THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS "DIVA"

.:SBS2008 - Small Business Server 2008:
http://www.sbs2008.com/

 So many folks ask for the url for the SBS 2008 connect newsgroups.

Next time just tell them www.sbs2008.com :-)

One of the "kewl" conferences is coming up.  This one is cool from not only the 'who's who' list that is there but because it's one of those nice sized conferences.  Not too small to not have some VERY heavy hitters, not too big so that you are swallowed up in the mass of canvas bags and swag fests.

This is pure geek, pure tech.  Not to be missed.

Minasi Conference 2009 Home Page:
http://web2.minasi.com/forummeet2009/forummeet2009.htm

Hosted by Mark Minasi, this meeting will have in depth talks on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Exchange 2007, Windows Home Server (WHS), Windows Vista as well as other hot topics. You won't want to miss this!!

• Dates: Sunday, April 19th 2009 through Wednesday, April 22nd. We recommend that you fly in on Saturday, although sessions start midday Sunday.
• Location: Virginia Beach Resort & Conference Center
• Costs:  hotel, airfare, meals and $450 registration fee
• Talks
• Speakers
• Link to register (it's a "seminar registration" page but you'll see the Forum meeting as an option)
• Link to pay with credit card if you've already registered but didn't pay when you registered

Technical Sessions (Schedule Subject to Change)

Sunday, April 19, 2009

• 1:00 pm:  Welcome
• 1:15 pm:   TBD  Keynote  by Windows IT Pro
• 2:30 pm:  Break
• 2:45 pm:  Mark Minasi   Introducing Windows 7
• 4:00 pm:  Break
• 4:15 pm:  Aiden Finn   Hyper-V - The Future of Infrastructure
• 5:30 pm:  Close

Monday, April 20, 2009

• 9:00 am:  Eric Rux   The Big One - Merging 2 Companies!

• 10:15 am: Break

• 10:30 am: Nathan Winters  The Future of Email: Exchange 14 and Online Services

• 11:45 am:  Lunch
• 1:00 pm:   James Summerlin  SQL Reporting Services
• 2:15 pm:   Break
• 2:30 pm:   Roger Grimes  How I Fixed the Internets!
• 3:45 pm:   Break
• 4:00 pm:   Todd Lammle    TBA
• 5:30 pm:   Dinner organized with coach transport

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

• 9:00 am:   Rhonda Layfield  Windows 7
• 10:15 am:  Break
• 10:30 am: Mini Session A  TBD
• 10:55 am: Mini Session B  TBD
• 11:20 am: Mini Session C  TBD
• 11:45 am: Lunch
• 1:00 pm:  Mark Minasi   More Windows 7
• 2:15 pm:   Break

• 2:30 pm:   Curt Spanburgh   Hybrid Solutions, SaaS

• 3:45 pm:   Break
• 4:00 pm:   TBD  Light Session (Photography or other topic)
• 5:30 pm:    'No Host' dinner at local restaurant  (one last chance to rub elbows with people in the know)
• 6:30 pm:    Vendor Evening - Details TBD - An evening with various vendors either on site or via Web conference, to look at relevant products.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

• 9:00 am:   Stacy Hein  SQL for the Windows Administrators
• 10:15 am:  Break
• 10:30 am:  Joe McGlynn   SBS 2008 for the Small Business
• 11:45 am:   Closing thoughts and summing up
• 12:00 pm:  Final Lunch
• 1:00 pm:    Round Table Discussion

Speakers

Mark Minasi  

Mark Minasi is a best-selling author, popular technology columnist, commentator, keynote speaker, and all-around alpha geek. What separates him from many of the other alpha geeks, however, is that he knows how to explain things to normal humans and often make them laugh while doing it.  That's reflected in his recent Reader's Choice award for "Favorite Technical Author" at CertCities.  More testimony to his popularity with tech world came at a recent SearchWin2000 webcast on tuning computers.  At that webcast, Mark drew three times as many attendees as any previous webcast, crashing Yahoo!'s servers.

He is probably best known for his books in the Mastering series (Mastering Windows Server 2003, Mastering Windows NT Server, Mastering Windows 2000 Server, Mastering XP Professional, etc) and his perennial hardware PC repair and fix-it book The Complete PC Upgrade and Maintenance Guide, now in its 13th edition.  His monthly columns in Windows and .NET Magazine are among the best-read in the periodical.  Mark has also authored 19 other technology books, spoken on technical topics in 20 countries, and written and performed in a dozen technical education videos.

Rhonda Layfield

Rhonda Layfield has been in the IT community for 25 years. She began her IT carreer in the US Navy as a communications specialist holding a top secret clearance. She is now an independent consultant and trainer who develops and teaches her own curriculum on Various Microsoft and VMWare Technologies. Rhonda has a passion for learning products at the packet level and sharing that knowledge in her classes with some of the most prestigious organizations and corporations around the world. Some of which include Dow Jones, the US Airforce, the US Army, IBM, Bank of America, Wachovia, Bell Atlantic and EDS. She is currently an NT/2000/2003 MCSE and MCT. Along with teaching she enjoys presenting at national conferences (TechMentor and Windows Connections) and contributing articles to various technical magazines and is also a co-author of Mastering Windows Server 2003 Upgrade Edition for SP1 & R2.

Todd Lammle  

Coming soon.

Roger Grimes

Roger A. Grimes, Microsoft Security Architect, is 22-year industry veteran, author or co-author of over 7 books and over 200 magazine articles on computer security. He is often a top-rated speaker at many national conferences and enjoys just the chance to compete against the great Minasi. Roger is the InfoWorld security columnist so if you hate that guy, here's your chance to give him a piece of your mind. Often considered the Sam Kinison of the computer security world, he often rants against crappy security software and thinks few solutions offer real hope. Attend his sessions and learn about what really works. 

Eric B. Rux  

Eric B. Rux is cofounder of http://www.whshelp.com/. His monthly column Coming Home to Windows Home Server can be read at www.connectedhomemag.com. Eric is a senior Windows administrator for a large bill-management company and teaches the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) program at a local tech college.

Nathan Winters 

Nathan Winters is a Lead Consultant for Dimension Data. He is responsible for the Microsoft Exchange practice in the UK. Nathan has been working in I.T. for six years and specializes in Exchange and Office Communications Server.

Midway through 2006 Nathan founded the Microsoft Messaging and Mobility User Group UK which holds regular meetings in the UK to discuss topics related to Exchange. In April 2007 Nathan was awarded an MVP (Exchange Server) for his work with MMMUG and regular contributions to the Mark Minasi Forum. Nathan is a regular contributor to the MSExchange.org website and Nathan's other articles have been published by Penton Media (Exchange and Outlook Administrator newsletter), Microsoft (TechNet Industry Insiders) and on the MMMUG website.

You can contact Nathan at Nathan@clarinathan.co.uk or through his blog at http://www.mmmug.co.uk/blogs/nweb

Curt Spanburgh  

Curt Spanburgh is a Microsoft Dynamics CRM MVP, Cofounder of One Solution Group. A Microsoft Dynamics Consulting firm in Atlanta. He has worked with Microsoft applications for more than 15 years and monitors a Microsoft Business Solutions forum on the Mark Minasi Help Forum at http://www.Minasi.com.

He has worked with Microsoft Dynamics CRM since Beta 1.0 and Dynamics Great Plains since 1998. He is a contributing editor, writer and software reviewer for Windows IT Pro Magazine and SQL Server Magazine. One Solution Group provides Microsoft Share Point, Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains and Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions.

James Summerlin  

James Summerlin is 35 years old and has been working with computers since 1997. He has a bachelor's of science in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and currently consultants for small to medium sized offices - mostly in the medical field. James Summerlin works for Professional Data Management, Inc. located in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Aiden Finn  

Aidan Finn has been working in IT since 1996.  He has worked as a consultant and administrator for the likes of Amdahl DMR, Fujitsu, Barclays and Hypo Real Estate Bank International where he dealt with large and complex IT infrastructures.  More recently Aidan has been working in the server hosting and outsourcing industry in Ireland where he has focused on server management, including a large VMware VI3 deployment.  Currently he is working for C Infinity (http://www.cinfinity.ie/), an outsourcing services company in Ireland, where he is the Systems and Infrastructure Manager.  Here he has been working with Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center as part of an advanced server deployment and management infrastructure.  Aidan is the leader of the Windows User Group in Ireland.  Aidan is also a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) on System Center Configuration Manager and is an active blogger (http://joeelway.spaces.live.com/).  When Aidan isn't at work he's out and about with camera in hand trying to be a photographer (http://www.aidanfinnphoto.com/).

Joe McGlynn  

Joe is a Microsoft Certified Engineer working for Bryan S Ryan, The Complete Office Solutions Provider. As a Senior Engineer, he supports Windows Server 2000/2003 & 2008 and SBS 2000/2003 for SME's in the greater Dublin area. There is also a long but optimistic list of SBS2008 customers.

 Most times Joe will profess to knowing more about Whiskey that Servers, lives with 3 DNS gremlins and is looking for his ideal job as a DHCP Administrator for some lucky company.

Stacy Hein  

Stacy Hein is a Senior  Consultant for Lightedge Consulting Services.  Stacy has been a SQL Server DBA for 8 years working for major avionics, insurance, and financial companies. He is a  regular contributor to the Mark Minasi Forum.

You can contact Stacy at shein@lightedge.com.

Location, Travel and Registration

The meetings take place at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel, an oceanfront Virginia Beach hotel. You are responsible for making your own reservations. 

Address:

2800 Shore Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Sales Office 1-800-468-2722
http://www.virginiabeachresort.com/

The Official SBS Blog : Introducing the Windows SBS 2008 Answer File:
http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2009/01/02/introducing-the-windows-sbs-2008-answer-file.aspx

The Official SBS Blog : Remotely Administer Additional 2008 Servers:
http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2008/12/30/remotely-administer-additional-2008-servers.aspx

So you are trying to get SharePoint Service pack 3 installed and it's a no go right?

Well look in the log file. 

Okay.

Uh, yeah right... where EXACTLY is that?

I had to dig out where it was myself.

To verify that the service pack is installed successfully, view the Ohotfix(Number).log file that is located in the %Temp%\Ohotfix folder on the hard disk.

(Yes if I had my way ALL log files would be in the same place on servers and never in bin files, temp files, or other seeminly random locations or oddball locations)

That's where the log file is.

Welcome to PressPass’s virtual press room for the International Consumer Electronics Show 2009. Visit here often to find the latest news about Microsoft and Microsoft-related announcements during the Consumer Electronics Show, which runs January 7-11 in Las Vegas.

PressPass will also post video and photos of product demos and key speakers – including the keynote from Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer and Entertainment & Devices Division president Robbie Bach – as well as related feature articles, product news, press materials and live updates from the CES show floor.

Live Webcast - Steve Ballmer Keynote: 6:30 p.m. PST, Jan. 7: 100k | 300k | 750k

MacWorld keynote -- Expo: The final Macworld keynote is now streaming | MacUser | Macworld:
http://www.macworld.com/article/137975/expo_the_final_macworld_keynote_is_now_streaming.html

One of the recommendations that the migration docs say is to run some DNS tools to check the health of the server.

Run the Windows Support Tools
If your server is running Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, you cannot use the Best Practices Analyzer, but you can use the Windows Support Tools to accomplish the same task. The following table lists the tools that you can use to diagnose issues on your server, network, and domain:

Tool Description

Netdiag.exe
 Helps isolate networking and connectivity issues.


Dcdiag.exe
 Analyzes the state of domain controllers in a forest or enterprise, and reports issues to assist you in troubleshooting.

 
Repadmin.exe
 Assists you in diagnosing replication issues between domain controllers.

The tools are included in here:
Download details: Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 32-bit Support Tools:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6EC50B78-8BE1-4E81-B3BE-4E7AC4F0912D&displaylang=en

(this is on a vmware of a SBS 2003 test domain)

C:\Program Files\Support Tools>dir
 Volume in drive C has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is 8CB7-39FD

 Directory of C:\Program Files\Support Tools

01/05/2009  11:21 PM    <DIR>          .
01/05/2009  11:21 PM    <DIR>          ..
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            91,648 acldiag.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           216,091 addiag.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           349,696 adsiedit.dll
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            42,986 adsiedit.msc
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             8,704 apmstat.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            18,432 bindiff.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           119,808 Bitsadmin.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            41,472 browstat.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            65,024 cabarc.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            81,676 clone.vbs
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            33,262 clonegg.vbs
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            33,418 cloneggu.vbs
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            33,315 clonelg.vbs
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            91,648 clonepr.dll
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            97,280 clonepr.doc
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            32,855 clonepr.vbs
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             8,293 connstat.cmd
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           459,264 dcdiag.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             1,317 depends.cnt
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             8,704 depends.dll
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           642,048 depends.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           128,430 depends.hlp
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            55,808 devcon.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           235,008 dfsutil.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            13,824 dhcploc.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            15,360 diruse.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           160,768 dmdiag.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           132,096 dnscmd.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            82,432 dnslint.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            45,568 dsacls.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           125,440 dsastat.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            25,408 dskprobe.chm
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           131,072 dskprobe.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            15,872 efsinfo.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            26,112 exctrlst.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            14,336 filever.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            26,112 ftonline.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             5,632 getsid.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            34,304 gflags.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             8,333 health_chk.cmd
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            16,384 httpcfg.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           843,827 iadstools.dll
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           170,496 iadstools.doc
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            39,424 iasparse.doc
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            37,376 iasparse.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            20,992 inetorgpersonfix.doc
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             1,000 inetorgpersonfix.ldf
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            10,556 iologsum.cmd
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            23,040 ksetup.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            90,112 ktpass.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM        14,031,229 ldp.doc
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           263,168 ldp.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             7,680 lowiosrv.dll
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             2,996 lowiosrv.tlb
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            19,456 memsnap.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            27,648 movetree.dll
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            10,240 movetree.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            17,408 msicuu.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            89,088 msizap.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            48,640 netcap.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           390,144 netdiag.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           183,808 netdom.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           196,096 nltest.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            10,240 ntfrsutl.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            26,112 poolmon.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            23,040 portqry.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            16,393 readme.htm
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            37,376 remote.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           244,736 repadmin.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM         1,191,987 replmon.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            14,848 rsdiag.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            15,872 rsdir.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM         1,233,920 rstools.dll
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            26,112 sdcheck.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            19,909 search.vbs
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            13,312 setspn.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            60,416 showaccs.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             4,404 sidhist.vbs
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            55,296 sidwalk.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             4,608 sidwalk.msc
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           105,984 sidwkr.dll
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            19,968 spcheck.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM             4,239 spcheck.ini
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            16,054 topchk.cmd
03/24/2005  07:46 PM           140,288 windiff.exe
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            17,357 windiff.hlp
03/24/2005  07:46 PM            63,488 xcacls.exe
              87 File(s)     23,665,623 bytes
               2 Dir(s)  31,048,130,560 bytes free

C:\Program Files\Support Tools>netdiag

........................................

    Computer Name: SERVER
    DNS Host Name: SERVER.smallbusiness.local
    System info : Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (Build 3790)
    Processor : x86 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 6, GenuineIntel
    List of installed hotfixes :
        KB924667-v2
        KB925398_WMP64
        KB925902-v2
        KB927891
        KB929123
        KB930178
        KB932168
        KB933729
        KB933854
        KB935839
        KB935840
        KB936357
        KB936782
        KB938127
        KB938127-IE7
        KB938464
        KB941569
        KB942830
        KB942831
        KB943055
        KB943460
        KB943485
        KB943729
        KB944338-v2
        KB944653
        KB945553
        KB946026
        KB948496
        KB948745
        KB949014
        KB950762
        KB950974
        KB951066
        KB951698
        KB951746
        KB951748
        KB952069
        KB952954
        KB953838-IE7
        KB954211
        KB954600
        KB955069
        KB955839
        KB956390-IE7
        KB956391
        KB956802
        KB956803
        KB956841
        KB957095
        KB957097
        KB958215
        KB958215-IE7
        KB958644
        KB960714
        KB960714-IE7
        Q147222

Netcard queries test . . . . . . . : Passed

Per interface results:

    Adapter : Server Local Area Connection

        Netcard queries test . . . : Passed

        Host Name. . . . . . . . . : SERVER
        IP Address . . . . . . . . : 192.168.220.140
        Subnet Mask. . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway. . . . . . :
        Primary WINS Server. . . . : 192.168.220.140
        Dns Servers. . . . . . . . : 192.168.220.140

        AutoConfiguration results. . . . . . : Passed

        Default gateway test . . . : Skipped
            [WARNING] No gateways defined for this adapter.

        NetBT name test. . . . . . : Passed
        [WARNING] At least one of the <00> 'WorkStation Service', <03> 'Messenge
r Service', <20> 'WINS' names is missing.
            No remote names have been found.

        WINS service test. . . . . : Passed

    Adapter : Network Connection

        Netcard queries test . . . : Passed

        Host Name. . . . . . . . . : SERVER.Kikibitzrtm.local
        IP Address . . . . . . . . : 192.168.16.22
        Subnet Mask. . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway. . . . . . : 192.168.16.2
        Primary WINS Server. . . . : 192.168.220.140
        NetBIOS over Tcpip . . . . : Disabled
        Dns Servers. . . . . . . . : 192.168.220.140

        AutoConfiguration results. . . . . . : Passed

        Default gateway test . . . : Passed

        NetBT name test. . . . . . : Skipped
            NetBT is disabled on this interface. [Test skipped]

        WINS service test. . . . . : Skipped
            NetBT is disable on this interface. [Test skipped].

Global results:

Domain membership test . . . . . . : Passed

NetBT transports test. . . . . . . : Passed
    List of NetBt transports currently configured:
        NetBT_Tcpip_{EBD674F4-D3A6-4B64-8ACC-5195EA6DA5DB}
    1 NetBt transport currently configured.

Autonet address test . . . . . . . : Passed

IP loopback ping test. . . . . . . : Passed

Default gateway test . . . . . . . : Passed

NetBT name test. . . . . . . . . . : Passed
    [WARNING] You don't have a single interface with the <00> 'WorkStation Servi
ce', <03> 'Messenger Service', <20> 'WINS' names defined.

Winsock test . . . . . . . . . . . : Passed

DNS test . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Passed
    PASS - All the DNS entries for DC are registered on DNS server '192.168.220.
140'.

Redir and Browser test . . . . . . : Passed
    List of NetBt transports currently bound to the Redir
        NetBT_Tcpip_{EBD674F4-D3A6-4B64-8ACC-5195EA6DA5DB}
    The redir is bound to 1 NetBt transport.

    List of NetBt transports currently bound to the browser
        NetBT_Tcpip_{EBD674F4-D3A6-4B64-8ACC-5195EA6DA5DB}
    The browser is bound to 1 NetBt transport.

DC discovery test. . . . . . . . . : Passed

DC list test . . . . . . . . . . . : Passed

Trust relationship test. . . . . . : Skipped

Kerberos test. . . . . . . . . . . : Passed

LDAP test. . . . . . . . . . . . . : Passed

Bindings test. . . . . . . . . . . : Passed

WAN configuration test . . . . . . : Skipped
    No active remote access connections.

Modem diagnostics test . . . . . . : Passed

IP Security test . . . . . . . . . : Skipped

    Note: run "netsh ipsec dynamic show /?" for more detailed information

The command completed successfully

C:\Program Files\Support Tools>

C:\Program Files\Support Tools>dcdiag

Domain Controller Diagnosis

Performing initial setup:
   Done gathering initial info.

Doing initial required tests

   Testing server: Default-First-Site-Name\SERVER
      Starting test: Connectivity
         ......................... SERVER passed test Connectivity

Doing primary tests

   Testing server: Default-First-Site-Name\SERVER
      Starting test: Replications
         ......................... SERVER passed test Replications
      Starting test: NCSecDesc
         ......................... SERVER passed test NCSecDesc
      Starting test: NetLogons
         ......................... SERVER passed test NetLogons
      Starting test: Advertising
         ......................... SERVER passed test Advertising
      Starting test: KnowsOfRoleHolders
         ......................... SERVER passed test KnowsOfRoleHolders
      Starting test: RidManager
         ......................... SERVER passed test RidManager
      Starting test: MachineAccount
         ......................... SERVER passed test MachineAccount
      Starting test: Services
            IsmServ Service is stopped on [SERVER]
         ......................... SERVER failed test Services
      Starting test: ObjectsReplicated
         ......................... SERVER passed test ObjectsReplicated
      Starting test: frssysvol
         ......................... SERVER passed test frssysvol
      Starting test: frsevent
         ......................... SERVER passed test frsevent
      Starting test: kccevent
         ......................... SERVER passed test kccevent
      Starting test: systemlog
         ......................... SERVER passed test systemlog
      Starting test: VerifyReferences
         ......................... SERVER passed test VerifyReferences

   Running partition tests on : ForestDnsZones
      Starting test: CrossRefValidation
         ......................... ForestDnsZones passed test CrossRefValidation

      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
         ......................... ForestDnsZones passed test CheckSDRefDom

   Running partition tests on : DomainDnsZones
      Starting test: CrossRefValidation
         ......................... DomainDnsZones passed test CrossRefValidation

      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
         ......................... DomainDnsZones passed test CheckSDRefDom

   Running partition tests on : Schema
      Starting test: CrossRefValidation
         ......................... Schema passed test CrossRefValidation
      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
         ......................... Schema passed test CheckSDRefDom

   Running partition tests on : Configuration
      Starting test: CrossRefValidation
         ......................... Configuration passed test CrossRefValidation
      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
         ......................... Configuration passed test CheckSDRefDom

   Running partition tests on : smallbusiness
      Starting test: CrossRefValidation
         ......................... smallbusiness passed test CrossRefValidation
      Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
         ......................... smallbusiness passed test CheckSDRefDom

   Running enterprise tests on : smallbusiness.local
      Starting test: Intersite
         ......................... smallbusiness.local passed test Intersite
      Starting test: FsmoCheck
         ......................... smallbusiness.local passed test FsmoCheck

Spyware Guard 2008 Analysis and Removal | Malware Help. Org:
http://www.malwarehelp.org/spyware-guard-2008-analysis-and-removal-2008.html

Helping out a friend remotely and one of the tricks for getting any sort of security scans to work on a remote system was that you had to rename the malware removal software executible file names because the software blocks known software that can kill it.  So for Malwarebytes.org, ensure you rename the file something else before launching it.  Same for SuperAntispyware.  When Malwarebytes wasn't working I tried HowardC's recommendation but it would Dr. Watson upon launching.  I then realized what the program was doing and protecting itself.

Personally if this were my box I'd be flattening it.

1) REDMOND REPORT

By Doug Barney
Editor in Chief, Redmond magazine 
dbarney@redmondmag.com


WINDOWS 7 SLIPS OUT
The Windows 7 beta has leaked out beyond the small base of testers 
Microsoft originally intended, and I for one don't think Microsoft is 
the least bit upset. 
http://redmondmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=10480

In fact, Microsoft seems to be talking more about Windows 7 than about 
its shipping products. And its Vista commercials mention Mojave (the 
code name for Microsoft's Vista taste test) way more than Vista 
itself. Let's face it: Vista is the Blagojevich of the PC market. 
Everyone wants to steer as clear as possible.  

So far, the beta reports for Windows 7 are pretty positive -- all the 
more reason for Microsoft to want broader distribution. If you're 
jonesin' for Windows 7, check out BitTorrent now or just wait a bit 
for when Microsoft itself has a broader release.

Have you tried the beta? If so, how's it going? Reports welcome 
at dbarney@redmondmag.com.

Dear Doug.  I'm a bit (okay a lot) disappointed that a reputable tech resource like RedmondMag would go so far as advocating getting the Windows 7 beta illegally from Bittorrent sites.  
How about a kind reminder of what safe computing is all about?  Getting downloads from reputable sites and waiting for legal betas apparently is so abnormal these days or something?

Not that I'm still advocating downloading from bittorrents, mind you, but if you are, then I'd recommend that you'd include an article on how to run a hash value and ensure that you are downloading
an untampered version.

Safe hex is still safe hex folks.  

If you are 'jonesin' for Windows 7 and your only option is Bittorrent, I am reminded of several old sayings....

"You get what you pay for it"

"Buyer beware"

Yeah I realize it's a beta but can we not lose our safe computing mandates out here please?  

Chill Doug.  Nothing is worth breaking the cardinal rules of safe hex.

Download legally.  Download safely.

Listening to the SANS security stuff and it's their stance that only XP and higher is secur-able.  Windows 2000 and older is not securable in their view.

Reading this obviously unpatched NT's are still out there:

"Unfortunately there are still plenty of customers playing Russian Roulette with their network. This term was actually used by one of our security engineers – who was kind of upset to say the least – who had to work December 31st and January 1st because of customers still not having rolled out MS08-067 <http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx> – and not just one! We ran to our limits with regards to support capacity in EMEA."

Roger's Security Blog : Russian Roulette with your Network:
http://blogs.technet.com/rhalbheer/archive/2009/01/04/russian-roulette-with-your-network.aspx


Now before anyone says "tough if that guy had to work", we're still not doing our part. It's a non painful patch. It's now months that it's been out, I hope no one on this list ruined a New Year's Eve party for either you or other support engineers.

We have no excuse now. Get a move on and patch for this. Like yesterday.  Like now.  Otherwise you are just as bad as the bad guys because you are not doing your part in the security battle.

I mean who cares about security?  Isn't it always that pesky thing that blocks us from doing what WE want to do?  So why should we ensure that we at least do a minimum due diligence and not make a decision trusting that it will be handled?

http://www.azurejournal.com/2009/01/the-cloud-has-been-hacked-back-on-premises/

"I’d say you should not worry about the security. The major cloud providers will take care of this issue for you. Isn’t this why you’re going into the cloud in the first place, so you don’t have to worry about things? "

Is that the right attitude to take?  I mean we don't care about security now, right?  Many still run with administrator rights, many run on older platforms for line of business reasons, we make choices now for business over security, right?

But I'd still argue that one cannot bolt on security after the fact and everyone needs to think about security, up front and asking the hard questions.  To do anything less is sticking the equivalent of Win95 in the cloud.

Nobody does fake snow and fireworks better than Disneyland.

You know about the Fix it for me KBs?  It's a series of Knowledge base articles that they've automated.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/282402  see that one for a sample and check out the blog for more of these "fix it" kbs.

http://blogs.technet.com/fixit4me/

Update your 30 gig Zune's firmware to 3.1 and you got nailed by the New Year's eve Y2k9 bug -- http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2008/12/31/30gb-zune-issues-official-update.aspx

Don't patch your system for MS08-067 and get nailed with exploits -- http://blogs.technet.com/mmpc/archive/2008/12/31/just-in-time-for-new-years.aspx

Sometimes you can't win can you?  For every patch that you install on your system, it seems like there's a patch that may hurt your system.  So what's the answer?  Not patch and you run the risk of security vulnerabilities nailing your.  Patch and sometimes you run the risk that patches will hurt.  But here's the thing, I think the more you fear patching, the more it points out you don't have a good rollback plan. 

Let's argue for patching shall we?  When we don't patch we put our systems at risk.  And I'm speaking not just security patches, but keeping up to date on bios fixes, printer drives and other 'change management' items as well as security patches.  There have been times that when I've not been up to date on bios patches, drivers and what not that I've caused issues.  Printers that wouldn't work as they should and I  banged my head on them.  Options like HyperV that wasn't exposed until I installed the bios patches.  Not patching for Security patches means that you put your systems at great risk.  "Oh but I have antivirus".  And that's reactionary not proactive.  All of those folks getting nailed for Conficker right now would have been fine if they had patched for MS08-067.  Because they didn't they now have systems that they have to clean up, see how bad the damage is and deal with it.

Let's argue for non patching shall we?  When we do patch we bring risk and change into a network.  Especially if we throw it on a system without understanding what it impacts. 

So what's the answer?  The key is to reduce the risk of patching down to an acceptable risk that makes that risk, that of patching pain, so much less than the risk of not patching that you realize that you need to patch.

So how do you do that?  It's not as hard as you think.

The first thing you do is that you sign up for newsletters from Microsoft that you know what patches will be coming out each Patch Tuesday.  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/notify.mspx  I don't want to hear anyone not know that the second Tuesday of each month is Security patch Tuesday.   When they come out there is a known issue section that details the known issues.

The next thing you do is that you start to build a track record of patch impact with your clients.  Patch pain has a cause and effect.  So if your clients always have issues with a certain kind of patch after Patch Tuesday, ensure you track WHAT patch impacted.  I'd then argue that you ensure that you evaluate if the patch pain is caused by a piece of software that is a mandate for the firm, or one that you need to sit down with the client and rethink if they need it.  Many of the third party consumer style software firewalls end up doing more harm than good on Patch Tuesday.  If the pain they cause is to great, why are you using them?  Do they give you real value or perceived fuzzy blanket of security that is hurting you?

Install them in a test bed.  Even if all you do is patch yourself first, see how the patches install.  Do they shut down services?  Can you do it via RWW?  I personally do not patch via RWW because many of the patches will take down IIS services which impact RWW.  I will use VPN/RDP to remotely patch.  The only patch I do not do remotely is ones that impact the firewall software.  But test remotely all the patches that you plan to do remotely.

Next decide if it's a patch risk that you must have now or if you can hold back on.  Take for example some of those SQL patches in the past that the threat came from inside the network.  My 2x4 would nail that attacker first.  SQL patches can be messy and you'd know this from testing the patches ahead of time.  So determine if this is a patch you can hold back on and do at a maintenance window time that allows you to set expectations.

Scheduling patching during maintenance windows.  I can't tell you the right time frame for the patching in your clients' networks.  In a managed firm, I decide when patching will occur and never turn on automatic updates.   For Mom and Pop standalone computers, unmanaged ones, the risk of the pain of patching is less than the risk they will get nailed by the vulnerability.  Microsoft will say patch immediately.  And there are times that my read of the risk of applying the patch will cause so little disruption to the firm that I will push a patch out during the week, because I read that the risk of non patching is too great.  Any of the zero day/out of band/out of cycle patching that come out not on a Patch Tuesday, but on some other out of cycle random day, you need to seriously stop what you are doing and check to see if it needs updating.  Especially if it's a desktop browser based one, it needs to be on workstations soon.  It doesn't need to be on servers however, that you can hold back and push out during the normal patch window.  Why?  Because you don't surf on servers is why.

Normally speaking you can see that about 24 to 48 hours after a patch comes out, for the "juicier" patches there's an exploit on metasploit out.  Soon after you may start seeing it in exploits. 

Now here's where I argue that you have to know the risk and surfing habits of your clients.  If their workstations are still with admin rights, not locked down, and the computer users are not savvy and not paranoid, patch sooner.  If they are paranoid and you have them locked down, you have more time.

Also if you don't have a good roll back plan either using a backup restore/or Home Server or something, you need to get one.  You can deal with just about anything including Vista black screen of deaths when you have a good solid rollback plan.  That means a good backup.  One that works.  When you have a good backup story you don't have to worry about patch pain.  And this is where the best cloud vendors will have this as well.  How many times have you used an online service who had a maintenance window and if they have ANY issue they roll back immediately.  Conversely cloud vendors that don't have good rollback plans quickly get nailed when an upgrade blows up and they are off the air for several hours because they haven't built in a path back.

I've said this before during presentations.  Every security patch gets evaluated.  Every patch gets installed.  It's a matter of when, not if.  Some I do now, some I do later.

When you fear patching is when you probably haven't built in a good backup plan.

When you fear patching, you probably haven't "risk ranked" patches to be able to delay some, and patch others now.

Test them ahead of time by knowing how they deploy in your own network.  Read the known issues section.  Determine which ones you can patch now, which ones you can patch later.  Evaluate why patches are hurting you, and try to remove that fear.  If the fear is that the patches will blow something up, build in a roll back plan.  If the fear is that patches have hurt due to a direct cause and effect of something else, ensure that you make Microsoft aware.  Post in the managed Partner Newsgroup of your patch pain. 

But don't suffer in silence.

And for those that think that patch pain is just a Microsoft thing, I suffered with an Apple update.  http://www.pcworld.com/article/156095/delete_files_to_prevent_crashes_in_os_x_1056.html Every platform has patching issues.  The trick is managing the risk.

http://blogs.technet.com/bpositive/archive/2008/12/31/new-additional-bpos-training-dates.aspx

Dates and Locations

• Feb 2, 2009 Waltham, MA
• Feb 6, 2009 Bellevue, WA
• Feb 12, 2009 Irvine, CA
• Feb 12, 2009 Garfield Heights, OH (Cleveland)
• Feb 12, 2009 Washington, DC 
• Feb 17, 2009 Oak Brook, IL (Chicago)
• Feb 18, 2009 Tampa, FL
• Feb 20, 2009 Dallas, TX
• Feb 20, 2009 San Francisco, CA
• Feb 27, 2009 New York, NY

We now have Essential Business Server MVPs (so far Oliver and Amy)
Essential Business Server:
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/communities/mvp.aspx?product=1&competency=Essential+Business+Server

as well as a newbie MVP Philip Elder.  Congratulations!  If there are any other newbie MVPs make sure you set up your MVP profile so that we know you are out there.

Happy New Years, Your Zune is broken - In The Know - Charles Van Heusen's Weblog:
http://ts2blogs.com/blogs/charlesv/archive/2008/12/31/happy-new-years-your-zune-is-broken.aspx

And p.s. as of 4 a.m this morning (pacific) my Zune is back in business.

Zune.net:
http://forums.zune.net/412486/ShowPost.aspx

Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used).  The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year.  The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009.   We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on.  If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device

I'm not even going to ask what it means if you are traveling and don't have access to the PC where your Zune normally syncs.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28449091/wid/11915829?GT1=40006

Microsoft also said that “the issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to Jan. 1, 2009.”

Temporary glitch in the matrix is all.

New ways of doing the same old things is sometimes hard to get a handle on.  Sharing out printers in the 2k8 era is like that.  Since the server is 64bit, when you attach a 32 bit workstation, the native driver isn't 32bit but 64 bit. 

One of the ways you can deploy printers is a utility called pushprinters.exe.  But there's a problem where the 32bit version isn't on the box.  You can either build the 32bit version of Pushprinters.exe or grab it from the link talked about here http://www.activedir.org/ListArchives/tabid/55/forumid/1/postid/32125/view/topic/Default.aspx

Like Philip said put it on a usb flash drive -- http://blog.mpecsinc.ca/2008/11/x86-pushprinterconnectionsexe-must-for.html

Chad has some posts about things that are different as well... http://msmvps.com/blogs/cgross/archive/2008/12/16/the-death-of-ifmember.aspx and http://msmvps.com/blogs/cgross/archive/2008/12/16/installing-group-policy-preferences-client-side-extensions.aspx

Jamison got first hit with the black screen of death of Vista during his vacation.  Now he's got two little ones with