Microsoft Deployment RC1 Fix

Mike didn’t even mention this at dinner last night…

Issues with Microsoft Deployment RC1 - October 25, 2007

The development team has isolated issues in the initial Microsoft Deployment RC1 build. Toolkit was throwing errors when Configure ConfigMgr Integration, Configure Management Pack or Configure WDS PXE Filter features were invoked. The errors occur because two files were not properly signed in the Microsoft Deployment RC1 release. We have released an updated build which contains these signed files. Please download the latest installers from Connect web site.

If you would like to work around the issue without reinstalling Microsoft Deployment , you can refer to steps given at Microsoft Deployment team blog site.

Thank you for your patience and your diligence in testing Microsoft Deployment. Please make sure to submit bug reports on Connect Feedback site.

Microsoft Deployment Team

Microsoft Corp.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

1 comment.

Microsoft Deployment Release Candidate 1 Available for Download

The latest installment of BDD, code named Deployment 4, now named Microsoft Deployment (MD) is available for download on the Microsoft Connect site.  This is the much anticipated version that integrates with ConfigMgr’s OSD and is the next evolution of BDD.  With this new version you can expect to have a single solution for the deployment of both desktops and servers as well as WDS, and ACT.  See below for more details on what is included.

Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) is now Microsoft Deployment!

We are pleased to announce the RC1 release and new name for the fourth generation deployment Solution Accelerator, Microsoft Deployment. The current generation of automated deployment tools from Microsoft is increasingly unified; the same tools, utilities and products in many cases offer support and functionality for desktop and server deployment tasks. Following the trend of unified tools, the Business Desktop Deployment team has incorporated new functionality and guidance to support automated server deployment in addition to desktop deployment capabilities. This expanded feature set, with its guidance and ability to automate installation of Windows client and server operating systems - as well as applications - has effectively outgrown the current name, Business Desktop Deployment. Previous Beta releases have been using the code name “Deployment 4″ to refer to Microsoft Deployment before the name was finalized.

Microsoft Deployment is the next version of Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007. It unifies the tools and processes required for desktop and server deployment into a common deployment console and collection of guidance. Microsoft Deployment adds integration with current Microsoft deployment technologies - System Center Configuration Manager 2007, Windows Deployment Services, and the Windows Automated Installation Kit - to create a single path for image creation and automated installation. Microsoft Deployment adds integration with recently released Microsoft deployment technologies to create a single path for image creation and deployment, including:

• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Operating System Deployment
• Windows Automated Installation Kit
• Windows Deployment Services with new multicast technology
• Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0
• User State Migration Tool 3.0.1
• 2007 Office system
• Windows Server 2008 Server Manager for automated server role definition

Enhanced Program on Microsoft Connect

This release candidate also offers an enhanced Microsoft Connect portal including technical frequently asked questions, deployment tips and tricks, a recommended 10-step program for new users to quickly get acquainted with deployment accelerators, customer-ready Solution Accelerator informational materials, and deployment-related conference presentations.

Accelerator Description

Microsoft Deployment combines the guidance and toolset from previous releases of Business Desktop Deployment and Beta releases of Windows Server Deployment. This release continues to support Zero Touch Installation (ZTI) of desktop operating systems using Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 with the Operating System Deployment Feature Pack and adds new deployment and task sequencing capabilities for desktops and servers using System Center Configuration Manager 2007. Microsoft Deployment also continues to provide Lite Touch Installation (LTI) support without infrastructure requirements and adds capabilities for Windows Server 2003 and pre-release versions of Windows Server 2008.

New Features in Microsoft Deployment

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 support, with the following features:

• Full support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 deployments with Microsoft Deployment and Configuration Manager 2007.
• Complete integration into the Configuration Manager 2007 admin console and task sequencing capabilities.
  • Quick start Configuration Manager 2007 operating system deployments using one wizard to create needed task sequences and packages.
  • Extension of the Configuration Manager 2007 task sequencing capabilities with new actions.
• Feature parity with BDD 2007 and SMS 2003, including dynamic package installation, automatic determination of state store location, computer backup, and database settings.
• Installation support for computers unknown to the Configuration Manager 2007 database
• Added support for offline patching
• Support for offline and online language pack installation
• Deployment monitoring:
  • Updated Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager 2007

Lite Touch Installation (LTI) support for Windows Server 2008:

• Support for deploying Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 and potentially RC1 (to be verified after RC1 release), including support for Server Core installation options.
• Automated server role definition using Server Manager

Lite Touch Installation (LTI) enhancements:

• Enhanced disk and network interface cards (NICs) configuration options, including support for static TCP/IP configuration.
• Design changes to ease the migration from LTI to Configuration Manager 2007.
• Support for multiple task sequence templates. New sample templates include:
  • Client template: Windows Vista, Windows XP
  • Server template: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008
  • Replace scenario template
• Ability to invoke web service calls
  • Support for web service calls from rules
  • Web services can be invoked as part of the rules processing performed by Microsoft Deployment, using new rules that can be defined in CustomSettings.ini.
• Support for BDD 2007 upgrade or side-by-side installation with Microsoft Deployment.

Lite Touch Installation (LTI) multicast support:

• Deployment Workbench supports multicast transmission of operating system images when performing LTI deployments from Windows Server 2008 servers that are running Windows Deployment Services.

Where to Find Microsoft Deployment

Microsoft Deployment RC1 is available as a download in the Microsoft Deployment Connection Program on Microsoft Connect.

Download Now!

Related Resources

Desktop Deployment Center on Microsoft TechNet

System Center Configuration Manager on Microsoft TechNet

System Center Configuration Manager evaluation software on Microsoft TechNet

Windows Server 2008 on Microsoft TechNet

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

no comments yet.

Cool Tools for a Sunday

These are Vista sidebar gadgets that display NFL stats and headlines, hence Cool Tools for a Sunday…

The top one displays headlines for different sports type like football, baseball, soccer, so on.  The middle one is specific to football, and you select your favorite team and it will display the latest headlines for that team, and then the bottom one is a gadget that displays the current or final score for your selected team.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

no comments yet.

More Cool Tools for a Friday

Enjoy your weekend!  If you are going to the ConfigMgr airlift next week I will see you there!

SpeechVibe: Control Mouse Cursor using Voice Commands, Speech Recognition on Windows Vista

SpeechVibe is a Windows XP/Vista speech recognition program that lets you drive your computer using voice commands. While there are many other voice recognition programs on the web, the unique feature of this application is the ability to control your computer’s mouse and keyboard with the help of a discrete, translucent mouse grid that displays co-ordinates on your monitor.

+ Single click, double click, left click, right click and even drag and drop the mouse cursor using voice based speech recognition.
+ If you find that the mouse grid is obtructing your view, you can say “Flash computer” to hide the grid
+ Increase or decrease the size and fonts of the grid using voice
+ Shift the postion of the grid left, right, up or down with your voice
+ Say any key sequence and SpeechVibe will imediately execute it for you.

Download SpeechVibe for Windows XP and Vista from here

Download Live Search Mobile with Voice Input, GPS Location & 411 for Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0

In June, this year, Microsoft had inadvertently released the dogfood beta version of Live Search Mobile with bluetooth voice input on the web and had quickly taken it offline. Today Microsoft has announced the official voice-enabled beta version of Live Search for Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 devices along with some other features such as GPS location awareness and 411 automated helpline:

+ Live Search for Windows Mobile with voice input: Speak your questions—no need to type
+ Get gas prices, and hours of operation for businesses
+ use Global Positioning System data on GPS-enabled Windows Mobile phones to provide location-aware local search
+ Live Search 411: Users can simply dial (800) CALL-411 (800-225-5411) and say the city and state, then ask for the business or business category to hear a list of options. Users say, “Connect me,” to instantly connect to the business. Cell phone users can ask for a text message with a link to a map of the business.
+ Live Search now supports GPS location aware search and other features for Blackberry OS 4.0.2

To download this latest beta on your Windows Mobile device, visit wls.live.com from your phone browser or livesearchmobile.com from a desktop PC.

PocketTV for WM6: View and Capture Screenshots/JPEG Images from MPEG-VCD Videos on Windows Mobile

PocketTV Classic is a free MPEG and VCD Video Player for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 based Pocket PC and Smartphone device that allows users to view, stream and capture still images in JPEG format from MPEG and VCD videos on your mobile device. PocketTV takes full advantage of all the features of WM 5/6 such as Landscape mode display, soft-keys, on-the-fly display rotation, VGA resolution, 800×480 wide-screen, etc.

Key features of PocketTV Classic include:

+ Full support for Windows Mobile 6 or 5 (On-the-fly display rotation, Screen Rotation, SoftKeys, VGA display etc)
+ PocketTV can play any standard MPEG-1 (with extension .mpg or .mpeg) or VCD video files (with extension DAT). You need to change the DAT extension to MPEG in order to play it with PocketTV
+ Can take advantage of onboard video hardware accelerators
+ Allows stepping frame-by-frame to observe individual frames
+ Capture still images in JPEG format from playing videos
+ Can play videos with odd resolutions i.e. image size not in multiple of 16×16
+ Integrates with IE Mobile/Pocket IE to click and view streaming MPEG videos

Download PocketTV Classic from the product homepage listed above as free registration is required.

HTC P3650 (Polaris)

Posted by smartmobilegadgets on August 4th, 2007

THE ULTIMATE POCKET MOBILE NAVIGATOR

Highlights:
The high speed navigator
Compact PDA phone, that provides rich navigation, multimedia, imaging and messaging experience
Take control of your busy life, with this pocket sized entertainer
Fully supporting Navigation solutions

Check out Smart Mobile Gadgets for more cool PDA devices and Mobile Phones

Say hello to the polaris the first life real pictures for polaris p3650

http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/htc-polaris-gets-specs-leaked-renamed-the-cruise/

"The next step in the HTC Touch line — the GPS-equipped Polaris — has been re-christened the Touch Cruise, and has gone and gotten its juicy specs all leaked out to the internet. In addition to having improved TouchFlo capabilities, like rotation and zoom, the new model will sport a quad-band GSM radio (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900), tri-band UMTS (850 / 1900 / 2100), HSDPA and HSUPA data connectivity, a 400MHz MSM7200 Qualcomm CPU, 128MB of RAM and 256MB of ROM, a 2.8-inch, 320 x 240 QVGA display, 3-megapixel camera (plus secondary, 0.3-megapixel camera), WiFi, Bluetooth, and a microSD slot. Apparently, the design of the device hasn’t been finalized, though it will likely feature four buttons and a navigation wheel."

The SATA HDD Stage Rack, at last

Posted Oct 19th 2007 5:02AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Peripherals, Storage

Now we’re talking! Meet the PC and Mac compatible USB 2.0 SATA HDD Stage Rack. The value of this 2.5- and 3.5-inch compatible dock is obvious if like us, you’ve got gigs of unused storage laying around after years of SATA disk updates. Just pop in that old disk for instant expansion without having to first wrap the drive in a clumsy enclosure. Available now for €33 / $47. If you still don’t get it, check the video after the break… you too will believe.

Virtual Earth 3D (Beta)

Brief Description

Add realistic 3D capabilities to your online Live Search Maps.

Overview

Virtual Earth 3D brings you another step closer to knowing "what it is like out there". You can search, browse, and organize local information viewed in three dimensions, just the way it exists in the real world. This enables you to more effectively find the data that is relevant to you, making Live Maps more useful than ever. Even better — it’s just plain fun!

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=e9298080-50c4-4f2e-9fc4-4009074996ba&displaylang=en&tm

Visio 2007 Connector for Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) 2.1

Brief Description

The Microsoft Office Visio 2007 Connector for Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) lets you view the results of an MBSA scan in a clear, comprehensive Microsoft Office Visio 2007 network diagram.

Overview

The Visio 2007 Connector for Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) 2.1 lets you view the results of an MBSA scan in a clear, comprehensive Visio 2007 network diagram. You must have both Microsoft Office Visio 2007 Professional and MBSA 2.1, a free security tool from Microsoft, for this connector to work properly.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=95e0f821-9c2c-4287-9157-49c1205e08ef&displaylang=en&tm

Customize the Open and Save Dialog with OpenWide

Windows only: Get a customized Open and Save dialog box (with details, icons, or lists) with OpenWide, an application that does what Windows does not. You can already customize the views of your individual folders using Folder Options in the Explorer, but unfortunately, your saved view does not extend to dialog boxes. The application is extremely small (72KB) but many might find the default System Tray icon feature unnecessary. Fortunately, the tray icon can be disabled. For those who often save files and need detailed information quickly, this application comes in handy (though Windows itself should really support this without the need of an extra app). OpenWide is a Windows-only freeware application for personal use.

Enlarge Your Taskbar Previews with Thumbnail Sizer

Windows Vista only: Vista’s thumbnail taskbar preview feature is attractive, but unless you’ve got superhuman vision, the very small thumbnails aren’t all that useful. Freeware application Thumbnail Sizer manually adjusts the size of the thumbnail so you can super-size those previews for a much closer look at the window contents via a simple width and height slider. With some simple tweaking, your taskbar previews can be large enough for you to even be able to read text in the preview, which means you’ll be able to understand what window you’re seeing at a glance. While you’re at it, you might want to enlarge your Alt-Tab thumbnails, too. XP users, you can add Vista-like taskbar previews with freeware application Visual Tooltip.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

no comments yet.

Two More Openings for SMS Engineers

These are located in Atlanta and sorry I don’t have salary information on these two, they are contract to hire.  The details are below, if you are interested shoot me an email including your updated resume and I will forward it on to the recruiter.

These 2 administrator/ packaging SMS Engineering positions begin as a 6 month contract and converts over to a permanent position. The hourly rate and salary are competitive based on experience.

The client is looking for candidates that have SMS packaging/repackaging combined with SMS Administration experience with MSI or   (Microsoft Installer) Technology. 

Job Responsibilities:

• SMS packaging (from scratch) and repackaging
• Deployment and working with the internal business units
• Following up with each business unit after deployment.  Completing a follow up report.
• Monitoring the SMS environment.  Must be proactive to keep the servers healthy.
• Deploy security updates to workstations (soon they will also work with the servers)
• The client is now using SMS on their imaging solution “OSD” and “BDD”
• Work with workstations, drivers
• Scripting:  VBScript preferred
• They are upgrading to SMS 2007 with “WSUS” Windows Security Update Services.  WSUS experience is desired.

• PKI experience is desired .
• Must have basic MS foundation infrastructure skills, AD (Active Directory), Windows operating system, troubleshooting skills

• Light project management skills are desired

• MOM experience desired

ENVIRONMENT:

• 3,000 desktops in the environment.  A mix of LAN devices, remote users, and VPN. 
• Only on call one week out of every 10 weeks
• A great deal of TRAINING offered

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

no comments yet.

Tired Of Your Job? How about $105-120k for an SMS 2003 to SCCM Job?

If you are interested send me a copy of your resume and I will forward it on to the recruiter, the requirements are listed below.  This is with a federal agency located on the east coast.

Skill set and experience:

Experience with managing SMS in a multi-site environment including the ability to troubleshoot all aspects of SMS via analyzing log files on both server and clients

Job Duties:

Require consultant with extensive experience with SMS to perform the following tasks:

(1) Advise the Agency on the best design for System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007 in a multi-site environment.

(2) Upgrade from SMS 2003 to SCCM 2007. 

(3) Create a disaster recovery plan for the SCCM 2007

(4) Implement Microsoft Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 & Microsoft Operating System Deployment feature pack (OSD). This will better prepare the Agency to upgrade its desktop environment to Windows Vista.

(5) Troubleshoot SMS infrastructure and packaging issues Create SMS package deployment business process.

(6) Evaluate Agency’s current SMS web reports for software modifications.

(7) Create a business process for SMS web reporting. SMS consultant will be responsible for providing Agency with the following Work Products:

            a. Upgrade plan for SMS 2003 to SCCM 2007.

            b. Implement upgrade plan for SMS 2003 to SCCM 2007.

            c. Disaster recovery plan for the SMS infrastructure.

            d. Implementation Plan for Microsoft Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 & Microsoft Operating System Deployment feature pack (OSD).

            e. Implementation of Microsoft Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 & Microsoft Operating System Deployment feature pack (OSD).

            f. Business process for SMS package creation.

            g. SMS web reports business process.

Project description:

Agency has contracted prime for the overall evaluation, design, implementation, sizing and upgrades of the structure of the Agency’s Active Directory, Group Policy Objects, System Management Server, Windows Internet Naming Service, Dynamic Naming Service, and Email. The Agency’s environment includes Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for all Agency users and workstations in those environments.

The following technologies are used for scripting at the Agency’s: DOS Batch files, ADSI, LDAP, Kixstart and Visual Basic. The contractor shall have a high level of technical expertise with these scripting technologies in order to automate administrative tasks, software deployment, logon script development. The contractor shall have the ability to leverage languages such as JAVA, Cold Fusion, HTML, and SQL query to extract data from an SMS data base running on MS SQL server and build Web pages tracking software deployments & problems with the SMS infrastructure.

Restrictions:

(1) MUST BE A US CITIZEN

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

no comments yet.

Weekly Tools Roundup

  There are a ton of sites with cool tools and keeping up with all of them can be overwhelming.  Here are a few that I have come across in just the last week and find useful or at least sound useful (direct quotes below - not my spellings).  Enjoy and have a great weekend!

 

Vidown FLV Downloader is a free FLV Download manager for Windows that can download FLV videos from any Flash website, play them uisng the integrated FLV player or convert them into Windows Media Video (WMV) format for playing it in WMP or on Windows Mobile device.

The main features of ViDown FLV Download Manager include:

+ Download FLV videos from more than 80 Flash websites.
+ Download multiple files from multiple websites at the same time.
+ Integrates with Internet Explorer shell.
+ Includes FLV video player.
+ Includes FLV video convertor to convert FLV format to WMV format.

Download ViDown for Windows here [includes plugin to convert FLV to WMV]

 

UpdateStar is free software for Windows XP and Vista that can automatically search and download the most up-to-date versions of programs found on your computer. UpdateStar contains a database of more than 80,000 software products be it freeware, paid, commercial, trial, demo, donationware or shareware.

Key features of UpdateStart include:

+ Runs in the background and notifies of new updates immediately
+ Once an update is afound, UpdateStar offers information and download options as well as licensing links in the case of a commercial program or update
+ Adds a custom and much faster Add/Remove program applet
+ You can personalize updates by selecting specific applications for which you want UpdateStar to look for updates
+ Get special offers and discounts for commercial software updates, if interested

Download UpdateStar for Windows XP and Vista here

 

Defraggler Beta is a new disk utility for Windows XP and Vista from the makers of CCleaner and Recuva that enables you to defrag selected individual files on the hard drive, instead of processing the whole drive/volume.

Key features of Defraggler Beta include:

+ Defrag Individual Files and Folders: Most defragmentation tools only let you defrag the whole drive. Defraggler allows you to select individual files and folders to defrag making the defrag process very quick.

+ Portable: Can be run off any portable USB Flash drive

+ Locate Files on the Drive: After analysis Defraggler lists all the fragmented files on the drive. Selecting one or many will highlight their location on the disk allowing you to visually see the location of files on the disk.

Getting started:

1) Launch Defraggler, select a drive and press Analyze
2) When the analysis is finished, the program will display a visual drive map and a list of the fragmented files
3) Selecting files from the file list will highlight them on the drive map
4) Right click and choose “Defrag Highlighted”

Download Defraggler Beta for Windows XP and Vista here

 

OpenedFilesView is a free utility that displays a list of all opened files on your Windws XP or Vista based computer. Along with that, it displays a whole bunch of information about the open file such as:

+ File name, size and its complete path
+ Handle number
+ Created and Modified time
+ Attributes and type of access allowed- read, write, delete or shared
+ Process ID, Name and Path

This utility is useful if you cannot delete a file or an applications or program is hung, not responding or giving access denied permission errors and you need to track down the culprit. You can do this by sorting the column in OpenedFilesView by “Full Path” and locating the directory where the file you are trying to delete is situated. Or if you have multiple Internet Explorer windows open and one of them hangs.

Download OpenedFilesView for Windows here

 

Featured Windows Download: Recover Forgotten Passwords with Snadboy’s Revelation

Windows only: If you’ve forgotten an important password but have it saved in its applicable software or web page, password utility Snadboy’s Revelation will reveal it. Open the application, drag your cursor over the asterisks, and the password will appear. This application is a lifesaver, especially if you’re unable to recall all your hard-to-remember passwords. Snadboy’s Revelation is donationware, Windows only.

Snadboy’s Revelation

(via Ryan’s shared items in Google Reader)

 

Disable and Remap Any Key with SharpKeys

Windows only: Sick of accidentally hitting the Caps Lock key when you never intentionally use it? You can disable the Caps Lock key entirely with a free Windows utility called SharpKeys. The How-To Geek explains that instead of having to edit the Windows registry yourself to disable and remap keys, SharpKeys does it for you with a convenient interface. You can even add key combinations that map to functions and applications, like Print or your default email client. SharpKeys is a free download for Windows XP and Vista.

Map Any Key to Any Key on Windows XP / Vista [the How-To Geek]

(via Ryan’s shared items in Google Reader)

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

no comments yet.

Why Patch Tuesday Turns Into Patch Thursday or Friday or Monday

I used to hate the second Tuesday of every month.  I honestly liked it better when patches were released as they were ready.  What happens with the scheduled updates is that everyone knows that it is coming and that means that everyone expects their SMS Engineers to have the patches deployed that night, no matter how late, no matter how many people, no matter what!  And on Wednesday morning, usually around nine, everyone wants to know the status of the deployments.  For me I had some advantages, one I controlled the entire SMS hierarchy, everything from the design, the site servers, the physical servers, collections, packages, ads, reports, you name it, I was also on the west coast, when Microsoft didn’t release the catalog until noon, it was noon, not three in the afternoon or 11 PM.  I also didn’t have other managers trying to tell me what to do, occasionally I would get a call from the IT director our someone higher up but when I uttered those three little words, "It’s patch Tuesday", 99% of the time that conversation was over.  So I could close my door, not answer my bat phone, turn off my work cell phone, and make full use of my time. 

But here’s the thing, my situation was unique, most SMS Engineers either have a ton of other responsibilities, a ton of competing requests from people, don’t have that kind of flexibility in their scheduling, don’t have that kind of control over the SMS hierarchy, don’t live in the PST time zone, or any combination of these including but not limited to all of these!

And if you are a manager and are reading this you may think to yourself, "they just need to manage their time better" or "these are just minor roadblocks that they can over come" or even "it’s their job and if they can’t do it then we will find someone else who can," I have a couple questions for you.  First, have you ever read a KB article?  No, no, no, not this summary…if that is what you read, and even if you read the entire KB article did you miss that one little piece about known issues, you had to click on a link, go to another page, and then click on another link, and then scroll down where you were presented with a little more information on what you may encounter, it reads like so…

Known issues

• During the last two steps of the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard, you may receive the following error message:

Failed to start service SPSearchServiceInstance on this server after completing upgrade. Please start it manually.

However, the SPSearchServiceInstance service was actually started after the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard finished. You can safely ignore this error message and the error message that is logged in the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard log file.

• The Microsoft GroupBoard Workspace 2007 add-in template for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 may cause the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard to fail during a build-to-build upgrade.
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

941678 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941678/) SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard does not finish successfully on a computer that also has GroupBoard Workspace 2007 installed

• When you run a gradual upgrade of a Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 site collection to a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site collection, the server may be brought down. You must allow the gradual upgrade to complete before you apply this security update.

• You use quiet mode to install Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. If this security update is applied during the installation, the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard unexpectedly runs after the installer program has finished.
To resolve this issue, extract this security update to a folder on the computer. Then, copy the files to the Updates folder of the program’s release version. After the extracted files are copied to that location, the folder is ready to be used to install the release version of the program that is updated to this security update level.

• After you install this update on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, the Web sites may not restart within the time-out period. Therefore, you may be unable to access the Backup, CompanyWeb, Microsoft Server ActiveSync, Monitoring, Outlook Web Access, or Remote Web Workplace Web sites. To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods:

• Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, and start any Web sites that are stopped.

• Restart the computer.

• If you run a virus scanning program during the installation of this security update, you may experience intermittent issues during the installation. To resolve these issues, turn off the virus scanning program before you apply this security update.

• You use host-named site collections in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. If you have many host-named site collections in your deployment, you may experience severe performance issues while this security update is being applied. For example, this issue may occur when there are more than 50 host-named site collections in your deployment.

Microsoft is aware of this issue in which the installation and upgrade will take a long time to update the databases when you run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard. If you have many host-named site collections in your deployment, we recommend that you do not apply this security update at this point.
Note If you do not use host-named site collections in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, you can safely apply this security update.

• Consider the following scenario. You unprovision a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 search service database by using one of the following methods:

• Method 1
You run the following command-line:

%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\bin\STSADM.EXE" -O SPSEARCH -ACTION STOP -F

• Method 2
You use the Central Administration page to stop the "Windows SharePoint Help Search" service. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration.

2. Click Operations, and then click Services on Server under Topology and Services.

3. Click Stop to stop the Windows SharePoint Help Search service.

You perform a basic installation of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 that contains the unprovisioned search service database and this security update. When you run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard in this scenario, the wizard is not completed successfully.
To determine whether you are experiencing this issue, open the latest PSConfig log that is saved in the following location:

%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\Logs

If you receive the following error message in the PSConfig log, you are experiencing this issue:

Exception: System.ArgumentException: The object with id SOME-RANDOM-GUID does not exist in the configuration store. The object may have been deleted by another operation.
at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPConfigurationDatabase.DeleteObject(Guid id)
at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPConfigurationDatabase.DeleteObject(SPPersistedObject obj)
at Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration.SPPersistedObject.Delete()
at Microsoft.SharePoint.Search.Administration.SPSearchServiceInstance.ProvisionDatabase()
at Microsoft.SharePoint.Search.Administration.SPSearchServiceInstance.Provision()
at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ServicesTask.InstallServiceInstanceInConfigDB(Boolean provisionTheServiceInstanceToo, String serviceInstanceRegistryKeyName, Object sharepointServiceObject)
at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ServicesTask.InstallServiceInstances(Boolean provisionTheServiceInstancesToo, String serviceRegistryKeyName, Object sharepointServiceObject)
at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ServicesTask.InstallServices(Boolean provisionTheServicesToo)
at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.ServicesTask.Run()
at Microsoft.SharePoint.PostSetupConfiguration.TaskThread.ExecuteTask()

To work around this issue, follow these steps:

1. Do one of the following:

• Delete the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 search service database in the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SQL instance. The database name starts with "WSS_Search_" and ends with the server name.

• Reprovision the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 search service database by specifying a nondefault Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 search service database. To do this, use one of the following methods:

• Method 1
Run a command-line that resembles the following command-line:

%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\bin\STSADM.EXE" -O SPSEARCH -ACTION START -DATABASENAME “DBNameExample"

• Method 2

a. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration.

b. Click Operations, and then click Services on Server under Topology and Services.

c. Verify that the Windows SharePoint Services Search service is stopped. If it is running, stop the service.

d. Click Windows SharePoint Services Search under Services.

e. Under the Search Database, change the database name to any name other than the default name, and then click OK.

f. On the Services on Server page, click Start to start the Windows SharePoint Services Search service.

2. Run the following command-line:

%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\bin\ PSConfigUI.exe

• The hotfixes for the following issues are included in this security update. However, if you install a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 service pack after you install this security update, the following hotfixes are lost.

• You rename a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site collection. If you add a new user to the site collection, the welcome e-mail message that is received by the new user contains the old site name.

• You use the Application Definition Designer tool to import a database model that is included in the Business Data Catalog Definition Editor tool (BDC tool) of the software development kit (SDK) for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. After the database model is imported, the database connection string is blank.

• When you run SPWriter.exe, the program closes unexpectedly with an error message in module Oleaut32.dll. This issue was resolved by a hotfix that moved the GetTimeZoneMoveParameters() function to the end of the Owssvr.dll file.

• You migrate user accounts to a new site collection by using the Stsadmin.exe command-line tool. When the new site collection is crawled, you receive event errors 6482, 6875 and 6482 in the Application log. This issue may occur when the user’s SID in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is invalid.

• You use a custom template in a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site collection. If you create a new Web page, all the standard Web parts may not be available when you click Add a Web Part.

• When you apply this security update, some third-party services may be incorrectly stopped. If this issue occurs after you apply this security update, you must restart the computer.

• You connect to a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site collection. If the page contains a Calendar Web part that is set to Calendar view, the page may not load completely. This issue may occur if you do not have the permission to read the Calendar list.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to apply this security update.

Restart information

In certain circumstances, a restart of the computer may be required. If a restart is required, follow these steps:

1.Restart the computer.

2.Run the "SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard."

3.Verify that all the SharePoint services are now running in the services console.

4.Verify that all the Web sites are running in the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

Removal information

After you install this security update, you cannot remove the update.

If you as the SMS Engineer also own the SharePoint servers and sites then you may not have that much work to do on this one, but it is unlikely that you don’t, then this might cause some concern for you.  You know that you have to get this patch out tonight, and you have to build a query for several products now, find out the owners of those servers, contact them, discuss this with them, come up with a plan for patching the server, and do this for each one, unless the one person owns all the SharePoint servers.  And when you are done with that, you get to setup a SharePoint server and test the patch on it.  So what time is it?  Do you have SharePoint on the network?  Know where the media is?  If you read each one of the articles in full, that alone is a couple hours, and that is only the first step in a very long list of procedures for deploying patches.

If you are a manager reading this, my advice, first, never ever utter the last example to an SMS Engineer because if your guy or gal has stuck it out this long, you are unlikely to find someone else as good or better for what pay you are giving them, second, on Wednesday morning bring coffee, tea, Diet Coke, your engineers caffinated beverage of chose, and lastly, relax you have a firewall and it is configured correctly - right?

This is the Daily Ramblings of an (ex)SMS Engineer…

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E Inc.

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

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Server 2008 RC0 Free Download

If you want to give Server 2008 a spin prior to its release next year you can download the release candidate zero here.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E Inc.

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

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Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 SCSI Driver Demystified

There seems to be a lack of information around the virtual SCSI driver in Microsoft Virtual Server 2005, or at least information that is easy to find so here are some tips on getting the most out of this driver and how it compares to the IDE driver.

• You don’t have to have a physical SCSI card or SCSI hard drives to use SCSI in Virtual Server 2005.  The SCSI driver is a virtual SCSI driver for a virtual SCSI bus, it does not need to use a real SCSI card.
• The SCSI driver only has limited support.  Using this driver with non-Windows OS’s may not work, or even older Windows versions.  YMMV
• There is no SCSI driver for Virtual PC. 
• The performance of the SCSI driver is very slow until you have the virtual machine additions installed.  The virtual machine additions contain the accelerated SCSI driver but you can install this driver during your setup of 2003, 2000, and XP by installing VS 2005 R2 and using the virtual floppy to load the accelerated SCSI driver or "shunt driver" during setup just as you would install any SCSI driver by using the F6 key when setup first starts.

Here are some of the advantages in using the SCSI driver and hard drives over IDE drives in your VM’s.

• Clustering!
• More drives per VM - up to 28 SCSI disks
• More space per drive - up to 2 TB per driver versus 128 GB max for IDE
• They are faster!

And if you weren’t confused before, in Server 2008 with Windows Server Virtualization, all of this changes. 

Here are some virtualization resources and related links:

Virtual PC Guys blog

virtualization.info home page  virtualization.info RSS feed

John Howard’s blog, Senior Program Mgr, Windows Server Virtualization

Microsoft Virtualization home page

Download Windows Server 2008 RC0 

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E Inc.

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

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