Posted by paris on Feb 23, 2011 in
Fixes 
Recently a user had issues with Google Apps email. Emails stopped being downloaded to his machine randomly during the day. For example 2pm – 6pm emails just not did download to Outlook via POP. Logging to Google Webmail showed the emails had actually arrived at Google so it was down to a pop error not mail transportation. I reset the POP counter by going into settings in Gmail and changing “Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on”. However this did not fix the issue. Upon further investigation with outlook and a look at the Add In’s that might be interfering with outlook , Incredimail was installed.
Uninstalling this resolved the problem, so watch out installed 3rd Party Apps, I’ve also seen Smiley Central totally break the MAPI Protocol for Outlook!
Tags: Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on, Google Apps Email not being downloaded randomly via POP3, Incredimail
Posted by paris on Feb 9, 2011 in
Fixes 
When trying to connect a Windows 7 machine to a fully updated Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 you might get the error message
“This computer does not meet the maximum operating system requirements for running client setup”. This is because you need to install Rollup 3 for Windows Small Business Server 2008. It should install off Windows Updates for but some reason sometimes needs to be done manually. To do this manually follow the steps
- http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/
- Install the Active X Control
- Search for “rollup 3″
- Find “Update Rollup 3 for Windows Small Business Server 2008 (KB969121)”
- Add To Basket and Download to Server
- Extraxt, Install and Restart
Tags: Joining Windows 7 to SBS 2008, KB969121, SBS2008-KB969121-x64-ENU.msp, Small Business Server 2008, This computer does not meet the maximum operating system requirements for running client setup, Update Rollup 3 for Windows Small Business Server 2008, Windows 7
Posted by paris on Feb 4, 2011 in
Fixes 
With XPSP3, the RDP plugin sometimes gets disabled by an update – there are 2 registry keys to delete which should fix it:
1. Open Regedit and find the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings
2. Within the Settings sub-key, delete the following sub-keys:
{4eb89ff4-7f78-4a0f-8b8d-2bf02e94e4b2}
{7390f3d8-0439-4c05-91e3-cf5cb290c3d0}
Then reboot and try it again.
Tags: TS Web ActiveX control not installed or not enabled
Posted by paris on Jan 28, 2011 in
Fixes 
A server was sucessfully completing it’s backup of Exchange, however the Log files where not being truncated. I resolved the issue on the server by performing the below in the order:
- Backup Manaully , then Delete old log files
- Turn on Circular Logging
- Restart Information Store
- Turn off Circular Logging
- Restart Information Store
Tags: Exchange 2003 log file truncation, Exchange not truncating log files
Posted by paris on Jan 28, 2011 in
Fixes 
Microsoft has improved the Printer Redirection on Terminal Services in 2008 by Ultilising their own print driver called “Easy Print”. This means the specific printer driver doesn’t need to be installed locally on the server for the redirection to work. There are some minimum requirments for this to work:
- The RDC 6.1 (6.0.6001) client supports Remote Desktop Protocol 6.1
- At least Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
If you are using Windows Vista you will need to have Service Pack 1 Installed. If you are using Windows XP you will need to have Service Pack 3 installed. Windows 7 out the box supports this.
This will fix any issues with the printer not being redirected on the Terminal Server.
Sometimes with all this enabled, the printer being redirected, easy print will still have problems interfacing with the printer. If this is the problem , try the following :
Turn Off Advanced Printing Features
Log Off your Terminal Server Session ( To Remap the printer after )
On your
local PC, you do the following:
Go to Control Panel. Select Printers. Right-click on your Printerand choose Properties.
This will bring up a window similar to the one below – select the “Advanced” tab.
On the Advanced tab,
uncheck the option that says “Enable Advanced Printing Features”
Log Back onto the Terminal Server and try printing again
Download Easy XML Update
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2431806 Tags: Easy Print Advanced Printing, Printing Errors Easy Print, Symbols Easy Print
Posted by paris on Jan 13, 2011 in
Fixes 
A friend has issues with his Entourage crashing when he opened it from scratch. It would the program then as soon as it checked for new email with the IMAP server it would lock Entrouage , and the only way to close it would be using the Force Quit option (right click on the icon in the task bar and choose Force Quit).
A few shortcuts can be used to open Entourage with given options.
Holding down the ALT Key while clicking to open Entourage will start the database checking and repair options
Holding down the Shift Key while clicking to open Entourage will stop the automatic Send and Recieve on startup.
I tried a Database Rebuild , with no luck , so I launched the program with SHIFT which stop the program freezing , however it would still freeze up when send and recieve was clicked. I tried a reinstallation of Entourage to no avail. I then updated the to the latest update, then opened up Entourage , right clicks on the Inbox and choose properties. Emptied the Cache and also a Fix Mailbox. Entourage was then able to send and recieve sucessfully
Tags: ALT Key Entourage, Entourage Checking for Mail, IMAP Entourage Crashing, No Send and Recieve Entourage, Safe Mode Entourage, Shift Key Entourage
Posted by paris on Dec 1, 2010 in
Fixes 
While trying the install Service Pack 3 on the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Computer the following error messaged showed
‘c:\windows\system32\
ntdll.dll’ is open or in use by another applications’
I was installing Service Pack 3 Through Windows Update. I downloaded and ran
Process Explorer from SysInternals , This let me use the Find function for searching for process’ calling the
ntdll.dll file. After looking at the list , and finding out the process with the type “HANDLE” I found the process using this DLL was infact internet explorer ( iexplorer.exe)! Since this update came from Windows Update there was obviously an issue.
To resolve the issue , I downloaded the standalone
Network Version of SP3 and made sure Internet Explorer was closed before I reran setup
Reran SP3 and the update worked fine!
Tags: ntdll.dll, ntdll.dll is open, Service Pack 3 XP
Posted by paris on Nov 4, 2010 in
Fixes
Recently a 123-reg.co.uk domain account I use, was disabled. The run up to it , was registering a domain under my account for a friend, then getting for a friend who wanted to use it , to pay for it with his paypal. This was fine until 2 years later , when the domain auto renewed and charged the account to my friends paypal account. Unfortunately my friend didn’t want the domain any more and queried the disputed the paypal transaction. Unknown to me, the two sides had arguments and Paypal refunded the money to my friend, and 123 reg disabled the account due to a payment issue!
Little did I know that this had happened and upon trying to login to the account one day it would not accept my username and password. Upon retyping a few times I use their password reset facility , which sends an email to the account holder and a link to “Change your Password”
Upon clicking on this link it checks an ID value then redirects you to
https://www.123-reg.co.uk/lost-login/change-password.pl ,however after entering the new password twice and choosing “Change Password” button , I was greeted with the following screen, telling me in some unparsed html that there was an error with my request.
After trying again twice , it still produced the same error message! After getting a colleague to check their account was ok with password resets and trying on another computer/IP to check if a cache or cookie problem I found the link the email was trying to take me to was :
https://www.123-reg.co.uk/rp.pl?t=(idnumber)&a=(username)&id=
**%20DISABLED%20**
I guess this pointed out clearly what was wrong with my account! After calling up their support number they explained to me what had happened, I offered to pay the domain fee ( £7! ) and they offered to accept the payment for an extra £12.50 Administration Fee via bacs which takes up to 3 days even if it is the same bank!
It would have been really useful if 123reg had emailed me or contacted the main account holder (myself) to tell me my account had been suspended. It would have saved some time and investigation, but I am thankful the domain on the account still held it’s DNS records and nameservers in tact which is why it took me 3 weeks to find out something was wrong!
Resolution
Judging by the look of the url strings , rp.pl file grabs a “t , a and id” value, so rp.pl needs to have a clause in it where if (id = **%20DISABLED%20**) {then send to a correct error page
“Your account is disabled , please call this number Monday – Friday to discuss”}
Tags: 123 Reg Disabled Account, Paypal 123 Reg, Paypal Refund
Posted by paris on Oct 19, 2010 in
Fixes 
A customer had an issue of opening the Windows 7 “Backup Up Now” button. After investigation on this technet thread
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproui/thread/6a138e65-2834-41ac-bd40-c2344e20b824 it seems the problem is caused by 3rd party application not implementing their context menu(right click option) correctly. This is when you select a file and right click on it and have options such as zipping it up , or sending it to some backup software.
There are a few applications named and shamed below that cause this with the fix from microsoft :
“So if you have quicksfv installed and are facing this issue, you can either un-install and install the latest one or check for the below reg key and add it if not already present.
1. regedit->
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ShellCompatibility\Objects\{906b0e6e-61ce-11d3-8ee2-0060080a7242}]
“CTXMENU_NOVERBS”=”"
(right click-> New->’String Value’->CTXMENU_NOVERBS->Enter)
Other apps which we have been reported to cause this issue:
i. “MoveTo CopyTo Context Menu” – gives a right click Move To option – Guid {C8F9EE0B-60AE-40C6-930D-6395F46358E5}
ii. “CompareIt!” – (installed with ‘Shell extension’ option) – Guid {398D6F03-7C65-4462-A173-95247F028785}
iii. explorer integration for the trojan scanner “a-squared Free” – Guid {A155339D-CCCD-4714-85EB-3754B804C9DF}
iv. PCmag’s ContextMenuPlus – Guid {EECB3CFB-8757-11D3-9A66-00105A228F4A}
v. J River Media Center 14 – Guid {7578A3D3-CF04-4F4B-A231-43D8F50A4C49}
vi. Quicksfv – Guid {906b0e6e-61ce-11d3-8ee2-0060080a7242}
vii. Handy Backup Software – {21B897E9-4B62-4C3D-A0C5-5FF356E84ADA} // you can reomve the shell integration feature of this to correct the issue.
viii. Easy SFV Creator 2.7.0 by Brad Smith Software – {67FDD158-4C57-4672-A93C-AEDFAACA693F}
ix. JujuEdit.exe. (Guid not available – should be uninstalled)
x. MyWinLocker. (Guid not available – should be uninstalled)
xi. WebEx – Guid {4D185FEC-958C-4DB4-87AA-D4D79A46FAB7}
If the guids are not present in the ‘Objects’ reg key, then you need to add the guid and then add the string value.
1. Go to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ShellCompatibility\Objects
2. If the apps guid(mentioned above) is not present, right click on ‘Objects’->New->Key-><guid value>
3. Now click on the <guid> key, on the right side-> new-> ‘String Value’-> CTXMENU_NOVERBS
However after checking through the registery subkeys none of these where installed. I tried to be proactive and go through all the keys in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ShellCompatibility\Objects and add the ‘String Value’-> CTXMENU_NOVERBS , however this was to no avail, so I’m guessing the problem software had forgot to create its GUID here.
Next step was to check through the context menu and find anything there not default with the windows install. There was MagicISO and Express Zip File Compression Software
As Express Zip File Compression Software was the most recently installed , I uninstalled this. After this I was able to rightclick on My Computer and click Manage as well run the Windows 7 Backup and Restore functions
Luckily on the technet article there is a representation from Microsoft.com who suggests this, if all else fails!
And I would need a dump of the explorer process from your machine. Please follow the below steps:
i. Get the machine in the problematic state, ie when the links wont work.
ii. right click on task bar-> Task manager-> process tab-> Explorer.exe-> right click-> Create dump file.
iii. save the file on local disk(could be a few hundred MBs), upload it onto skyDrive space and send the link. You can email the details to lokkum”at”microsoft”dot”com.
Details on the CPPLinks
http://cid-921ae32373defa5b.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/.Public/CPLLinksBroken
1. copy the correct architecture exe onto your machine. Double click on the exe.
2. First page, it asks for a type of file, say Documents.
3. Then pick some random file, may be a .txt file.
4. Generate the report. This should give a link for detailed info.
5. It will give you output in sections. Scroll down to “Verb Handlers” section. This might say some red information about some app returning ‘SUCCEEDED WHERE IT SHOULD NOT’.(ignore the one which says ‘does some I/O during binding’).
6. There will be a guid associated with the above red warning(big number of around 32bits). This is the identifier of the culprit app.
7. Search for this guid in run->regedit-> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ShellCompatibility\Objects\
8. If found, on the right create a new ‘String Value’ with name CTXMENU_NOVERBS=”"
9. If not, you will have to create a key with the guid first and then do step 6.
(This will ask the OS to ignore the fault of the app.) After this your links should work fine.
Alternatively at step 4, if you face any difficulty, you have an option to ‘Save log file’(save the report), save it to a file on your desktop and send it across to me. I will try and examine it.
Tags: CTXMENU_NOVERBS, Express Zip File Compression Software, Windows 7 Backup and Restore not working, Windows 7 context menu
Posted by paris on Oct 13, 2010 in
Fixes 
A client was logging into Small Business Server Remote Web Workplace , however upon initializing the RDP connection with the server. The user was not utilising the full screen size of his local machine and there where black lines surrounding the RDP border. This is usually an issue with resolution set on the initial web settings.
After checking this on clicking
Optional Settings before clicking on the selected client computer, this was set to full screen. The RWW takes these settings on launch and saves them to a Default.rdp file on the local My Documents folder so future connections can utilise these. I checked this file and the resolution had been set to full screen. Upon launching the rdp file and putting in a test Remote Server , the screen opened up to the correct resolution.
The issue was the user had increased the zoom size of Internet Explorer to %125. This means when the RDP client tried to initiate the screen size through internet explorer it had the wrong resolution. Changing this back to 100% ( Toolbar – View , Zoom ) fixed the problem.
Tags: Black Lines RDP, Remote Web Workplace IE Zoom, Remote Web Workplace Resolution, Remote Web Workplace Screen Size
