How to Use Nslookup to Verify MX record configuration

You can use the Nslookup tool to verify that your MX records are configured correctly by querying an external or Internet DNS server.
Before You Begin

Before you perform the procedure in this topic, read Verifying DNS Design and Configuration.
Procedure
How to use Nslookup to verify MX record configuration

1.

At a command prompt, type nslookup, and then press ENTER.
2.

Type server , where IP address is the IP address of your external DNS server, and then press ENTER.
3.

Type set q=MX, and then press ENTER.
4.

Type , where domain name is the name of your domain, and then press ENTER. The MX record for the domain you entered should be displayed. If the MX record is not displayed, DNS is not configured properly.

Example

The example below shows how MX records appear for the fictitious domain, example.com.

C:\> nslookup

Default Server: pdc.corp.example.com

Address: 192.168.6.13

> server 172.31.01.01

Default Server: dns1.example.com

Address: 172.31.01.01

> set q=mx

> example.com.

Server: dns1.example.com

Address: 10.107.1.7

example.com MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = mail1.example.com

example.com MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = mail2.example.com

example.com MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = mail3.example.com

example.com MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = mail4.example.com

example.com MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = mail5.example.com

mail1.example.com internet address = 172.31.31.01

mail2.example.com internet address = 172.31.31.02

mail3.example.com internet address = 172.31.31.03

mail4.example.com internet address = 172.31.31.04

mail5.example.com internet address = 172.31.31.05

In this example, the preconfigured DNS server is behind a proxy server. Therefore, an external or Internet DNS server with a known IP address of 172.31.01.01 was used to perform the query. Next, the query type was set to MX to locate the mail exchangers for example.com. In this example, five SMTP servers are equally balanced, each with its own IP address. However, your domain might only have a single entry, as seen in the following example:

contoso.com MX preference = 10, mail exchanger = mailbox.contoso.com

mailbox.contoso.com internet address = 10.57.22.3

How to Find and Change Windows Product Key and Registration Information

Extracted this guide from "Shivaranjan.com"

Source Link

"

Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder is freeware utility by which you can you do the following:

1. Find your Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Windows Vista product keys.
2. Find your Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Windows Vista registration information.
3. Change your Windows 95, 98, ME, and XP product key. (Windows 2000, 2003, NT4 and Vista supported)
4. Change your windows registration information.
5. Find your Microsoft Office 97, Office XP, and Office 2003 installation key. (Office 2000 not supported).

The screenshots provided below illustrate the process of changing your windows product key and registration information.

Is this software legal?
Yes this legal because Microsoft itself has knowledge base article which describes how to change your windows key and provides the script for this process. This freeware utility utilizes those scripts.

You can download this freeware (File Size: 260Kb): Download

Disclaimer:
Certain antivirus software like Mcafee and Nod32 consider this file as spyware and delete it, but this file is absolutely harmless you can go ahead and try it.

"

How to change the Volume Licensing product key on a computer that is running Windows XP SP1 and later versions of Windows XP

This article from Microsoft will guide you on changing your Windows XP Product Key.
Source Link

"

1.	Click Start, and then click Run.
2.	In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3.	In the left pane, locate and then click the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Current Version\WPAEvents
4.	In the right pane, right-click OOBETimer, and then click Modify.
5.	Change at least one digit of this value to deactivate Windows.
6.	Click Start, and then click Run.
7.	In the Open box, type the following command, and then click OK. %systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a
8.	Click Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows, and then click Next.
9.	Click Change Product key.
10.	Type the new product key in the New key boxes, and then click Update. If you are returned to the previous window, click Remind me later, and then restart the computer.
11.	Repeat steps 6 and 7 to verify that Windows is activated. You receive the following message: Windows is already activated. Click OK to exit.
12.	Click OK.
13.	Install Windows XP SP1 or a later version of Windows XP. If you cannot restart Windows after you install Windows XP SP1 or a later version of Windows XP, press F8 when you restart the computer, select Last Known Good Configuration, and then repeat this procedure.

"

HOWTO: Enable AHCI Mode After Installing Windows

Do update me if this doesn't work for you. :)

"
AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) is present on newer Intel chipsets such as 975X (ICH7), P965 (ICH8), and P35 (ICH9). AHCI mode is enabled in the BIOS and 3 settings are commonly available: IDE, AHCI, and RAID. The last two (AHCI and RAID) require a driver floppy and the F6 method when installing Windows XP otherwise the hard disks won't be detected.

AHCI mode brings 3 main advantages:

1. Supports NCQ (Native Command Queuing) allowing SATA drives to accept more than one command at a time and dynamically reorder the commands for maximum efficiency.
2. Supports hot plugging of devices
3. Supports staggered spin ups of multiple hard drives at boot time

However, in the real world the performance difference isn't huge.

The problem is that if you installed Windows in IDE mode (ie you didn't use F6 and supply a driver disk), then simply changing the BIOS setting to AHCI mode and rebooting will cause Windows to fail and will require a repair install. Most people have been advising to reinstall Windows if you want AHCI enabled.

I managed to enable AHCI on Windows XP Professional for a Gigabyte P35-DS4 (ICH9R) without needing to reinstall. This should work on any P35 ICH9 based board:

1. Go to Intel's download centre and download the latest version of the Intel Matrix Storage Manager (7.6.0.1011, 8/2/2007 at time of writing) for your OS:

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2101&lang=eng

Keep this file as you'll need it again in step 4.

2. Run the installer with the -a switch to extract the files. This will NOT install the software, just extract the files. Follow the prompts as if you were installing the software:

Code:

iata76_enu.exe -a

The above should extract the files to \Program Files\Intel\Intel Matrix Storage Manager. There are two folders, \Drivers and \Drivers64 for 32-bit and 64-bit OS's, respectively.

Copy the file IaStor.sys from the Drivers folder to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\

3. copy the following registry file to your desktop (copy and paste into notepad) and save as ahci.reg

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase\pci#ven_8086&dev_2922&cc_0106]
"Service"="iaStor"
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor]
"Type"=dword:00000001
"Start"=dword:00000000
"Group"="SCSI miniport"
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"ImagePath"="system32\\drivers\\iaStor.sys"
"tag"=dword:00000019
"DisplayName"="Intel AHCI Controller"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters]
"queuePriorityEnable"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Enum]
"0"="PCI\\VEN_8086&DEV_2922&SUBSYS_B0051458&REV_02\\3&13c0b0c5&0&FA"
"Count"=dword:00000001
"NextInstance"=dword:00000001

4. Double check you've copied the IaStor.sys file as part of step 2. Now do the following:

• Run the ahci.reg file to add the entries into the registry
• Reboot the computer and enter the BIOS - DO NOT allow it to start Windows yet.
• Change the setting for the on board Intel controller to AHCI, save and exit BIOS
• Boot into Windows

When Windows loads it will detect a new hard disk - cancel the wizard for installing the new hardware and run the Intel driver installer you downloaded in step 1.

Reboot the system again and you're good to go

Now, under Device Manager > IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers you should see Intel(R) ICH9 SATA AHCI Controller listed.

Hope someone finds this useful - I wanted to do this as I needed AHCI mode to dual boot Linux and I didn't have a floppy drive on the machine to allow me to install Windows XP in AHCI mode. This is one area Vista has moved forward - it will allow you to install drivers from devices other than A: such as a USB pendrive or CD.

If you want to enable write caching, see einshem's tip here:

http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php?p=4149875&postcount=23

Quote:

Originally Posted by einshem 2. All this process worth nothing if you forget at the end to go to device manager, double klick your hard-drive(s) under "disk drivers", go to "policies" tab and mark "Enable write caching for this disk" (I recommend adding this to the guide)

EDIT: Here is a Registry file that should work for 975X and P965 based boards:

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\CriticalDeviceDatabase\pci#ven_8086&dev_2821&cc_0106]
"Service"="iaStor"
"ClassGUID"="{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor]
"Type"=dword:00000001
"Start"=dword:00000000
"Group"="SCSI miniport"
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"ImagePath"="system32\\drivers\\iaStor.sys"
"tag"=dword:00000019
"DisplayName"="Intel AHCI Controller"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Parameters]
"queuePriorityEnable"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor\Enum]
"0"="PCI\\VEN_8086&DEV_2821&SUBSYS_B0051458&REV_02\\3&13c0b0c5&0&FA"
"Count"=dword:00000001
"NextInstance"=dword:00000001
"

Change Office 2007 Product Key

Follow these steps:

1. Close all Microsoft Office applications.
   
   
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
   
   
3. Locate the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration
   
   Note You may also find another subkey that resembles the following subkey:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration\{91120000-0011-0000-0000-0000000FF1CE}
   
   
4. If you find additional subkeys that reference Microsoft 12.0 registration, open each subkey, and then identify the product by the ProductName entry.
   For example: ProductName=Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007
   
   
5. When you find the subkey for the product from which you want to remove the existing product license key, delete the following entries:
   • DigitalProductID
   • ProductID
     
     
6. Exit Registry Editor.

The next time that you try to run an Office application, you will be prompted for a new product license key. Then, you can enter the product license key.

Hit the "Install Now" button and you Office app, will be updated with the new key. After updating you can activate you Office app, without reinstalling it.