Free Stuff Archives - ESX Virtualization https://www.vladan.fr/category/free/ VMware ESXi, vSphere, VMware Backup, Hyper-V... how-to, videos.... Fri, 16 Oct 2026 06:03:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 XorMon 2.4.0 released – What’s New and Why You Should Care https://www.vladan.fr/xormon-2-4-0-released-whats-new-and-why-you-should-care/ https://www.vladan.fr/xormon-2-4-0-released-whats-new-and-why-you-should-care/#respond Fri, 16 Oct 2026 06:03:22 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235966 Monitoring of heterogeneous environments has always been difficult – or at least it was before tools like XorMon came along. If you manage VMware, Nutanix, IBM Power, storage from several vendors, Oracle databases, LAN/SAN, backups and more, you know the pain of jumping between five different consoles. XorMon from Xorux solves that by putting everything […]

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]]> https://www.vladan.fr/xormon-2-4-0-released-whats-new-and-why-you-should-care/feed/ 0 Tiny11 Builder WinUI 0.1.1 is out – and it finally has a proper modern UI https://www.vladan.fr/tiny11-builder-winui-0-1-1-is-out-and-it-finally-has-a-proper-modern-ui/ https://www.vladan.fr/tiny11-builder-winui-0-1-1-is-out-and-it-finally-has-a-proper-modern-ui/#respond Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:01:26 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235937 Hey folks, Vladan here from ESX Virtualization. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while you already know I’m always on the lookout for ways to keep Windows VMs small, in the lab. Back in November 2023 I wrote about the original Tiny11 project and how useful a stripped-down Windows 11 can be when […]

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]]> https://www.vladan.fr/tiny11-builder-winui-0-1-1-is-out-and-it-finally-has-a-proper-modern-ui/feed/ 0 TMOG Task Manager – The Original Creator of Windows Task Manager Is Back With Something Better https://www.vladan.fr/tmog-task-manager-the-original-creator-of-windows-task-manager-is-back-with-something-better/ https://www.vladan.fr/tmog-task-manager-the-original-creator-of-windows-task-manager-is-back-with-something-better/#respond Fri, 25 Sep 2026 14:22:44 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235903 Today's freebie is from a guy who 30 years ago designed the original Windows Task manager. If you’ve ever hit Ctrl+Shift+Esc on a Windows box and stared at the Task Manager wondering what’s eating your CPU or RAM, you’ve used Dave Plummer’s work. The same guy who wrote the original Windows Task Manager back in […]

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]]> https://www.vladan.fr/tmog-task-manager-the-original-creator-of-windows-task-manager-is-back-with-something-better/feed/ 0 Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 13.1.1.700 (Free Edition) – Technical Overview and What You Can Achieve https://www.vladan.fr/veeam-agent-for-microsoft-windows-13-1-1-700-free-edition-technical-overview-and-what-you-can-achieve/ https://www.vladan.fr/veeam-agent-for-microsoft-windows-13-1-1-700-free-edition-technical-overview-and-what-you-can-achieve/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:12:17 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235867 The latest standalone Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is version 13.1.1.700 (released around mid-August 2026, included with Veeam Backup & Replication 13.1.1). It continues the solid line of free endpoint protection that started years ago as Veeam Endpoint Backup. For home users, small offices, or anyone protecting individual Windows desktops/laptops without needing central management, the […]

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]]> https://www.vladan.fr/veeam-agent-for-microsoft-windows-13-1-1-700-free-edition-technical-overview-and-what-you-can-achieve/feed/ 2 Free Online EDB to PST Converter: Extract Mailbox Data Without Exchange Server https://www.vladan.fr/free-online-edb-to-pst-converter-by-stellar-a-practical-tool-for-extracting-exchange-mailboxes-without-a-live-exchange-server/ https://www.vladan.fr/free-online-edb-to-pst-converter-by-stellar-a-practical-tool-for-extracting-exchange-mailboxes-without-a-live-exchange-server/#respond Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:16:42 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235854 If you have managed on-premises Exchange environments for any length of time, you have almost certainly run into situations where you need mailbox data out of an EDB file but the original Exchange server is no longer available, the database is offline, or native PowerShell cmdlets such as New-MailboxExportRequest simply fail. In such situations where […]

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]]> https://www.vladan.fr/free-online-edb-to-pst-converter-by-stellar-a-practical-tool-for-extracting-exchange-mailboxes-without-a-live-exchange-server/feed/ 0 VMware Workstation Pro 26H1u1 Released – Security Fixes and Secure Boot Platform Key Remediation https://www.vladan.fr/vmware-workstation-pro-26h1u1-released-security-fixes-and-secure-boot-platform-key-remediation/ https://www.vladan.fr/vmware-workstation-pro-26h1u1-released-security-fixes-and-secure-boot-platform-key-remediation/#respond Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:18:44 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235810 Broadcom has released VMware Workstation Pro 26H1u1 (build 25688693) on 03 September 2026. This is a maintenance update focused on security patches and a handful of bug fixes. If you run Workstation for nested labs, development, testing, or daily desktop virtualization work, this one is worth installing. I’ve been using VMware Workstation for years as […]

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]]> https://www.vladan.fr/vmware-workstation-pro-26h1u1-released-security-fixes-and-secure-boot-platform-key-remediation/feed/ 0 StarWind Virtual HCI Appliance Free: Turn Your Servers into a Full HCI Cluster Without Spending a Cent https://www.vladan.fr/starwind-virtual-hci-appliance-free-turn-your-servers-into-a-full-hci-cluster-without-spending-a-cent/ https://www.vladan.fr/starwind-virtual-hci-appliance-free-turn-your-servers-into-a-full-hci-cluster-without-spending-a-cent/#respond Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:36:25 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235793 If you’ve been following my blog for a while (yes, we’re talking back to the early ESXi days), you know I love practical, cost-effective solutions that actually work in the real world — especially for SMBs, ROBO sites, edge locations, or anyone tired of expensive proprietary HCI stacks. Today we’re diving into something that fits […]

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]]> https://www.vladan.fr/starwind-virtual-hci-appliance-free-turn-your-servers-into-a-full-hci-cluster-without-spending-a-cent/feed/ 0 How to update your ESXi 7.x or 8.x to the latest ESXi 8.0U3k via command line https://www.vladan.fr/how-to-update-your-esxi-7-x-or-8-x-to-the-latest-esxi-8-0u3k-via-command-line/ https://www.vladan.fr/how-to-update-your-esxi-7-x-or-8-x-to-the-latest-esxi-8-0u3k-via-command-line/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:42:16 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235765 For those enthousiasts which are still running ESXi in their labs, or for SMBs which needs to upgrade their VMware vSphere Infrastructure, this is this quick guide which allows you to upgrade couple of ESXi hosts easily enough via a “depot.zip” file. The VMware-ESXi-8.0U3k-25595708-depot.zip is the latest file which has all cumulative patches inside, is […]

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]]> https://www.vladan.fr/how-to-update-your-esxi-7-x-or-8-x-to-the-latest-esxi-8-0u3k-via-command-line/feed/ 4 StarWind VSAN Free vs Paid: Real Production Savings with Software-Defined Storage https://www.vladan.fr/starwind-vsan-free-vs-paid-real-production-savings-with-software-defined-storage/ https://www.vladan.fr/starwind-vsan-free-vs-paid-real-production-savings-with-software-defined-storage/#respond Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:14:09 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235646 Over the years on this blog (going back to the ESX 3.x days), I've always been on the lookout for solutions that deliver real value without breaking the bank. Virtualization has always been about efficiency, consolidation, and squeezing every last drop of performance and availability out of your hardware. StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) fits perfectly […]

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]]> https://www.vladan.fr/starwind-vsan-free-vs-paid-real-production-savings-with-software-defined-storage/feed/ 0 Winhance: The Free Windows 11 Enhancement Utility That Actually Delivers Control Back to Users https://www.vladan.fr/winhance-the-free-windows-11-enhancement-utility-that-actually-delivers-control-back-to-users/ https://www.vladan.fr/winhance-the-free-windows-11-enhancement-utility-that-actually-delivers-control-back-to-users/#respond Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:41:41 +0000 https://www.vladan.fr/?p=235633 If you have been running Windows 11 for any length of time, you already know the story. The OS arrives packed with telemetry, pre-installed apps you will never use, aggressive advertising, and a growing list of AI features that many power users and enthusiasts prefer to keep at arm’s length. Manual debloating with PowerShell scripts […]

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