SharePoint Product updates are now part of Windows updates

Uhh.. I am not liking it. Why SharePoint product should be a part of Windows Updates? Windows is Operating System, SharePoint is a product from Microsoft. I am not sure how they merge the updates into one. I think this way because, consider below scenarios:

1. I have enabled the auto updates on my server and enabled the scheduled updates installed at some specific time. Now, along with Windows updates, all my SharePoint Patches also installed. But, if I am on FARM then I have to make sure the patches are installed in all servers in the FARM.. It's a big dependency. 
2. Now, if all servers installed the SharePoint updates/patches then we have to make sure the PSConfig should be run in all SharePoint Servers. 

The only advantage I see is, the updates install automatically and my SharePoint server is upto date. But, this will not impress me anywhere. If needed I can download and install on servers I needed as a Product upgrade. 

I am not a fan for this new decision they have made. Make sure to turn off Windows updates automatically option on Windows Servers where SharePoint installed and run the updates when only you really need to. 

And starting this February 2015 CU they are part of Windows Updates. So, you might already got the updates. Please check once your Windows Updates. 

How to get the files from GAC in Windows

This is what I think about since I started working on Windows. I don't know how to see the Windows GAC files and get them for other use. For example, sometimes I deploy the files to GAC location and then want to move the same dll to some other server. But, as usual, the original files missed from the file system. The only location I can get them is GAC. But, don't know how to get the files from GAC. This is a big question and resolved my my colleague Phani recently. I was surprised and felt very happy after the resolution he found and now I am utilizing it very efficiently.
There is a command available in Windows for doing the task. "subst".

The command will create a virtual folder of all GAC files to a separate drive. Below is the syntax:

subst Z: C:\windows\Assembly

When you go to the my computer you will find a new drive under the regular drives. Just go inside and you can see all the GAC files. The folder GAC_MSIL is what your all files reside in. Copy the dll's you needed and paste them in some safe location for backup.

To remove the Z drive from machine, then use below command.

subst Z: /D

All credits goes to Phani and take a look at this post from him for more information. Enjoy some nice tips and rare findings from the blog.

How to know what process is using which port in windows

I believe this is going to be a very helpful post to most of the readers. So many times I need to know about this. This is a great tip to resolve so many problems. So, it is one of my hot tips for identifying the problems.

We usually install third party software like Skype, TeamViewer etc. in the windows OS, then they will default take some port numbers available. Then there are chances they will create some problem as explained below. [This is why we need to take care of installing software on the servers or production machines. We should install if and only if we really need them. :)] Below is the complete scenario.

Hardware virtualization check in WINDOWS – How to

Today at my work, I want to install VPC for Windows server 2008 64-bit. I don’t have any idea on how to install WS 2008 on VPC, because VPC by itself won’t support. It need Hyper-V installed on the server. So, googled and found some good free tools or utilities to check the hardware compatibility for the virtualization. Below are the tools used to find them out in simple way.

1. SecureAble: It is a simple tool which is really very light weight and shows us the system bit version, Hardware D.E.P support and hardware virtualization support. Download it here.

2. Cpu-z [CPUID]: which gives you complete hardware details. Download it here.

Check them to test your hardware.

I think, now you got to know how to check hardware compatibility for virtualization.