I’m very slowly revising my main web site. The upshot for now is that there is no direct link to my old script library. Many of my Mr. Roboto tools can be found on this page. Until I can finish the upgrade project, you can use this link, http://www.jdhitsolutions.com/scripts.htm to take you directly to the old page. Enjoy.
Tag Archives: BatchFiles
Scripting/SysAdmin Meme
[cross-posted from blog.sapien.com]
I saw that Kirk Munro called me out on on Steven Muraski’s Scripting/SysAdmin meme . Here’s my contribution to the meme.
How old were you when you started using computers?
I probably didn’t start using computers until late in college (which was a very long time ago in computer time.
What was your first machine?
My first computer experiences were with a DEC PDP-11. The first computer I truly owned myself was a Dell Inspiron P200 laptop.
What was the first real script you wrote?
I think it was a DOS 3.3 batch file to backup some files.
What scripting languages have you used?
Batch, KixTart, VBScript, Perl, PowerShell. Do WordPerfect 5.1 macros count?
What was your first professional sysadmin gig?
I worked briefly as a legal assistant which included managing the few office computers and automating a ton of paperwork.
If you knew then what you know now, would have started in IT?
IT was a later career choice that I don’t regret. I’ve met some pretty cool people, traveled and helped people. I like being behind the scenes making things happen.
If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new sysadmins, what would it be?
Never stop reading and learning. You must stay on top of the IT world if you want to keep your job and get ahead. When I had to do tech interviews, I always asked what technical magazines, journals or books they liked to read. It was very clear that the candidate who read nothing was the least likely to be deficient in other areas as well.
What’s the most fun you’ve ever had scripting?
That’s a hard one. I’d have to say I get the biggest bang when I can write something that gets the most amount of work done with the least amount of code. That’s why I love PowerShell.
Who am I calling out?
More CLI One-Liners
In the past I’ve posted a collection of command one-liners that get a ton of work done with (relatively) minimal effort. Many of these have come from Wayne Martin. I’ve been behind in my blogging while book writing, but I wanted to make sure you checked out his latest list at:
http://waynes-world-it.blogspot.com/2008/04/useful-command-lines.html
Technorati Tags: Automation, CLI, FSMO, batch, DSquery, netsh, DHCP, DNS, Active Directory
My Published Works
I’m trying out a new Live Write plugin for Amazon. Here is a list of books I have currently authored or co-authored. This list will continue to grow as I’m working on a new book now about managing Active Directory with PowerShell.
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WSH and VBScript Core: TFM by Jeffery Hicks |
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Windows PowerShell v1.0: TFM, 2nd Edition by Don Jones, Jeffery Hicks |
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Advanced VBScript for Microsoft Windows Administrators (Pro Other) by Don Jones, Jeffery Hicks |
I hope you’ll check them out.
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Wayne’s World of IT
One of my more popular blog entries is the one I did about CMD one-liners. These are little tidbits of commands that can get a lot done. The list came from a reader and I was happy to share. Wayne has now started a blog Wayne’s World of IT which will carry on this theme of command line automation. It’s just getting started but I hope you’ll check it out. Wayne assures me he has a growing list of one-liners to publish.
Technorati Tags: CLI, Batch, Netsh, DSquery, DHCP, Active Directory, Automation
Explore Your World
This week’s Windows Tip Sheet column is about opening an Explorer window from the command prompt. One of my readers sent me an email about using this tip in Vista:
I’m currently running Vista and when I type “explorer.exe /e, %cd%” I get the same results as “explorer.exe /e /root, %cd%”. So is /root really necessary? Wouldn’t it be faster to remove it if you get the same results?
He’s right in that you essentially end up with an Explorer window opened to the current directory. But there is a subtle difference that might matter to you. When you use /root, you should see that folder tree in the left hand pane is “rooted” to the specified folder. When you do it without /root, the folder tree is the full tree showing your computer, network places and the rest.
On my Vista Ultimate laptop, I didn’t really notice any performance difference between using /root or not. It would save you from typing a bit, but I use a batch file anyway.
It boils down to how you intend to use the Explorer window. If you want to easily navigate away from the current folder, then don’t use /root. The command is flexible so do what works for you.
Online Script Library Resources
If you’re like me, you prefer not to re-invent the wheel when working on a scripting solution. You’d prefer to find a script written by someone else that accomplishes the same task(s). You might be tempted to jump immediately to Google or Yahoo. Before you do, let me give you some other online resources you might want to check first.
I encourage you to visit http://www.searchscripting.com when searching for administrative scripts. This site is hand-tuned to crawl sites known to have script collections and other scripting related material. You are very likely to find practical script examples via this site with little effort.
Of course, any search for scripts should begin at the Technet Script Center . You’ll find a wealth of information on all sorts of scripting topics including a substantial script repository. I also encourage you to check out their scripting “hubs” () which organize scripting resources by topics such as Active Directory, Desktops, HTAs, PowerShell, Security and Windows 2003.
Certainly I encourage you to visit the ScriptingAnswers.com Script Vault where you fill find many user submitted scripts organized by topic as well as my own script library.
If none of those resources are sufficient here are additional online script libraries, collections and repositories:
http://www.visualbasicscript.com/forumid_16/tt.htm
http://web2.minasi.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=30
http://www.adminscripteditor.com/scriptlibrary/
http://www.thescriptlibrary.com/
http://www.activexperts.com/activmonitor/windowsmanagement/adminscripts/
http://techtasks.com/code/viewbook/2
http://cwashington.netreach.net/depo/default.asp?topic=repository&ScriptType=vbscript
http://www.rlmueller.net/products.htm
http://www.kouti.com/scripts.htm
If you have a favorite online script library, I hope you’ll share.
Technorati tags: Scripting, PowerShell, VBScript, BatchFiles, WMI, ADSI