Category: Microsoft
Category Archives: Microsoft
Help with Recalling New Features in Windows 11
Hello,
Are you concerned about your privacy and customization settings in Windows 11 Pro? Windows Recall, a feature that captures screenshots and records keylogging entries every 5 seconds, might be causing some unease. Is there a way to turn off this intrusive functionality?
Additionally, the constant battle of customizing your Windows 11 computer, such as toggling settings like disabling personalized ads, only to have them reset mysteriously during future Windows updates, can be frustrating. How can you break this cycle and ensure that your preferred customizations remain unchanged even after system updates?
I would be happy to help guide you on how to safeguard your privacy and maintain your customization preferences amid these challenges.
Hello, Are you concerned about your privacy and customization settings in Windows 11 Pro? Windows Recall, a feature that captures screenshots and records keylogging entries every 5 seconds, might be causing some unease. Is there a way to turn off this intrusive functionality? Additionally, the constant battle of customizing your Windows 11 computer, such as toggling settings like disabling personalized ads, only to have them reset mysteriously during future Windows updates, can be frustrating. How can you break this cycle and ensure that your preferred customizations remain unchanged even after system updates? I would be happy to help guide you on how to safeguard your privacy and maintain your customization preferences amid these challenges. Read More
Fix: Unable to log in with Microsoft Account
I own a high-performance PC running on the W11 Pro operating system, which has three user accounts. Two of these accounts are local, while the third one is linked to a Microsoft (outlook.com) account. Recently, when I attempted to switch to the Microsoft account, I encountered a frustrating issue – I could not enter the password correctly. Even using the onscreen keyboard did not help as the characters typed were not appearing in the password field. Despite rebooting the system, the problem persisted.
Interestingly, both local accounts were functioning without any issues. To clarify, no characters were showing up in the password box when I attempted to type. I could only navigate around using the tab key and press enter for options like ‘forgot password’.
However, after some troubleshooting, I was able to resolve the issue by selecting the ‘forgot password’ option. By providing the rescue email address, I successfully completed the steps, canceled out, and was able to log into the MS account.
The system had recently undergone some changes, including the addition of Veracrypt encryption and switching from a wireless to a wired mouse. Apart from these alterations, there were no other significant modifications made.
I own a high-performance PC running on the W11 Pro operating system, which has three user accounts. Two of these accounts are local, while the third one is linked to a Microsoft (outlook.com) account. Recently, when I attempted to switch to the Microsoft account, I encountered a frustrating issue – I could not enter the password correctly. Even using the onscreen keyboard did not help as the characters typed were not appearing in the password field. Despite rebooting the system, the problem persisted. Interestingly, both local accounts were functioning without any issues. To clarify, no characters were showing up in the password box when I attempted to type. I could only navigate around using the tab key and press enter for options like ‘forgot password’. However, after some troubleshooting, I was able to resolve the issue by selecting the ‘forgot password’ option. By providing the rescue email address, I successfully completed the steps, canceled out, and was able to log into the MS account. The system had recently undergone some changes, including the addition of Veracrypt encryption and switching from a wireless to a wired mouse. Apart from these alterations, there were no other significant modifications made. Read More
How to find all labeled Documents deleted by a specific person
Hi there,
I try to create a Powershell AuditLog Search which finds me all labeled documents deleted by a specific person.
After a person has been dismissed, the aim is to find the sensitive documents that this person deleted shortly beforehand.
My script has no output at all and in the moment I am clueless what the reason could be. I made it simpler than my acutal question is:
$daysAgo = 30; $startDate = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$daysAgo)
$results = Search-UnifiedAuditLog -StartDate $startDate -EndDate (Get-Date) -RecordType SharePoint -Operations FileDeleted -ResultSize 5000 |
Where-Object {
$_.CreationTime -gt $startDate
} |
Select-Object CreationTime, UserIds, Operations, AuditData
$results | Export-Csv -Path “PATH.csv” -NoTypeInformation
Does anybody see my error? Thanks in advance :crossed_fingers:
Hi there, I try to create a Powershell AuditLog Search which finds me all labeled documents deleted by a specific person. After a person has been dismissed, the aim is to find the sensitive documents that this person deleted shortly beforehand. My script has no output at all and in the moment I am clueless what the reason could be. I made it simpler than my acutal question is: $daysAgo = 30; $startDate = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$daysAgo)$results = Search-UnifiedAuditLog -StartDate $startDate -EndDate (Get-Date) -RecordType SharePoint -Operations FileDeleted -ResultSize 5000 |Where-Object {$_.CreationTime -gt $startDate} |Select-Object CreationTime, UserIds, Operations, AuditData$results | Export-Csv -Path “PATH.csv” -NoTypeInformation Does anybody see my error? Thanks in advance :crossed_fingers: Read More
There was an issue with your Windows Hello PIN. Please try again later.
Here is the revised version of the content with a significant change:
“I’ve been using my PIN for a long time without any issues, but suddenly I received a message saying that I need to update my PIN for my organization. However, this is my personal computer and not associated with any organization. When I go to the sign-in options and try to set up a new Windows Hello PIN, I encounter an error message saying ‘Something went wrong. Try again later.’ I tried removing the PIN, but now the ‘Add’ button is inaccessible. Since this is my personal device with no group policies, I am puzzled about what could have caused this issue. I would appreciate any assistance in resolving this so I can reinstate my PIN.”
Alternatively, for your situation: “Out of the blue, my facial recognition and PIN, which have been working flawlessly for over two years, suddenly stopped functioning. After receiving a code from Microsoft sent to my recovery email, I entered it only to encounter the same error mentioned in this forum thread’s title. By clicking ‘Skip,’ I could bypass the issue and access my account.”
Here is the revised version of the content with a significant change: “I’ve been using my PIN for a long time without any issues, but suddenly I received a message saying that I need to update my PIN for my organization. However, this is my personal computer and not associated with any organization. When I go to the sign-in options and try to set up a new Windows Hello PIN, I encounter an error message saying ‘Something went wrong. Try again later.’ I tried removing the PIN, but now the ‘Add’ button is inaccessible. Since this is my personal device with no group policies, I am puzzled about what could have caused this issue. I would appreciate any assistance in resolving this so I can reinstate my PIN.” Alternatively, for your situation: “Out of the blue, my facial recognition and PIN, which have been working flawlessly for over two years, suddenly stopped functioning. After receiving a code from Microsoft sent to my recovery email, I entered it only to encounter the same error mentioned in this forum thread’s title. By clicking ‘Skip,’ I could bypass the issue and access my account.” Read More
Excel scripting in JS : enhance getRange adress format resolution
Hi !
Just stumbled over a thing that I think could be interesting to be added in the Excel Javascript API, especially in the ranges’ selection with addresses.
For a script I’m writing to parse some data in a worksheet in Excel 365 on desktop, I need to select a column starting a certain cell (basically to ignore headers).
When testing the Worksheet getRange(adress) method, I realized that I can either select a specific set of cells (like using the adress “A2:A1235”) or a complete column or line (i.e. with adress “A:A” or “2:2”), but I cannot select either a column or a row from or up to an offset :
“A2:A” to select column A from row 2 to end of column or “B2:2” to select the line from column B is not valid according to the js console.
I don’t know if this is just that I’m using the wrong way to format the address for what I want to do (in this case, the API doc needs to be clarified in my opinion), but if it is not originally planned, I think expanding the address format to support offset in both ways (with CL:C and C:CL formats for columns with an offset, and CL:L and L:CL for rows with an offset) could be a neat feature.
Best regards
Hi ! Just stumbled over a thing that I think could be interesting to be added in the Excel Javascript API, especially in the ranges’ selection with addresses. For a script I’m writing to parse some data in a worksheet in Excel 365 on desktop, I need to select a column starting a certain cell (basically to ignore headers). When testing the Worksheet getRange(adress) method, I realized that I can either select a specific set of cells (like using the adress “A2:A1235”) or a complete column or line (i.e. with adress “A:A” or “2:2″), but I cannot select either a column or a row from or up to an offset :”A2:A” to select column A from row 2 to end of column or “B2:2” to select the line from column B is not valid according to the js console. I don’t know if this is just that I’m using the wrong way to format the address for what I want to do (in this case, the API doc needs to be clarified in my opinion), but if it is not originally planned, I think expanding the address format to support offset in both ways (with CL:C and C:CL formats for columns with an offset, and CL:L and L:CL for rows with an offset) could be a neat feature. Best regards Read More
Share a List view as an embed on a different SharePoint site
I have the following case:
Site A has a List with lots of different views
Site B is shared with my customer
I would like my customer to be able to see one of those views on Site B, but I don’t want to share Site A with them.
Is that possible?
I have the following case: Site A has a List with lots of different viewsSite B is shared with my customer I would like my customer to be able to see one of those views on Site B, but I don’t want to share Site A with them. Is that possible? Read More
PC Heather Check app Warning message, how to fix?
I am on Windows 11 but this app says my computer is no qualified, lol
I am on Windows 11 but this app says my computer is no qualified, lol Read More
Improving Time Sync in Windows 11
My Windows 11 computers are configured to automatically synchronize with time.gov. I utilize the Your Universe in Motion application for syncing my timepieces. On several occasions, I have observed discrepancies of over a minute between the system time on Windows and the web link. However, when I initiate a manual sync, both times show the correct time. I am curious about the reason behind why Windows 11 does not consistently maintain accurate time synchronization.
My Windows 11 computers are configured to automatically synchronize with time.gov. I utilize the Your Universe in Motion application for syncing my timepieces. On several occasions, I have observed discrepancies of over a minute between the system time on Windows and the web link. However, when I initiate a manual sync, both times show the correct time. I am curious about the reason behind why Windows 11 does not consistently maintain accurate time synchronization. Read More
Looking for a recent Win11 cleanup batch script and more?
I recently received two batch scripts from the Eleven Forum, courtesy of a friend. I am now seeking guidance on creating a clear, systematic process to maintain the health of my PC. The scripts in question are the Tune-up plus log script and the Post_WU_Cleanup script. However, I am uncertain about the correct sequence in which to run them. As a user with a Win11 64-bit system, I am also looking for a batch script specifically designed to eliminate all unnecessary junk and temporary files. While I may appear inexperienced in this area, I am open to learning and improving.
My requirements are as follows:
– I need a single batch script to thoroughly clean out all unnecessary junk and temporary files on a weekly basis.
– Should the post wu cleanup script be executed after every monthly Windows cumulative update?
– How often should the tune-up plus script be run? Should it be performed monthly or weekly? (Assuming it covers tasks like sfc, dism, and restoring images.)
Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated.
I recently received two batch scripts from the Eleven Forum, courtesy of a friend. I am now seeking guidance on creating a clear, systematic process to maintain the health of my PC. The scripts in question are the Tune-up plus log script and the Post_WU_Cleanup script. However, I am uncertain about the correct sequence in which to run them. As a user with a Win11 64-bit system, I am also looking for a batch script specifically designed to eliminate all unnecessary junk and temporary files. While I may appear inexperienced in this area, I am open to learning and improving. My requirements are as follows:- I need a single batch script to thoroughly clean out all unnecessary junk and temporary files on a weekly basis.- Should the post wu cleanup script be executed after every monthly Windows cumulative update?- How often should the tune-up plus script be run? Should it be performed monthly or weekly? (Assuming it covers tasks like sfc, dism, and restoring images.) Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated. Read More
Windows Explorer crashes following Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) session
I have encountered a peculiar issue with my desktop running Windows 11 Pro. Occasionally, I connect to it from my Windows 11 laptop using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). However, after disconnecting and then logging in locally, I face a problem where Explorer becomes unresponsive – it won’t resize, and sometimes I encounter the spinning blue circle of death. While other applications and browsers continue to function normally, Explorer remains in a frozen state, requiring me to forcefully end the task through the Task Manager before relaunching it.
I suspect that the issue may be related to scaling differences between my two machines. The desktop runs at a 4K resolution with a 150% scale factor, while the laptop operates at a 2K resolution with a 175% scale factor. When I connect from the laptop in full screen mode, Explorer tends to crash within the RDP session as well, necessitating the same process of terminating and restarting the application.
This is a perplexing dilemma, and I am hopeful that someone out there has encountered and successfully resolved a similar issue in the past. Any insights or solutions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I have encountered a peculiar issue with my desktop running Windows 11 Pro. Occasionally, I connect to it from my Windows 11 laptop using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). However, after disconnecting and then logging in locally, I face a problem where Explorer becomes unresponsive – it won’t resize, and sometimes I encounter the spinning blue circle of death. While other applications and browsers continue to function normally, Explorer remains in a frozen state, requiring me to forcefully end the task through the Task Manager before relaunching it. I suspect that the issue may be related to scaling differences between my two machines. The desktop runs at a 4K resolution with a 150% scale factor, while the laptop operates at a 2K resolution with a 175% scale factor. When I connect from the laptop in full screen mode, Explorer tends to crash within the RDP session as well, necessitating the same process of terminating and restarting the application. This is a perplexing dilemma, and I am hopeful that someone out there has encountered and successfully resolved a similar issue in the past. Any insights or solutions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Read More
Strange syncing issue that can’t be solved it seems
Hi all,
Recently something strange is happening. My onedrive (online and the client version) works with no issue and can sync files.
But when using M365 for apps/Office 365 suddenly it stopped syncing files from the office apps to OneDrive. This is really strange and inconvenient and I haven’t found the solution yet. I tried clearing the credentials from the credential manager, deleting Office apps and other things without luck. I ended up deleting my windows account and it worked for a while but now it’s again not working again. Any idea what’s causing this issue and how to fix it?
It says in can’t connect to the Onedrive service. Is this a license issue? I have M365 Basic license and everything worked fine until recently.
I cannot use any Office app anymore to save my files to OneDrive and have to save my files on a location that is not synced and place it into the synced folders. It’s really frustrating and I would be really thankful if someone could help with this.
Hi all, Recently something strange is happening. My onedrive (online and the client version) works with no issue and can sync files.But when using M365 for apps/Office 365 suddenly it stopped syncing files from the office apps to OneDrive. This is really strange and inconvenient and I haven’t found the solution yet. I tried clearing the credentials from the credential manager, deleting Office apps and other things without luck. I ended up deleting my windows account and it worked for a while but now it’s again not working again. Any idea what’s causing this issue and how to fix it? It says in can’t connect to the Onedrive service. Is this a license issue? I have M365 Basic license and everything worked fine until recently.I cannot use any Office app anymore to save my files to OneDrive and have to save my files on a location that is not synced and place it into the synced folders. It’s really frustrating and I would be really thankful if someone could help with this. Read More
Can’t Share Teams Videos Outside of Organization
Hello Microsoft Team,
I am the admin of my organization and have encountered significant issues with sharing Teams recordings on Stream following the recent migration and subsequent limitations.
Previously, I was able to share recordings with anyone outside of my organization seamlessly. However, post-migration, I am unable to do so. Despite attempting to change the settings and ensuring the necessary permissions are in place, the restrictions persist, hindering my ability to work effectively.
This situation is becoming extremely frustrating as it directly impacts my workflow and the ability to collaborate with external stakeholders. I have verified that all the sharing permissions are correctly configured, yet the issue remains unresolved.
Could you please provide guidance on what additional steps I can take to restore the ability to share recordings with external parties? Is there a known issue related to this migration, or specific settings that need to be adjusted beyond the usual sharing permissions?
Your prompt assistance in resolving this matter would be greatly appreciated as it is critical to my work.
Thank you for your support.
Hello Microsoft Team, I am the admin of my organization and have encountered significant issues with sharing Teams recordings on Stream following the recent migration and subsequent limitations. Previously, I was able to share recordings with anyone outside of my organization seamlessly. However, post-migration, I am unable to do so. Despite attempting to change the settings and ensuring the necessary permissions are in place, the restrictions persist, hindering my ability to work effectively. This situation is becoming extremely frustrating as it directly impacts my workflow and the ability to collaborate with external stakeholders. I have verified that all the sharing permissions are correctly configured, yet the issue remains unresolved. Could you please provide guidance on what additional steps I can take to restore the ability to share recordings with external parties? Is there a known issue related to this migration, or specific settings that need to be adjusted beyond the usual sharing permissions? Your prompt assistance in resolving this matter would be greatly appreciated as it is critical to my work. Thank you for your support. Read More
Cannot update from Build 26244 to 26252
Currently running Build 26244. Almost everything works except Settings -> Windows Update interface is bugged and unusable. It’s been unusable since update to this build.
Looking around i’ve found that there is also a cli interface called “SConfig” and i can install updates from there. I’m currently receiving updates for Windows Defender but didn’t receive Build 26252.
How do i install Build 26252? Should i burn iso to usb key and install from scratch?
Currently running Build 26244. Almost everything works except Settings -> Windows Update interface is bugged and unusable. It’s been unusable since update to this build.Looking around i’ve found that there is also a cli interface called “SConfig” and i can install updates from there. I’m currently receiving updates for Windows Defender but didn’t receive Build 26252.How do i install Build 26252? Should i burn iso to usb key and install from scratch? Read More
Stream Missing Functions
Hi there,
I am dealing with an issue for a user.
The user has reported that for the last month they have been missing some features on Stream which they previously had.
A key part of this is the ability to generate a transcript of the video from Stream (retroactively).
The user has reported that this used to work for them and is still working for their colleagues.
The user is a group admin and so organizing the meetings and recording on behalf of someone else.
That is to say that the meeting is generated from a separate users calendar.
This was how they were doing it previously when it worked, and other administrators are still doing the same thing for their managers.
I have attached two images – One from before (when the features were present) and one from now.
Please can someone advise on why the features may have gone and how to go about getting them back.
Thank you for the help.
Best,
George
Hi there, I am dealing with an issue for a user. The user has reported that for the last month they have been missing some features on Stream which they previously had. A key part of this is the ability to generate a transcript of the video from Stream (retroactively). The user has reported that this used to work for them and is still working for their colleagues. The user is a group admin and so organizing the meetings and recording on behalf of someone else. That is to say that the meeting is generated from a separate users calendar. This was how they were doing it previously when it worked, and other administrators are still doing the same thing for their managers. I have attached two images – One from before (when the features were present) and one from now. Please can someone advise on why the features may have gone and how to go about getting them back. Thank you for the help. Best, George Read More
How do I download YouTube videos in laptop Windows 10?
Hi, all. I’m working on a video editing project recently and need to download some video clips from YouTube for editing. I’ve tried several online downloading sites, but the problem I encountered is that these sites have too many ads, and the quality of the downloaded videos is not ideal, and sometimes the download process is even interrupted. I’m currently using a laptop with Windows 10 system. I don’t know if there is a better way or software to download YouTube videos.
If anyone has good suggestions or experience to share, please help! Thank you everyone!
Hi, all. I’m working on a video editing project recently and need to download some video clips from YouTube for editing. I’ve tried several online downloading sites, but the problem I encountered is that these sites have too many ads, and the quality of the downloaded videos is not ideal, and sometimes the download process is even interrupted. I’m currently using a laptop with Windows 10 system. I don’t know if there is a better way or software to download YouTube videos. If anyone has good suggestions or experience to share, please help! Thank you everyone! Read More
What’s new in FinOps toolkit 0.4 – July 2024
Whether you consider yourself a FinOps practitioner, someone who’s enthusiastic about driving cloud efficiency and maximizing the value you get from the cloud, or were just asked to look at ways to reduce cost, the FinOps toolkit has something for you. This month, we’re excited to share support for FOCUS 1.0, updated tools and resources aligned to the FinOps Framework 2024 updates, a new (but familiar) tool for cloud optimization recommendations, FinOps hubs managed exports and cross-tenant support, and a slew of other small improvements and bug fixes. There really is something for everyone!
New to FinOps toolkit?
In case you haven’t heard, the FinOps toolkit is an open-source collection of tools and resources that help you learn, adopt, and implement FinOps in the Microsoft Cloud. The foundation of the toolkit is the Implementing FinOps guide that helps you get started with FinOps whether you’re using native tools in the Azure portal, looking for ways to automate and extend those tools, or if you’re looking to build your own FinOps tools and reports. To learn more about the toolkit, how to provide feedback, or how to contribute, see the FinOps toolkit site.
Support for FOCUS 1.0
Anyone who’s been deeply engaged in the FinOps community and following major FinOps news and events knows about the FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS). And for those who don’t, FOCUS is a provider-agnostic schema for cost and usage data. We’ve been driving FOCUS alongside customers, partners, and our industry peers to define a data format that can become the new “language” of FinOps, helping FinOps practitioners achieve their goals easier than ever, backed by the FinOps Framework and accompanying resources, like the KPI and use case libraries.
FOCUS 1.0 was announced at FinOps X 2024 in June and we were happy to co-announce support for FOCUS 1.0 in Cost Management exports at the same time. Now, with the July release of FinOps toolkit 0.4, we’re happy to share that all Power BI reports and FinOps hubs have both been updated to FOCUS 1.0!
If you’re using the Cost Management connector, you can easily switch to the newest version of the Cost Management connector report, which works for all EA, MCA, and MPA billing accounts/profiles, to see all your cost and usage data aligned to the FOCUS 1.0 schema. Please note the underlying APIs and API constraints for the connector are still the same, so if you’re looking for more, please switch to using raw exports, FinOps hubs, or consider ingesting data into Microsoft Fabric.
If you’re using FinOps hubs – or looking to level-up your reporting from the connector – you can opt to leave your existing 1.0 preview data as-is and leverage the new Power BI reports, which transform 1.0 preview to FOCUS 1.0, or you can create new FOCUS 1.0 exports (and consider even back-filling data) to get the latest data. It’s always best to re-export your data using the latest schema because it reduces processing time in Power BI, but you can make the decision that works best for you. (Just remember to delete the old exports if you create a new FOCUS 1.0 export!) And if you’re automating export creation with PowerShell, you can also use the New-FinOpsCostExport command to create FOCUS 1.0 exports.
Lastly, sample data files were updated for FOCUS 1.0 and new metadata files were added for both FOCUS 1.0 and FOCUS 1.0 preview to describe the dataset in a programmatic way based on the FOCUS 1.0 specification.
To start leveraging these new reports, check out the FinOps toolkit Power BI reports or learn about how you can deploy FinOps hubs today. To learn more about FOCUS and it’s benefits – which range from general usability, improved learnability, and transferability of skills to cost savings from reduced dataset size and compute costs compared to processing native actual and amortized datasets – check out the FOCUS introduction.
What’s new in the FinOps Framework
In April 2023, the FinOps Foundation announced some changes to the FinOps Framework – the start of a series of yearly updates we can expect going forward. We saw a few things in this release:
New definition of FinOps.
Expanded set of personas.
Simplified domains with clearer lines.
Cleaned up list of FinOps capabilities with some joined and some new.
I won’t go into the details of all the changes, but if you’re interested, check out Key 2024 Changes to the FinOps Framework: Evolving the Framework with the Practice of FinOps. Within the toolkit, you’ll find an updated Implementing FinOps guide with all the new and updated capabilities, including the supplemental content, like What is FinOps? and How to conduct a FinOps iteration.
Each capability was updated to include new and fresh guidance, including referencing new tools and solutions that have been released since our last major update. If you’re getting started with any capability, make sure you check out the Implementing FinOps guide to see how it can help you jump start your efforts!
And to add to that, we also renamed the “Commitment discounts” report in Power Bi to “Rate optimization” to align with the FinOps Framework changes. We envision dedicated reports for each FinOps capability, so let us know what you’d like to see by sharing your feedback in GitHub.
Optimize your cloud environment with Azure Optimization Engine
Over the years, some organizations tell us they’re looking for more configurability to Azure Advisor recommendations. Maybe they want to cover new scenarios or maybe they just want to increase the look-back period for existing recommendations. Whatever the case, this isn’t possible today with Azure Advisor, so customers have been looking to build their own solution. The Azure Optimization Engine (AOE) has been around since May 2020 as an open-source project run by Helder Pinto and we’re proud to add Helder to the FinOps toolkit family as he officially moved AOE into the FinOps toolkit!
There’s a ton to talk about with Azure Optimization Engine, so instead of trying to cram it all in here, I’ll direct you to several blog posts Helder’s published:
Augmenting Azure Advisor Cost Recommendations for Automated Continuous Optimization – Part 1
Augmenting Azure Advisor Cost Recommendations for Automated Continuous Optimization – Part 2
Augmenting Azure Advisor Cost Recommendations for Automated Continuous Optimization – Part 3
Automating Continuous Optimization with the Azure Optimization Engine
Get Azure Reservations and Savings Plans Insights with the Azure Optimization Engine
And of course, you can also learn more from the Azure Optimization Engine documentation. Stay tuned as we evolve the next generation of Azure Optimization Engine. And if you want to be part of the conversation, join us at The evolution of Azure Optimization Engine within the FinOps toolkit.
What’s new in FinOps hubs
FinOps hubs are data pipeline solutions that help you kickstart custom reporting efforts when you need more than what you can get in the Azure portal today. Instead of starting from nothing, you can deploy a FinOps hub instance and leverage pre-built Power BI reports to get up and running quickly. This month, you’ll find a few interesting updates with FinOps hubs that we’ll continue to build onto based on your feedback.
First up is FOCUS 1.0 support. I already talked about the fact that we added support for FOCUS 1.0 but I’d like to expand on that a little. FinOps hubs 0.4 now supports both FOCUS 1.0 preview or FOCUS 1.0. Data that is ingested will remain in storage in the schema it was ingested in, but the Power BI reports in 0.4 will all align to the FOCUS 1.0 schema. If you prefer to keep using FOCUS 1.0 preview, stick with the FinOps toolkit 0.3 reports. 0.3 and 0.4 reports are interchangeable and can work with either version of FinOps hubs, so feel free to try the new reports with an existing FinOps hubs 0.3 deployment or upgrade to get the other new features and keep using your existing reports without a concern. The only reason you really need to use the newer reports is if you want to start exporting FOCUS 1.0 data.
As part of adding support for FOCUS 1.0, we also streamlined the data ingestion pipeline to prepare for ingesting other datasets, which we’ll add in an upcoming release. In the meantime, if you’d like to add support for additional export types, you can create a custom mapping file and save it to config/schemas/<dataset-type>_<dataset-version>.json in hub storage. Use the existing FocusCost_1.0.json as a template. Keep in mind some datasets have different schemas for EA and MCA, which cannot be identified via these attributes and may cause an issue if you have both account types. We will add all datasets in a future release and account for the EA and MCA differences by aligning to FOCUS.
Next is managed exports. Managed exports are like managed disks for virtual machines. You grant the hub access to create exports on any scopes you want to manage cost for and it’ll create and run exports for you. You can grant access to any EA or MCA subscription or resource group, or any EA billing scope. MCA billing scopes will also be available in the future when Cost Management adds support for service principal access.
Speaking of data ingestion, we also added a feature called remote hubs, which enables you to ingest data from a hub instance in another directory (or tenant). To configure remote hubs, simply deploy a hub instance in the directory where you want to pull data from, create a SAS token for that hub storage account, and specify a SAS token to ingest data across directories. And when Cost Management exports support FOCUS data in other clouds, this will also enable those interested in consolidating data across Azure Commercial, Azure Government, or Azure China clouds to view all data in a single tool. Let us know what you’d like to see in this regard and we’ll share updates as capabilities evolve.
Lastly, I’d like to call out some improvements to the FinOps hubs and Power BI troubleshooting guide. We created a dedicated page for common errors and introduced a new step-by-step troubleshooting walkthrough to help validate your hub instance and Power BI setup. You’ll also find a new Ingestion errors page in the Data ingestion report, which can also help identify common issues. Oh, and I suppose I should also call out that the Commitment discounts report was renamed to Rate optimization to align to the FinOps Framework 2024 updates, which I mentioned earlier.
Other new and noteworthy updates
Many small improvements and bug fixes go into each release, so covering everything in detail can be a lot to take in. But I do want to call out a few other small things that you may be interested in.
In Power BI reports:
Use the new x_IncrementalRefreshDate column when configuring incremental refresh in Power BI.
View resource count and cost per resource in the Inventory page of the Cost summary report.
Simplify tag parsing with a new default “{}” value for tags to facilitate tag expansion.
Load data faster with less memory and fewer errors with simpler, optimized queries.
In Azure Monitor workbooks:
Get the latest updates from the Azure Advisor . For July, this includes:
New reservations recommendations with break-even point.
Redesigned sustainability tab.
Removed dynamic IPs from the public IP addresses query to ensure more precise results.
Excluded free tier web apps to focus on top services.
Monitor managed disks in the Governance workbook.
In the FinOps toolkit PowerShell module:
Track progress and retry throttling errors in Start-FinOpsCostExport.
Removed support for Windows PowerShell due to inconsistencies with PowerShell 7.
In open data files:
All open data files were updated to include the latest pricing units, services, resources, etc.
All dataset examples were updated to recent month to align with the new FOCUS 1.0 dataset.
What’s next
Looking forward, we’re planning to shift to smaller, more frequent updates. We published our goals for 2024 in our roadmap but here are a few highlights:
Power BI reports will expand to more FinOps capabilities and add support for raw exports without requiring the Cost Management connector or FinOps hubs.
Azure Monitor workbooks will continue to get recurring updates, expand to more FinOps capabilities, and add cost from FinOps hubs.
FinOps hubs will add support for more datasets, private endpoints, and large datasets in Azure Data Explorer.
Azure Optimization Engine will continue to receive small updates as we plan out the next major release of the tool.
Help and support experiences will continue to evolve across all tools.
Each release, we’ll try to pick at least one of the highest voted issues (based on :thumbs_up: votes) to continue to evolve based on your feedback, so keep the feedback coming!
And of course, you’ll continue to see updates for the Cost optimization workbook and open data files as usual. So stay engaged and let us know what works well and how things could be improved for you. Whether you’re using native products, automating and extending those products, or using custom solutions, we’re here to help make FinOps easier to adopt and implement.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Graph Powershell SignInActivity.LastSignInDateTime very slow
Hello,
I have a list of guest users Im trying to audit and one of tasks would be getting a last sign in date so we can remove the oldest as usual.
There is one script that proved to be working the best for me, but execution is very slow for the users that probably do not have a last sign in date due to they are a very old abandoned guest account or did not accept the invitation. It gets “stuck” on those for a while which slows down the process and going over significant amount of users proves unreasonably long. It gets over those eventually and continues, but I cant run the script for so long for every user that does not have last sign in date saved.
Is there a way to make this faster or maybe skip the ones that take the longest? I think there may be a way to improve this method, but Im not that proficient with Graph and Powershell, so seeking advice.
Here is the script:
Hello,I have a list of guest users Im trying to audit and one of tasks would be getting a last sign in date so we can remove the oldest as usual. There is one script that proved to be working the best for me, but execution is very slow for the users that probably do not have a last sign in date due to they are a very old abandoned guest account or did not accept the invitation. It gets “stuck” on those for a while which slows down the process and going over significant amount of users proves unreasonably long. It gets over those eventually and continues, but I cant run the script for so long for every user that does not have last sign in date saved. Is there a way to make this faster or maybe skip the ones that take the longest? I think there may be a way to improve this method, but Im not that proficient with Graph and Powershell, so seeking advice. Here is the script:# Connect to Microsoft GraphConnect-MgGraph -Scopes “Directory.Read.All”, “AuditLog.Read.All”$users = Import-Csv -Path “C:TempGuestUsers.csv”$signininfo = @()#Counter$i=1#Loop for all usersForeach ($u in $users) { $signininfo += Get-MgUser -UserId $u.Id -Property displayName,userPrincipalName,usertype,accountenabled,signInActivity,createdDateTime | select displayName,userPrincipalName,usertype,accountenabled,createdDateTime,@{Name = ‘LastSignInDateTime’; Expression = {$_.SignInActivity.LastSignInDateTime}} #Counter $i $i++}$signininfo |Export-Csv -Path C:TempSignininfo.csv -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8 Read More
How much time it takes to install Windows 11?
Waited for one hour and the installation is still in progress.
Waited for one hour and the installation is still in progress. Read More
Recommend a safe YouTube videos downloader for PC Windows 11?
I’m currently working on a project and need an opening video to grab the audience’s attention. I found a very suitable video on YouTube, but I need to download it for use in the presentation. The problem is that I don’t have a safe YouTube videos downloader at hand, and I’m using Windows 11. Here I would like to ask if you have any recommended YouTube video download software, preferably one that you have actually used and can download videos stably and quickly. I hope to get your help, thank you!
I’m currently working on a project and need an opening video to grab the audience’s attention. I found a very suitable video on YouTube, but I need to download it for use in the presentation. The problem is that I don’t have a safe YouTube videos downloader at hand, and I’m using Windows 11. Here I would like to ask if you have any recommended YouTube video download software, preferably one that you have actually used and can download videos stably and quickly. I hope to get your help, thank you! Read More