrators group on that computer, here’s how to do it:

Make sure you are logged in in to the Windows machine with the Microsoft account.
Run command line as Admin (you would need to know an admin credentials on the machine like a local admin).
Type:
WhoAmI

That should show you the full path of your account (something like AzureAD\SomeUsername)

In command like type the following:

net localgroup administrators AzureAD\SomeUsername /add

How to update/upgrade VMware vSphere ESXi from zip file

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We performed an upgrade from version 6.7 directly to 8.0.3 in a single step on a Dell PowerEdge server. The same process was also successfully used to update vSphere 8.0.2 (Build XXXX) to 8.0.3 (Build XXXX).

Typically, every six months or so we reach out to Dell Enterprise Support, as Dell is the vendor for the servers we manage. This collaboration ensures that all systems are up to date with the latest drivers, BIOS, and firmware. Prior to applying any VMware updates, we always verify compatibility between the new ESXi versions and the underlying hardware.

STEPS:

Find the appropriate Dell customized zip file from VMware/Broadcom support site and download.

Read the Release Notes.

Download the 8.0.3 build xxxx zip file into your PC.

Connect to the host running ESXi via a browser (usually we connect to host not vCenter)

Browse the Data Store.

Create a folder on Data Store to upload the zip file to, and upload it.

Enable SSH to the host from the host itself or through vCenter.

Shutdown all VMs running on host.

Place the host in Maintenance Mode.

SSH to host and login using root.

Type:

CD /

Now suppose the name and location of the uploaded zip file is:

vmfs/volumes/SAN1-Vol01/Updates/VMware-VMvisor-Installer-8.0.0.update03-24022510.x86_64-Dell_Customized-A00.zip

In the past, we used the vmware images not the customized vendor/Dell images to update, and with that the command to update would look like the following:

esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/SAN1-Vol01/Updates/VMware-VMvisor-Installer-8.0.0.update03-24022510.x86_64-Dell_Customized-A00.zip

But when we tried it with 8.0.3 while using the Dell customized image, we got the following error:

ESXi version change is not allowed using esxcli software vib commands.  Please use a supported method to upgrade ESXi.   

We had to use a different command that included what is called the profile name stored inside the zip file instead of using vib .

To find out the name of the profile you would type:

esxcli software sources profile list -d /vmfs/volumes/SAN1-Vol01/Updates/VMware-VMvisor-Installer-8.0.0.update03-24022510.x86_64-Dell_Customized-A00.zip

Suppose the name of the profile listed is:

DEL-ESXi_803.24022510-A00

The you would type the following to update:

esxcli software profile update -p DEL-ESXi_803.24022510-A00
—depot=/vmfs/volumes/SAN1-Vol01/Updates/VMware-VMvisor-Ins..A00.zip

There are two dashes “-” above right before the “depot=” but they may appear as one in this browser session.

After it is finished, scroll up and make sure it says that the update was successful and you need to reboot.

Reboot, and once fully up, take out the host of Maintenance Mode and start the VMs.  Stop SSH for security purposes.

Consult VMware and Dell support on your update

 

Office / Outlook 365 Authentication Couldn’t Be Completed, Blank page

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We’ve encountered difficulties with Office 365 functionality on macOS systems.

When attempting to configure Outlook with Office 365, users encountered the following error message after entering their email address:

“Connecting to Office 365

Authentication Couldn’t be Completed

Try Again”

Moreover, even after successful configuration, Outlook failed to receive emails, accompanied by sporadic pop-up windows that quickly closed. Attempts to launch other Office 365 applications such as Word and Excel resulted in blank, white windows.

In our troubleshooting efforts, we undertook several steps:

– Removed and recreated Outlook profiles
– Deleted credentials stored in the Keychain
– Updated the macOS to the latest version

Despite these efforts, the issue persisted. However, when testing the macOS devices outside the office network (e.g., at home or over a hotspot), all Office 365 functionalities worked seamlessly.

Our preliminary conclusion is that the issue stems from the office network environment. We intend to investigate the SonicWall firewall settings and the DHCP server, focusing on potential IPv6-related issues that may be causing the disruption.

This investigation is ongoing, and further updates will follow.

How to White-list a domain/email in Office 365

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Login to the Office 365 and go to the antispam section.  Direct link:

https://security.microsoft.com/antispam

Edit the “Anti-spam Inbound Policy (Default)”

Scroll domain and you should find the a section for allowed domains to enter.

Windows 11 Button/Option Missing from Settings Page

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If your Windows Updates option/button is missing from the Settings page of Windows 11, check the following Reg_SZ (SettingsPageVisibility), if exists delete.  Close and Re-open Settings.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

SettingsPageVisibility —-> Value —-> REG_SZ hide:windowsupdate

 

Recovery is trying to change system settings. No Administrator Found

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I was trying to enable an extension on a Mac, but the system prompted me to boot into Recovery mode, go to System Security settings, and enable it from there.

The Mac is managed through Jamf. I logged in using the username First.Last, then authenticated to Azure/Office 365 with First.Last@Domain.com and my password. When I went to System Settings > Privacy & Security to enable the Egnyte extension, I received a message saying the computer needed to be restarted.

After shutting down the Mac, I held the power button until I reached the Recovery screen, selected Options, and provided the disk encryption recovery key (I don’t recall the exact order of steps). From the top menu, I selected System Security, attempted to reduce security, and enable Kernel extensions. At that point, I got the following message:

“Recovery is trying to change system settings. No Administrator Found.”

Then another message appeared:

“Biometric accessory is not connected.”

To work around the issue, I shut down the Mac, turned it back on, and waited for the login screen. This time, instead of logging in with the Azure/Office 365 account, I selected the option to Log in Locally and used the local admin account we had created on the Mac. From there, I shut down the Mac again, held the power button to enter Recovery, and repeated the process. This time, I was able to make the necessary security changes in Recovery mode.