Recover a deleted Sharepoint site collection from SQL backup (2007/2010)

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Lets assume you have NOT been doing Sharepoint site collection backups but you do have SQL database backups. Either the Sharepoint front end web server has died and you have reinstalled a new copy of Sharepoint without your sites loaded:

1. Create a new SQL database & restore your backup into it.
2. At the command prompt use stsadm.exe to add the content database to your new site:
stsadm -o addcontentdb -url http://yourwebapp:port -databasename yourcontentdb -databaseserver yoursqlserver
3. Perform an IISRESET
4. Your all done, load the url and bath in your awesomeness!

Jason Vigus

Command Line Restore SQL Databases With Multiple Data Files Using Tivoli TDP for SQL

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Tivoli TDP for SQL is a great backup tool that allows you to take live SQL database backups directly to your backup system, negating the need to perform SQL data dumps to disk first.

TDP SQL Client GUI restores:
The backup side works very well, however restoring SQL databases that use multiple data files is not quite as straight forward as you might imagine as there is a bug in the GUI (client version 5.5.5) where it only support/recognises 2 data files.For basic SQL databases this is fine as its the data & log file (mdf & ldf files), its also not a problem if you are using multiple data files & want to restore over the top of an existing database.

Lets say you want to do a test restore of that really important customer database to a new DB though, in the GUI you can restore into a new name & relocate the files to a new folder….but if you use multiple data files, the GUI only attempts to relocate the first two datafiles, the rest it attempts to restore in the original (source database) folder location – which will fail as its already in use.

TDP SQL Command Line restores:
The solution is to do a command line restore, which is actually quiet straightforward once you’ve done it before. Here is an example:

tdpsqlc restore LiveDB1 full /into=TestDB1 /REL=LiveDB1_datafile /TO=D:\Test_restore\LiveDB1_datafile.mdf /REL=LiveDB1_datafile1 /TO=D:\Test_restore\LiveDB1_datafile1.ndf /REL=LiveDB1_datafile2 /TO=D:\Test_restore\LiveDB1_datafile2.ndf /REL=LiveDB1_logfile /TO=D:\Test_restore\LiveDB1_logfile.ldf

While it looks like there are line returns in the version above to make it more readable this should be entered as a single line in the TDP Command Prompt window when you run it.

Essentially the command restores the last full backup of DB “LiveDB1” to a new database named “TestDB1” & relocates each data/log file to a new directory “D:\Test_restore\” using the /REL & /TO switches. When using the /REL= switch this needs to use the Logical Name found on the “Files” section of the database properties. That switch is followed by the /TO= switch detailing the physical location & filename you are restoring it too. This should be different from the original DB being restored from. For the database LiveDB1 the logicalnames & physical files used are:
LiveDB1_datafile – LiveDB1_datafile.mdf
LiveDB1_datafile1 – LiveDB1_datafile1.ndf
LiveDB1_datafile2 – LiveDB1_datafile2.ndf
LiveDB1_logfile – LiveDB1_logfile.ldf

Jason Vigus

Search or List Installed MS Updates/Hotfixes KB Via Command Prompt

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A quick and easy way to list the installed Updates / Hotfixes via the command line:
wmic qfe get hotfixid

To output the list of installed Hotfixes to a file try:
wmic qfe get hotfixid > c:\installed-hotfixes.txt

If you want to quickly check to see if a specific Hotfix is installed try this:
wmic qfe get hotfixid |find “968930”

This tool is available in Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 & Windows Server 2003/2008.

Jason Vigus

Rayzor Professional Lightweight Red UV400 Sports Wrap Cycling Sunglasses – Review

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Since taking my first serious cycle ride on my new road bike (the Cube Attempt 20 speed I reviewed here), the fly I discovered in the corner of my eye afterwards was enough for me to get straight on the internet and order a good pair of wrap around sunglasses.

I had already decided that I didn’t want to spend a fortune on glasses as I already had a nice pair of everyday sunnies. After checking the various well known cycle shops online I was starting to feel that I’d to need to dig deep as most glasses were £25 upwards. Then I discovered this pair on Amazon for under £15 delivered, the reviews were positive so I took the punt.

My new Rayzor Professional’s arrived today and I’m very happy with them for the price, I might even wear them when I’m not cycling too as they look great. The version I went for is the red pair at the top of this post, although Amazon also do the Rayzor’s in a few other colours which you can see below:


Click any of the pictures to read more about them on Amazon.co.uk

I think these glasses are lightweight, stylish, well made and most importantly excellent value. They are comfortable to wear & darken the view well without removing all the colour, I’ll probably pick up one of the yellow lens versions soon for evening/night riding, it may seem strange but the idea is to dim oncoming headlights of passing cars who are often not considerate to cyclists.

 

Jason Vigus

Embed a YouTube video in WordPress posts

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When I tried to embed a video on another blog post the other day I did a quick “Google” to see what was involved in the process, to my surprise, rather pleasantly I discovered all you need to do is put the URL of the video you wish to embed straight into the post editor.

For example, I would use the following code to embed the video (no quotes):

“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FFRoYhTJQQ”

And this would be the result:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FFRoYhTJQQ

Jason Vigus

Cube Attempt Compact (20 Speed) 2011 – Road Bike Review

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Cube Attempt Compact 105 road bike - 2011

Cube Attempt Compact 105 road bike - 2011

Funding the bike:
I recently signed myself up to the cycle to work scheme my employeer was offering as with all the usual good intentions of getting that little bit fitter (the jury is out on how that goes at this early stage). The idea behind this scheme is you need to use the bike for some of your journey, and for at least 50% of your overal trips to work, you save (usually) the income tax, NI & VAT on the purchase of a bike (which can be up to a 50% saving) & its spread over a 12 month period. Most employers are happy to offer this scheme as it reduces their NI & tax liabilities they pay for the employee.

Choosing the bike:
I wanted the best bike I could get for £1000, so after a few hours of research online (reviews, forums & online shops) I’d narrowed it down to a couple of bikes, the Canondale CAAD8 105 and the Cube Attempt 105, both of which had very similar specifications & equally important, both looked great. I’d heard that the CAAD8 was probably the better bike to go for as they were well known for making good frames, but further research told me there was really not much between it and the Cube Attempt, as its not the same CAAD8 frame that everyone raved about anyway – its been redesigned & is made in the far east to make it more affordable now. So I called my local bike shop, Solent Cycles in Porchester and asked them to get both bikes in, the following weekend I went along, did my test rides on each of the bikes, I also looked at the Canondale Synapse 105 while I was there, but in the end I came away with the Cube as it just felt right.

The bike itself:
Cube are an established German manufacturer who follow the trend of throwing out competitively priced road bikes, the Attempt is highly specced for the money. Many of the features, like internally routed cabling and the nearly complete Shimano 105 groupset you’d expect to see on a bike costing nearer £2000.

One of the deciding factors that helped me choose the Attempt over the competition was it came fitted with high end Schwalbe Ultremo tyres & Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels, and since after the frame its the wheels/tyres that make a bike ride well (or perhaps not), this was a big plus to get these on a bike costing £1000.

I’m not by any means experienced enough to say if the bike is a really good ride or not, but to me the bike was firm, felt fast and handled well – so I’m happy. Coming from a background of riding mountain bikes, its a totally different experience riding a road bike, and so much easier due to the lighter weight & reduced wind resistance.

This is a great first road bike, which I’m very happy with myself & definitely recommend as a test ride if you are thinking about getting a road bike.

Accessories:
I picked up a few extras with the bike including the obligatory bottle holder & spare inner tubes & compact pump. The others were:

Giro Saros Matt Black / White Helmet:
 Shimano M077 SPD Cycling Shoes:
Shimano PD-M770 XT SPD Pedals:
 Topeak Aero Wedge Medium Bag:

Jason Vigus

Mac OSX Screenshots – Keyboard Shortcuts

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Here they are, plain & simple!

  • Command-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it as a file on the desktop
  • Command-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it as a file on the desktop
  • Command-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it as a file on the desktop
  • Command-Control-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it to the clipboard
  • Command-Control-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it to the clipboard
  • Command-Control-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it to the clipboard
Jason Vigus

How to install VMWare VSphere client 4.0 & 4.1 on the same computer

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I frequently need to manage VMWare servers running either VSphere 4.0 or 4.1, if you are also in this position you will know that when you connect to a v4.1 server using the v4.0 client, it will prompt you to download & install the upgraded version (this is also the case when connecting to a v4.0 server with the v4.1 client) – you will also know that proceeding to do so removes & replaces the version you had installed. Someone I know came up with a simple solution which allows you to run both versions of the client on one computer:

1. Install VSphere Client V4.0 on you computer.

2. Rename the folder “C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client” to “C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client – V4.0 \”

3. Install VSphere Client V4.1 on your computer, this gets installed to “C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client”.

4. Create shortcuts to the relevant version of VSphere Client Launcher in your start menu to the following files:

  •  VSphere Client v4.0: “C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client – V4.0\Launcher\VpxClient.exe”
  • VSphere Client v4.1: “C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\VpxClient.exe”

5. Enjoy a simpler VSphere Client experience!

 

Jason Vigus