Fix Citrix\XenApp WMI issues

Today I run into problem with WMI registrations on few servers. Even though namespace root\Citrix was available, there were no classes.

Below is simple batch script that should be able to solve most WMI-related issues:

:: Remove Repository
Net Stop winmgmt
RmDir /s /q "%WinDir%\System32\WBEM\Repository"
Net Start winmgmt

:: Register core libraries
Regsvr32 /n /I /s "%WinDir%\system32\userenv.dll"
regsvr32 /n /I /s "%WinDir%\system32\scecli.dll"

:: Compile Windows WMI
If Exist "%WinDir%\System32\WBEM" (
    For /f "usebackq tokens=*" %%X IN (`Dir /b "%WinDir%\System32\WBEM\*.dll"`) Do (
        Call %S4_Lib%\SCRIPT_RUNLOG RegSvr32.exe /s "%WinDir%\System32\Wbem\%%X"
    )
    For /f "usebackq tokens=*" %%X IN (`Dir /b "%WinDir%\System32\WBEM\*.mof"`) Do (
        Call %S4_Lib%\SCRIPT_RUNLOG MofComp.exe "%WinDir%\System32\Wbem\%%X"
    )
    For /f "usebackq tokens=*" %%X IN (`Dir /b "%WinDir%\System32\WBEM\*.mfl"`) Do (
        Call %S4_Lib%\SCRIPT_RUNLOG MofComp.exe "%WinDir%\System32\Wbem\%%X"
    )
)

:: Compile Citrix WMI
If Exist "%ProgramFiles%\Citrix\System32\Citrix\WMI" (
    For /f "usebackq tokens=*" %%X IN (`Dir /b "%ProgramFiles%\Citrix\System32\Citrix\WMI\*.dll"`) Do (
        Call %S4_Lib%\SCRIPT_RUNLOG RegSvr32.exe /s "%ProgramFiles%\Citrix\System32\Citrix\WMI\%%X"
    )
    For /f "usebackq tokens=*" %%X IN (`Dir /b "%ProgramFiles%\Citrix\System32\Citrix\WMI\*.mof"`) Do (
        Call %S4_Lib%\SCRIPT_RUNLOG MofComp.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Citrix\System32\Citrix\WMI\%%X"
    )
    For /f "usebackq tokens=*" %%X IN (`Dir /b "%ProgramFiles%\Citrix\System32\Citrix\WMI\*.fom"`) Do (
        Call %S4_Lib%\SCRIPT_RUNLOG MofComp.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Citrix\System32\Citrix\WMI\%%X"
    )
)

Powershell and argument issue

I was creating very simple function today, however got stuck there for a while…

As you can see below, function is very, very simple:
Function Global:Security\Encrypt-String ([string]$Input){Return [LoginConsultants.Crypto.Password]::EnCrypt($Input)}

It’s using our library to encrypt some text… To my surprise, it didn’t work however. After a little investigation, it turned out that I made rookie mistake – I used $Input, while it is reserved variable :) Very, very stupid mistake of course, I was just surprised that Posh doesn’t complain if you use such parameter.

Anyway, below is small function you can use to test if parameter you want to use is valid:
function Test-ParameterName ([string]$Name) {
           Return [boolean]$($(Test-Path Variable:$Name) -eq 0)
}

As you can see, it’s extremely primitive, only interesting part is Return [boolean]$($(Test-Path Variable:$Name) -eq 0) – meaning of this function is to revert boolean value. So if Test-Path is $True, function will return $False and if Test-Path is $False, it will return $True. I remember that some years ago I used [boolean]$Foo – 1 in .NET, however it is not supported in Powershell itself (operator – is not defined for [boolean] and [int]).

Martin

Windows 7 madness

I think that every geek is googling for phrases like “Windows 7 tips and tricks” or “Windows 7 secrets” once he thinks he knows enough about new product.

Windows 7 is new IT phenomenon – you can discuss it, disagree with it, hate it, but that’s about it. Let’s have a look at Google Trends:

Blue represents Windows 7, red is main competitor Snow Leopard

Just for fun, below is similar graph comparing Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Windows 7 vs Windows XP vs Windows Vista

First, let me give you my presentation from 1.10.2009 about Windows 7.

Second, I was reading through a lot of tips and tricks pages. Today I noticed article called 77 Windows 7 Tips. To make long story short, it’s obvious that number 77 was chose first and then they started to think about the content :( Otherwise I don’t see any explanation for some of those tips.

On the other hand, there are other articles that are discussing new features and tips\tricks and are great. To mention just a few of them, Tim Sneath got great article and I also liked a lot article from TechRadar.

So, I decided to write a series of articles about Windows 7. Currently I got 91 tips, but I started yesterday, so it shouldn’t be problem to get to 100. Some of the tricks are really simple and can be explained on 2-3 lines, some will require a lot more space. I don’t want to simply publish tricks, but also explain how some new technologies works and provide some additional details (for example performance comparison of older Robocopy and new one). I will call these articles Windows 7 Maddness and I will try to group tips together.

Hold on to see more :)