Born To Win

Just read this:

Born To Win

...it's one of those books that I found myself asking "Why didn't I do this sooner?"

Also, they have an online companion to the source:

Don't know much about the civil war

Just read this:

Don't Know Much About the Civil War: Everything You Need to Know About America's Greatest Conflict but Never Learned

...amazing book with tons of information. Was delivered flawlessly via audiobook.

Trust works!

Just read this:

Trust Works!: Four Keys to Building Lasting Relationships by Ken Blanchard

...liked it. Seemed complicated at first, but it's actually pretty simple.

8 Ways to great

Just read this:

8 Ways To Great by Doug Hirschhorn

...and liked it. Really useful stuff.

Setting CMD as the default

So I've tried setting CMD as the default program to run .cmd files in Windows 8.

Click Windows button, and then search for default and then choose Default Programs.

Inside of Default Programs, it is not possible to associate .cmd files with CMD. Isn't that maddening?

If I find a way to do this, then I'll set it up so .cmd files on my system run with Adminstrator authority. 

The idea is:

1. I'm developing on the machine, and need to change / manage / mangle various files and settings quickly through .cmd files.

2. I don't want to be prompted UAC every time I do (1), above.

So I'm thinking it's a default "security feature" that you can't rewire the association without a registry hack, but that's going to be my next step.

Windows Server 2012 and SQL 2012 Configuration Manager

From the techNet article:

To access SQL Server Configuration Manager Using Windows 8

Because SQL Server Configuration Manager is a snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console program and not a stand-alone program, SQL Server Configuration Manager not does not appear as an application when running Windows 8. To open SQL Server Configuration Manager, in the Search charm, under Apps, type SQLServerManager11.msc 

But then, once you've found it, push enter to start it.

Then, go back, and search again. This time, it will show up on the left hand side of the search window, as a previously run app. Right click it, and choose "Pin To Start" so you don't have to hunt for the msc the next time.

Alternate Method


If you're more the "make my own" type, then you can :

Get to desktop mode in Windows 8.
Right click on the desktop.
Choose New >> Shortcut
As the location of the item, paste  SQLServerManager11.msc
Click OK.
Right click your new shortcut, and from the pop up menu, choose "Pin To Start".

How To Add Yourself To SQL

The other day, I locked myself out of my SQL Server by joining the VM to a domain. When I joined the domain, only the local users had access, because I hadn’t added the domain admins to the machine as sysadmin role members yet, since the machine wasn’t yet part of the domain.

It's a circle!

Anyway, I found myself unable to login to my SQL 2012 instance using Windows Authentication. While adding myself back, I discovered that sp_addsrvrolemember has been deprecated.

net stop <<servicename>>
net start MSSQLSERVER /m
sqlcmd –E –S.

Then, in SQL Server 2008 R2 and earlier, I would do this:

create login [DOMAIN\LOGIN] from windows;
go
exec sp_addsrvrolemember [ @loginame= ] 'domain\login' , [ @rolename = ] 'role';
go

But now, in SQL 2012, to be future proof, I have to upgrade my script to look like this:

create login [DOMAIN\LOGIN] from windows;
go
alter server role 'role' add member='domain\login';
go

One MS reference:
sp_addsrvrolemember (Transact-SQL)