Clearing the Print Spooler Queue on Windows

If you have a large number of network printers connected to your Windows print server, you may find that the print queue gets stuck from time to time. A stuck job in the print queue prevents other documents from printing. In this case, you should try to remove the stuck print job or clear the print queue completely.

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Disable Local User Accounts in Windows with GPO and PowerShell

Best security practices for Windows domain networks recommend disabling local user accounts on computers and servers in an Active Directory domain. Local users who have administrative permissions on a computer can be a weak point in the security of your network. You can use tools such as Windows LAPS (Local Administrator Password Solution) to set unique, complex passwords for local administrators, or you can use AD Group Policies to completely disable local administrator and user accounts.

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How to Find Your Computer’s Serial Number on Windows

If you need to find the serial number for your computer or laptop, you do not need to look in the documentation or the manufacturer’s label on the case/motherboard. Windows can get your computer’s serial number from the BIOS. To get the serial number from the BIOS, query a specific class in the WMI namespace.

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Outlook Keep Asking for Microsoft Account Password

Outlook may prompt you to enter your Microsoft Account (Office 365) credentials when you try to create a new mail profile or open a configured mailbox. This happens in all modern Outlook 2021/2019/2016 and Outlook Microsoft 365 versions. The fact is that Direct Connect to Office 365 is enabled by default in Outlook. This feature is designed to simplify and speed up the process of connecting to a mailbox hosted on Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online).

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Move Hyper-V VMs Between Hosts Using Live Migration

The Live Migration feature in Hyper-V allows you to migrate a running virtual machine between hosts with almost no downtime. Initially, Live Migration in Hyper-V was only available as part of a Windows failover cluster with CSV shared storage. Starting with Windows Server 2012, Hyper-V Live Migration doesn’t require a cluster and shared storage. To migrate VMs, Hyper-V hosts need to be connected using a fast shared Ethernet network. This type of migration is called a Shared-nothing live migration.

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Expanding Email Distribution Groups (Lists) in Outlook

When you select an Exchange distribution group as a recipient in Outlook, you should see a + sign to the right of the group’s display name. If you click on it, you’ll expand the distribution group and see a list of its members.

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Converting a PowerShell (PS1) Script to an EXE File

A separate *.ps1 extension is used for PowerShell script files. To run PS1 scripts, users must open a PowerShell console, cmd, or code editor (such as PowerShell ISE or VSCode). If you want your users to be able to easily run your PowerShell scripts, you can convert PS1 files to the .exe executable file format.

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