Windows 10 ESU After October 2026: Year 2 Options for IT
Windows 10 ESU Year 1 ends October 13, 2026 for businesses. Year 2 cost and activation IDs, the extended consumer end date, Windows 11 hardware checks and how to decide per device.
October 6, 2026
Windows Server 2025 Hotpatch: Azure Arc Setup and Baselines
Enable Hotpatch on Windows Server 2025 with Azure Arc: requirements, VBS checks, portal steps, the quarterly baseline calendar, current cost, and what still needs a restart.
October 6, 2026
File Share Auditing: Find Who Deleted a File in 5 Steps
Turn on file share auditing on a Windows Server 2025 file server so you can answer "who deleted this file?": audit policy, SACLs in the GUI and PowerShell, events 4663 with the DELETE access mask, 4660 and 5145, a search script, log sizing and restoring from Previous Versions.
September 30, 2026
NTFS Permissions and Share Permissions: 7 Secure File Server Rules
Set up a Windows Server 2025 file share the maintainable way: simple share permissions, NTFS permissions granted to domain local groups (AGDLP), icacls and PowerShell commands, controlled inheritance, access-based enumeration and effective access checks.
September 30, 2026
RDP Connection Logs: 14 Event IDs to Track Who Connected and From Where
Find out who connected over Remote Desktop, from which IP address and for how long, using the RemoteConnectionManager, LocalSessionManager and Security event logs, with the audit policies they need, a PowerShell report and brute-force detection.
September 30, 2026
RDS Licensing Server: Activate, Install CALs and Set the Mode in 6 Steps
Install and activate an RD Licensing server, install per-user or per-device RDS CALs, point Session Hosts at it through deployment properties, Group Policy or WMI, and clear the "licensing mode is not configured" warning before the 120-day grace period ends.
September 30, 2026
RDS Farm Windows Server 2025: Complete Deployment in 9 Steps
Build a session-based Remote Desktop Services farm on Windows Server 2025 with Server Manager or PowerShell: role placement, collections, profiles, certificates, RD Gateway, RemoteApps and a highly available Connection Broker.
September 30, 2026
Install RSAT on Windows 11: 5 Methods, Including Offline
Add Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP and other Remote Server Administration Tools to Windows 11 through Settings, PowerShell or DISM, fix the WSUS 0x800f0954 error, install offline and use the Windows Server equivalents.
September 30, 2026
Convert Evaluation Edition to Full Windows Server: DISM Steps for 2025
Turn a Windows Server 2016 to 2025 evaluation install into a licensed Standard or Datacenter edition with DISM, move Standard to Datacenter, switch between retail, MAK and KMS keys with slmgr, and handle the domain controller limitation and activation errors.
September 30, 2026
Windows Server 2025 In-Place Upgrade from 2019, 2022 and Older
Upgrade Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016, 2019 or 2022 directly to Windows Server 2025 with setup.exe or the Windows Update feature update: supported paths, prerequisites, a compatibility scan, unattended switches, domain controller rules and post-upgrade checks.
September 30, 2026
Active Directory Audit Policy: DC Settings and 35 Key Event IDs
Configure Advanced Audit Policy on Windows Server 2016 to 2025 domain controllers, enforce subcategories, pick the right Success and Failure settings, size the Security log, and query the event IDs that matter for logons, lockouts, account and group changes.
September 30, 2026
Group Managed Service Accounts (gMSA): Complete Windows Server 2025 Guide
Replace service account passwords with group managed service accounts: create the KDS root key, create and install a gMSA, run Windows services, scheduled tasks, IIS application pools and SQL Server under it, and understand the new Windows Server 2025 delegated MSA.
September 30, 2026