Jason Yoder, MCT

The Option Explicit statement requires you to declare all variables before they can be used. You must have Option Explicit as the first executable statement in your script. After that, you must use Dim , Private , Public , or ReDim to declare all variables. To novice scripters, this may seem more of a nussance then a helpful tool. Once you begin scripting longer and longer code, you will appricate it. It will help prevent you from accidentally decalring two variables of the same name. Without this statement, you could just declase a variable anywhere. Also, should you mistype the variable later on, an error message will help you locate the problem. Option Explicit will help keep your code clean and organized.

To ensure that your clients are in sync with your domain controllers, you can call this command from a logon script. Net time // servername /set /yes Authentication requires that the system clocks of your clients be within 5 minutes of the system time on your domain controllers. If the deviation occurs on a server, then you may want to consider running this in a batch file as a scheduled task every day. Remember to use an account with the right level of user rights to run this command. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314090

User rights give the user (or group) the ability to perform certain activities on the computer (or other computers). The difference between User Rights and Permissions is this: User rights: · Attached to the user account. · Allow the user to perform actions on the computer (or the network) Permissions: · Determine the level of access a user has to an object in Active Director. · Attached to the object. In Sever 2003, there are 39 different user rights. To get a detailed explanation of each user right and the default members: · Open Local Security Policy (or Default Domain Controller Security Settings) · Expand Local Policy · Right Click User Rights and select Help . · A list of all user rights is listed in the right hand column.

All of us road warriors know, eating healthy is a challenge while we are on the job. This past week my students invited me to a Chinese buffet. I'm very glad that another health conscious member of the group came along. It helped me to resist the temptation of gorging on all that wonderful food. I highly recommend eating 6 times a day. Doing so puts your bodies genetics to work for you. As long as your body thinks that food is plentiful, it will not try to store it as fat. Of course, you cannot eat Mc Donalds 6 times a day. I try to keep fresh fruit with me and eat it during our class breaks. When asked while I am not partaking in the Krispy Kreams, I simply remind them that I am in the military. Usually that is all that I need to say. After work, I usually change into some shorts and go for a run. I try to stay at hotels with a refrigerator and a microwave. That way I can at least do a little cooking for myself and stay out of the restaurants.

The link below will allow you to download the adminpak for Server 2003. You can also get it from your servers at %windir%\system32\adminpak.msi. This does not work for 64 bit systems. Microsoft recommends that you utilize remote desktop for administration for a 64 bit system. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C16AE515-C8F4-47EF-A1E4-A8DCBACFF8E3&displaylang=en

MCTExpert has updated the look and feel of our website. Most notable to potential clients are the student comments scrolling at the bottom of the website. These comments are taken directly from the course evaluations. Also take a look at the classes page to see our new course offerings in Windows Server 2008 and scripting. www.MCTExpert.com

MCTExpert has now added MOC 6419: Configuring, Managing, and Maintaining Windows Server 2008 Servers to our course offerings. 6419 is similar to the popular 2273: Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment. In this class we will explore many of the same skills, but in the context of Server 2008. We will also take a look at some of the new technologies for Server 2008.. For a complete list of all classes offered form MCTExpert, browse to our Classes section on our website.