Bill V

Raid 5 - Drive Replacement

2010-08-05T16:13:00.002-04:00

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

2010-07-14T08:10:00.003-04:00

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

2010-06-17T12:32:00.002-04:00

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...

2010-06-11T10:05:00.002-04:00

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

2010-06-11T09:51:00.002-04:00

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

2010-06-11T09:31:00.000-04:00

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

2010-06-11T09:18:00.000-04:00

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

2010-06-11T09:16:00.000-04:00

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

Favorite Sites Repost

2010-06-11T09:15:00.000-04:00

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

2010-02-26T14:35:00.001-05:00

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

2010-02-25T08:27:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-26T14:43:00.001-04:00

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.

WSUS Callback

2009-10-22T15:54:00.001-04:00

http://blogs.technet.com/wsuscallback/

Deploying Win 7 XP Mode

2009-10-22T09:26:00.001-04:00

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=9f142a1a-a7b7-4d0b-bd56-d9627f39c14f#tm

Groovy Security in Windows 7

2009-10-09T14:11:00.000-04:00

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.10.win7security.aspx

77 Windows 7 Tips

2009-10-09T14:06:00.000-04:00

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.10.77windows.aspx

Extending the activation grace period

2009-09-25T07:49:00.001-04:00

Borrowed from http://blogs.technet.com/johnbaker/

So How’s This Done?
Simple… all we need to do is run a script in the windows\system32 folder called slmgr.vbs. Check the steps below:
Bring up a Command Prompt.
Type slmgr.vbs –rearm, and press ENTER.
Restart the computer.
You computer has now extended the evaluation period 60 days!!! You can re-arm up to 3 times giving you an activation-free trial period of a total of 240 days!!
How Much Time Is Remaining in the Evaluation Period
You can find out by running the same script this time with different switch:
Type slmgr.vbs -dli, and the current status of the evaluation period is displayed. (the dli switch means – display license information)
If you want to find out what else you can do with the script type slmgr.vbs –? and you’ll get a full list and explanation of all the switches.

IE8 + WSUS

2009-09-18T07:53:00.000-04:00

If you cannot get IE8 to automatically install via WSUS 3.0 try loading KB932823.

"You may be unable to use Windows Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8 to download files on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP"

This hotfix solves the problem. Once this update is loaded the automatic installation of IE8 on your client PC will start at the next shutdown, or at the next scheduled install time.

Security Guide

2009-09-11T11:29:00.000-04:00

Must have for admins..

The Microsoft Security Update Guide is “must have” security guidance that walks you through all the terms, processes, and tools to get it all done correctly. What is the difference between a bulletin and an advisory? What things should I consider before deployment? Do I even need this update? What resources are available to assist me? Get this guide. It will make your job a lot easier, leaving you plenty of time to enjoy the game.

Microsoft Security Update Guide: Helping IT Professionals Better Understand and Maximize Microsoft Security Update Release Information, Processes, Communications, and Tools.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c3d986d0-ecc3-4ce0-9c25-048ec5b52a4f&displaylang=en#filelist

WSUS - Clients not updating

2009-08-18T09:58:00.001-04:00

Worked through a problem recently where my client PC's would not connect to WSUS 3.0 SP1. Here's the steps I followed to correct the problem.

1. Delete the PC from the WSUS console (Client PC's - The PC will likely have a red X)
2. At the client PC - Select Start - Run - type CMD
3. At the command prompt type net stop wuauserv
4. Navigate to the Windows Directory
5. Delete the 'Software Distribution' Folder
6. Run Microsoft Update from the Start menu (This will ensure the update software is up to date)
7. Restart the PC
8. Select Start - Run - type in the run box http://WSUSServerName/iuident.cab (wsus server name is the name of your server)
9. You should be prompted to download or open iuident.cab. This confirms network connectivity.
10. Select Start - Run
11. type in the run dialog box wuauclt.exe /resetauthorization /detectnow
12. Wait 10 minuites +/-. The PC should connect to WSUS and begin downloading updates.

Best,

Bill V

Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security

2009-01-20T09:38:00.000-05:00

If you are upgrading from 3.0 or 3.6 to WFBS 5.1 be sure to do the folowing:

1. You will need to manually remove 'SMEX' (old version of the messaging security agent). If this is not removed the installation of the new MSA will not work.

2. The admin password needs to be rather simple. Change the password before starting the upgrade.

2009-01-12T10:38:00.001-05:00

SBS 2008 referrence:

http://www.sbs2008.com/

Wow!!

2009-01-08T08:42:00.000-05:00

It's been a year since I last posted! Guess my Facebook page has taken the front seat. Time to get back in the game on my blog.

BV

Server Crash

2009-01-08T08:40:00.000-05:00

Note to self... Do not open a terminal session to the SBS server while a backup is running. Server becomes unresponsive.

The crash dump references ntkrnlmp.exe as the source of the crash. More on this later.

BV

Microsoft Response Point

2008-01-31T14:26:00.000-05:00

Well... I attended a webinar today on RP. Thanks to all the presenters who discussd the product. I was hopnig for a solution for my business since we are planning to upgrade our phone system this year. Unfortunatly RP is not quite ready yet. There are some great features and the ease of use is Awesome however it lacks several key items.

1. No Music or business messages while on hold (This is HUGE. I can't even guess how many companies use some sort of on hold messaging but it has to be a fairly large number. We use the hold message for cross selling opps.)
2. No paging through the phones. Seems to only support speakers.
3. No off hours autoattendant (There is an auto attendant however the feature needs to support alternate messages for after hours and holidays)

I really want to use RP but cannot based on the 3 items above. Also, there's no clear documentation for integrating RP with a T-1 and IAD device. Tom Strickland did mention that he's installed RP with this type of phone service connection however did not elaborate.

More must be done to education "partners" and the end user admins (me) on how RP can be added to your existing infrastructure.

Take RP to the next level, Please.

Where'd my blog go??

2007-12-17T10:24:00.001-05:00

Not sure how it happened, but my blog was marked as spam and was disabled. What's even more strange is how someone else was able to use my blog address sbsbill.blogspot.com. Now my address is sbsbill4.blogspot.com. What's up with that.

Anyway, glad to have my posts back.

BV

MOTHERBOARD

2007-06-11T15:36:00.000-04:00

Note to Self- DO NOT keep your workstation connected to the Inter-Tel phone system during a thunderstorm!

My network is protected by UPS's on every PC, Server, and phone system, etc. However as I found out (Twice to be exact) that the phone system can apparently get a surge and pass it on to your PC. I usually keep my system connected via the Comm port to our phone system to make changes. Well, I've toasted my system board twice due to this connection. Not fun! Anyways, Spoke to the phone guys today and they said this can happen and that there's something they can add to the phone or my PC that will prevent this from happening. Either way I'm not connecting that cable unless I need to from now on.

I know... Not SBS related however it is Network related.

Best,
BV

My Link

2007-06-11T15:32:00.000-04:00

Well.... Not sure if anybody checks my Blog but had to put a new post out there. I just noticed that a link to my blog is on the SBS Community Lead Blog http://blogs.technet.com/kevin_beares/default.aspx.

Wow... Glad to be listed there and makes me want to post more regularly now. Hmm... have to think of something.

Thanks!

Bill

Rename User

2006-05-10T14:12:00.000-04:00

So I don't forget this...

To rename a user after getting married:

Use Rename User wizard, which will change the display name (Server Management -> Standard Management -> Users ->).

This does not change the user's login name or email alias. Manually edit these after changing the users display name.

Best practice is to do three things:
1. Change the display name - this will show the correct name on outgoing email, etc

2. Rename the user account login name and email alias

3. Add a second email alias and make it the primary alias for the user. You want to keep the old address as a secondary until your user has had a chance to update all of his or her contacts.

Integrasoft Software

2006-04-18T08:16:00.000-04:00

This is a pitch for the software company we use to run our business.

The software I'm referring to is developed by Tech Systems, Inc, www.integrasoft.net. The software controls all of our picking, packing, shipping (with the help Clippership, another shipper software), accounts payables, receivables, purchase orders, point of sale and order entry. It's a very capable system that runs on a Unix server. The software is accessed using a terminal emulator program called PowerTerm. This emulator runs on any windows based client. We currently have it running on Win 98 - Win XP.

I've worked with the program for the past 4+ years and have been very satisified. The software is not only great to work with but so are the support team at Tech Systems. Their support is top notch! They're easy to work with and have developed several custom applications for us over the years. They'll work with you to make sure the software works the way you need it to for your business. We are a beauty supply distributor so our needs involve Inventory Management and Warehouse distribution. Specifically, order entry, picking, packing, and shipping. There are many ways to get the product out the door in the distribution business. Carousel, pick to light, RFID, etc. We currenlty use paper pick tickets to pick our orders. Some distributors running their software use automated picking. Either way Tech Systems handles it deftly.

So... I'f you're looking for the best software to run your business look to Integrasoft and Tech Systems, Inc.

For more information contact Tech Systems at 563-332-5030.

Thanks,
William Vogel
IT Admin
Raylon Corporation

RSM Corrupt

2006-02-13T08:26:00.000-05:00

Had this happen once ena want to remember the steps to correct.

From Susan B...

ISSUE #5======Cannot run the SBS Backup Wizard and received this error message
"RSM database is corrupt and cannot be rebuilt. Event 85"

CAUSE--------This issue can occur if the RSM database is corrupt.RESOLUTION--------------

-Rebuild the RSM database by:
1. Stop the RSM Service.
2. Delete the RSM databases located at %SystemRoot%\System32\NtmsData.
3. Restart the RSM Service, this will recreate new, empty RSM Databases.
4. Put a new tape in, or a tape that may be deleted.
5. Go to the "properties" of the disk inside the physical locations. Uncheck 'Enable Drive' Hit apply & then check the 'Enable Drive' again.
6. Right click, and prepare.

This will delete it, write a media label to it, add it to the Free Media Pool.More information:235032 Problems with a Damaged Removable Storage Manager Databasehttp://support.microsoft.com/?id=235032

Restore a Maibox

2006-01-18T12:08:00.000-05:00

Made a mistake the other day and deleted a users account from SBS Server Mngmt before make a backup of the users .pst in Outlook. And, of course, there was info that was needed on the users contact list. I searched through the SBS NG and Microsoft for a solution. Came close on Microsoft but didn't get the complete answer.

Well, thanks to Lanwench for posting a link to an article that solved the problem. Here's what she said:

Create a new user in ADUC. Do not mail-enable it. You can connnect this user to the old mailbox.See http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Recovering_Lost_Mailboxes.html for more help.

I also used the info in this Microsoft doc:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/insider/mailbox_rc.mspx

The Users mailbox is now restored.

Ya' know what's worse... Read the post below. I didn't follow my own procedures!! Whoops. Oh well, live and learn.

Employee Quit Proc

2005-10-05T14:57:00.000-04:00

Follow these procedures when an employee leaves.

1. Login to Users PC and export mailbox to a .pst. Copy to the My Documents folder.
2. Burn the My Docs directory to a CD-R. (Verify if anyone else will need immediate access to the files. If so, copy them to the new users directory)
3. Change the users password if not done already.
4. Remove the user from the address book. (Server Mgmt – Users – Exch Adv – Hide Check Box)
5. Setup new user who may need access to the old users email in Exch – Adv – Mailbox rights. Read, Change, Full Access rights.
6. If new user will not need access as stated in step 5 then Monitor the users email via OWA for a period of time (2 weeks to a month if necessary). Send replies and/or forward the email.
7. After monitoring period is over delete the account and users home folder.

If/When a new user takes over the PC that was used by the departing employee follow these instructions.

1. Create new user account.
2. Setup computer with new users name.
3. Re-Enable the administrators account.
4. Remove the computer from the domain by setting the login to workgroup on the users PC. Restart. (right click my comp from start menu – computer name – change domain box)
5. Follow these steps to connect the computer to the domain.
6. Start IE – enter http://servername/connectcomputer
7. Add the administrator and user to the computer.
8. Restart
9. Login as the Domain Admin
10. Remove user from the Administrators group
11. Disable the Admin Account
12. Setup new user for remote access and remove old user.
13. Restart
14. Login as new user
15. Change password on login.
16. Config taskbar options.If new user will access old users email setup new profile. Contol Panel – Email – Add profile – add exch acct.

MY COMPANY

2005-03-28T10:26:00.000-05:00

OT:

For those of you visiting my blog please take note of the links on the left side of the page. I work for a beauty supply distributor and our online store is www.Oursalon2u.com. It's a great site to visit for all your haircare needs and is also a great site for holiday gifts. Take a look around using the "Freeview" option. If you are interested in purchasing online contact a salon within our distribution area and ask for their salon code. A code is needed to register and is a 4 digit number. *hint*. We serve the PA, NJ, DE, WV and VA area. We will ship to any location in the US.

Cheers,
Bill

BACKUP Failed

2005-02-24T08:37:00.000-05:00

Well, the other day I came in to an email that the backup had failed. Odd, been running just fine for months, wonder what's wrong. The event log just has an event id #5634. Usual backup failed event. When I looked at the backup log the message was:

Backup Runner started.NTMS session started successfully.
EnumerateNtmsObject(NTMS_LIBRARY) succeeded.
Will enumerate on 3 media libraries found.
GetNtmsObjectInformation(NtmsLibraryInfo) succeeded.
GetNtmsObjectInformation(NtmsLibraryInfo) succeeded.
Found an enabled library.
InventoryNtmsLibrary(NtmsInventoryOmid) succeeded.
Identify Media completedEnumerateNtmsObject(NTMS_MEDIA_TYPE) succeeded.
Will enumerate on 0 media types found.
GetNtmsObjectInformation(NtmsLibraryInfo) succeeded.
Found an enabled library.
InventoryNtmsLibrary(NtmsInventoryOmid) succeeded.
Identify Media failed or was invalid.
EnumerateNtmsObject(NTMS_MEDIA_TYPE) succeeded.
Will enumerate on 0 media types found.
Unable to detect tape drive or tape media.
GetTapeMediaPoolName failed.
(0x80070458)GetBackupDestination failed.
(0x80070458)LaunchNTBackup failed.
(0x80070458)NTBackup finished the backup with errors.

OK. NT Backup can't find the media. I then looked at the Media Pools in RSM. There were 5 allocated backups tapes in the "backup" folder. None were in the Free media folder. If I recall this is normal. I tried a manual backup and received a message:

"There is no free media available with the selected type. Add unused media or click cancel to end the operation. Note: it may take up to 60 seconds to recognize new media.

OK. Seems to me that there needs to be "Free" media available in the Free Media folder. Or at least it seems that way. So, found some trouble shooting articles on Tape Backup Media. OK, tried something else. I checked the "move mediat to free" box on the properties page of the "backup" media pool. I then manually deallocated the oldest Ecrix backup from the backup media pool. This moved the media to the free media pool with a state of "unlabled".

So now I have some free media available. Should work, right? NOT. OK now what's up? This morning I looked at the Queues folder in RSM. I see several "Clean Drive" messages. I clean my drive every month. The last clean cycle was run on Feb 8th. Why do I need to run it again. I recall a post where someone else had the same problem and cleaned the drive but I couldn't get past my brain telling me "but you just cleaned it", blah blah blah. OK, so I clean the drive and voila! Backups now work.

Glad it was an easy fix. NOW, It would be very helpful if Microsoft could add the "Tape Clean" message to the backup log. If this message was appended to the log the user would know right off that the drive needs to be cleaned before any further backups can be run.

Best,
Bill V
SBS ROCKS!

SUS Updates

2005-01-18T10:48:00.000-05:00

Wonder why your updates that were approved in SUS are not applying to your client PC's at the scheduled time? If your PC's are not setup with a Local Admin account the update will be transparent. Take a look at the event viewer on the day the updates were planned for release. You will see an event #18 - Automatic updates. Check the event viewer the next day. You should see and event #4377 - NT Service Pack. This is the installation after the next user reboot.

If the user is a local admin a pop up box will alert the user that a update is ready and prompts the user for installation (depending upon GPO options)

Thanks,
Bill V

Create a User without an email address

2004-12-09T08:35:00.000-05:00

In some cases you want to create a user, but don't necessarily want this user to have an email account. Perhaps you want someone to look at the server to help out, or perhaps you want to use SharePoint as an extranet, and you want to allow a certain group of users to access SharePoint, but you don't want to host email for them. If you use the SBS Add User Wizard it forces you to create an email account right?
Right? Wrong.

In the SBS Add User Wizard, you can simply delete the email alias fromthe User Account Information page and then complete the wizard.Poof, a domain account that doesn't have an email address!

Group Policy Troubleshooting

2004-12-09T08:21:00.000-05:00

Group Policy is very much overkill for Small Business Server. So much in fact that many of the features won't even work on an SBS box because the relate to cross forest or cross doamin functionality. Having said that. Group Policy can still be cumbersome to troubleshoot within a single Domain and Site. What you need is troubleshooting tools.There are a few primary tools I would want to call out around troubleshooting.

RSOP.MSC
This handy Windows XP tool can be run by simply typing "rsop.msc" from a client run box. It will gather all the details of policy running on that particular box and show it to you in a single
GPEdit.msc console. It's not the easiest way to look at it, but if you're checking for a specific policy and whether it was applied or not, this is pretty easy. You even get funky red-x's if something failed to apply.

GPResult.exe
This handy DOS command can be run to roll-up and show you all the policies in your network and which ones are applied to the computer, and which one's aren't. Kind of handy if you were expecting a policy to affect a machine and it didn't.

GPMC "Policy Results" CalculationsIf the user has ever logged into the client machine, you can go crack open GMPC (our handy Group Policy tool) and run a new query, it will take your computer/user combination and give you a nice roll-up of what's going on with that particular user. This is handy since it's an all-in-one familiar interface to view all the policies and how they are applied.

Backup to Exabyte VXA-2

2004-11-30T10:55:00.000-05:00

Recently moved from an internal Travan 40 to an external Exabyte VXA-2. I must say that the VXA is certainly the best option for SBS'rs. The price is reasonable, the capacity is large enough for most and backup speed is 1000% better (ok exaggerating). Anyways... The travan used to take about 6 hours to backup and verify the 20 or so gig of data being backed up. The VXA takes all of an hour and a half. HUGE difference.

The VXA runs on a SCSI connection so I needed to add a scsi card to the server. Simple install and the backup wizard picked the new drive up without a hitch.

Kudos to Exabyte!

My Documents Redirection

2004-11-30T10:38:00.000-05:00

I setup my second XP PC and didn't quite understand where my "My Documents" really were. I'm used to having a local copy of My Documents on my PC. When I look at the properties of the my Documents folder the path is to the users shared folders on the server. Shouldn't there be a local my doc folder on the PC that redirects the contents to the server?

Well yes, there is when offline files is enabled.

Open My Computer.
On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
On the Offline Files tab, make sure that the Enable Offline Files check box is selected.
Select Synchronize all offline files before logging off to get a full synchronization. Leave it unselected for a quick synchronization.

After synchronization you will see all your folders and doc's have an arrow. When you are disconnected from the server these files are available. When you connect to the server again the files are re-sync'd.

BETTER YET... Setup a GPO to setup offline files. Create and link the GPO at the domain level. Go to Computer Config - Administrative Templates - Network - Offline Files.

Enable - Cache Size (your choice of size)
Enable - Prohibit user configuration of offline files
Enable - Subfolder always available offline
Enable - Synchronize all files before logging (on or off, your choice)

Restart or run GPupdate.

Problem with GPO OU and AD OU

2004-11-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

What happens when you rename the "MyBusiness" OU in the GPMC? Well, first off you will be unable to change permissions for users or add new users since the "MyBusiness" OU in AD is no longer there. You need to reinstall the server tools to correct this as well as a couple of extra steps (see below). Renaming the OU back to it's original name does not correct the problem as I found out.

The problem came up because I had renamed the "My Business" OU in group policy. This prevented the add user wizard from running from the management console. I had renamed the OU back to My Business (with a space) prior to reinstalling the consoles. So, I reinstalled the consoles and all is well. Except... now there are 2 OU's in group policy and in active directory. The 2 are: My Business and MyBusiness. The correct My Business folder in AD has 2 recently added Win XP PC's listed in the computers - sbscomputers section. The other "MyBusiness" entry has no such entries. The sites is more or less empty except for the user templates in the sbsusers folder.

When I renamed the MyBusiness OU back to its original name, I renamed it to "My Business" (with a space). This is why the Add User wizard still didn't work after renaming it back. It was looking for "MyBusiness". So I reinstall the SBS Console and it creates "MyBusiness" so now there are 2. I then move the user templates and security groups from the "MyBusiness" OU (no space) to the "My Business" OU (with the space). Delete "MyBusiness" and rename "My Business" to "MyBusiness".

Once you have everything moved into the "MyBusiness" (no space) OU in Active Directory Users and Computers (ADU&C), you can rename or delete the "My Business" (with the space) OU in ADU&C. After you rename or delete the "My Business" (with the space) OU in ADU&C, the change will show up in the Group Policy Management Console.

Thanks to Chris Puckett at Microsoft for support on this issue.

SBS Doc - Adding XP PC's to your network

2004-11-30T09:33:00.000-05:00

This is an excellent doc for SBS'rs adding Win XP PC's to their network.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/guidance/smb/xp2sbs.mspx

Using Remote Assistance

2004-11-30T09:26:00.000-05:00

Win XP - SP2

When using Remote Assistance - E-mail an Invitation, be sure to create a password in the box provided. The password is then emailed to the recipient. Without the password RA will not allow the connection.

ICW.EXE ERROR RESOLUTION

2004-11-30T09:01:00.000-05:00

Came across this problem while setting up a test server using the evaluation build of SBS 2003 build 3790.

ICW.EXE Error RESOLUTION:

THE PROBLEM: The first 3 wiz*.dll's are different from working box to not working box. The remaining dll's match both size and version. The non matching dll's are as follows:

Working box:
1. wizardui.dll - Size: 1,011,712 - Version: 5.2.2651.0 - Location:\Program Files\Microsoft Integration\Win SBS 2003

2. wizchain.dll -Size: 99840 - Version: 5.2.2651.0 - Location: \Program Files\Microsoft Integration\Win SBS 2003

3. wizchain.dll - Size: 99840 - Version: 5.2.2651.0 - Location: \Program Files\Windows for SBS\Administration

Non Working Box:
1. wizardui.dll - Size: 1,010,688 - Version: 5.2.2576.0 - Location:\Program Files\Microsoft Integration\Win SBS 2003

2. wizchain.dll -Size: 99328 - Version: 5.2.2576.0 - Location: \Program Files\Microsoft Integration\Win SBS 2003

3. wizchain.dll - Size: 99328 - Version:5.2.2576.0 - Location: \Program Files\Windows for SBS\Administration

SOLUTION:Copied the dll's from working to non-working server and re-registered using regsvr32. CEICW now works.