P2V is the process of converting physical computers to virtual computers.  This involves copying the physical computer’s data (operating system, installed applications, local data, etc) to a virtual computer.  While VMWare provides a free utility for a complete conversion of a physical computer to a virtual machine, Microsoft Hyper-V does not.  This article outlines how to convert a physical computer to a virtual machine for Microsoft Hyper-V: Download, install, and run Disk2VHD on you...

Most companies and home computing enthusiasts keep their servers running in some back room of sorts (data center, server closet, home office).  Physical visits to these rooms should be kept to a minimum and are typically reserved for hardware upgrades/repairs and server installations and decommissions.  This article outlines how to remotely manage your servers (ex. Windows 2008 R2, Windows 2003) from Windows 7: Remote Desktop Connection Remote Desktop Connection allows you to connect to and ...

VMWare and Microsoft offer competing products to build, run, and manage virtual machines (ex. Microsoft Hyper-V, VMWare Server).  Both products store virtual machine configuration and data in their own proprietary formats (ex. VMDK vs VHD) preventing you from running a virtual machine in one product (ex. Hyper-V)  that was created in another (VMWare Server).  This article outlines how to migrate a VMWare virtual machine to a Microsoft Hyper-V server: Shutdown your VMWare VM and remove it fro...

Power efficiency of your computer is typically important for two reasons.  The first is to keep electrical costs low.  The second is to maximize the time a computer can stay on battery (ex. laptop battery, UPS battery, etc).  Today’s computers have more components built in (ex. memory card readers, wireless, bluetooth, etc) and or connected externally (ex. USB devices, printers, etc) that will eat away at your wallet and or remaining battery life.  This article will show you how to you...

Compared to a typical online web site that contained password recovery services like Q&A, email resets, and worst case phone resets, Windows password recovery options are pretty limited.  Typical worst case scenario for lost Windows passwords is reinstalling Windows – a time consuming process which will likely cause you to lose data.  This article outlines how to quickly and easily recover lost Windows passwords. Use A Local Administrator Account If you forgot the password o...