SBS 2011 Standard Setup Crashes Unexpectedly: Error: Cannot commit configuration changes because the file has changed on disk

Microsoft has the following KB about a relatively infrequent crash that can happen during the SBS OS setup:

• Microsoft KB: 2535810: SBS 2011 Standard Edition Setup Crashes Unexpectedly

From the KB:

[4624] 110318.160407.0793: TaskManagement: In TaskScheduler.RunTasks(): The "ConfigureSharePointTask" Task threw an Exception during the Run() call:Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.Common.IWorker.IISConfig.IISConfigException: IIS Server Administration threw an exception. See inner exception for details. ---> System.IO.FileLoadException: Filename: \\?\C:\Windows\system32\inetsrv\config\applicationHost.config
Error: Cannot commit configuration changes because the file has changed on disk (emphasis ours)

We _have_ seen this error on systems we were installing while working with the OS prior to RTM. So far, we have not seen the problem on any of the servers we have installed using the RTM bits.

The only resolution at this point is to contact Microsoft Support via the provided link in the KB. Note that the current system is call-back based. Keep this in mind when quoting on migrating SBS between versions.

MIGRATION NOTE: It is _always_ important to take a full backup plus a System State backup _before_ making any changes to a source SBS when migrating to a new version of SBS. Without a good backup it is very difficult to step back if something goes wrong during the migration.

Please look into Jeff Middleton’s Swing Migration method if there is an absolute need for a fall back just in case something fails. Jeff’s method provides fall back while the Microsoft Method is committed once the mailbox move has been initiated.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

SBS – Setting WSUS Synchronization Frequency

In our SBS 2008 Setup Guide V1.5.0 at step 22 we indicate some customizations to the WSUS setup.

• 22: Make changes to the WSUS Setup:
• WSUS Classifications: Enable all except Drivers.
• WSUS Sync Schedule: Increase synchronization frequency schedule depending on what products are installed on the server.

If we have Forefront Server Security for Microsoft Exchange licensed on the SBS 2008 box, we would set a synchronization schedule of once per hour.

• SBS 2008 - WSUS Synchronizations and Exchange

Now, since we use ExchangeDefender for our e-mail sanitation needs, we generally do not need to synchronize WSUS with such frequency as Forefront would not be installed.

However, we tend to set that frequency to at least 6 checks per day which equates to synchronizing every 4 hours.

Why?

• The Official SBS Blog: Case in the Corner Series: Spiking CPU

In the above blog post, Damian examines an issue with a SVCHOST process causing a spike in the SBS server’s CPU.

After some troubleshooting by Damian, the problem turned out to be the Windows Update client and a series of Forefront updates.

Here is another WSUS update related issue that hit us:

• The Official SBS Blog: Windows SBS 2003 Update Services Gives Error- The Element Already Exists in the Collection

So, when a problem fix is published by Microsoft to WSUS, it will not hit SBS until the next scheduled sync. The default is 1 sync per day (24 hours).

Our setting the WSUS sync schedule to every 4 hours is our attempt to mitigate any possible problems we may encounter.

WSUS Driver Classifications

As far as not allowing drivers to come down through WSUS, we do this for heterogeneous networks that still have Windows XP Professional installed on physical hardware.

For homogeneous Windows 7 networks, which are starting to be the norm, we enable the Drivers classification as the drivers delivered have been consistently stable in both the update process and in post update system stability.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Microsoft Small Business Specialists still get Business Critical Phone Support

Since we have been so busy, there has been little time to catch up on things happening in the Microsoft Partner Portal.

One of the things pointed out in a licensing conversation on the Experts Exchange forum was that SBSCs are still eligible for business critical phone in support:

SBSC MS BizCrit Support

Note that the screenshot is from the Canadian Microsoft Partner portal site.

From the eligibility paragraph:

Eligibility for this benefit is offered to Action Pack or Empower Subscribers, Small Business Specialists, and Certified and Gold Certified Partners.

There is another incentive to get out and obtain the Microsoft Small Business Specialist designation for a small I.T. shop!

Business Critical Support is a good insurance policy. It should never be the first line of support when something hiccups. That is where the SBS ecosystem such as our SBS peers, online newsgroups, and other sources of SBS knowledge come into play.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Some thoughts on Microsoft's new SBS Support Policy

There have been a number of articles written by various SMB or key technology folks over the last while indicating that the solo shop or fly by the seat of the pants consultant should see the writing on the wall.

Some links:

• Microsoft SBS Blog: Call-back support for Small Business Server Products
• Susan Bradley: So your thoughts about the call back support?
• Karl Palachuk: The Death of SBS
• Karl again: The Last Leg for SBS?
• Karl again: Microsoft Sticks to Call-Back Only, Continues Free Server Down (my comment here was the inspiration for this post)
• Vlad Mazek: The Giant Nonevent of SBS Support Policy Change

With the upcoming changes that Microsoft is implementing for business critical support for SBS products, the consultant calls in for that support creates an incident and will receive a call-back from Microsoft Product Support Services to work on the problem.

When Microsoft announced the changes to the Business Critical Support (BCS) policy, there was a lot comments on the "fact" that charging for BCS was a bad idea.

This begs the question: Why is it a bad idea?

We operate an I.T. business that generates its revenues via providing implementation and support services for a variety of manufacturer's products. In most cases, we may have a FAQ, forum, or knowledgebase (Live search), or other such support mechanism provided by the manufacturer.

The key here is that we provide products and services for a fee. We do not provide them for free. We may make small allowances for our clients that spend a good portion of their I.T. budget with us, but we ultimately charge for our services.

While there are manufacturers that do provide some sort of free technical support for their partners, things can get out of hand. Just ask Vlad here: Things that piss Vlad off: SMB Enterprise White Paper, and here: Hacking OWN Support: DRaaS Encyclopedia, and here: Should free content creators be commercially compensated for giving away things for free? Check out his blog for more: Vladville.com (Live search for RTFM).

Microsoft is no different than us as far as providing products and services for a fee.

Yes, we are supporting Microsoft products ... but with the understanding from our client's perspective that we are trained on those products.

This bears repeating: We are supposed to be Professionals. Essentially that means that we are thoroughly knowledgeable in the intricacies of the solutions we design, implement, and support.

We have taken the time to pay for training, certification, technical books, technical mentorship, and business mentorship to build up our product and business knowledge as well as the product and business knowledge of those that work for us.

Coming back to Microsoft and their support policy for those of us that support the SMB with a specific focus on SBS: It is in Microsoft's best interest to charge for that service.

While the $8,000 a year support policy that enables one to get front line support might be a little high for those of us with a one or two person shop, we can certainly pay $4-5,000 a year for the service.

That $4-5K a year is an insurance policy for those times where there is absolutely nowhere to turn when things go sideways. That fee would weed out most of the calls that have absolutely no right to be in the BCS queue. Having that fee would eliminate the need to outsource ... giving us the assurance that the person on the other end of the phone will indeed know their stuff.

Ultimately, it would give Microsoft the opportunity to recognize those Partners that were willing to invest in their own and Microsoft's business presence ... and perhaps focus their partner building with them.

If Microsoft does offer such a support policy oriented to the SMB/SBS Partners, we would be first in line to sign up.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Systems are down ... our technicians like to "tinker" with the server

How many of us are running our shops solo? I am sure that there are many out there who are.

How many of us are running a solo shop with a couple of contract technicians that are on call for busy times? This is the category we fall in right now.

And, how many of us are running a shop with at least one to three dedicated part or full time technicians? This is the direction we are going to step into very soon.

Why the questions?

Here is a paraphrase of a conversation I just had with one of our high volume ultra low margin local computer stores when they were called to check stock on a QX9770 that we may need today:

Computer Store (CS), how can I help you?

ME: I need to know your price and ETA on the QX9770 please?

CS: I think it is around $1,200 and I don't think we have any right now.

ME: You don't know?

CS: Our systems are down right now, so I am not able to get that information.

ME: What happened?

CS: Our technicians like to tinker with the server, so we end up without our systems.

"Tinkering" with the in-house server or servers or a client's server should be anathema (#3 in the definition) for us. In other words: An absolute NO-NO.

If we don't have a couple of systems setup for the techs to get their creative juices flowing, then we are in a vary precarious position indeed.

We all know what happens when a technician gets curious, right? ;) We gotta try it out or it drives us bonkers.

By having some decent hardware, not some client throwaways, that the technicians can use for direct OS installs, configuration testing, and "Project Blowup" we are facilitating our technician's abilities to augment their skill set without killing our in-house or client systems.

By having some decent hardware, think at least Quad Core with 6-8GB RAM and RAID, to host virtual machines on that are not sitting there waiting for CPU cycles ... thus causing extreme boredom to set in ... we can have our techs setup some pretty complicated network infrastructure based on client setups. Or, we can base the setup on client's restored to VM or hardware ShadowProtect images (with permission) to facilitate the technician's ability to test that GP or patch or update change based on actual production servers and workstations.

Given the size of the above mentioned computer store, having their systems down for the hour or two during business hours could probably pay for a very decent lab setup.

And that is the mindset we need to have: Having $5-10K worth of hardware sitting on a dedicated lab bench is not an unnecessary expense. It is absolutely imperative to have that lab setup today.

We have so many new products coming down the pipe all the time. We need to invest the money and the time in getting to know these new products.

We also have client systems we can swing into the virtual environment to test patches on. It is not difficult to obtain permission to use their images on our lab systems as they realize that we are testing for their own good. We need only keep in mind the security of the data in their images which are encrypted, and the VMs or hardware those images will be installed on.

Think Windows XP Service Pack 3: We were able to swing a client's XP Pro setup into a VM and test their Line of Business applications with the service pack. Things seemed to run as they should, so after a week of using the VM as a regular desktop, the service pack was released to that client.

As an example for a small I.T. business lab setup:

• Intel Xeon X3220 server:
• Intel S3210SHLX
• Intel Xeon X3220 2.4GHz Quad Core
• 8GB ECC Kingston
• 320GB RAID 1
• SC5299DP
• $1,500
• Add a RAID controller such as the SRCSASRB and a couple more drives to enable RAID 10 to reduce the storage bottleneck: $700

There you have it. $4,000 and we have two decent rigs to run 4-6 VMs on that will not cause the techs to loose interest due to VM performance issues. Remember, we can probably count on our techs having a system, or systems, at home worth the cost of a small car. Developing and keeping a technician's interest in being trained or learning to properly utilize the technology our clients use is critical for our I.T. businesses! We need to have that small car technology sitting in our labs!

TechNet Plus ($349 for download only and $599 for DVD - we are on the DVD subscription) can provide an unlimited access to the software needed to run the lab setup.

Having the lab setup in place, the software licensing, and any other elements needed to keep the lab properly equipped, such as a ShadowProtect I.T. Edition subscription, should be considered a part of the Cost of Doing Business today.

If not, "The writing is on the wall folks".

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

SBS + SQL 2005 + SharePoint = SQLVDI Error: Mutex not owned by caller.

On the last number of SBS 2K3 R2 Premium setups we have done, we are seeing the following error:

Critical Errors in Application Log

SQLVDI Event ID: 1
SQLVDI: Loc=DVDSCleanup. Desc=Release(ClientAliveMutex). ErrorCode=(288)Attempt to release mutex not owned by caller. .Process=7364. Thread=6900. Client. Instance=SHAREPOINT. VD=.

The SQL 2005 version on the SBS boxes: 9.00.3054.00. They are currently up to date on their service pack levels.

A quick search turned up the following Microsoft KB article: KB934396 FIX: Error messages and an event may be logged when you use the Virtual Device Interface in SQL Server 2005 or in SQL Server 2000.

We needed to call into Product Support Services for this one:

Microsoft Product Support Services Phone Numbers for North America

All SQL instances must be at Service Pack 2 level before applying this hotfix. If you need to determine what service pack level the SQL install is: MS KB321185: How to identify your SQL Server version and edition.

Please note that there are two versions for the hotfix: x86 and x64. And, deep in mind that the hotfix covers a lot:

Hotfix 934396 x86 File for SQL 2005

Because it is a one size fits all, the x86 download is around 100MB and the x64 download is 139MB. We always request both versions if they exist for any hotfix we are calling in for. Doing this has saved us a further call into PSS for the alternate version on many occasions.

Once the files have been extracted, they definitely need to be placed on the Technician's Thumb Drive for later access.

And, if this is a problem that we see on a regular basis on all of our new SBS 2K3 R2 Premium boxes, then we will be adding this blog post as a To Do item on our SBS Setup Checklist.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Windows Vista - Control Panel icons missing - Compmgmt.msc not working

When we first came across this issue, restarting the Software Licensing service would bring the icons back or the ability to start the Computer Management console.

However, they would disappear randomly after that.

Microsoft has a Knowledgebase article on it: KB936686 Icons are missing from Control Panel, or you cannot start Control Panel, the Welcome Center, or games in Windows Vista.

This in turn leads us to: KB929637 Icons are missing from Control Panel, or you cannot start Control Panel, the Welcome Center, or games in Windows Vista which requested that we contact PSS via the link:

• Contact Us: Hotfix Request Web Submission From.

This link seems to be the primary method that Microsoft is providing for obtaining hotfixes. There is a secondary link there for phone numbers with the hint of "support costs" associated with it. From the KB article:

Note If additional issues occur or any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. To create a separate service request, visit...

For us, being on the spot at the client, a possible 8 hour wait was not acceptable, so we went to our "Back Door" (previous blog post):

• Link: Windows Server 2003 Online Concierge.

The concierge emailed the hotfix to us within 10 minutes.

There are x86 and x64 flavours to this hotfix, so make sure to obtain both.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Lenovo (& Others) XP Specific Updates: Hotfixes required via Product Support Services

The following hotfixes will be registered in the Lenovo Updater as required:

• KB 917332: The monitor does not turn on when you move the mouse or press any key after you configure the "Power Options" settings on a Windows XP SP2-based portable computer.
• KB 923293: The 923293 hotfix adds support for SD High Capacity memory cards in Windows XP.

Note that the second hotfix is applicable to any Windows XP installation that has an access to high capacity SD cards.

Product Support Services will need to be contacted for them. That link indicates that Microsoft will require up to 8 hours to respond.

If you need the hotfixes a bit quicker, then get in touch with the Online Concierge (previous blog post). They emailed them to us right away.

A direct link: Windows Server 2003 Online Concierge.

These are definitely must adds to the technician's thumb drives.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

A back door to Microsoft PSS so to speak...

We have a number of clients where their servers are buried in a large closet or back room area with no phone access and a dead cell signal.

When we need to talk to Product Support Services, this can be a real problem as the nearest office with a phone can sometimes be further down the hall than the bathroom!

So, in some cases we bring our own 5.8 GHz wireless phone with us. Never bring a 2.4 GHz wireless phone with you. Why? Because the base station is powerful enough to disrupt your client's wireless B/G which is also running at 2.4 GHz. That means dropped network sessions for the client, and scratchy signals for the support person you are trying to talk to.

During a client's peak season, this may not be possible as they won't want their fax service interrupted.

So, what to do?

When Windows Server 2003 was introduced, Microsoft introduced a neat web service called the Windows Server 2003 Online Concierge.

The service was intended to help those upgrading to Windows Server 2003 as mentioned in the Web site's description.

During one of those times in the closet where we had no means of communicating with Microsoft, we took a chance on the Concierge service. We needed a hotfix to fix a troublesome server situation.

After connecting, the situation was explained to the attendant - a real person by the way - and they got us to hang on a minute. When they came back, they had the Knowledge Base entry before them, and they made sure that we were both on the same page so to speak.

The concierge then e-mailed a set of links to download the hotfix and made sure that we could get access to the hotfix and unlock it. Sometimes the PSS e-mail may get caught in the spam filters, so it is important to watch for it in the Junk Mail folder.

All in all, this extra door into Product Support Services can be a huge help. Keep it in mind if you are in a location where there is no phone or cell coverage and are in need of a hotfix.

Link: Windows Server 2003 Online Concierge.

We suggest bookmarking it, and getting to know the title so that it can be accessed by a one click search.

The IEEE 802.11 wireless specification on Wikipedia.

UPDATE 2007-07-21: We needed the hotfix for the post W2K3 SP2 install on SBS for the broken Help and Support. PSS via phone was a holder's nightmare.

So, off to the Concierge and within 10 minutes the hotfix was in my Inbox!

It works! :D

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.