It’s possible you’re pulling a value from Active Directory for discovery like LastLogonTimeStamp which stores it’s value as something known as Integer8 (http://www.rlmueller.net/Integer8Attributes.htm).  If that’s the case, you may notice the values you’ve got saved in SQL aren’t perhaps what you were expecting:

128462210724001300

Fields within AD that have integer8 numbers like this include

1. accountExpires
2. badPasswordTime
3. lastLogon
4. lockoutTime
5. maxStorage
6. pwdLastSet
7. uSNChanged
8. uSNCreated
9. lockoutDuration
10. lockoutObservationWindow
11. maxPwdAge
12. minPwdAge
13. modifiedCount

So…what to do with this odd string of digits?  It doesn’t look like a date, you can’t just CONVERT() it to a datetime value directly and it doesn’t look like it can be picked apart visually.  Well, if you read up on that link above, you’ll see a solution there in VBScript.  Well, that’s not going to fly for us, so why don’t we convert it to T-SQL.  I’ve also seen a few SQL functions out there that some people have written, but they all seem to either make things way too complicated, or get something just a little wrong.  So instead of copying something from the internet that we don’t understand or that may be wrong, let’s just use the information we know about integer8 values to figure it out.

BACKGROUND

Alright, unless you understand it better, the solution just isn’t going to make sense.  So let me just give a quick background before we get into code to do the conversion.

Integer8.  So integer8 is this 64-bit (8-byte) integer that is the cornerstone of certain date fields in Active Directory (like listed above).  It represents the number of 100-nanosecond intervals that have elapsed since 1/1/1601.  A nanosecond is 1 billionth of a second (so 1 billion of them to a second), which means there are 10 Million of these 100-nanosecond intervals in a second and 60 Million of them in a minute.  So, if we figure out how many minutes an integer8 number represents, we can figure out what date is that many minutes from 1/1/1601.

One of the things we have to work around in T-SQL is the fact that in SQL 2005, the DATE* functions use a "Base Date" of 1/1/1900, meaning that’s as far back as it will go.  So you can’t calculate how many minutes have elapsed since 1/1/1601, you have to do it from 1/1/1900.  Which means you have to subtract out the minutes from 1/1/1601 to 1/1/1900 first.  This isn’t an issue in SQL 2008 because it supports the DATETIME2 data type which goes from 1/1/0001 to 12/31/9999.

Perhaps we should just get to the steps so it makes more sense:

STEPS CONVERT INTEGER8 TO DATETIME

Using the above link as a guide, here are the steps you need to perform:

FOR SQL 2000

1. Buy SQL 2008 or higher and follow those instructions…seriously…

FOR SQL 2005

1. Given an integer8 date, figure out how many minutes elapsed that it represents
   (Divide the number by 60 Million)
2. Calculate a "Base Date" offset–the number of minutes-elapsed between 1/1/1601 and 1/1/1900
   (157258080)
3. Calculate the timezone bias so the output is in local time
4. Calculate the new number of minutes that have elapsed since the base date given the timezone bias
   (take the minutes elapsed, subtract the base-date offset and add the timezone bias)
5. Add that number of minutes to the base-date and determine the resultant date

FOR SQL 2008

Because SQL 2008 has a datetime2 datatype, it can go all the way back to 1/1/1601 and perform date functions on it so the "Base Date" step isn’t necessary.

1. Given an integer8 date, figure out how many minutes-elapsed that it represents
   (Divide the number by 60 Million)
2. Calculate the timezone bias so the output is in local time
3. Calculate the new number of minutes that have elapsed since 1/1/1601 given the timezone bias
   (take the minutes elapsed, subtract the base-date offset and add the timezone bias)
4. Add that number of minutes to 1/1/1601 and determine the resultant date

NOW, THE T-SQL

SQL 2005

—————————-
– FULL, STEP-BY-STEP METHOD
—————————-

– Don’t worry, this is step-by-step to show the logic. It can all be put into
– one statement or a function like we’ve done below
– TAKE AN INTEGER8, WHICH IS THE NUMBER OF 100-NANOSECOND INTERVALS SINCE 12:00AM 1/1/1601
DECLARE @Int8 BIGINT
SET @Int8 = 128462210724001300

– AND FIGURE OUT HOW MANY MINUTES THAT IS…
– THERE ARE 1 BILLION NANOSECONDS IN A SECOND, THUS 10MILLION 100-NANOSECOND INTERVALS
– AND 60 TIMES THAT PER MINUTE SO INT8 DIVIDED BY (60 * 10MILLION) IS THE NUMBER OF
– MINUTES THAT HAVE ELAPSED SINCE 12:00AM 1/1/1601
DECLARE @MinutesElapsed BIGINT
SET @MinutesElapsed = @Int8 / 600000000

– NOW, BECAUSE THE DATEADD FN USES A "BASE DATE" OF 1/1/1900, WE NEED TO TAKE THE MINUTES
– ABOVE AND SUBTRACT NUMBER OF MINUTES THAT HAVE ELAPSED BETWEEN 1/1/1601 TO 1/1/1900
DECLARE @BaseDateOffset BIGINT;
SET @BaseDateOffset = 157258080

– NOW WE CALCULATE THE OFFSET FROM GMT/UTC THAT OUR TIMEZONE GIVES US SO THE OUTPUT IS IN LOCAL TIME
declare @TimezoneBias INT;
SET @TimezoneBias = DATEDIFF(Minute,GetUTCDate(),GetDate())

– LASTLY, LET’S TAKE THE NUMBER OF MINUTES ELAPSED, WITH THE BASE-DATE OFFSET AND THE LOCAL TIME BIAS
– AND FIGURE OUT WHAT END-DATE THAT GIVES US
SELECT DATEADD(mi,@MinutesElapsed – @BaseDateOffset + @TimezoneBias,0)
GO

—————————————–
– OR TO PUT ALL OF THAT IN ONE STATEMENT
—————————————–
DECLARE @Int8 BIGINT
SET @Int8 = 128462210724001300
SELECT DATEADD(mi,(@Int8 / 600000000) – 157258080 + DATEDIFF(Minute,GetUTCDate(),GetDate()),0)
GO

—————————-
– OR PUT IT INTO A FUNCTION
—————————-
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.udf_Int8_to_DateTime(
   @Int8 BIGINT
)
RETURNS DATETIME
AS
   BEGIN
      RETURN (DATEADD(mi,(@Int8 / 600000000) – 157258080 + DATEDIFF(Minute,GetUTCDate(),GetDate()),0))
   END
GO

– AND THEN CALL IT
SELECT dbo.udf_Int8_to_DateTime(128462210724001300)
GO

SQL 2008

Like we said earlier, SQL 2008 doesn’t need one of the steps because it can handle DATETIME2 and do date math back to 1/1/1601, as long as you CAST or CONVERT the data to a DATETIME2 in the DATEADD as you see below.

—————————-
– FULL, STEP-BY-STEP METHOD
—————————-

– Don’t worry, this is step-by-step to show the logic. It can all be put into
– one statement or a function like we’ve done below.  Keep reading.

– TAKE AN INTEGER8, WHICH IS THE NUMBER OF 100-NANOSECOND INTERVALS SINCE 12:00AM 1/1/1601
DECLARE @Int8 BIGINT
SET @Int8 = 128462210724001300

– AND FIGURE OUT HOW MANY MINUTES THAT IS…
– THERE ARE 1 BILLION NANOSECONDS IN A SECOND, THUS 10MILLION 100-NANOSECOND INTERVALS
– AND 60 TIMES THAT PER MINUTE SO INT8 DIVIDED BY (60 * 10MILLION) IS THE NUMBER OF
– MINUTES THAT HAVE ELAPSED SINCE 12:00AM 1/1/1601
DECLARE @MinutesElapsed BIGINT
SET @MinutesElapsed = @Int8 / 600000000
SELECT @MinutesElapsed

– NOW WE CALCULATE THE OFFSET FROM GMT/UTC THAT OUR TIMEZONE GIVES US SO THE OUTPUT IS IN LOCAL TIME
declare @TimezoneBias INT;
SET @TimezoneBias = DATEDIFF(Minute,GetUTCDate(),GetDate())

– LASTLY, LET’S TAKE THE NUMBER OF MINUTES ELAPSED SINCE 1/1/1601, WITH THE LOCAL TIME BIAS
– AND FIGURE OUT WHAT END-DATE THAT GIVES US. NEED TO CAST/CONVERT THE DATE TO DATETIME2 IN
– ORDER TO ADD MINUTES FROM ALL THE WAY BACK ON 1/1/1601, OTHERWISE IT ASSUMES DATETIME WHICH
– ONLY GOES BACK TO 1/1/1900.
SELECT DATEADD(mi,@MinutesElapsed + @TimezoneBias,CAST(’1/1/1601′ AS DATETIME2))
GO

—————————————–
– OR TO PUT ALL OF THAT IN ONE STATEMENT
—————————————–
DECLARE @Int8 BIGINT
SET @Int8 = 128462210724001300
SELECT DATEADD(mi,(@Int8 / 600000000) + DATEDIFF(Minute,GetUTCDate(),GetDate()),CAST(’1/1/1601′ AS DATETIME2))
GO

—————————-
– OR PUT IT INTO A FUNCTION
—————————-
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.udf_Int8_to_DateTime(
   @Int8 BIGINT
)
RETURNS DATETIME2
AS
   BEGIN
      RETURN (DATEADD(mi,@Int8 / 600000000 + DATEDIFF(Minute,GetUTCDate(),GetDate()),CAST(’1/1/1601′ AS DATETIME2)))
   END
GO

– AND THEN CALL IT
SELECT dbo.udf_Int8_to_DateTime(128462210724001300)
GO

SUMMARY

So that’s really it.  It’s all about converting the 100-nanosecond intervals to minutes and doing some math.  So we’ve got TSQL that will convert an Integer8 value (from Active Directory) into a DateTime/DateTime2 value.

Some notes:

• If you want it in UTC/GMT, then you can just skip the TimezoneBias part.
• This may not be perfect, I don’t know how all of the leap seconds that have been added over the years play into this…do the DATEDIFF/DATEADD functions handle that? Dunno.
• The number argument of the DATEADD function cannot exceed the range of INT (2147483647) so if the INTEGER8 number is obscenely huge (spans more than 4084 years, 24 days, 2 hours & 7 minutes) then you’ll likely get an overflow error.  But we shouldn’t hit that for more than a thousand years, right?

This has been tested on SQL 2005 and SQL 2008, but you should always test on lab systems before moving any code to production.  This is released "AS IS" and confers no rights.

Number2 (John Nelson) 
MyITForum – Forum Posts
MyITForum – Blog

SMS/ConfigMgr – SQL Function to Convert Integer8 (from Active Directory) to Datetime/Local Time – Number2 Blog – myITforum

Ccmclean.exe

net stop winmgmt

rename– Windows\system32\wbem\repository

net start winmgmt

rundll32 wbemupgd, RepairWMISetup

ccmsetup.exe

SCCM Client Problem – TechNet Forums

SYDI is the open source project aimed to help you to document your network.

How does SYDI do this?

At the most basic level SYDI consists of a collection of scripts which collects information from your servers and networks, then writes the data to a report.

Documenting a network can seem like a huge project, SYDI helps you get started. Instead of manually collecting information like ip addresses, os version, hardware configuration the scripts collects this automatically it can write directly to Word (or XML).

Let’s get started!

To start documenting take a look at SYDI server head to the download section, and document away.

Network Documentation Made Easy with SYDI

Maybe later I will write an introduction to that title, but for now, just know that
I am in charge of a corporate network that has been using My Documents redirection
in combination with Offline Caching for many, many years. I am convinced the cost
overhead involved with this technology far outweighs and productivity gains that we
get. Don’t get me wrong, I believe offline caching has its place, just not as an all
encompassing corporate policy. Also, this is not meant to bash Microsoft. I just want
them to realize the real world frustrations that come from using a technology they
promote so heavily.

Reason Number 1

File caching is done on a per-system basis, so files cached by users other
than the primary user who log onto the computer will have their files permanently
added to the offline cache, even if they never plan to login to the system again.
The only way to override this is to manually enter the primary user name in a registry
key, and remember to change it whenever the primary user of the computer changes.

One thing many people don’t realize is that offline file caching is not per-user,
but per system. Take this scenario:

You are redirecting documents administratively by using My Documents redirection
in group policy and choosing to make the files available offline. The primary user
of the computer logs in and logs off, synchronizing his My Documents folder. Now a
local cached copy exists for all of the files in his My Documents folder.

Now an administrator comes along, and he logs into the computer. Because he has
the same group policy, his My Documents folder is redirected and made available offline.
Now the offline file has files that appear like this:

File Name	File Path
text1.txt	\\server\share\home\user1
text2.txt	\\server\share\home\user1
text1.txt	\\server\share\home\admin 1>
text2.txt	\\server\share\home\admin 1>

 

User 1 now logs back into the computer, and when he goes to log off, his files
and the administrators files are synchronized. Supposedly, offline caching tries to
deal with this by looking at network security and making sure user1 only tries to
synchronize files he has permissions to. But the admin files are still there.

On top of that, lets say you decide \\server\share is
a bad design for home shares because it is tied to a server. So you decide to change
the path for all home shares to \\domain\dfs\home.
Even if you get this working correctly for user1, you may still have problems because
admin1 is still pointing to the old removed share in the cache. This means you need
to run csccmd and move shares so that all the shares are moved.

Anyway, one way to deal with all of this was added in a hotfix that was included in
Windows XP SP2. As the article explains, you are given the option to set registry
keys and designate the primary user of the computer. In the future, all other user
files cached are discarded at logoff.

Below is the KB Article (KB 811660) that references the registry changes that need
to be made.

Files that you add to the Offline
Files folder on a Windows XP-based computer are synchronized when another person uses
the computer

A newsgroup customer recently asked us how to synchronize his Offline Files with a
server after the server had been renamed. Offline Files in Windows Vista provides
scripting support to enable users to write custom scripts to perform such tasks. To
illustrate this, one of our Offline Files developers created a script that uses the
“rename” functionality offered by the scripting model to rename the path in the local
cache from the old server to the new server. 

I’ve added the script as a blog
article. Use the following syntax to run the script on each affected client.

cscript CscRenameItem.vbs /OldItemPath:\oldserver /NewItemPath:\newserver

Some notes on this operation:

• The script must be run on every client with data cached from the original server.  

• The script doesn’t rename the item at the time it is run.  It merely records
  the “old” and “new” names.  A system restart is required to apply the change. 
  When the system is restarted, Offline Files renames the server entry in the local
  cache according to the parameters provided to the script.  Once the restart is
  complete, Offline Files will automatically synchronize the contents of the cache with
  the server of the new name.

• This processing does not validate the existence of the “new” name provided. 
  If you provide the name of a server that does not exist, the affected files will remain
  in the Offline Files cache, unsynchronized with any server.  

• Our example shows a rename for a server.  The UNC paths provided can also reference
  a shared folder.

You’ll need to restart Windows Vista after successfully running this script. After
the restart, the files cached for \oldserver will
now be cached for \newserver. 

–Jill

The
Filing Cabinet : Updating your Offline Files cache in Windows Vista to point to a
new server

The first big test I have had is getting Office Communicator Mobile installed. Before
you can install any software to your phone in Vista, you must have the Windows
Mobile Device Center installed. Otherwise, Vista treats your phone just like a usb
memory stick, meaning you can browse folders and copy files.

I had a Windows Mobile Device Center icon in Control Panel after plugging up my device,
but if I double clicked on it I only had a couple of configuration options. So I searched
on the internet and found a Beta
3 version of Windows Mobile Device Center for Windows Vista. After installing
this, I could launch the control panel icon and see more options, like Programs and
Services, File Management, Pictures Music and Video, and Mobile Device Settings.

My next problem is detailed in a post by
Dennis Thomsen at msgoodies. The Details:

When launching Communicator Mobile on
Vista RTM with Windows Mobile Device Center Beta 3 you get this message

Current version of ActiveSync is not supported. Please install Microsoft ActiveSync
4.1 ….

The workaround is to create an administrative install of Office Communicator like
this –

msiexec /a CommunicatorMobile_SP50.msi

And then launch the PCinstaller.exe from e.g. C:\Microsoft\Communicator Mobile\Windows
Mobile 5 Smartphone\Setup.

Dennis’s original instructions were for pocket pc 5.0, and I found out that the Cingular
Blackjack is a Smartphone, so I updated the instructions above to reflect this.

After the install, there was an error on my Blackjack that the home page could not
be displayed and that I could correct this by going to Options, home page. I did this
and saw that my home page display had been changed to one called “Office Communicator”.
I changed it back to Windows Standard and I was fine. I’m not sure what in the page
was causing the problem, just wanted to share in case anyone else saw it.

Of course, I realized after all of this that we have not setup an outside proxy for
our Live Communications Server, so I can’t use it yet.

Overview

WMIDiag.vbs is a VBScript script designed to help you ascertain the current state
of the WMI service on a computer. The download package includes the utility itself,
a ReadMe file that discusses how the tool works (and how to best use it), and sample
spreadsheets that provide information about the default WMI configuration on various
versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Download
details: The WMI Diagnosis Utility.

Cisco and Microsoft have agreed to work together to create a converged solution that
will provide desktop Internet Protocol (IP) telephony call control. Cisco’s
SIP interface allows customers to build solution sets to meet their business needs
with flexibility and simplicity. To enable this solution, Microsoft Office Live Communications
Server and Microsoft Office Communicator will interoperate with the new Cisco Unified
CallManager.

Cisco
and Microsoft Collaborate to Enhance Real-Time Business Communications

In Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 the system registry resides in the following files:

NTUSER.DAT. – this file contains the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive

SAM. – this file contains the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHIVE\SAM hive

SOFTWARE.  this file contains the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHIVE\SOFTWARE hive

SECURITY. this file contains the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHIVE\SECURITY hive

SYSTEM. this file contains all other subhives of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHIVE such as SYSTEM

NTUSER.DAT is located in the Documents and Settings\<username> folder. The other
four files are located in the Windows\system32\config folder. Sometimes, you can also
find copies of registry files in the Windows\repair folder

Make sure to choose load hive from regedit (not import).

If your not part of the beta try to apply at http://connect.microsoft.com