Author: Peter Whyte


  • Create a Link Between Local Windows Files and WSL

    Creating a link between local Windows files and WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) is a useful way to share files between the two environments. In this guide, I’ll show how to link a folder in Windows to your WSL instance using the ln command, and also explain how…

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  • Access Local Files from Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

    Accessing local Windows files from a WSL distribution allows integration between workflows, our local Windows environment and (WSL) Linux environments. This is done by navigating to the /mnt/c/ directory within your WSL Linux terminal. Alternatively, you can enter WSL directly from any Windows directory using a terminal. Both…

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  • Reinstalling WSL Distributions

    This guide walks you through reinstalling a WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) distribution via command line. This can be useful if you want to reset your WSL environment for a fresh start. Before proceeding, ensure you back up any important work to Git or another storage solution. 1.…

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  • Removing Quotes from a CSV File with PowerShell

    This post explains how to remove quotes from a CSV file using PowerShell, a common requirement when working with CSVs that include unnecessary or problematic quotes. Whether you’re cleaning up data for easier processing or addressing formatting issues caused by quotes, this post will show you how to…

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  • “.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system” PowerShell Error

    Encountering this error? It’s caused by restrictive execution policies that block scripts for security reasons. This guide explains the issue and provides actionable solutions. PowerShell restricts script execution by default. Running a script like my example cdk.ps1 may trigger the following error message: Script.ps1 cannot be loaded because…

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  • Creating a Linked Server with a MySQL Database

    This is my third Linked Server demo post, and this time, we’re connecting to a MySQL database. Here’s a simple diagram of the setup covered in this post, configuring a Linked Server to a MySQL Database: For this setup, I’ve covered it all in previous blog posts: –…

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  • Check & Restart SQL Server Services on Linux

    As of the 2017 Edition of SQL Server we have been able to install SQL Server on Linux. Linux will likely be more of an unfamiliar environment for traditional Microsoft SQL DBAs. This guide will walk you through how to check the status of SQL Server services and…

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  • “Changing the Primary Domain DNS Name of this Computer Failed” – Server 2008 R2

    Within an AWS account I have a Windows Server 2016 Domain Controller, and I’m trying to join a Windows Server 2008 R2 to my Whyte.net Domain. I get this error: Changing the Primary Domain DNS name of this computer to “” failed. The name will remain “whyte.net”.The error…

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  • Testing Connectivity to Remote Server Ports with PowerShell

    This post contains a demo for how to check if a port is open using PowerShell, whether you are on the latest or older versions of Windows. All admins need to know how to test connectivity to remote server ports. In fact, all software developers and other technical…

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