Raid 5 - Drive Replacement

Well... that was a scary day and 1/2....

If you have a degraded drive on a HP ML350 G4 and replace it 'HOT' with a new one check the led's. Here's what happened to me.

1. Pull the degraded drive (blinking red X)
2. Spare drive activates
3. Insert new drive
4. Rebuild begins - However.... If ONLY the activity light is blinking it's NOT working. Found this out the hard way after watching my server grind to a halt for 27 hours!

Put the smart start CD in the drive. Reboot the server - Press F1 when prompted to continue rebuild. From the Smart Start screen select monitor system. Bring up the Array Diagnostic Utility (ADU). Verify rebuild progress. Exit and return to windows boot.

Scary, but at least I learned something from this hardware replacement debacle.

NTLDR is Missing - Windows 7

Walked into a message this morning on one of my users new Windows 7 PC's.

NTLDR is Missing
Press enter to reboot

Press enter... Nothing, same message. Then i noticed the user had a Lacie USB drive plugged in. Perhaps the system rebooted and the USB drive is in the boot order. So, unplugged the drive and rebooted the PC. Voila... Windows is back.

Event ID 10032 + WSUS

Had Event ID 10032 this am. Some updates failing to download. Fixed by doing the following steps.

1. Details
Product: .NET Framework
Event ID: 10032
Source: Windows Server Update Services
Version: 2.0.50727
Symbolic Name: HealthCoreContentSyncRed
Message: The server is failing to download some updates.

Explanation
WSUS synchronization needs to download update content from the upstream server or Microsoft Update.

User Action
Content Synchronization Failed
Content download has failed. BITS service is not starting or is stopping during downloads.

Open a command window.
Type sc config bits start= auto
Type net stop bits && net start bits
Type net stop wsusservice && net start wsusservice
Start WSUS 3.0: Click Start, click Administrative Tools, then click Microsoft Windows Server Update Services v3.0.
Click Synchronization Results.
In the Action pane, click Synchronize Now.
Verify
Look for the corresponding error event.

Open a command window.
Type cd \Tools
Type wsusutil checkhealth
Type eventvwr
Review the Application log for the most recent events from source Windows Server Update Services and event id 10030.

2. Checked the Event log and made note of the file in error after sync.

3. then did this... *Thanks for Susan Bradley for her Post
http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/2009/08/05/content-file-download-failed-reason-crc-verification-failure.aspx

Downloading correctly now.

Umm...

I think I'm good at what I do. I continue to provide support for my networks client PC's. I serve as a member of our HACCP team. I'm continually building new Crystal Reports. Yes, I do a lot at my job. However... I don't think I should be on this list.

http://www.sbsgroups.com/default.aspx

Thanks... but I'm just an I.T. Admin, not a consultant.

Adding a Windows 7 PC - Revised

Attaching Windows 7 to SBS 2003 Notes (HP 6000Pro SFF):

Administrator Steps

1. Copy users IE favorites and cookies to My Documents
2. Copy users .NK2 file from user folder c:/doc&setting/user/appdata/microsoft/outlook
3. Create PC Name on Server
4. Turn on new PC
5. First time setup username = user (this is the local admin account of the PC)
6. Do not assign a password – leave blank
7. Click on Start (Windows Icon) – Programs – IE – Right Click – Select RunAs Administrator
8. http://servername/connectcomputer
9. Choose ‘run’ on pop-ups that appear
10. Reboot
11. Login as servername.local\administrator
12. Right click taskbar – edit taskbar settings
a. Use small icons
b. Customize start menu
13. Go to Control Panel – Programs and Features
14. Remove unneeded apps – (Office 2007, McAfee, Office Activation Asst, PDF Complete)
15. Open IE8 – Tools – Set home page to about:blank
a. Connections – Use Proxy Server
b. servername Port:8080
16. Right click Desktop – Personalize – Change Desktop Icons – Place a check on My Computer, Network, Recycle Bin
17. Right click desktop – view - autoarrange
18. Run: UAC – move slider down 1
19. Turn on network discovery – type: network and sharing center on the search box on the task bar
a. Click on Change advanced sharing settings
b. Select Network Discovery
20. Remove register DNS suffice on NIC Card
21. Remove offloading and Receive Side Scaling from network card
22. Uncheck power setting – allow power to turn off
23. Update driver to Microsoft driver – 10.5.1.0
24. From command prompt type the following:
a. netsh interface tcp set global rss=disabled
b. netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
c. netsh int ip set global taskoffload=disabled
d. netsh int ip show global
i. Verify settings – disabled offload

27. Install ISA client (if using ISA on SBS 2003)
28. Reboot
29. Install AV
30. Enable Remote Registry Service. Change from manual to automatic start.
31. Enable Remote Access
a. Right Click My computer
b. Advanced System Settings
c. Remote
d. Select Users
32. Install Office App

38. Configure Mouse from Control Panel
39. Verify Printers – Add if needed
40. Download latest Java app

42. Update Adobe Flash and Shockwave

44. Open Office Apps – Activate

47. Open Media Player – config settings
48. Install updates – reboot
49. Delete McAfee, PDF Complete from swsetup folder
50. Reboot
51. Install Office SP3
52. Install Chrome
53. Install XP Mode (IF NEEDED… – See separate documentation)

New User

1. Login as user
2. Configure desktop settings + start menu
3. Right click Desktop – Personalize – Change Desktop Icons – Place a check on My Computer, Network, Recycle Bin
4. Configure Mouse from Control Panel

6. Pin Office Apps to Task Bar and Start Menu
7. Open IE – Set Homepage to google
8. Open Outlook 2003 – Configure settings – Junk Mail – Mail Format – Spelling
9. Open IE8 – Tools – Options – Connections - Remove top 2 checks for ‘Automatically apply settings’
10. Restore users favorites from bookmark.html
11. Restore users .NK2 file to c:/users/username/appdata/roaming/microsoft/outlook

13. Install Chrome
14. Verify XP Mode with Genero (TBD)

Administrator Steps

1. Log back in as admin
2. Remove user from Local Admin Group
3. Move UAC slider back up… Zip it up

Administrator Steps for users OLD PC

1. Activate local Admin account – make password blank
2. Right click My Computer – Properties
3. Computer Name – Change
4. Rename PC to ‘PC’
5. Change to ‘WORKGROUP’
6. Restart
7. Login as local admin
8. Remove programs
f. Remove other unneeded items
9. Remove old user profiles
10. Remove offline files option
11. Remove remote user option

Crystal Parameter

Using a parameter field for specific date calculations:

Create a parameter: @currentperiodend

SalesCurrent: @currentbegin: (date)
if {invdth.idhdat} in {@currentbegin} to {?currentperiodend} {?currentperiodend}-day({?currentperiodend})+1
then {invdth.idhprc}
else 0

@priorbegin: (date/time)
dateadd("yyyy",-1,{@currentbegin})

SalesPrior:
if {invdth.idhdat} in {@priorbegin} to {@priorend}

@priorend: (date/time)
then {invdth.idhprc} dateadd("yyyy",-1,{?currentperiodend}+1)-1
else 0
Current Cost:
Currentperiodend: (parameter) {invdth.idhdat} in {@currentbegin} to {?currentperiodend}
Type: date
Prior Cost:
{invdth.idhdat} in {@priorbegin} to {@priorend

Seagate FreeAgent GO

I use the Seagate FreeAgent GO USB hard drives for off site backup. They work great. Was using Lacie drives but changed to Seagate after the Lacie's started to fail.

Backup to USB on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Backup to tape the other days.

HP 3015

Just added a new HP 3015 printer to the network. Decent printer, simple install. Just a nod for this new printer.

Favorite Sites Repost

From Karl Palachuk...

1. SMB Nation and Harry Brelsford

http://www.smbnation.com

This is the "mother ship" when it comes to SMB Consulting. Attend a conference. Read the blog. Tune in and stay tuned in.

2. "Managed Services for SMB IT" Yahoo! Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SMBManagedServices

This excellent discussion group was started by Amy Luby of MSP Services Network. The site exploded as Managed Services became a very hot topic. Great feedback on products and procedures.

3. Microsoft Exchange Team Blog

http://msexchangeteam.com

This blog is straight from the factory. Filled with tips, tricks, and the occasional product previews.

4. "Microsoft Small Business Community" Yahoo! Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mssmallbiz

The official Yahoo! Group for the MS SBSC. If you are a Small Business Specialist, or are considering it, then you need to check out this site. It's a great place to start, as well as to get some questions answered.

5. SBSGroups.com - The Worldwide site for all SBS Groups

http://www.sbsgroups.com

If you're lucky enough to support Microsoft's Small Business Server, then you're lucky enough to have a whole world full of SBS support groups to back you up. This is also a great place to find various web sites run by the various groups. If you're not a member of an SBS group, make contact today!

6. "Small Business IT Consultants" Yahoo! Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smallbizIT

This group covers all business topics for SMB consultants, including marketing, sales, and growing your business. No technical discussions here, but really good back and forth information on building a successful SMB consulting practice.

7. MSP University

http://www.mspu.us/

Home of Erick Simpson and the "Best . . . Book Ever" series. Find an amazing amount of spectacular resources -- much of it free!

8. The official Microsoft SBS Blog

http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/default.aspx

Factory fresh and official home of SBS knowledge in the U.S.

9. E-Bitz - SBS MVP the Official Blog of the SBS 'Diva'

http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley

Absolutely the number one must-have blog for your news aggregator. Every single person who supports Small Business Server at any level must check this blog regularly.

10. All Things Vlad

http://www.vladville.com and http://www.ownwebnow.com

A somewhat different perspective on all things SMB.

11. The SMB Conference Call

http://www.greatlittlebook.com

Click on SMB Conference Call. Twice a month we get together to talk to great people who will help you build and manage your business more successfully.

Intel 82567LM-3 NIC Card

If you have an Intel 82567LM-3 NIC card and are experiencing network drops install the Microsoft driver 10.5.1.0.

Been pulling my hair out on this. Tried using the most recent drivers from Intel. Rolling back to the older version seems to have fixed the issue.

Would prefer to have the newer drivers though.

Event ID 9646

Event ID 9646 started to appear on my SBS 2003 server recently. XP and Win 7 clients were affected. I disabled all offloading settings on the server and workstation NIC's. Thought this should fix it. This morning came in to see another user locked out of Outlook with 9646 in the event log.

So... restarted the Microsoft Firewall service. FIXED... All of the 32+ logons in Exchange system manager were gone. Only one active logon remained.

Trend Micro WFBS 6.0

I upgraded from WFBS 5.1 to 6.0 (with SP1) this past weekend. The upgrade went well. One item of note is the 'upgrade' enabled the personal firewall service on the server. This messed up the internet and clients for a bit until I disabled the service and re-started the server. All settings from 5.1 transferred. Reviewing settings, all seems to be good.