Removing a corrupted search service from SharePoint 2010

Removing the SharePoint 2010 Search Service can become quite a pain. Especially when the removal hasn’t work out the way it should have. So what do you do when the removal failed and your attempts to reinstall the search service are failing as well? I suffered from the same pains and therefor I’ll go thru the step I took to get my search service back online in this blog article.

The Retro Powershell - Looking good in 8-Bit | Part 1

I wrote a little script that, when placed in your PowerShell Profile, will print a message similar to the old boot message you got from your breadbox.

Like a lot of people out there I started my IT career with a Commodore 64. It is still today a class of its own and amazing to see what people are capable to do with this incredible machine. Not only was the Commodore64 the best selling home computer of all times, it still has a huge fan base today. So why not get back the good old feeling back into your PowerShell?

Help! My ULS Logs are empty. What shall I do?

A few weeks ago we added a new dedicated application server to an existing farm. Everything seemed fine so far until a coworker called and informed me that the ULS wasn’t writing information to the log files. In fact the files were created but in the end no content was written to them.

After a short investigation in the Windows Event Logs I find a lot of these entries:

Privacy settings in SharePoint

Not only since it became clear to the public how deep the NSA digs the rabbit hole, privacy has always been a great issue in Germany. There is even a law that makes it mandatory for enterprises to assign personnel to make sure the company doesn’t violate privacy laws.

As an IT-Professional in Germany you therefor must meet the requirements to implement SharePoint in a manner that complies with these privacy laws. Keeping track of all the settings can be painful. Lucky for us, Microsoft has published an article on TechNet how to manage the most important privacy features in SharePoint.

TechNet article: Managing privacy (SharePoint Server 2010)

Alternate Access Mapping (AAM) explained in less than 5 minutes

Do you have trouble to understand how Alternate Access Mapping (AAM) works? Well, here's a great YouTube video from LessThan5Min that explains just that in a very easy way. Check it out.

Why should you prefer A-records over CName in SharePoint

You might have heard that somebody was suggestion to use A-records for DNS instead of CName for your SharePoint installation. This question is often asked to me when I’m in class.

The reason for this is an authentication issue you might experience when using Kerberos and SharePoint. And since SharePoint 2013, were NTLM is deprecated, this issue might hit you when planning an update of your farm. More details can be found in the following Technet article:

SharePoint Tools: The Caml Designer 2013

The Belux Information Worker User Group has released their new version of the Caml Designer 2013.

CAML designer for SharePoint 2013 http://t.co/bMlNjuc1g6 Facebook like http://t.co/cgRcjhrkTp

— SharePoint 2013 (@OnlySP2013) September 8, 2013

If you are a Sharepoint developer this is one tool for you.

Download the Caml Designer 2013

For a great article on how to use this tool check out the blog from Karine Bosch:

CAML Designer for SharePoint 2013

Get ALL of the sessions from SharePoint Conference 2012 in Las Vegas

You couldn't attend last year SharePoint conference in Las Vegas? Well neither could I, but Channel 9 has releases all the videos for the unlucky.

Now I need more time to watch them.

Missed the last #SharePoint Conference? Get ALL of the sessions from #SPC12 here: http://t.co/eI701SKxYv #SPC14

— SharePointConference (@SPConf) September 4, 2013