The January 2009 issue of TechNet Magazine is now available online. Learn about Identity Lifecycle Manager 2, delve into Group Policy Preferences, get an overview of advanced SQL Server troubleshooting with Extended Events, discover a handy free utility...

In the March 2007 Utility Spotlight column in TechNet Magazine , Jay Munro described SyncToy , a free utility that made it easier to copy and back up files from your computer to the network, external drives, or other computers. Now there’s a new version...

This week, we launched a new feature on the TechNet Magazine Web site.  Every day (Monday through Friday) we'll be posting a new " Tip of the Day ".  Every day a new tip, every month a new topic. This month is a Month of Windows Vista...

Troubleshoot Slow Start Ups with Windows Boot Performance Diagnostics Find out how you can use Windows Boot Performance Diagnostics to identify the source of startup performance problems and automatically fix issues. High Availability Printing with...

"SQL Server DBAs the world over have a problem that never seems to go away: troubleshooting—with the vast majority of troubleshooting being done to find a performance problem of some kind."   In the January 2009 issue of TechNet Magazine...

Troubleshoot Group Policy with GPLogView Learn how you can use this command-line tool to perform Group Policy–related troubleshooting. Manage Volume Shadow Copy Service from the Vssadmin Command-Line Check out the commands you can use to manage...

You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers. Q Our organization's messaging infrastructure is based on Exchange Server 2007. We have a relatively strict message-size limit of 12MB set throughout the organization. We have observed a strange behavior that seems...

The Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack made life easier for lots of IT administrators—or at least it did until Windows Vista was released. Many of the tools just didn’t work with Windows Vista. Now, as Edward Dake describes , the Microsoft...

Are you a long-ti me IT pro of the Windows persuasion, now having to get used to a mixed environment? If so, you may not realize that you can give your Mac users the rights they need on an as-needed basis and improve security at the same time by—somewhat...

Lance Whitney describes the free Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager, a handy utility that can help you and your users easily copy, delete, and backup and restore files from a USB flash drive, as well as perform other useful tasks. Want more free utilities...

Windows Server 2008 takes some of the pain out of terminal services administration through a significantly expanded set of services and capabilities. Of those features, arguably the most significant is terminal server's new ability to deploy individual...

As Howard mentioned over on the MSDN Magazine blog, we're currently in the process of taking a critical look at our Web sites to see how they're being used by our readers, and to see what elements might be improved to make that experience better. ...

One of the most compelling new technologies to come with Windows Server 2008 and Win dows Vista is Group Policy Preferences. GPPs greatly expand what administrators can do with Group Policy, and the great thing is that you don't need to install a new...

Many IT administrators have used Microsoft Office Project to organize at least some of their many projects. Far fewer have implemented Project Server, due to a lack of familiarity, expertise, or simply the time to tackle one more complex installation...

Know the Tools You'll Need to Deploy Windows Vista Do you know what tools you'll need to use to prepare and deploy Windows Vista to systems throughout your environment? Here's an overview of the tools you'll need, and the ones you can forget about. Use...