Enable Disk Clean-up

It seems in Windows Server latest versions the good old disk clean up tool is not enabled by default. If you just want it back you can run the below commands in a command prompt to copy the required files.

Copy C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-cleanmgr_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.16385_none_c9392808773cd7da\cleanmgr.exe C:\Windows\System32\

Copy C:\Windows\winsxs\amd64_microsoft-windows-cleanmgr.resources_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.16385_en-us_b9cb6194b257cc63\cleanmgr.exe.mui C:\Windows\System32\en-US\

Then create a shortcut pointing to the Disk Clean up tool found in the following path.

C:\Windows\System32\CleanMgr.exe

I did try this on Windows Server 2008 R2 and hope it works as it is or with slight changes on other versions of Windows as well.

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Enabling .NET 3.x on Windows 8 and Up

As you may be knowing, now you do not need to separately download and install .Net framework as we used to do with the older .Net frameworks. Since it is coming with Windows, you can just go to “Turn Windows Features On or Off” screen and enable framework you are after. It is simple right?

But in one of the machines it was not that simple for me. The installation tried to download files from Windows Update and was failing mentioning that it cannot get connected to Windows Update when the machine is connected to the internet without any issues.

The solution is to use DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) tool to get it installed.

First you need to find a Windows setup media, a setup DVD or an ISO downloaded will work.

Then use the below command to enable the feature using a local source. Remember to open the Command Window as an Administrator of the machine.

DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3 /All /LimitAccess /Source:E:\Sources\sxs

/Online – Targets the currently active and running OS.

/LimitAccess – If some installation files are missing, this will check Windows Update for the missing files. For not to check use /LimitAccess:True.

/Source – Is the location to find the source files, E: is my virtual drive which I mounted the previously downloaded Windows ISO.

If typed correctly, there will be a progress bar showing the installation progress.

Installing HyperV Integration Services

I think at least some of you might have started using Hyper V.

Did you feel how difficult to move from your Host Operating System (OS) to Guest OS (You have to click some keyboard combinations to move in and out).

To make our life easier you can install HyperV Integration Services to the guest OS.

To install, after starting your virtual machine click on the Action menu and click Insert Integration Services Setup Disk. This will start the installation process. After this finishes you no need to click key sequences to go back and forth among the OSs.

This will also install the required components so that the virtual machine will be able to communicate with local area networks and internet.

Please note that you need to install the Integration Services in each and every virtual machine separately.