TechDiY.net

AutoIt FREE scripting utility

A lot of work done in IT can be scripted.  A lot of work outside of IT can be scripted too, but we will focus on it.  Also, let’s keep it nice: no threats to replace people with scripts.

Anyway, a lot of work can be saved by automating the simple tasks.  This will save you time to focus on the bigger projects.  The best tool I have found to help me script and automate some of the more mundane tasks is AutoIt.  Once the script has been complete and tested, simple drop it into Windows Scheduler (or your own schedule util) and <tada!> you have some more time free for other things.

It’s always a good idea to weigh the options before you begin scripting.  This software is great, but you still have to do some simple coding and testing before the script is ready for a production environment.  For example; A task takes 30 minutes of your daily routine to complete (generating a report and sending it via FTP to a remote site).  It only takes you an hour to write a simple script to do this set of functions.  This is a no-brainer: SCRIPT IT!

AutoIt v3 is a freeware BASIC-like scripting language designed for automating the Windows GUI and general scripting. It uses a combination of simulated keystrokes, mouse movement and window/control manipulation in order to automate tasks in a way not possible or reliable with other languages (e.g. VBScript and SendKeys). AutoIt is also very small, self-contained and will run on all versions of Windows out-of-the-box with no annoying “runtimes” required!

AutoIt was initially designed for PC “roll out” situations to reliably automate and configure thousands of PCs. Over time it has become a powerful language that supports complex expressions, user functions, loops and everything else that veteran scripters would expect.

Features:

• Easy to learn BASIC-like syntax
• Simulate keystrokes and mouse movements
• Manipulate windows and processes
• Interact with all standard windows controls
• Scripts can be compiled into standalone executables
• Create Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)
• COM support
• Regular expressions
• Directly call external DLL and Windows API functions
• Scriptable RunAs functions
• Detailed helpfile and large community-based support forums
• Compatible with Windows 95 / 98 / ME / NT4 / 2000 / XP / 2003 / Vista / 2008
• Unicode and x64 support
• Digitally signed for peace of mind
• Works with Windows Vista’s User Account Control (UAC)

AutoIt has been designed to be as small as possible and stand-alone with no external .dll files or registry entries required making it safe to use on Servers. Scripts can be compiled into stand-alone executables with Aut2Exe.

Also supplied is a combined COM and DLL version of AutoIt called AutoItX that allows you to add the unique features of AutoIt to your own favourite scripting or programming languages!

Best of all, AutoIt continues to be FREE - but if you want to support the time, money and effort spent on the project and web hosting then you may donate using the link to your left in the menu.

Take me to the downloads page!

Jason Free software automate, free, script, software

Free software ImgBurn for Windows

If you have ever downloaded a linux distro like Ubuntu or a LiveCD utility kit like Trinity Rescue Kit, you find that most of them come in ISO image format.  An ISO is a CD image that is ready to be burned to disc.  Instead of giving you dozens or even hundreds of files and folders to manage, organize, and burn to CD or DVD, an ISO gives you the folders and files in a nice neat package.

Once you have an ISO image, what do you do with it?  The two best options are to mount it using a virtual drive software package like Daemon Tools (I’ll have to write an article about Daemon Tools, it’s awesome).  Or you could burn it to media using a disc burning software package.

If you computer does not already come with something like Nero or Roxio, I would highly recommend you download ImgBurn.  Honestly, I have ditched software like Nero and Roxio because it has become too bloated which makes it slow to use. It will easily burn image files to CD and DVD.  Not only will it burn ISO files, it will also burn BIN/CUE files, IMG files, and much more.

You can also create image files from discs.  Let’s say you want to copy a friends version of Ubuntu (or other totally legal software), but don’t have a spare blank CD or DVD laying around.  You just pop in the media, create image file from their disc, and burn the image file to CD or DVD at a later date that is convenient for you.

ImgBurn also has the option to burn files to media.  I personally have only used ImgBurn for images.  If I need to make an audio CD or burn files to a DVD, I will use another great free software package called CDBurnerXP Pro.

Jason Free software burn, cd, dvd, free, imgburn, rip

Install Microsoft updates offline

Everyone knows the importance of keeping your software up-to-date.  Especially your Windows Operating System and Microsoft Office products.  For the geek-on-the-go, downloading updates are not always an option.  Or perhaps the client has a slow internet connection.  You need to maximize the time spent troublehsooting the issue and minimize the time spent doing regular maintentance work such as patching the system or updating the anti-virus.

Thanks to CTUpdate (WSUS offline), you can now download all (or just a select few) Microsoft updates and put them on a CD or DVD for easy installation (I have not tested USB drives, but I have reports that it does work).

Another beautiful thing about this software is that I can have updates ready for any supported Microsoft operating system and Microsoft Office product.  It does not matter if the computer has Windows 2000 with Office 2003 installed, or Windows Server 2003 with Office 2000 installed.  I can be ready for any situation I step into!

I tried this for myself on a freshly installed copy of Windows XP and it worked great!  All updates were installed within 25 minutes and I only had to reboot a couple times!

NOTE:Windows 2000 systems need to copy the reg.exe file from a Windows 2000 installation CD under \support\tools in the support.cab into the client\bin subdirectory. Windows 2003 system need to copy the reg.exe file from Windows\system32 directory of an existing copy of XP.

Version 5 features include:

• Support added for Microsoft Windows Server 2008
• Optional download and installation of .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and DirectX End-User Runtimes
• Download of Operating Systems’ updates may preferentially be redirected to a local WSUS server
• Number of updates to download and to install will be displayed and logged
• Integrity of updates may be verified on subsequent download runs
• DVD ISO images will be split into x86- and x64-products since ISO file sizes exceeded 4.7 GB
• Windows Installer 4.5 integrated for Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003/2008 systems

The process of getting the updates will take some time, but it is worth it!

1. Download the software from here:  Vulnerability Assessment.co.uk




2. Extract the files and run the UpdateGenerator utility




3. Select the options like shown below:


CTUpdate main screen

I downloaded everything because I work on a variety of different computers and I wanted to be prepared for almost any scenario. I also unchecked the option to verify, but you might want to do this if you have some extra time. I did not chose to clean up download directories because I did not want to download the entire list of updates again when I refresh the software come patch Tuesday. Feel free to play around with these settings until they are tweaked to your needs.

4. Be prepared to wait for a long time when you click the Start button.  There are a lot of updates to download and it does take a while (even on a high speed connection).  I just let my computer run overnight and it was ready for my in the morning.




5. Once the ISO images were complete, I burned them off to DVD to give them a shot.
   WARNING:  These ISO files are HUGE!  Mine were about 6.5GB.  I had to use a DL DVD to burn them.  Since I don’t like to waste a lot of CD or DVD’s, I will probably purchase an 8 GB (or larger) USB drive to copy this onto.




6. Once the DVD was ready, I popped it into my Windows XP machine to give it a shot.  It will autorun to the setup screen, or you can run the UpdateInstaller utility manually from the media.
   

   Update installer

   It’s probably a good idea to take the options:  “Back up existing system files” and “Automatic reboot and recall”

A couple reboots later, my system was completely up-to-date!  I cannot recommend this tool enough.  If you are work on computers, this will save you time.  And we all know that time equals money!

Jason Free software, Tutorials cd, dvd, easy, free, microsoft, mobile, office, offline, updates, windows

Troubleshooting an issue on your computer is a tough job.  Troubleshooting an issue on someone else’s computer is even more difficult.  Who knows what they have install, tweaked, or tuned on their own before calling you for help.  We have all had this familiar dialog:

CUSTOMER: The computer was working fine until about 3 days ago.

PROFESSIONAL (yes, you): Did you install anything or do anything new with the PC?

CUSTOMER <blank stare>: Uhhh… no?

PROFESSIONAL <not spoken out loud>: Yeah right.

So now we have to be both computer repair experts and detectives.  Here is a handy FREE tool from Microsoft that will help you find out the history of a Windows XP machine.  It will give you:

• Installed / Removed applications
• Updates and patches applied
• Driver modifications
• Active-X controls that have been downloaded
• Internet Explorer COM components
• Autostart Extensibility Points

Please note that you will get an error if you try to run this on Windows XP with Service Pack 3.  Follow the instructions below to use this tool error free on all Windows Service Packs.

The instructions below will bypass the built-in installer application (to avoid the error messages) and make the app portable (stick it on a USB drive).

1. If you do not already have it, you will need to download and install 7Zip.  This is a great, free compression utility:  Click here to download 7Zip
2. Download the tool from Microsoft using this link:  Microsoft Change Analysis Diagnostic Tool for Windows XP
3. Once the file has been downloaded, copy it to your USB drive
4. Right-click on the file (called WindowsXP-KB924732-x86-ENU.exe).  Select 7-Zip and Extract Here
   

   Extract the files

5. Once the files are extracted, we’ll clean up some of the unnecessary files / folders.  Delete the update folder, the spmsg.dll file and the spuninst.exe file.
   

   Delete the unnecessary files and folders

6. Change the name of the scdiag folder to be a bit more recognizable.  I called mine “Windows XP Change Analysis Diagnostic Tool”
   

   Rename the folder

7. Now we can run the tool.  Open the folder and run the statechangediag.exe file
   

   Run the tool

8. Click Next on the first welcome screen and you will be brought to the calendar.  This will allow you to select how far back you want to scan.  I chose 7 days in this example, but you might need to go back further.
   

   How far back do you want to scan?

9. When the scan finishes, you will have the option to view the file that was created.  It is saved automatically if you ever want to go back and view it (just make sure you don’t run the tool again and overwrite the file).  The output is an XML file which can be viewed in Internet Explorer.
   

   Take the option to view the report that was created

10. The results are very impressive!
    

    This is a very detailed report

NOTE: I have not tried this tool on any other Microsoft Windows Operating Systems, so I don’t know how well if it will work.

Jason Free software change, detective, free, tool, windows, xp

Get your free software here!

You may have heard of sites like woot.com or slickdeals.net that show you places to get heavily discounted items, but it’s always nice to get something for free!  That’s where giveawayoftheday.com comes in.

Welcome to Giveaway of the day project, the new initiative in the software distribution world! Every day we offer for FREE licensed software you’d have to buy otherwise!

Our new initiative, Giveaway of the day, is finally open to its visitors and ready to present hot software titles and best software authors from all over the world. For game giveaways check out Game Giveaway of the Day. We wish you a Happy Giveaway!

There are some really great commercial software packages that are given away for free on their site.  I would recommend subscribing to the RSS feed because (as the site name indicates) these deals are only available for one day.  If you find something you like, jump on it quick!

Jason Free software away, commercial, free, give, software

WuInstall allows you to update Windows from the command line!

I am a big fan of doing things from the command line.  I can script with the best of them and I am always on the lookout for good CLI utilities.

A good use for this tool would be testing a new WSUS server.  Or maybe you need to update some computers outside the regularly scheduled update time.  You can script it and have GPO run this script at login.  Or you can use another one of my favorite tools (PSExec) and run this tool remotely anytime!

Very awesome utility and I highly recommend adding it to your computer toolkit!

Click here to visit their website and download WuInstall.

Jason Free software cli, command, free, line, update, vista, windows, xp