Tag Archives: microsoft
FsLogix Outlook stuck at „Load Profile“
Hi all,
Fslogix profile and office container are loaded correctly. All apps starts without an issue except Outlook. Outlook startup is stuck at „Load Profile“.
the only workaround is to logoff the user.
thanks
Hi all,Fslogix profile and office container are loaded correctly. All apps starts without an issue except Outlook. Outlook startup is stuck at „Load Profile“.the only workaround is to logoff the user. thanks Read More
Azure Backup for SQL Server in Azure VM: Tips and Tricks from the Field
Authored by: Michael Piskorski, Laura Grob, Wilson Souza, Armen Kaleshian, David Pless, Anna Hoffman
Setting the Stage
We recently worked with a customer that migrated their Windows and SQL Servers to Azure that wanted to use Azure Backup for a consistent enterprise backup experience. The SQL Servers had multiple databases of varying sizes, some that were multi-terabyte. A single Azure Backup vault was deployed using a policy that was distributed to all the SQL Servers. During the migration process, the customer observed issues with the quality of the backups and poor virtual machine performance while the backups were running. We worked through the issues by reviewing the best practices, modifying the Azure Backup configuration, and changing the virtual machine SKU. For this specific example, the customer needed to change their SKU from Standard_E8bds_v5 to Standard_E16bds_v5 to support the additional IOPS and throughput required for the backups. They used premium SSD v1 and the configuration met the IOPS and throughput requirements.
In this post, we share some of the techniques we used to identify and resolve the performance issues that were observed.
Azure Backup Vault configuration
There are three primary areas to consider when defining your Azure Backup vault strategy for SQL database workloads. They are the following: 1). private network access 2). DNS resolution and 3). limitations of the Backup Vault. In our experience, we found that most customers, especially in regulated industries, are required to disable public network access to the Azure Backup vault requiring additional configuration to be made.
There are several important considerations to be aware of when applying this restriction to the Azure Backup vault.
When creating your private endpoint make sure you select the correct resource type.
Azure Recovery Services Vault supports private endpoints for Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery. Ensure you select Recovery Services vault as the Resource and AzureBackup as the Target subresource type. . The ‘Create and use private endpoints (v2 experience) for Azure Backup’ article describes the process of configuring private endpoints for use by an Azure Backup Recovery Vault.
Ensure private endpoints for target resources are integrated into an Azure Private DNS zone.
Databases on the virtual machine configured for protection by Azure Backup will require name resolution of the backup vault private endpoint. In addition, having a well architected DNS strategy is necessary to ensure reliability of the service. This area is often challenging for newer Azure customers. The Azure Private Endpoint DNS integration guide provides a good overview of private endpoints and how they are integrated into Azure Private DNS Zones.
Consider Azure Backup limits
Review the current limitations outlined in the Backup Vault Support documentation
Using multiple Azure Recovery Services Vaults in Azure Backup can enhance data security and disaster recovery readiness, but it also increases management complexity. While Azure’s immutable vaults protect against ransomware and other threats, ensuring a clear and efficient recovery process is important.
Balancing the number of vaults is key to aligning with recovery objectives and compliance needs without adding unnecessary administrative overhead.
Review the Azure Backup Reliability document to ensure you select the proper configuration for your Recovery Services Vault to meet your architecture requirements.
In designing a comprehensive and consistent enterprise backup strategy, consider the types of workloads that are protected, the amount of data protected, the sensitivity of the data being backed up, and the total number of protected items that a single vault can support. The best practice is to protect similar workloads. For example, virtual machines are configured against one vault and databases against a separate vault. This allows for ease of management, isolation per least privilege, and autonomy allowing each workload owner to manage their own backups. The Backup cloud and on-premises workloads to cloud guide provides a comprehensive set of best practices and designs for a variety of multiple vault architectures.
Azure Virtual Machine sizing considerations
Given the Azure Well-Architected Framework, selecting the appropriate virtual machine size for a workload requires consideration of its business continuity requirements. Some customers may not take their backup requirements into consideration when collecting the performance metrics to properly size the VM SKU and disk configuration. This means the IOPS, disk throughput, and network throughput metrics may not reflect the backup activity in the data collected during the sizing exercise.
For example, Azure Backup for SQL Server can (by default) support running up to 20 database backups simultaneously using 200 MB/sec of disk throughput per database. If you have larger databases on an instance those iterative backup processes can take a long time to complete. You will want to consider the following items when determining how many backups can run concurrently:
Application workloads and other business processes that may run at the same time backups are running
Disk IOPS and throughput required by both the SQL Server application workload and the backups
VM IOPS and throughput limits
Network consumption rate
Ensure you consider the window available for your backups and maintenance tasks as this will help determine if you need to scale up the VM or storage or reduce the number of concurrent backups. If you decide you need to override the default backup configuration, you do have an option to configure the number of concurrent backups. To override the default setting, you will want to create an ExtensionSettingsOverrides.json file on the server located in the C:Program FilesAzure Workload Backupbin folder. You would configure the Default Backup Tasks Threshold parameter to 5 in this example by using the following code:
{“DefaultBackupTasksThreshold”: 5}
Once you save your changes and close the file you will need to restart the following service: AzureWLBackupCoordinatorSvc
Ensure there are sufficient IOPS and throughput capacity at both the virtual machine and disk layers. You can use the metrics in the Azure portal for the virtual machine and disks to check if the maximum throughput is being reached. If your virtual machine supports less than 200 mb/sec, Azure Backup will not transfer the data at the optimum speed. There is a spreadsheet that can be leveraged to assist with sizing (link).
There are a few items to consider when you are deploying your backup policies. The policy supports all three types of SQL backups: full, differential, and transaction log backups and different recovery models. One key point to consider is the backup compression setting in the policy overrides the SQL Server instance level setting so if you want to use backup compression, ensure that you check that box in the policy. If you choose to leverage differential backups you can trigger one per day in the backup policy. Transaction log backups can be triggered as often as every 15 minutes.
Auto-protection is an option that runs a discovery process typically every 8 hours to determine if new databases have been added to the instance. When it finds newly created databases it will trigger the backup within 32 hours. You can manually run a discovery to ensure new databases are backed up sooner. If you select auto-protect you cannot exclude databases, it will cover all databases on the instance.
The option to configure writing backups to local storage and the recovery vault simultaneously can be invoked for the backup type of your choice by creating a PluginConfigSettings.json file in the C:Program FilesAzure Workload Backupbinplugins location. An example of the JSON code is shown below:
{
“EnableLocalDiskBackupForBackupTypes”: [“Log”],
“LocalDiskBackupFolderPath”: “E:\LocalBackup”,
}
This example enables simultaneous writes of the transaction log backups to the E drive as well as the recovery services vault.
Azure Backup for SQL Server has several feature considerations and limitations which have changed over time. The most current information can be found in the ‘Support matrix for SQL Server Backup in Azure VMs’ and under the ‘Feature considerations and limitations‘ section.
Troubleshooting tools and tips
In this section we will discuss some tips you can leverage if you run into issues with backups failing or running longer than expected. The two primary areas of focus will include metric data for virtual machine and disk throughput as well as how to correlate the databases to the scheduled tasks for backups.
Instrumentation
One area to consider when experiencing slow backup performance is the constraints on the virtual machine and any attached disk. To determine the cause of the slowness on both the virtual machine and disk, review the metric “VM Uncached Bandwidth Consumed Percentage”. This metric defines if your virtual machine is I/O capped. The value is calculated by dividing the total actual uncached throughput on a virtual machine by the maximum provisioned virtual machine throughput. If you observe this metric reaching 100 percent during a backup job, this will affect the performance of the backup due to the virtual machine using all the uncached bandwidth of the VM. This screenshot identifies the metric that is being referenced in this article.
To see if there are constraints on the disk level you would look at the associated disk IOPS and throughput limits using the Logical Disk MB/s and Logical Disk IOPS within the virtual machine’s Insights blade. The screenshots below show the metrics referenced.
Now let us use this example, if you are using the virtual machine SKU “Standard_E8bds_v5” the max uncached throughput is 650MBps. When you take into consideration that each database backup that is running may consume up to 200MBps of uncached throughput it is important to ensure your virtual machine and disk configuration can support the number of concurrent backups running.
Leveraging the metrics and logging will help you when troubleshooting performances issues and below we will discuss a script you can leverage to help to split database backups into multiple schedules. The key point to understand is it is particularly important to understand the SKU size of the virtual machine and disks with relation to uncached throughput limits and how many databases backups are required on your server in relation to your backup requirements / goals.
The recommended amount of uncached throughput at the virtual machine or disk is above 850 MBps, which is referenced in Azure Backup support matrix for SQL Server Backup in Azure VMs.
Correlate Database Backup to Task Script:
As we have discussed, the disk throughput capacity based on the virtual machine SKU and disk configuration is important in designing a performant and reliable backup strategy in Azure. . If you observe throughput levels that are hitting the maximum causing throttling, you can leverage the script below to determine which database backups are scheduled to run and when. Based on this information, you can then choose to either scale up the virtual machine SKU, modify the disk configuration (depending on where the throttling is occurring), or modify the number of concurrent backups as detailed in an earlier section of this post.
Sample Code:
# Script to associate database name and type of backup to GUID
$tasks = Get-ScheduledTask -TaskPath *IaaSWorkloadBackup* | ? { $_.taskpath -notlike “*HKTask*” -and $_.taskpath -notlike “*Telemetry*” -and $_.taskpath -notlike “*WorkloadInquiry*” -and $_.state -ne “Disabled” }
$dirlist = dir “C:Program FilesAzure Workload BackupCatalogWorkloadExtDatasourceCatalogWorkloadExtDatasourceTable*”
$tasklist = @()
foreach ($datasource in $dirlist)
{
$json = Get-Content -Path $datasource.fullname | ConvertFrom-Json
$schedules = @($tasks | ? { $_.taskpath -like (‘*’ + $json.datasourceId + ‘*’)})
foreach ($task in $schedules)
{
$jobsobject = New-Object PSObject
Add-Member -InputObject $jobsobject -MemberType NoteProperty -Name poname -Value $json.poName
Add-Member -InputObject $jobsobject -MemberType NoteProperty -Name datasourceid -Value $json.datasourceId
Add-Member -InputObject $jobsobject -MemberType NoteProperty -Name TaskName -Value $task.URI.Split(“”)[-1]
Add-Member -InputObject $jobsobject -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Container -Value $json.containerUniqueName
switch ($task.Triggers)
{
{$_.repetition.interval -ne $null} {Add-Member -InputObject $jobsobject -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Type -Value “Log”; break}
{$_.DaysOfWeek -gt 1} {Add-Member -InputObject $jobsobject -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Type -Value “Differential”; break}
DEFAULT {Add-Member -InputObject $jobsobject -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Type -Value “Full”}
}
$tasklist += $jobsobject
}
}
$tasklist | Sort-Object poname | ft -AutoSize
This sample code once executed on the virtual machine will provide an output of all the databases and correlate them to the backup task ID as shown in the below for an example output.
This output will show you the database name that is assigned to the datasourceid and the type of backup. Now you can open task scheduler on the virtual machine and relate the database to the scheduled task. You can see in the screenshot below that the “model” database is associated with datasourceid “5422562649858860379” which correlates to the schedule the database is on for log and database backups.
This allows you to see the Azure Backup schedule for your database backups and helps you plan the number of concurrent backups you can run based on the uncached throughput capacity of your virtual machine and disk configuration.
Summary
In this post, we provided details on the main considerations when designing a solution that leverages Azure Backup to protect both your Azure virtual machines and SQL Servers.
Below are the key summary points from this article:
Backup Vault Configuration: It is crucial to consider private network access, DNS resolution, and the limitations of the Backup Vault. Private endpoints must be correctly configured, and the Azure Private DNS zone integrated.
VM Sizing Considerations: Proper VM sizing should account for backup requirements, as Azure Backup for SQL Server can run multiple database backups simultaneously, affecting disk throughput and performance.
Backup Policy Deployment: Policies support full, differential, and transaction log backups. Note that backup compression settings in the policy override SQL Server instance level settings.
Troubleshooting Tools: Utilize metric data for VM and disk throughput and scripts to correlate databases to scheduled tasks for backups, ensuring performance is not hindered by reaching uncached bandwidth limits.
Links to reference materials and scripts to troubleshoot common issues have been provided to facilitate the use of Azure Backup to protect your SQL server workloads. Any scripts, metrics, or limitations may change over time as our products continue to evolve.
Helpful references:
FAQ – Backing up SQL Server databases on Azure VMs – Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn
Back up SQL Server databases to Azure – Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn
Azure Backup support matrix for SQL Server Backup in Azure VMs – Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn
Azure Backup support matrix – Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn
Back up SQL Server databases to Azure – Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn
Restore SQL Server databases on an Azure VM – Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn
Automation in Azure Backup support matrix – Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
CMMC Workbook
Does anyone know why the CMMC workbook is located in Microsoft Sentinel instead of in Defender for Cloud? Firms that are not using Sentinel cannot use this potentially helpful tool.
Will that workbook function if it is stored elsewhere in Azure?
Does anyone know why the CMMC workbook is located in Microsoft Sentinel instead of in Defender for Cloud? Firms that are not using Sentinel cannot use this potentially helpful tool. Will that workbook function if it is stored elsewhere in Azure? Read More
Teams setting me away and missing calls PSTN
I have a computer set up to take all my PSTN calls for my business. I noticed that some calls weren’t showing until the next day. Then I noticed that Teams was setting me away. I an only imagine these two things are tied together. In Classic I set the options to never set me away. I don’t see a way to do that in the New Teams.
Can anyone offer advice as to how to resolve this? I need the calls to come in so that I can hear the speakers when I am in the other rooms.
I have a computer set up to take all my PSTN calls for my business. I noticed that some calls weren’t showing until the next day. Then I noticed that Teams was setting me away. I an only imagine these two things are tied together. In Classic I set the options to never set me away. I don’t see a way to do that in the New Teams. Can anyone offer advice as to how to resolve this? I need the calls to come in so that I can hear the speakers when I am in the other rooms. Read More
Sharepoint Nav Bar keeps changing my links
Hello all!
So I’m not sure what is happening here, except that maybe there is a technical issue? I have a horizontal nav bar in the modern experience and it keeps changing the links I load there! I orginally wanted just home, documents, and then new hire planner. So I edit the bar and link everything and then next time I load the site, it has changed them all!
I have the audience targeting turned OFF, so any thoughts why this is happening? Screenshot to show what it most recently flipped to (i.e. NOT the things I set up!)
Hello all! So I’m not sure what is happening here, except that maybe there is a technical issue? I have a horizontal nav bar in the modern experience and it keeps changing the links I load there! I orginally wanted just home, documents, and then new hire planner. So I edit the bar and link everything and then next time I load the site, it has changed them all!I have the audience targeting turned OFF, so any thoughts why this is happening? Screenshot to show what it most recently flipped to (i.e. NOT the things I set up!) Read More
Support tip: Windows device configuration policies migrating to unified settings platform in Intune
By: Julia Idaewor – Product Manager II | Microsoft Intune
As we update and simplify creating and managing configuration settings in Microsoft Intune, we’re also migrating policies and settings to the unified settings platform. This platform is the foundation of the settings catalog, which provides quick access to policy and settings. Additionally, it provides consistency across naming, tooltips, available values, and standardizes the “not configured” value for policy settings regardless of where you interact with the policy.
We previously migrated endpoint security policies and baselines to the unified settings platform. Starting on July 15 or soon after, we will begin migrating device configuration templates to the new, unified settings platform. Specifically, these are the profiles created by navigating to Devices > Configuration > Create new policy > Windows 10 and later > Templates in the Microsoft Intune admin center.
During the migration, you may see the message stating, “Some device configuration templates created before July 15 will be migrated. For others, you’ll notice a new policy editing experience. Learn more about this migration here.”
The option to create new Windows device configuration templates will be discontinued for the subset of templates listed below. However, all settings will remain accessible for configuration in the settings catalog. We strongly recommend utilizing the settings catalog for all your managed device configuration needs.
This migration won’t impact your existing profiles, the configured settings and values will be brought over as they are currently saved. Additionally, this won’t impact the state of enforcement of policy on managed devices.
Following the migration, certain templates as listed below will become exclusively configurable within the settings catalog moving forward. For the other templates listed, the next time the upgraded policy is edited, you will also notice a new policy editing experience, improved reporting and handling for setting values to “not configured”.
Please see below for details on each template’s migration experience and note that these are subject to change as migration efforts develop. We’ll provide updates to this post as needed:
Delivery optimization: This template can still be configured in the same location.
Identity protection (Account protection): This template will be moving to the Endpoint security blade.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (EDR): This template can still be configured in the same location.
Device restrictions (Windows 10 Team): This template can still be configured in the same location.
Network boundary: This template will no longer be available. Settings in this template can be configured via settings catalog only. Migrated policies will show ‘Settings catalog’ as the policy type.
Device restrictions: This template will no longer be available. Settings in this template be configured via settings catalog only. Migrated policies will show ‘Settings catalog’ as the policy type.
Administrative templates: This template will no longer be available. Settings in this template can be configured via settings catalog only. Migrated policies will show ‘Settings catalog’ as the policy type.
Kiosk: This template can still be configured in the same location.
Domain join: To be determined.
Edition upgrade and mode switch: To be determined.
If you see a device configuration template in the UI that’s not listed above, there will be no changes to the current experience and the template will remain as-is.
If you’re interacting with device configuration profiles via the: ‘deviceManagement/deviceConfigurations’ Microsoft Graph API, you’ll be able to continue creating new policies, but they’ll be migrated at a later date. Once migrated, the new policies will have new PolicyIDs and are created with the ‘deviceManagement/configurationPolicies‘ API. We recommend switching to the new graph endpoints for policy creation as soon as possible.
Note: You may see a slight change in reporting numbers when these policies are migrated. Similar to when a policy is edited, reporting records of devices that have previously applied policy and reported the results but are no longer managed or checking in, will not appear in the new reports until they check in again.
What to do to prepare:
If you are using Microsoft Graph API for device configuration policies, we recommend updating to the new graph endpoints. Otherwise, no action is required, only awareness.
Key takeaways:
Keep the following in mind, as we migrate Device configuration policies to the unified settings platform:
Use Security baselines to deploy the recommended settings and values for common scenarios. This is a great place to start, if you’re new to Intune.
If you’re coming from on-premises, Active Directory, start with Group policy analytics to analyze your on-premises Group Policy objects (GPOs) and to help you determine how your existing policy translates in the cloud.
For greater control, we recommend using the settings catalog, where you can browse the catalog of all available policy settings and create a custom policy from scratch that meets your needs. You can use the settings catalog to create a policy by searching and adding only those settings that you specify. For a full list of available settings in the catalog, see aka.ms/catalogedsettings.
Let us know if you have any questions by replying to this post or reaching out to @IntuneSuppTeam on X. We’ll continue to provide updates to the migration status of these templates.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Deliver security modules through Viva
Hi there,
Within the Attack Simulation Training section of the Microsoft M365 security portal, there are a large number of security training modules we can deliver to end users. These modules are usually delivered through email and manual selection.
Is there a way to provide these training modules through Microsoft Viva Learning, and if so, how does one do it?
Thanks,
Mark
Hi there, Within the Attack Simulation Training section of the Microsoft M365 security portal, there are a large number of security training modules we can deliver to end users. These modules are usually delivered through email and manual selection. Is there a way to provide these training modules through Microsoft Viva Learning, and if so, how does one do it? Thanks,Mark Read More
INDEX + IF formula?
Hi,
Im new to excel and trying to solve some issues. I want to get something and i could do this with IF+vlookup function but the cell that I want to get the data from is on the left. As per my understanding, vlookup only able to do the right side cell.
Basically, I want to have the table on the left filled with the information on the right table with several condition such as I only want to take the week from 7/1 to 7/8 so i used =date-7. So, Unit 405 shouldnt move to the ‘leases’ table.
I used if vlookup because the only think i can think is to vlookup the date, but how to get the unit, floorplan, etc info if using vlookup this way?
Thank you!
Hi, Im new to excel and trying to solve some issues. I want to get something and i could do this with IF+vlookup function but the cell that I want to get the data from is on the left. As per my understanding, vlookup only able to do the right side cell. Basically, I want to have the table on the left filled with the information on the right table with several condition such as I only want to take the week from 7/1 to 7/8 so i used =date-7. So, Unit 405 shouldnt move to the ‘leases’ table. I used if vlookup because the only think i can think is to vlookup the date, but how to get the unit, floorplan, etc info if using vlookup this way? Thank you! Read More
Excel VBA move row up once status is marked “DONE” above a merged row and put in numerical order.
I am having problems figuring out how to code the following. Once the column ‘Status’ is marked “DONE” need to move the row up above a merged row and put it in numerical order based off ‘Workorder Number’ and keep the conditional formatting that is applied and remove the marching ants from the row that was cut.
I am having problems figuring out how to code the following. Once the column ‘Status’ is marked “DONE” need to move the row up above a merged row and put it in numerical order based off ‘Workorder Number’ and keep the conditional formatting that is applied and remove the marching ants from the row that was cut. Read More
How to Use Copilot with Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word, a staple in the world of word processing, has continuously evolved to meet the demands of modern users. One of the latest advancements is the integration of AI-powered tools like Copilot, which promises to revolutionize the way we write and edit documents. In this blog, we’ll explore how to use Copilot with Microsoft Word to enhance your productivity and streamline your writing process.
What is Copilot?
Copilot, developed by OpenAI and integrated into various Microsoft products, is an AI assistant designed to help users with a range of tasks, from generating text to offering suggestions and corrections. In Microsoft Word, Copilot acts as a virtual assistant, providing real-time assistance as you write.
Getting Started with Copilot in Microsoft Word
To use Copilot with Microsoft Word, you need to ensure you have an active Microsoft 365 subscription and the latest version of Word. Here’s how to get started:
Update Microsoft Word: Make sure your Word application is updated to the latest version to access Copilot features.
Sign in to Microsoft 365: Use your Microsoft 365 credentials to sign in and unlock the full potential of Copilot.
Enable Copilot: In Word, navigate to the “Help” or “Tools” menu to enable Copilot. This may vary slightly depending on your version of Word.
Using Copilot to Enhance Your Writing
Once Copilot is enabled, you can start leveraging its capabilities to improve your writing workflow. Here are some key features and how to use them:
Generating Text: If you’re struggling with writer’s block or need inspiration, Copilot can help generate text based on your prompts. Simply type a brief description of what you need, and Copilot will provide suggestions. For example, type “Write an introduction for a blog about productivity tools,” and Copilot will generate a few paragraphs to get you started.
Editing and Proofreading: Copilot excels at catching grammatical errors, typos, and stylistic issues. Highlight a section of text and ask Copilot to review it. You’ll receive suggestions for corrections and improvements, ensuring your document is polished and professional.
Research and Information Retrieval: Need facts or references? Copilot can help you find relevant information without leaving Word. Ask Copilot a question or request data on a specific topic, and it will pull in information from reliable sources.
Formatting Assistance: Struggling with document formatting? Copilot can offer tips and automatically adjust formatting to ensure consistency. Whether it’s creating bullet points, adjusting headings, or setting up tables, Copilot has you covered.
Language Translation: Writing for a global audience? Copilot can translate sections of your document into different languages, making it easier to communicate with diverse audiences.
Tips for Maximizing Copilot’s Potential
Be Specific with Prompts: The more specific you are with your prompts, the better Copilot can assist you. Clearly state what you need to get the most accurate and helpful responses.
Review Suggestions Carefully: While Copilot is powerful, it’s not infallible. Always review its suggestions to ensure they align with your intent and make necessary adjustments.
Explore Advanced Features: Don’t hesitate to explore advanced features and settings in Copilot. Customizing its behavior can further enhance your writing experience.
Sum up
Integrating Copilot with Microsoft Word is a game-changer for anyone looking to boost their writing efficiency and quality. By leveraging AI assistance, you can overcome common writing challenges, enhance your productivity, and create compelling, error-free documents with ease. Give Copilot a try and discover how it can transform your writing process in Microsoft Word.
Mastering Copilot with Microsoft WordMicrosoft Word, a staple in the world of word processing, has continuously evolved to meet the demands of modern users. One of the latest advancements is the integration of AI-powered tools like Copilot, which promises to revolutionize the way we write and edit documents. In this blog, we’ll explore how to use Copilot with Microsoft Word to enhance your productivity and streamline your writing process.What is Copilot?Copilot, developed by OpenAI and integrated into various Microsoft products, is an AI assistant designed to help users with a range of tasks, from generating text to offering suggestions and corrections. In Microsoft Word, Copilot acts as a virtual assistant, providing real-time assistance as you write.Getting Started with Copilot in Microsoft WordTo use Copilot with Microsoft Word, you need to ensure you have an active Microsoft 365 subscription and the latest version of Word. Here’s how to get started:Update Microsoft Word: Make sure your Word application is updated to the latest version to access Copilot features.Sign in to Microsoft 365: Use your Microsoft 365 credentials to sign in and unlock the full potential of Copilot.Enable Copilot: In Word, navigate to the “Help” or “Tools” menu to enable Copilot. This may vary slightly depending on your version of Word.Using Copilot to Enhance Your WritingOnce Copilot is enabled, you can start leveraging its capabilities to improve your writing workflow. Here are some key features and how to use them:Generating Text: If you’re struggling with writer’s block or need inspiration, Copilot can help generate text based on your prompts. Simply type a brief description of what you need, and Copilot will provide suggestions. For example, type “Write an introduction for a blog about productivity tools,” and Copilot will generate a few paragraphs to get you started.Editing and Proofreading: Copilot excels at catching grammatical errors, typos, and stylistic issues. Highlight a section of text and ask Copilot to review it. You’ll receive suggestions for corrections and improvements, ensuring your document is polished and professional.Research and Information Retrieval: Need facts or references? Copilot can help you find relevant information without leaving Word. Ask Copilot a question or request data on a specific topic, and it will pull in information from reliable sources.Formatting Assistance: Struggling with document formatting? Copilot can offer tips and automatically adjust formatting to ensure consistency. Whether it’s creating bullet points, adjusting headings, or setting up tables, Copilot has you covered.Language Translation: Writing for a global audience? Copilot can translate sections of your document into different languages, making it easier to communicate with diverse audiences.Tips for Maximizing Copilot’s PotentialBe Specific with Prompts: The more specific you are with your prompts, the better Copilot can assist you. Clearly state what you need to get the most accurate and helpful responses.Review Suggestions Carefully: While Copilot is powerful, it’s not infallible. Always review its suggestions to ensure they align with your intent and make necessary adjustments.Explore Advanced Features: Don’t hesitate to explore advanced features and settings in Copilot. Customizing its behavior can further enhance your writing experience.Sum upIntegrating Copilot with Microsoft Word is a game-changer for anyone looking to boost their writing efficiency and quality. By leveraging AI assistance, you can overcome common writing challenges, enhance your productivity, and create compelling, error-free documents with ease. Give Copilot a try and discover how it can transform your writing process in Microsoft Word. Read More
How to install WMIC Feature on Demand on Windows 11
Do you need to continue using Windows Management Instrumentation Command (WMIC) line? Though this feature is currently being deprecated, there is a temporary solution to help your organization while you finish migrating to PowerShell or a similar tool. This solution is brought to you by Features on Demand (FoDs).
WMIC has been available as a FoD for Windows 11 since 2022. It will be disabled by default later this year, but it will remain available for those who need it. In preparation for this next deprecation stage, let’s review the steps you’ll need to take to use this optional feature a bit longer.
Symptoms of a missing WMIC FoD
If WMIC.exe is missing from your setup, you’ll see this error message when you attempt a WMIC command in the command prompt: ‘wmic’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or batch file.
That’s expected behavior if WMIC is missing, disabled, or uninstalled from your system. If you still need to use WMIC, you’ll need to install it as a FoD. Let’s see how.
Locate optional features in Windows Settings
FoDs are listed as optional features in Windows Settings. You can view the history of optional features that have been installed on the system and manage these components by adding, removing, or altering existing features.
There are two easy ways to locate optional features:
Option 1. Search for “Optional features” directly from the taskbar’s search menu.
Option 2. Locate optional features in Windows System settings. To do this:
Select Start (or the Windows icon on your keyboard or the taskbar).
Select the Settings app to open it.
Select the System tab.
Locate and select Optional features toward the bottom of all system features.
Install and manage WMIC FoD
From the Optional features menu, you’re ready to view, install, uninstall, and manage FoDs like WMIC. Not sure if WMIC is already installed? Search through or sort the Installed features section to find WMIC.
If WMIC is already one of your optional features, you’ll see it in the list of Installed features with an option to Uninstall or Remove it.
If WMIC isn’t on the list of Installed features, you can easily add it by taking these steps:
At the top of the Optional features tab, locate Add an optional feature.
In that field, select View features. This will open a pop-up window.
In the pop-up window to Add an optional feature, type “WMIC” into the search box.
When WMIC appears in the results below, select it by checking the box next to it. (Note: WMIC will not appear in the results if it’s already installed.)
Select Next to install WMIC feature in the same pop-up window.
You should now see WMIC among your features in Windows Settings > System > Optional features > Installed features. That’s also where you can uninstall it when you’ve migrated to PowerShell or other supported solutions.
Ready for the next steps in WMIC deprecation?
As we’ve previously announced, the next step in WMIC deprecation is coming later this year. WMIC will be disabled by default on the next version of Windows 11 and Windows Server.
Please refer to the following documentation for more guidance and examples:
WMI command line (WMIC) utility deprecation: Next steps
Using WMI – Win32 apps
Creating WMI Clients – Win32 apps
Creating a WMI Application or Script – Win32 apps
Creating a WMI Application Using C++ – Win32 apps
WMI C++ Application Examples – Win32 apps
Continue the conversation. Find best practices. Bookmark the Windows Tech Community, then follow us @MSWindowsITPro on X and on LinkedIn. Looking for support? Visit Windows on Microsoft Q&A.
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black screen after wake up from sleep or hibernate
win11 newest beta version, before reinstall whole system works fine.
But after reinstall, schedule to sleep then wake up get black screen. HDD works a while then auto hibernate.
click mouse or keyboard when black screen can back to lockscreen.
googled whole 3 days unable to work out.
win11 newest beta version, before reinstall whole system works fine.But after reinstall, schedule to sleep then wake up get black screen. HDD works a while then auto hibernate.click mouse or keyboard when black screen can back to lockscreen.googled whole 3 days unable to work out. Read More
How to embed Microsoft Teams into my own Electron application
Dear all,
I am currently working on an Electron application to integrate Microsoft Teams into it. I want to provide users with the ability to access Microsoft Teams meeting directly from within the Electron app with customized UI and Microsoft Teams meeting experience.
I have done some research and found a few potential approaches, such as using an iframe to embed the Teams web client or leveraging the Microsoft Graph API. However, I’m not entirely sure which method would be the most effective and if there are any specific considerations or limitations I should be aware of, also not sure how to handle the user authorization.
Has anyone here successfully embedded Microsoft Teams into an Electron application? If so, could you please share your approach, any challenges you faced, and how you resolved them? Additionally, any code snippets or resources would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Sincerely,
James from Shared Studios
Dear all,I am currently working on an Electron application to integrate Microsoft Teams into it. I want to provide users with the ability to access Microsoft Teams meeting directly from within the Electron app with customized UI and Microsoft Teams meeting experience.I have done some research and found a few potential approaches, such as using an iframe to embed the Teams web client or leveraging the Microsoft Graph API. However, I’m not entirely sure which method would be the most effective and if there are any specific considerations or limitations I should be aware of, also not sure how to handle the user authorization.Has anyone here successfully embedded Microsoft Teams into an Electron application? If so, could you please share your approach, any challenges you faced, and how you resolved them? Additionally, any code snippets or resources would be greatly appreciated.Thank you in advance for your help!Sincerely,James from Shared Studios Read More
Outlook Mobile Continues to set Standard for Microsoft 365 Email Mobility
It’s common to be asked which is the best mobile email client for Exchange Online. My view is that Outlook Mobile is the only client to use (if possible). I know that this opinion is unpopular with devotees of clients like the Apple iOS mail client, but the simple facts are that Outlook mobile is more functional and better integrated into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. That’s the defining factor for many.
https://office365itpros.com/2024/07/12/outlook-mobile-standard/
It’s common to be asked which is the best mobile email client for Exchange Online. My view is that Outlook Mobile is the only client to use (if possible). I know that this opinion is unpopular with devotees of clients like the Apple iOS mail client, but the simple facts are that Outlook mobile is more functional and better integrated into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. That’s the defining factor for many.
https://office365itpros.com/2024/07/12/outlook-mobile-standard/ Read More
Now that I’ve secured approval for the Nonprofit Granted Offerings, what should be my next steps?
Now that you have been approved for the Nonprofit Granted Offerings, you may be eager to know what your next steps should be. It is a common question we hear: ‘What’s next?’ If you have successfully completed the eligibility process and received approval for our granted offerings, this blog is tailored just for you. Let us delve into how M365 serves as the gateway to the Microsoft ecosystem.
M365 goes beyond being a suite of productivity tools—it represents the gateway to a comprehensive ecosystem of interconnected solutions and endless opportunities. By embracing M365, organizations gain access to essential tools such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Teams. More importantly, they integrate into a unified platform that offers cloud services, robust security features, collaborative capabilities, and advanced analytics.
This unified platform leverages robust cloud services, offering scalable storage and computing power to meet diverse organizational needs. It incorporates advanced security features, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and compliance with regulatory requirements. Additionally, M365 facilitates seamless collaboration among teams, enabling real-time communication, file sharing, and project management across various departments and locations.
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Now that we understand how M365 serves as the foundational framework, let us explore how to get started with activating, assigning, or removing M365 licenses effectively.
Activate, assign, or remove your M365 licenses.
Accessing and assigning licenses for the first time:
In order to activate, assign, or remove your M365, we will need to start by accessing the Nonprofit Portal at https://nonprofit.microsoft.com/en-us/getting-started.
Once you have clicked on the link, you will need to sign into your account by clicking the “Sign in” button at the top right-hand corner of the screen.
To successfully sign in you will need to have your .onmicrosoft.com username handy and the password you used to create your Nonprofit Portal Account.
After signing in you will reach your nonprofit homepage. You will need to click on “I am looking for” at the top and select “M365.”
This will take you to a page titled, “Compare our Microsoft 365 Plans”, you will need to scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “admin portal” link under “(2) Activate your licenses.”
First, we are going to start by claiming your granted M365 Business Premium Licenses. To claim your licenses, expand the “Billing” dropdown on the far-left hand side and click on “Purchase Services.”
Scroll down to “Microsoft 365 Business Premium (Nonprofit Staffing Donation)” licenses. These licenses should say “Free.” Click on “Details” change the number of licenses from 1 to 10 and click, “Buy Now.”
You will be required to complete the Billing information and to invoice option before clicking the “Place your order” button. Once you have completed claiming the licenses, you will be directed to go back to the admin center.
To Add Users:
Now that we have claimed your M365 Business Premium Licenses, we will need to assign your licenses to your users.
To assign licenses, expand the “Users” dropdown on the left side of the page. Under Users, select “Active Users.”
On the next page, please click “Add a User” at the top of the page.
Once you click “Add a User” you will need to set up the basics by completing the user information.
Be sure that all three of the boxes are checked and that you email the user’s temporary credentials to their organization email address. Be sure you are NOT emailing it to your .onmicrosoft.com email address.
On the next screen you will assign licenses to your users by selecting the appropriate box for the product you wish to assign. Please note: As you check the box, the number of licenses available will decrease. Once you have assigned all licenses click “Next” at the bottom of the screen.
On the next screen, you will have the option to decide what roles you would like to assign the user. You have the option to select as many roles as you like. You can also understand what each role entails by clicking the “i icon” next to the role.
On the last screen, you will need to confirm that the information you entered is correct and click “Finish adding” at the bottom to finalize the adding of the user.
To remove a user:
Go to Users > Active users’ page
Select the box next to the name(s) of the user(s) you want to delete
Click “Delete User” at the top of the page
Please note” If needed, you can restore deleted users, and recover their data with the exception of calendar items and alias for up to 30 days from the deleted users list.
A few things to note while in the Admin Center:
To see what products you have previously claimed, you can click on “Billing” > “your products.”
Anytime you want to purchase or add new products, you will click on “Billing”> purchase services and select the appropriate tab under “view by category” of the product you wish to purchase.
Adding additional licenses/users in the future:
To add more licenses or users in the future, please follow these steps:
Go to Office.com and click on the Admin icon.
Select ‘Users’ to add new users or ‘Purchase Services’ to acquire additional licenses.”
Now that you have added users to your organization and assigned licenses, your team will be able to collaborate on work from multiple device types, across many different applications. Congratulations on taking the first step in your M365 journey!
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Increasing Security for SQL Server Enabled by Azure Arc
Back in November 2023, the least privileges deployment model was introduced as a public preview. After thorough testing, we are excited to announce that the least privileges deployment mode for SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc will be become automatically available in the coming months if your Azure Extension for SQL Server is on the June, 2024 release or later. Starting in the August release, if there are any new Azure Arc-enabled SQL Servers which are automatically onboarded, they it will come with least privileges enabled as the default. This blog covers the details about the least privilege mode and describes details of the configuration changes to the SQL Servers that will be Arc-enabled.
What is least privileges?
The least privilege principle states that accounts and applications should only have access to the data and operations required. Now, with SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc, you can run the agent extension service with least privileges to perform the required tasks as per your Arc configuration, thus satisfying any requirements you may have to run the Azure Extension for SQL Server in the most secure manner.
The Current Default State
For releases prior to the February 2024 release of the Arc extension for SQL Server, when you install the Azure Arc extension for SQL Server, the installation creates a server-level role in SQL Server called SQLArcExtensionServerRole and a database-level role called SQLArcExtensionUserRole. It then adds NT_AUTHORITYSYSTEM to each role while granting permissions to enable features required by Azure Arc.
In some enterprises, it is against policy to add NT AUTHORITYSYSTEM account to SQL Server roles even if it is scoped down to specific roles and permissions. If you are installing Azure Arc, you should make sure it abides by your organization’s IT policies. The least privilege mode has been designed to meet the permissions restrictions of such environments.
The Least Privilege Mode
This section describes the configuration changes made to Arc-enabled SQL Server when least privileges mode is deployed. In least privileges mode, SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc creates a new local Windows virtual account: NT ServiceSQLServerExtension.
This account is granted the minimum required privileges to run the Azure extension for SQL Server service on the Windows operating system and it only has access to folders and directories used for reading and storing configuration or writing logs. Additionally, it is granted permission to connect and query in SQL Server with a new login for that service account with the minimum permissions required by assigning that login to the SQLArcExtensionUserRole database-level roles.
Prerequisites for running least privilege
Windows Server 2012 or later
SQL Server 2012 or later
Linux is not supported today
How to Validate if Least Privilege is Enabled in Your Environment
Please reference the documentation to validate if least privileges is enabled for your SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/azure-arc/configure-least-privilege?view=sql-server-ver16.
Where Can I Find Details on the Roles, Permissions and Files
For details on the permissions granted for the NT ServiceSQLServerExtension account, please reference this documentation link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/azure-arc/configure-windows-accounts-agent?view=sql-server-ver16.
How will the Public Preview of Least Privileges Mode impact your current environment
We are automatically rolling out least privilege mode to all customers in the coming months. There is no action that you need to take to enable least privileges as it will be automatically enabled in the environment when deployed.
If you would like to see the log file for the changes that are occurring when least privileges is enabled,this is the deployer log file where least privileges logs are present: C:ProgramDataGuestConfigextension_logsMicrosoft.AzureData.WindowsAgent.SqlServer<extension_version>deployer.log
Can Least Privileges mode be disabled? How can I control deployment of least privileges mode?
If you would like to control when least privileges rolls out, you can block the extension upgrade to version 1.1.2717.190. If you do not block the extension upgrade, then least privileges will roll out automatically in your environment. Once least privileges is rolled out, it cannot be disabled. We are doing this to enhance security for all customers and do not recommend disabling the mode.
Nikita Takru
Product Manager at Microsoft, Azure Data
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User Authentication Method last used date
We have an issue with our users getting the latest iPhone and never notifying IT that they have turned in the old one. This means that the old device is still registered in our system as a valid MFA method for the user. I would like to run a script that would tell me per user, their MFA methods and the last time they used it, Or even better the last time that device checked in. The goal would be to delete any devices that have not been used or checked in for over a year as a starting point.
Running Get-MgBetaUserAuthenticationMethod -Userld $UserID I Select • -ExpandProperty AdditionalProperties
There is only Create date / Time not usage. Do I need to be looking anywhere else?
We have an issue with our users getting the latest iPhone and never notifying IT that they have turned in the old one. This means that the old device is still registered in our system as a valid MFA method for the user. I would like to run a script that would tell me per user, their MFA methods and the last time they used it, Or even better the last time that device checked in. The goal would be to delete any devices that have not been used or checked in for over a year as a starting point. Running Get-MgBetaUserAuthenticationMethod -Userld $UserID I Select • -ExpandProperty AdditionalProperties There is only Create date / Time not usage. Do I need to be looking anywhere else? Read More
Any Idea on How to Monetize Azure Stack HCI?
We’d love to hear your thoughts! Share your suggestions in the comments or join the live session to collaborate and discuss how to monetize Azure Stack HCI.
https://www.cloudassert.com/Resources/Webinar/monetize-your-azure-stack-hci-for-business-growth
We’d love to hear your thoughts! Share your suggestions in the comments or join the live session to collaborate and discuss how to monetize Azure Stack HCI. https://www.cloudassert.com/Resources/Webinar/monetize-your-azure-stack-hci-for-business-growth Read More
Has anyone ever done a refund check workflow?
Currently struggling with this. We currently have If Invoice:Balance Due < 0.00, then people within our org are sent an email notifying us that someone needs a refund/has requested a refund. This is to help avoid people overpaying on accident. The workflow starts when a record status changes, and it’s meant to be an automatic process. It’s running in the background as well.
Can anyone lend some assistance? TIA.
Addition: We are using classic workflow.
Currently struggling with this. We currently have If Invoice:Balance Due < 0.00, then people within our org are sent an email notifying us that someone needs a refund/has requested a refund. This is to help avoid people overpaying on accident. The workflow starts when a record status changes, and it’s meant to be an automatic process. It’s running in the background as well. Can anyone lend some assistance? TIA. Addition: We are using classic workflow. Read More
SQL job keeps failing!
I have a SQL where jobs keep failing due to index being already present.
[SQLSTATE 01000] (Message 50000) Creating CRM_CreateChangeCompany [SQLSTATE 01000] (Message 50000) if not exists (select * from [Replication].[SysIndexes] where name = ‘CRM_CreateChangeCompany’) begin create index CRM_CreateChangeCompany on [PROD_Replica].[dbo].[COMPANY] (CREATE_DATE, CHANGE_DATE, COMPANY_NO) exec LogMessage @procedure = ‘EnsureIndexExists’, @message = ‘Created Index CRM_CreateChangeCompany’ end
Any help and assistance would be great!
I have a SQL where jobs keep failing due to index being already present.[SQLSTATE 01000] (Message 50000) Creating CRM_CreateChangeCompany [SQLSTATE 01000] (Message 50000) if not exists (select * from [Replication].[SysIndexes] where name = ‘CRM_CreateChangeCompany’) begin create index CRM_CreateChangeCompany on [PROD_Replica].[dbo].[COMPANY] (CREATE_DATE, CHANGE_DATE, COMPANY_NO) exec LogMessage @procedure = ‘EnsureIndexExists’, @message = ‘Created Index CRM_CreateChangeCompany’ end Any help and assistance would be great! Read More