APC Smart-UPS Discharge Status “Reset”

For anyone that has encountered an APC Smart-UPS that has continued to show the battery status as “discharged”, along with the batt lights continuously flashing after replacing what you thought to be a bad battery, you will want to try the following before changing the battery out next time, or even after installing the new battery.

Let’s start by confirming you are using one of the following serial cables

• pn 940-0024
• pn 940-1524
  

Confirm and install HyperTerminal if necessary, then follow the steps below.

1. Close PowerChute and stop both APC services.
   
• APC PBE Agent
• APC BPE Server
  
2. Open a terminal session using the following settings.
   
• Name your new connection. (ie. APC Reset, etc.)
• Select the correct COM port you are connected to.
• Bits per second: 2400
• Data bits: 8
• Parity: None
• Stop bits: 1
• Flow control: None
  
  
  
3. Once connected, press shift + y (should return “SM”)
   
   
   
4. Press 1, wait 2 seconds and press 1 again, you should see “PROG”
   
   
   
5. Press 0, which will return the current value. (ie. B3, 29, etc.) Write this value down just in case something goes wrong.
   
   
   
6. If the value returned is not equal to “AF”, press the “+” key to cycle through until you reach the “AF” value, then press Shift + r, and disconnect.
   
7. Reconnect, press Shift + y, then press 1, wait 2 seconds and press 1 again, now press 0 and confirm the value is “AF”, then press Shift +r, disconnect and close the hyperterminal session.
   
8. You should see the lights on the front of the APC stay solid, and return to normal (no flashing for the batt).
   
9. Start both services,
   
• APC PBE Agent
• APC BPE Server
  
10. Open PowerChute and refresh your configured Smart-UPS, under properties, in the Battery Status option, confirm your battery status is normal.

 

If you are unable to connect to the UPS, check the serial cable you are using, it may not be a smart cable.

Regards,
Joe

Check Authentication Server

Here are two of the methods I use for checking which server authenticated you. I’m sure these will come in handy for others as well..

Method 1:

Open a CMD prompt and type the following: set l

Method 2:

Got to START, RUN, type in %logonserver% and hit OK.

This will open an explorer window to the authentication server.

Regards,
Joe

Audio Driver for DELL Optiplex GX620

For many others that have been upgrading older systems to Windows 7 x64, and found an issue early on with the soundmax 198x audio driver, you’re not alone. The GX620’s still make up a large part of my organizations inventory and are still great Win 7 machines, with 4gb ram upgrades.

If Microsoft Update does not automatically find and install a driver for you, you can go directly to the Microsoft Update Catalog site and search for SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio, where you will easily find the driver you need.

I have also come across the R228255 (release date: 11/2/2009, version 6.10.1.7250, A08) audio driver from DELL’s support site HERE, which also works. If you are maintaining a deployment using MDT 2010, or WDS, you will want to download the driver, extract it and incorporate it into your deployment, so that the drivers are merged into your deployment WIM.

Regards,
Joe

Verizon DSL Westell Modem/Router

Recently I helped someone setup their new Westell modem and encountered an issue with the modem just not connecting to the web. After checking the configuration and power cycling with no resolve. I placed call into tech support that quickly advised that the modem needs to be enabled.

From your web browser on the machine connected to the modem directly enter the following (in bold), then simply click on the Disable button on that page, then power cycle the modem and it will then be online.

192.168.1.1/verizon/redirect.htm

Would be great for them to include this in the quick setup document that explains how to access the modem’s web console. Maybe they just want to hear the sound of our sweet voices..

I hope this helps someone else from having to call tech support to get their modem working.

Regards,
Joe

Google Earth

For most organizations Google Earth is a regular part of their users toolbox. From an administrator’s stand point Google Earth has always been one of those challenging applications that requires previous versions to be uninstalled before installing new versions.

There are many ways to obtain installed software's GUID keys which can be used for removal. I will write something about how I obtain the GUID’s for all installed applications in another post. For now let’s focus on GE.

The simplest way to gather your currently installed Google Earth GUID is to simply go into your local machines Start > All Programs > Google Earth folder then right click on the “Uninstall Google Earth” link and go into properties.

In the target box you will find your current version’s GUID key, which can easily be copied.

After you have obtained your currently installed version’s specific GUID key. Now you can prepare a simple batch file using the msiexec command to silently uninstall the application.

Below is an example to remove Google Earth version 5.0.

msiexec /x{C2D129C0-7508-11DF-9F1B-005056806466} /quiet

Now you have a better idea of how to silently remove GE, let’s look at how to silently install GE. You will want to download and install 7-Zip, this is a freeware app that will allow you to extract the contents of the Google Earth executable. After you have extracted the contents of the “GoogleEarthSetup.exe” to a shared folder accessible by all your clients.

Below is an example to silently install GE version 6. (You can install other versions using the same method)

msiexec /i"\\servername\share\GE6\content\Google Earth.msi" /qn /qb

Here is an example of a simple batch file that will first uninstall the previous version 5.0, then install the new version 6.0 of Google Earth. It’s a great idea to use the “start /wait” to ensure that the task completes before moving onto the next line in the batch file.

@echo off

rem uninstalling GE 5.0

start /wait msiexec /x{C2D129C0-7508-11DF-9F1B-005056806466} /quiet

rem installing GE 6.0

start /wait msiexec /i"\\servername\share\GE6\content\Google Earth.msi" /qn /qb

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, and I hope this info helps others.

Regards,
Joseph La Placa Jr

.NET Framework 4.0 Silent Batch Methods

Here are simple to the point methods, that will allow you to install, repair and remove the .Net Framework 4.0. My examples are specific to the latest 4.0, but can be used for previous versions as well, with minor changes.
Below are a few of the command switches I used in my scripts.
/passive = Sets passive mode; displays the progress bar to indicate that installation is in progress, but does not display any prompts or error messages to the user.

/LCID = Installs the language pack specified by LCID and forces the displayed UI to be shown in that language.
/norestart = Prevents the Setup program from rebooting automatically.
Below are examples of how to Install, Repair & Remove .NET 4.0. These can be easily modified and incorporated into any batch file.
Silent unattended installation:It’s important to include “” if there are spaces in your file path.
It is recommended to reboot the system, but for my application the reboot is handled manually and bypassed during initial setup.

“\\server\share\dotNetFx40_Full_setup.exe" /passive /norestart /LCID 1033

Silent Repair:

"%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\SetupCache\Extended\setup.exe" /repair /x86 /x64 /ia64 /parameterfolder Extended /passive /norestart

"%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\SetupCache\Client\setup.exe" /repair /x86 /x64 /parameterfolder Client /passive /norestart

Silent Removal:

"%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\SetupCache\Extended\setup.exe" /uninstall /x86 /x64 /ia64 /parameterfolder Extended /passive /norestart

"%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\SetupCache\Client\setup.exe" /uninstall /x86 /x64 /parameterfolder Client /passive /norestart

The above code can be easily incorporated into a batch file, logon script, or gpo. I hope this helps others without the need to decipher anything. If you found this helpful, please follow me.

Regards,
Joe La Placa Jr