Apple MacBook Pro: Upgrading OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 to El Capitan 10.11 with 2 Factor Authentication On

Wow, what an adventure.

We have a MacBook Pro 13" early 2009 laptop here in the shop that has been sitting idle for a while.

We installed a new SSD in the unit and bumped the RAM up to 8GB.

Then, on to installing a fresh copy of Snow Leopard 10.6 via the installer DVD.

We needed to use the Disk Utility in the installer to set up a partition prior to being allowed to install the OS.

Once in, we went through the updates process.

Then, on to upgrading OS X to El Capitan 10.11.

What a pain. Because we are on what is essentially an ancient OS version all of the apps were uncooperative due to the 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) that is enabled on our Apple ID.

Safari would not work with Apple's sites for authentication either due to SSL compatibility issues.

Searching meant using buckshot terms to try and figure out exactly what needed to be done to allow the upgrade to proceed in the App Store.

The long and short of it found here is to do the following:

1. Open Safari and navigate to this Apple Support page: How to upgrade to OS X El Capitan
2. Scroll down to Step 4 and click on the Get El Capitan link to bring up the App Store
3. Click the Get button in the store
4. On a trusted device such as an iPhone
1. Tap into Settings --> Your Name --> Password & Security
2. Tap on the Get Verification Code at the bottom of that page
5. On the MacBook Pro enter the Apple ID and the Password
1. YourAppleID@YourDomain.Com
2. YourAppleIDPassword123456
• 123456 = Verification Code

The verification code gets tagged on to the password at the end as above.

It's a monster weighing in at 6.21GB so a good fast connection should be used to download this one!

Philip Elder
Microsoft High Availability MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book
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Warning: Sage 50 2016 Server Manager will Reboot Without Prompting

We were installing the database manager on the backend server for a client.

It started the .NET 4.5.2 FULL installer then suddenly disappeared after a few minutes.

So, keep in mind that this one will need to be done when no one is accessing that backend server! Or for that matter that the user that we are working on setting up or updating will have their machine reboot spontaneously.

Also, Sage released this version as an “update”. We received quite a few calls from our accounting firms when they could no longer connect to their Sage/Simply data on the server.

In the end, it turned out that no prompt was given to the user that the “update” was actually an “upgrade”. 

Yo, Sage! A little warning would be appropriate please.

EDIT: Updated a bit for specifics.

Philip Elder
Microsoft Cluster MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Server 2012 – Unable to convert to Server with a GUI from Server Core on an upgraded Windows Server 2012 machine

For many of us that have been in our industry for a long time there are a good number of horror stories from days gone by when we did in-place upgrades for NT3, NT4, and then Windows Server 2000.

Our last one was over ten years ago and we plan on keeping it that way.

Why?

Because whatever line of reasoning draws one to the conclusion that an in-place upgrade is the best option is flawed at best.

There is _absolutely no way_ to account for the unknown setting or configuration sitting in that existing OS that will rear its head post-upgrade to bite us and bite hard.

• Microsoft Support KB2775484 Unable to convert to Server with a GUI from Server Core on an upgraded Windows Server 2012 machine
• Three registry settings left over from the upgrade put a full-stop to the requested change.

Now, the above is but one example of something hidden that jumps out to cause a problem. Unfortunately, as much as Microsoft and others have run through various scenarios for in-place upgrades one cannot account for changes made to the source server especially in the SMB space.

So, what do we recommend doing?

SwingIT (www.sbsmigration.com) for a DC that requires the destination to hold the same name as the source.

Using Swing we can end up with a freshly installed Windows Server 2012 DC that has the same name as the original server.

With most of our clients having some headroom on their servers we can also migrate AD to a new DC very simply then detach that VHD and attach it to the newly configured DC VM.

Now, when it comes to an application server such as a Remote Desktop Services delivering desktop and RemoteApp sessions there is most certainly the possibility to hold onto that setup and do an in-place upgrade.

However, starting with a freshly installed operating system we do not inherit all of the bloat that comes with OS age (patching for one) plus it gives us the opportunity to evaluate what applications are relevant and which ones can be deprecated.

Starting fresh also gives us the opportunity to purge all former user profiles on the existing server.

In the end just like anything else we evaluate the risks of any procedure. In our case we will be watching out for the in-place upgrade problems and forum posts about things having gone awry for now.

IMNSHO, in-place upgrade should be the absolutely last option considered or tossed off the table altogether.

KB Hat Tip: Susan Bradley

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

Windows Live Writer

Symantec Endpoint Protection SBE 12.x Updates

We are just getting a newly migrated network online with their virus protection. In this case they are too large for Microsoft’s Security Essentials product so we ran with SEP.

This is what FileConnect looked like today:

Note the posting date for most files as being November 16th.

As with previous versions if any clients are resident on the current user machines they may need to be manually removed prior to delivering the new client to them.

We will be configuring the Windows Firewall to allow for remote delivery of any and all client updates. So, hopefully we will not need to go through the manual remove and replace process.

We run with Symantec over other products because the name is known to our clients and it does a relatively decent job of protecting the network.

We also mandate UAC via Group Policy and in more security conscious environments utilize Group Policy Preferences to disable all local admin accounts except a restricted domain account that is delivered via Group Policy Preferences into the local admin group. We then keep control over that user account’s password to allow for some change control.

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

Asus EeeBox PC – How To Install Memory

Instead of re-inventing the wheel, here is a link to an excellent post on how to get to the memory slots in an Asus EeeBox PC:

• Martin Bergek: Upgrading the RAM on Eee Box

A while back we had picked up a set of plastic pry tools for our iMac as we were intending to get into the case to have a look around along with upgrading what components we could. They would be perfect for this task if we could find them! :(

We ended up using a pair of PC case slot covers with straight ends to do the prying after first using a finger nail to pull the end away from the cover. We will try and dig up the Apple tools or pick up another set online as they would be the perfect fit to get things started.

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

Windows Vista to Windows 7 In-Place Upgrade – Data Was Gone Afterwards?!?

A client of ours did an in-place upgrade of Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate on their home system.

Everything seemed to go okay until they logged in after the upgrade process completed and they were greeted with empty Documents, Pictures, and Videos folders for all four profiles on the system.

We could not find them while coaching over the phone so they dropped the system off this morning.

As a just-in-case measure we slaved up one of the 150GB VelociRaptors (RAID 1 array with OS) and one of the 1TB Seagate ES series (RAID 1 array with data) drives to see what was happening.

What we discovered was the following folder:

• $INPLACE.~TR

There was a folder with that name on both the C: partition and the D: partition. The folder was both hidden and set as a system folder so the default search settings did not pick up its presence for our client.

When we drilled down into that folder on the D: partition we discovered the “missing” Users folder that contained the four profile’s content:

The UsersOLD folder was ours from the original system to system transfer that was done when they purchased this box.

Note that this system had all of the user’s profile folders moved over to the D:\Users folder before the in-place-upgrade was run. After the fact, it was discovered that this is not a supported setup for an in-place upgrade of a desktop OS.

To us, it looks as though the upgrade process was trying to move all of that content back into the “original” C:\Users location but could not do so because the volume of content far exceeded the storage capacity of the VelociRaptors.

In the end our client was happy that the data was there.

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