Archive for the ‘Microsoft’ Category

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 – Access Denied (no further details)

I was trying to install Windows 7 Sp1 on a laptop and I was getting an “ACCESS DENIED” error with no further errors. After a bit of tshooting I ended up running processmon and it turned out there was a DENY set on the C drive for USERS, that means when the service pack was attempting to install it would not be able to create the C:\32893928109093829312\ folder.. that’s one of the first steps.

I removed the DENY permission and everything worked well.

process mon is a great tool, Good luck

SCCM State Migration Point Errors

I was installing SMP on a 2008 r2 (X64) and I was getting these errors

 

SMS_STATE_MIGRATION_POINT received START notification.    SMS_STATE_MIGRATION_POINT    22/12/2011 10:22:45    7128 (0x1BD8)
SMPPeriodicActivityInterval = 1440 minutes
Failed to find the certificate in the store, retry 1.
Failed to find the certificate in the store, retry 2.
Failed to find the certificate in the store, retry 3.
CCMRetrieveCertificateContext failed : 0×80004005
RetrieveCertificateContext() failed. SMP Cert does not exist. Creating a SelfSignedEncryptionCert.
Creating Encryption Certificate…
Failed to create certificate hr=0×80070005
CreateSelfSignedEncryptionCert() failed.
GetSMPSerializedKey failed : 0×80070005
GetSMPSerializedKey failed.
SMPManager failed to start, Error = (0×80070005).
SMS_EXECUTIVE started SMS_STATE_MIGRATION_POINT as thread ID 3496 (0xDA8).

It was related to READ permissions on the MachineKey folder C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA

I basically had to enable the LOCALSYSTEM access to this folder and restarted the service, All is well now :)

 

Disable startup repair (7/2008)

So one of my servers was rebooted and never came back up. It was stuck on the startup repair screen. I would rather it boot loop then never retry. So to disable the startup repair run this command.

bcdedit /set {default} bootstatuspolicy ignoreallfailures

And to re-enable it

bcdedit /set {default} bootstatuspolicy displayallfailures

BattleField 3 Beta 5850 Crossfire Problems (stutter / slow fps)

I was getting mega stutter and low fps in battlefield 3 beta, It was stopping me from playing at all. Best after loads of playing around, I ended up following this guide and it worked.

 

Clean it with Atiman Uninstaller v.6.0.0.msi. Download LINK

Run it with administrator privilege. Some antivirus software will give false alarm but it is just a false positive.

Then install Catalyst 11.9 + ( Catalyst 11.8 CAP5 http://www.overclock.net/ati-drivers…11-8-cap5.html only if you are crossfire).

Disable ULPS http://www.overclock.net/amd-ati/667…ling-ulps.html

During Catalyst install, if you get any error messages, ignore it and let it complete. Restart PC, then go to folder where the files extracted/unzipped to, find in CCC2 **.exe then perform repair.

 

After rebooting and finallay loading the drivers, Battlefield 3 worked perfectly!

Thanks!

Forefront – Remove old computer records

I was checking out the Forefront console ( I have been deploying many virtual servers/clients) for my studying, I came across alot of old stale computer records (see image1), I wanted to quickly remove old records that have not made contact for a few days, as they are messing with the reports etc. (see link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2272146 )
Basically run the tool on the FCS Server, you can choose the date/time to delete from, I would check the log before actually applying the /doremove switch.

Get the tool here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2272146 (you need to request it to be sent)

Restore Windows XP NTFS Permissions (Client)

This will restore the NTFS persmission for Windows XP (Pro)

Run CMD

secedit /configure /db secedit.sdb /cfg %SystemRoot%\inf\defltwk.inf /overwrite /verbose

Install Vista / Windows 7 / Server 2008 from USB

I know there are many guides around, The only difference here is that I want to do the quicker (alot infact) format, instead of the normal slow one.

To do this, you need an existing Vista/7 Machine and a USB Stick.

  1. Insert USB stick
  2. Open Command (cmd.exe) as administrator
  3. type (followed by enter)
    1. diskpart
    2. list disk
      1. You should note the disk that is your USB drive (disk 1 or 2 etc, not usually disk 0)
    3. Select disk 1
      1. If disk 1 is the correct one for your USB drive
    4. Clean
      1. This will WIPE the disk drive completly
    5. Create partition primary
      1. this will create a new partition that will use 100% of the space on the USB drive
    6. Select partition 1
      1. selecting the newly created partition
    7. Active
      1. activates the partition
    8. Format fs=fat32 quick
      1. this will format the partition in fat32 quickly
    9. assign
      1. assign drive letter
    10. exit
  4. Now you can just copy all the files on the CD/DVD/ISO to the newly created partition on the USB Drive.

Some notes: FAT32 has a file size limit of 4GB, meaning you cannot copy any single file that is larger than this. Many DVD ISO are larger than 4GB and you might forget the filesystem type in the months to come :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Allocation_Table#FAT32

notes taken from http://www.techmixer.com/install-windows-vista-from-bootable-usb-flash-memory-drive/

DPM – Thoughts

I have been using DPM 2007 for a few months now and here are a collection of thoughts and annoyances.

Automaticly resolve alerts

Basically, when you get an alert such as “Replica Inconsistant” due to any number of issues you will be sent an alert and also one is logged in the Alerts tab, This is fine and very useful although if the issue is fixed (server back online, service running again etc) the alert will just sit there, gathering dust. Should it not just go away into some other (closed/repaired) area or filter? I mean its getting silly. (see image)

Windows 2003 System States

This has been the biggest problem for me, I have yet to workout what is going on (fully) but it seems that if for any reason you get an error/warning related to the backup of system_state (in event log) it will cause a failed backup. In my case the error is related to Certificate Services, its a warning and using NTbackup it will backup fine, but with DPM all I get is errors and failures. I will it would just do a Competed backup (dirty mabey)

Agent Installation

The agent installation is seamless and quick, but it would be good if it enabled firewall exceptions on install.

On a good note, It is miles better than anything else. I feel very confident with the backups and so far have had no issues that require a large recovery or a loss of critical data. I highly recommend this for admins that do not have endless time to manage backups and monitor for issues. It is a simple but very effective solution to a nessicary requirement.

J

Hotmail – Activesync (finally)

Finally I have activesync for hotmail on my Android ( Nexus One )

Basically the settings are

  • Username: you@hotmail.com
  • Password: your hotmail password
  • Server Type: Activesync (choose manual setup)
  • accept certs
  • Server Address: m.hotmail.com

its not working too well tho, some syncs are not doing anything. At least its a start.!

J

sccm 0×00002024 CCMCertFix

I got this,

Simple answer:

just run (as admin) on the client machine and boom, it works! CCMCertFix.exe

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=977203

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