Dell Optiplex GX280: Turning an Office Box Into an XP Gaming PC
My parts list and order of operations for turning a Pentium 4 Dell Optiplex GX280 into a period-correct Windows XP gaming machine.
The retro workbench · Note 9 ↗EXPLORE THE NOTEBOOK
Tech.
Notes from the command line, the workbench, and the vintage computer shelf.
122published notes
Every note in Tech
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Test and Convert a Folder of Mixed Archives with 7-Zip
Integrity-test every ZIP, 7z, RAR and TAR in a folder, then optionally repack the good ones into a single format. Broken archives never get touched.
Archive conversion workshop · Note 1 ↗
Remove a Dell BIOS Admin Password with PowerShell and ConfigMgr
Clear the BIOS setup password on Dell PCs and see exactly what changed, with the password supplied at runtime instead of sitting in a package.
Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain · Note 2 ↗
Silently Uninstall Any App by Name with a ConfigMgr Package
One uninstall script for every retired app. Give it a display name and it finds the right uninstall command, MSI or not, and runs it quietly.
Packaging with ConfigMgr · Note 2 ↗
Checking (and Nudging) Google Chrome Updates with PowerShell
Find out which Chrome version a machine is really running, whether an update is stuck waiting on a restart, and kick Google's updater into checking now.
Spring cleaning for Windows PCs · Note 7 ↗
Clearing a Stuck Print Spooler with PowerShell
Stop the spooler, clear out the wedged job files, and bring it back up, with -WhatIf and an option to leave recent jobs alone.
Spring cleaning for Windows PCs · Note 5 ↗
Clear a Dell Hard Drive Password with PowerShell and ConfigMgr
Remove the internal drive password from Dell PCs with Dell's PowerShell provider, without ever writing the password into a script or package.
Dell BIOS passwords, without the pain · Note 3 ↗
Set Extension Attributes on Entra ID Users with PowerShell
Write extensionAttribute1-15 on cloud-only Entra ID users from a CSV, with a clear note for every synced account it can't touch.
The Microsoft Graph toolbox · Note 2 ↗
Defender for Endpoint vs. Intune: Who Actually Manages the Device?
Onboarding to Defender for Endpoint and enrolling in Intune are two different things, and you almost never have to offboard one to get the other.
Getting devices into Intune · Note 6 ↗
Rotate Local Admin Passwords Across the Fleet with Windows LAPS and ConfigMgr
Force an immediate local admin password rotation on every machine in a collection, with Windows LAPS doing the password part so no script ever sees one.
Local admin, done right · Note 3 ↗
Forcing a Group Policy Refresh with PowerShell and SCCM
A gpupdate wrapper that checks the domain trust first, never bounces anyone's session, and reports a real success or failure back to ConfigMgr.
Packaging with ConfigMgr · Note 4 ↗
Deleting Stale Computer Accounts from Active Directory, Safely, with a CSV Log
Feed it a list or an OU, and it deletes (or disables) only the computers that are genuinely stale, logs every decision to CSV, and shows you the plan first with -WhatIf.
Keeping Active Directory tidy · Note 5 ↗