Google only distributes google sketchup as an exe file which is not assignable through Active Directory Group Policy. This exe is only a wrapper for the msi file though and this msi is able to be assigned to computers.
To get the msi file double-click on the GoogleSketchUpWEN.exe downloaded and when its at the “Welcome to the google sketchup 7 setup wizard” open windows explorer and goto the folder:
Under Vista: C:\Users\User\Local Settings\temp\
Under WinXP: C:\documents and settings\User\Local Settings\Temp\
and look for a folder that looks like 7zS4211.tmp, This folder was named differently on the machines I tried but it always started with “7z” and ended in “.tmp”.
Within that folder is “GoogleSketchUp7.msi” and a “setup.exe” which can now be assigned to your computers using the Active Directory Group Policy Software Installation settings or installed using a command line to machines individually using a login script.
User Access Control is a new feature which was introduced with Microsoft Vista. UAC is an important (although sometimes annoying) security feature which makes it harder for malware or a virus from getting onto your system without your knowledge. I strongly recommend you keep UAC turned on.
If you have a real reason for disabling user access control you can do this by a few methods.
Click on your Start button then Control Panel
Select User Accounts and Family Safety
Select User Accounts
Select Turn User Account Control on or off
Click Continue on the UAC dialogue then untick the Use User Access control (UAC) to help protect your computer checkbox and click OK
Click on Restart Now to make the change or Restart Later if you cant reboot now.
You are able to run Windows Vista for 120 days without entering a product key legally. This process is called “rearming” windows and is supported by Microsoft with a tool supplied within Windows Vista called slmgr.vbs which is located in your c:\windows\system32 directory.
To do this you will need to open up an elevated command prompt window by clicking on “Start -> All Programs -> Accessories”, Right Clicking “Command Prompt” and selecting “Run as administrator” then click Continue to the User Account Control dialogue. This is very important as the below command will not work in a normal command prompt as you need administrator rights for the tool.
In the “Administrator: Command Prompt” window type cscript slmgr.vbs -rearm as shown below.
After a little while (5 secs to up to a min) the below text will appear stating that the command completed successfully and that you need to restart your computer.
That’s it restart your computer and you will have another 30 days. This process can only be done up to 3 times legally giving a total of 120 days depending on when you rearm. After which you will need to enter a valid product key or reinstall windows from scratch.
It is very important that you rearm your system before any of the 30 day periods expire because if it does expire then rearming will not work. I suggest waiting till there is 1-2 days left if you use your computer everyday.
To check how many days you have left to activate click on Start and Right Click “Computer” and select Properties.
Software, Windows Vista, Windows XP | Wayne | 
June 29, 2009 12:59 pm | 
Comments (0)