Windows Easy Transfer issues from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1

I attempted a Windows Easy Transfer from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 and it all backed up wonderfully smoothly. The restore, however, landed me in some trouble when it said the settings couldn't be restored, only the files.

I didn't really have any option, so I accepted this and it promptly restored all the files to the new installation. Many objects worked, others didn't, but the worst part was, there were now some legacy files stashed away in my computer that caused fresh installations of these programs to not work.

Not only is this highly irritating but it's also left me with anything else but a fresh install of Windows 8.1.

The next couple of posts will be outlining how I remedied particular programs that were not behaving since my standard uninstall options were not available to me with a fresh Windows.

MSExchangeIS service not starting in Exchange 2010 on VM

Recently we had to reboot an Exchange 2010 box to remove an agent and upon restart the MSExchangeIS service refused to start. The error message spat out in the Application Windows Log was -

Unable to initialize the Information Store service because  the clocks on the client and server are skewed.   This may be caused by a time change either in the client or the server,  and may require a reboot of that computer.   Verify that your domain is properly configured and  is currently online. 


The first thing I tried was a command line "net time \\dc-name.domain /set" to resync the times but this didn't make a difference, even though it did a resync.

After some more digging I came across this site that suggested the problem of time synchronisation is not with the VM itself but rather with the VMware host. To set up time sync in VMware it's these simple steps:

• Select the VMware host
• Configuration
• Under Software select Time Configuration
• Click on Properties (top right)
• Do the necessary
• Done!

Once we had synchronised the VMware host with the DC time everything worked again and the MSExchangeIS service would start.

Joy in the land.

Remove "Could not reconnect all network drives" message

If you suffer from the problem of a recurring "Could not reconnect all network drives" message that pops up every time you boot your computer, there is a way to remove it. It wasn't as straight forward as I had thought but it is actually possible and quite simple if you're command-line savvy. Here are the steps (even for the non-command-line savvy people out there):

1. START
2. Run --> CMD
3. net use * /delete /y

Then you should find the old recursive mappings that still work will still work on reboot and there won't be this error message any more for the mappings that have failed. Let me know if it doesn't work for you!

Windows Live Essentials offline installer

I've been toying a bit with the (new) Windows Live Essentials pack that you can use on Windows 7 and I'm readily impressed with the few features I've used so far. Especially handy is the Windows Live Photo's stuff, which makes importing and basic editing of photographs a whole lot better, if not necessarily always easier (too many options!!!).

If you want to download it you can either go the online download route which can be a pain and really slow if you're in South Africa on 384kbps (sigh - does anyone else besides me think this is far far far way behind the times?) and / or have to do it to multiple household machines. The best route is to grab the offline installer, which can be found here.

Alternatively, you can start the online download from the Live Essentials download page and then cancel it, which will then give you more options to download again - one of which should be an offline installer option.

Information obtained for this post was from here and here.

[ UPDATE 2013-05-26: doesn't look like the original link works any more. Found a pointer to these links, from this page ]

Windows Live Essentials 2011 Offline Installer [English]

Windows Live Essentials 2012 Offline Installer [English]

To verify the validity of these links above, you can go to this official Microsoft page, which points to the same files (from what I can tell) ...

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-za/windows-live/essentials-install-offline-faq

[ END OF UPDATE ]

AutoExNT: Running a batch file before logging into WINDOWS

If you ever need to run a batch file on a SYSTEM level before logging into WINDOWS (e.g. to set static ARP entries), then AutoExNT is the right tool for you!

 

Check out http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243486 for help on how to do the AUTOEXNT stuff.

Basically you'll need to create a batch file and then do these two simple steps:

1. Copy the Autoexnt.bat file you just created, in addition to the Autoexnt.exe, Servmess.dll, and Instexnt.exe files located in the Resource Kit CD-ROM to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder on your computer.
2. At a command prompt, type instexnt install, and then press ENTER. 

Then, if you want to only run the service ONCE add in the line "sc config autoexnt start= disabled" to the end of your batch file (or before you run the command, just in case you only want to run the file once, regardless of success: you don't want to be stuck in an infinite loop if your program / command is faulty and it never disables the service).

DOWNLOAD? Go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=9d467a69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&displaylang=en and grab all the Windows Server 2003 Resource Tool Kits! Have fun!

WINDOWS Force Automatic Updates on WSUS

Forcing an immediate update detection via your local WSUS is a very handy thing to know how to do, and even more handy is the website that provides you with the cut-and-paste goodness to create your own update script in no time!

Visit http://msmvps.com/blogs/athif/pages/66375.aspx for all the low-down, but for quick reference, copy everything below the line into a TXT file and rename to .BAT or .CMD:

Windows Maximum Addressable Memory Reference

 

Windows Versions (and their maximum addressable physical memory/RAM (GB))	32-bit Editions	64-bit Editions
Windows 2000 Professional, Server	4	N/A
Windows 2000 Advanced Server	8	N/A
Windows 2000 Datacenter	32	N/A
Windows XP Starter	0.5	N/A
Windows XP Home & Media Center	4	N/A
Windows XP Professional	4	128
Windows Server 2003 Web	2	N/A
Windows Server 2003 Small Business, Home, Storage	4	N/A
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Storage	8	N/A
Windows Server 2003 Standard (SP1/SP2/R2)	4	32
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise (SP2)	64	2048
Windows Server 2003 Datacenter (SP2)	128	2048
Windows Vista Starter	1	N/A
Windows Vista Home Basic	4	8
Windows Vista Home Premium	4	16
Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, Ultimate	4	128
Windows Server 2008 Standard, Web	4	32
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, Datacenter	64	2048
Windows 7 Starter	2	N/A
Windows 7 Home Basic	4	8
Windows 7 Home Premium	4	16
Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate	4	192
Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation	N/A	8
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard	N/A	32
Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, Datacenter, or Itanium	N/A	2048

How to activate VISTA, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008

I recently experienced some problems when activating Windows Server 2008 R2, with Windows reporting the following error (or thereabouts):

Activation fails with error code 0x8004FE33


After doing some digging here I discovered that there's a problem activating Windows when you're behind a PROXY and the PROXY authentication is BASIC. In order to bypass this, the simplest (and possibly quickest) solution is to just do activation via telephone. 


If you can't find the Windows Activation number, then go to START --> RUN --> "SLUI 04" [without the ""'s] and then OK. You'll be given an option of numbers to phone, and then Robert's your uncle (not in the furniture business, mind). 


Thanks to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/921471/en-us.

Download MS Office 2007 Media Kit

For a long time now I've been under the misguided perception that you can't get media kits for MS Office without having to pay for them. How ironic that finally as 2007 is about to be phased out I discover that all along you've been able to download MS Office media kits!!

Okay, so it's not quite as straightforward as just downloading it - you need to have a valid key to get to it, but if you do, here's where you need to go:

http://www.microsoft.com/office/backup/en-us/default.mspx

Windows Server 2008 R2 complex passwords

One of the new "features" with Windows Server 2008 is the password complexity "security" that ensures you have a complex password on your monster servers. The problem is, this is supposed to be defaulted to DISABLED on first installation, but in my experience, it isn't!

To find out a bit more about what sort of complexity you need to have in your passwords (so you can just darned well log in for the first time to change it), check out this link:
http://thebackroomtech.com/2008/03/10/windows-server-2008-password-complexity-requirements/

To find out how to fix it once you're logged in, check out this link:
http://stevepietrek.com/2007/05/08/change-active-directory-strong-password-policies/

ASP.NET and AUTORUN.INF et al trojan

(click here for the illustrated guide with pictures)

I'm sure by now most people have experienced one form of this BackDoor trojan or another. There's a very simple way to remove it, but in my mind it's simple because it's using DOS - others may not find it as useful or as helpful.


The first telltale signs of a trojan-infected USB drive is when you try to open the drive using MS Windows - if you double-click, it won't actually open, but rather prompt you to select an application to OPEN WITH.

To fix this problem is quite straightforward, and here's the concept:

1. The USB drive has had an AUTORUN trojan infiltrate it, so it won't allow you to open it normally.
   
2. The trojan is hidden, sometimes read-only, and sometimes marked as a system file.
3. The trojan can take many forms, but will usually replicate itself on the drive and if it's the AUTORUN.INF variant, you can see that it will be hidden somewhere else, and activated by the AUTORUN.INF.
4. You will need to unhide, unread, unsystem the file attributes, and then delete the file. Remove the USB flashdrive, and reinsert. That should be Robert being your uncle.

Here are the steps, in more detail (click here for the screenshot document):

1. First discover that you have the trojan (either an antivirus will pick it up, or you will experience difficulty when you try to explore the flashdrive)
   
   
2. Then open up a COMMAND window (start-->RUN-->CMD)
   
   
3. Type (flashdrive letter): where (flashdrive letter) is replaced by the letter of your flashdrive (so if it's E: then type "E:" without the ""'s).
   E:
   
   
4. Look for any hidden files on the flashdrive ("dir /ah" without the ""'s)
   dir /ah
   If you find too many files listed, then try dir /ah /p
   
   
5. After spotting any hidden files, look for ones that look like ASP.NET or AUTORUN.INF or some funny *.COM files, etc.
   autorun.inf
   asp.net
   d.com
   6phx.com
   
   
6. Find out those files' attributes (attrib xxx.yyy; e.g. attrib asp.net)
   attrib autorun.inf
   attrib asp.net
   attrib d.com
   etc.
   
   
7. Next, remove the attributes that are present (e.g. if it reports HR E:\asp.net then you would say attrib -h -r asp.net)
   attrib -h -r autorun.inf
   attrib -h -r asp.net
   attrib -h -r d.com
   etc.
   
   
8. Then delete the file
   del autorun.inf
   del asp.net
   del d.com
   etc.
   
   
9. Verify there are no more such files on the flashdrive by searching recursively for hidden files (e.g. dir /ah /s /o /p) and repeat the above.
   dir /ah /s /o /p
   (You should still see some hidden files, but look out for AUTORUN.INF, ASP.NET, D.COM, 6PHX.COM, etc.)
   

Once done, remove the flashdrive (pull it out), then reinsert. Job should be done!

You must be a member of the Administrators group on this computer to install this hardware (USB flashdrive)

If anyone else out there has to manage a locked down LAN, you'll know how frustrating it is when a little thing becomes a big problem. A little thing like inserting a USB flash drive and XP says you need to be an administrator to install it. Sigh. This shouldn't be so complicated.

After digging around for a host of options, I've narrowed down my particular solution for my particular problem in our student LABs, and here it is, in all of its documented glory!

Platform: HP DX7400, XP Pro
Event: Plugging in a USB flashdrive to the desktop lockdown image

Brief:
This occurs on a DX7400 after we’ve done the windows repair of a DX2000 image. The DX2000 image works fine, but USB flashdrives won’t work on the DX7400.

Solution:
Replace the USBSTOR.* files with older versions (i.e. from the DX2000 image) and it works fine.
 
Details:
As administrator, copy the files below into the appropriate directories. We keep older copies of these files on the NAS (\\nas.cs.ukzn.ac.za\SSCUWVL\Documentation\Sorted (as of May 2009)\SSCU LABs (notes, checklists, etc.)\Windows-related notes (lockdown, tweaks, etc.)\Windows bugs\USB Flashdrive Administrator bug), but otherwise copy them from another machine that works with USB.

Copy USBSTOR.INF (ours is august 23 2001) to C:\WINDOWS\INF

Copy USBSTOR.PNF (ours is july 5 2007) to C:\WINDOWS\INF

Copy USBSTOR.SYS (ours is august 3 2004) to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS

Log off. Unplug USB. Log on. Insert USB. Job done :)

If we want users to be able to eject or unplug the USB with limited rights, then this is a GP edit, which is the subject for another post.

UPDATE:
Here is a list of some links that may also prove helpful in troubleshooting the administrators group problem if the solution I've mentioned doesn't work for you...

• Windows Requires Administrator Rights to Install USB Flash Drives - the most in-depth one I've found so far.
  
  
• http://www.edugeek.net/forums/windows/12659-usb-drives-require-administrator-access-install.html
  
  
• And the typical good ol' GOOGLE search which will no doubt pull up one of these links above anyway.
  

Removing intel graphics tray context options

If you manage a bunch of desktops (like I do), you always have one or two idiots that decide to fiddle. In this particular case, the Intel graphics driver updates force a context-menu in the right-click on the DESKTOP and this gives the kiddies the joys of rotating the screen and freaking out the other users who are none the wiser for it.


Thankfully, Intel has given us an option to remove this context-menu, even though I'd prefer it even more that they didn't default install the darned thing. Check out this page (or google for the title above) and you should find the REG file to update the registry and stop those kiddies from messing with your screens.

Windows cannot copy file ...

[ UPDATE April 2011: the solution / code mentioned at the end of the article can be incorporated with AUTOEXNT so that the script is run on PC startup as ADMINISTRATOR before any login is invoked. Check out my post on AUTOEXNT to get further clarity ]


Windows cannot copy file c:\windows\system32\profiles\student\Local Settings\Temp\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\C1Y7S1IV\!fcHandoff%2CSW2%3A!fc

After running my desktop lockdown solution for the UKZN LABs, I get this bug cropping up every once in a while:

Windows cannot copy file c:\windows\system32\profiles\student\Local Settings\Temp\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\C1Y7S1IV\!fcHandoff%2CSW2%3A!fcHandoff%2CSW3%3A!fcHandoff%26f%3D150550152%26p%3Dmail_candygram%26id%3D1%26cbk%3DfcLoaded%26bg%3Dtransparent%26tgt%3D_blank%26hs%3D2%26en%3Diso-8859-1%2&r=0 to location C:\Documents and Settings\student\Local Settings\Temp\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\C1Y7S1IV\!fcHandoff%2CSW2%3A!fcHandoff%2CSW3%3A!fcHandoff%26f%3D150550152%26p%3Dmail_candygram%26id%3D1%26cbk%3DfcLoaded%26bg%3Dtransparent%26tgt%3D_blank%26hs%3D2%26en%3Diso-8859-1%2&r=0. Possible causes of this error include network problems or insufficient security rights. If this problem persists, contact your network administrator.

DETAIL - The filename or extension is too long.

And then:

Windows cannot log you on because your profile cannot be loaded. Check that you are connected to the network, or that your network is functioning correctly. If this problem persists, contact your network administrator.


DETAIL - The operation completed successfully.

---

Here are some places that are "helping" me to fix the problem...



UPDATE: This seems to help the problem, but I still get the occasional bug out as I did before... still working on a complete solution.

http://social.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/windowssteadystate/thread/2186fd6f-4ce9-420d-a44b-0de9fa5e431c/
- this forum works on the Windows Steady State stuff but same principle should apply here. The most interesting solution offered so far is that it's a permissions issue, or a long file name issue (really?? gosh), and the one dude's solution is to set up a script to run on logoff (if it's graceful) or startup (if it's been ungraceful). I'll try the startup solution, but must make a note at this point:

Deleting the temporary user profile in C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\ when logged in as Administrator does also remedy the problem, but it means manually intervening. We don't want that with 300 PCs - it's far too time consuming. I've also attempted to avoid this problem by reducing the temp Internet Files capacity to 1MB (minimum), but that didn't fix the problem either.

Another comment: C:\Documents and Settings\student\Local Settings\Temp\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\C1Y7S1IV exists, but there's no corresponding LOCAL SETTINGS folder in c:\windows\system32\profiles\student ...

My solution / code:
rd /s /q "c:\Documents and Settings\student\Local Settings\temp"

I'm thinking of just removing LOCAL SETTINGS completely and seeing if that fixes the problem. Not much grace with this solution, but it works, so we're 3 steps ahead. Of course if there were something as useful as UPHCLEAN for this, it would help :)