IT Nota

How to Setup ODBC Connection

Launch Microsoft ODBC Data Administrator

On a 64-bit Microsoft OS, there will be two versions of Microsoft Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Data Source Administrator tool (Odbcad32.exe) in two different locations:

  • %systemdrive%\Windows\SysWoW64 folder (32-bit)
  • %systemdrive%\Windows\System32 folder (64-bit)

The Odbcad32.exe file displays the following types of data source names (DSNs):

  • System DSNs (Visible to all users on the machine, including NT services)
  • User DSNs (Only visible to current user and can only be used on the current machine)

In this tutorial, we’re going to create a System DSN to an SQL Server Database.
ODBC Data Source Administrator

Click on Add button and select the latest SQL Server Native Client if possible (otherwise SQL Server will work just fine), click Finish. You can download the latest SQL Server Native Client (sqlncli.msi) from Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Feature Pack link.

Microsoft SQL Server Native Client 11.0 is installed when you install SQL Server 2016 (13.x).

ODBC Create New Data Source

This will bring up a new screen to setup SQL Server data source. Type in all the pertinent information for the SQL Server and click Next.

ODBC Create New Data Source to SQL Server

Enter the SQL Server user id and password to access the database.

ODBC SQL Server Data Source Authentication

Click Next two times and Finish and you should see the entry on the System DSN tab.

ODBC Data Source Administrator System DSN

Download

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Feature Pack

Further Reading

ODBC Administrator tool displays both the 32-bit and the 64-bit user DSNs in a 64-bit version of Windows
SQL Server Native Client
Installing SQL Server Native Client

Windows 8 Updates After Moving User Profile

After moving the user profile to a different folder, certain security updates via Windows 8 Automatic Updates can fail. As mentioned in one user comment, basically, moving a user folder could pose a problem on future updates/upgrade as referenced from this article.

A good example of a failed Windows Update many users encounter is Security Update for Windows 8 for x64-based Systems (KB2781197).

To solve this, we’re going to apply similar steps from Move the Users Directory to a Different Drive in Windows 8 against $$PendingFiles directory.

Please refer to the article as the same drive letters will be used to demonstrate the creation of directory junction for $$PendingFiles folder.

DriveFile ExplorerCommand Prompt
SSD (Source)C:H:
HDD (Destination)F:G:

Repeat steps 2-6 to access the Command Prompt.

Replace steps 7-9 with the following commands:

7. robocopy /copyall /mir /xj H:$$PendingFiles G:Temp$$PendingFiles
8. rmdir /S /Q H:$$PendingFiles
9. mklink /J H:$$PendingFiles F:Temp$$PendingFiles

Exit Command Prompt, reboot and re-run Windows Update.

Further Reading

Windows 8 for x64-based Systems (KB2781197) FAILED

Waterfox: Firefox on Steroid

Firefox vs. WaterfoxUpdate: As of 15 December 2015, Firefox 64-bit for Windows is also available and it can be downloaded here.

If you like Firefox on Windows system but have been waiting for the 64-bit version, check this one browser out, Waterfox, the fastest 64-bit variant of Firefox. As stated on its website, waterfoxproject.org, the browser is based on Mozilla Firefox source code, but compiled in Intel’s C++ Compiler for 64-bit systems.

Waterfox can be installed side-by-side with Firefox, however only one browser can run at a time as Waterfox accesses Firefox bookmark and pretty much your whole Firefox profile data. For me that is a good thing as I have nothing to copy over or modify and I can start using it as my default browser, but you may want to be careful if this is not really what you want.

All Firefox add-ons will also work, as long as they are 64-bit.

There are many advantages of using a 64-bit, among them are speed, multi-tasking and improved stress handling.

Caveats

Unlike Firefox, there’s no auto-update feature yet, so you have to keep checking Waterfox project’s website for the latest version. The other one is that the latest version of Waterfox is not necessarily in synced with Firefox. UPDATE: Waterfox does auto-update now and the version gap between Firefox and Waterfox, while it still exists it’s very close and with auto-update it’s almost negligible. Many Firefox’s 32-bit plugins may not run correctly on Waterfox. Other than that, this browser seems to deliver what it’s promised. It is FAST!

Download

Waterfox

How to Move Sticky Notes to Windows 8

Sticky Notes on Windows 7Sticky Notes is one of my favorite Windows 7 features that I use for my daily reminder.

It’s good that Microsoft still put Sticky Notes in Windows 8 although they are only accessible from the Desktop mode. So this post is just to show how to migrate your Sticky Notes to a new system (regardless it’s Windows 7 or 8).

The way to do this is very simple, you can either copy your sticky notes file from your old system before hand and restore it later or just connect your old drive and do a file copy. The only thing you need to know is the location of the Sticky Notes file (StickyNotes.snt).

Just open your File Explorer (“Windows logo key”+E) and type:

"%AppData%\Microsoft\Sticky Notes"

Copy the StickyNotes.snt file to a safe place.

The other way is just to attach your old main drive (if you didn’t overwrite it with a new OS) and copy the StickyNotes.snt file from the old location to your new main drive.

The fastest way to do it is just by having two File Explorer opened with one pointing to the source (i.e., O: / old drive) and the other the destination (i.e., C: / new drive).

Sticky Notes on Windows 8 or Windows 10

"O:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Sticky Notes"

to:

"C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Sticky Notes"

That’s it. After all this, you might have to call the Sticky Notes manually or restart the system to see them back on your desktop.

What if you’ve never used Sticky Notes before?

Search Sticky Notes on Windows 8 The program can be easily launched from the Windows Charms. On Windows 8.1 screen, hover your mouse to either the top or bottom right corner and click Search. Start typing “Sticky Notes” (without quotes) and you’ll see the program pops out underneath the box. Then you can either choose Pin to Start or Pin to Taskbar for easy access.

Further Reading

Where did my Sticky Notes go?

How to Add Quick Launch to the Taskbar in Windows 8

This task is actually for Windows 7. However, while there’s no guarantee to work in future Windows, it’s still good for Windows 8.

Right-click on the Taskbar, select Toolbars, then New toolbar…

Add Quick Launch in Windows 8 - New toolbar...

Type in:

"%AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch"

Add Quick Launch in Windows 8 - New Toolbar Choose a folder

Click Select Folder button, and you’re done.

Add Quick Launch in Windows 8 on Taskbar

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