Tag: Vista

Imported Hotfixes for Windows 2008 R2 Clustering

Imported Hotfixes for Windows 2008 R2 Clustering:

NTFS.sys

2814923          “0x0000009E” Stop error and disk volumes cannot be brought online on a Windows Server 2008 R2-based failover cluster
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2814923/EN-US

MPIO

2754704          A hotfix is available that provides a mechanism for DSM to notify MPIO that a particular path is back to online in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2754704/EN-US

storport.sys

2780444          “0x0000012E” Stop error occurs when an application sends a 12-byte SCSI opcode to an iSCSI target in Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2780444/EN-US

msiscsi

2684681          Iscsicpl.exe process stops responding when you try to reconnect a storage device to a computer that is running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2684681/EN-US

rdbss

2670567 “0x000000027” Stop error when you copy a file from a redirected folder in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2670567/EN-US

Kernel

2805853          “0x0000008E” Stop error on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2805853/EN-US

RPCSS

2756999 Handle leak occurs on a COM client that is running on a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2756999/EN-US

Mrxsmb10

2727324 Computer stops responding after you connect to an SMB 1 server in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2727324/EN-US

Mrxsmb20

2778834          File becomes corrupted when you try to overwrite the file while it is opened by another user on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2778834/EN-US

TCPIP

2519644          Stop code in the tcpip.sys driver on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2: 0x000000D1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2519644/EN-US

2524478          The network location profile changes from “Domain” to “Public” in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2524478/EN-US

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 3.0 Released

New Features in Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 3.0
The 3.0 release of MVMC adds the ability to convert a physical computer running Windows Server 2008 or above server operating systems or Windows Vista or above client operating systems to a virtual machine running on Hyper-V host.

Standard stuff is:

  • Converts virtual disks that are attached to a VMware virtual machine to virtual hard disks (VHDs) that can be uploaded to Microsoft Azure.
  • Provides native Windows PowerShell capability that enables scripting and integration into IT automation workflows.
    Note The command-line interface (CLI) in MVMC 1.0 has been replaced by Windows PowerShell in MVMC 2.0.
  • Supports conversion and provisioning of Linux-based guest operating systems from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts.
  • Supports conversion of offline virtual machines.
  • Supports the new virtual hard disk format (VHDX) when converting and provisioning in Hyper-V in Windows Server® 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012.
  • Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 5.5, VMware vSphere 5.1, and VMware vSphere 4.1 hosts Hyper-V virtual machines.
  • Supports Windows Server® 2012 R2, Windows Server® 2012, and Windows® 8 as guest operating systems that you can select for conversion.
  • Converts and deploys virtual machines from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts on any of the following operating systems:
  • Windows Server® 2012 R2
  • Windows Server® 2012
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
  • Converts VMware virtual machines, virtual disks, and configurations for memory, virtual processor, and other virtual computing resources from the source to Hyper-V.
  • Adds virtual network interface cards (NICs) to the converted virtual machine on Hyper-V.
  • Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 5.5, VMware vSphere 5.0, and VMware vSphere 4.1 hosts to Hyper-V.
  • Has a wizard-driven GUI, which simplifies performing virtual machine conversions.
  • Uninstalls VMware Tools before online conversion (online only) to provide a clean way to migrate VMware-based virtual machines to Hyper-V.
    Important MVMC takes a snapshot of the virtual machine that you are converting before you uninstall VMware Tools, and then shuts down the source machine to preserve state during conversion. The virtual machine is restored to its previous state after the source disks that are attached to the virtual machine are successfully copied to the machine where the conversion process is run. At that point, the source machine in VMware can be turned on, if required.
    Important MVMC does not uninstall VMware Tools in an offline conversion. Instead, it disables VMware services, drivers, and programs only for Windows Server guest operating systems. For file conversions with Linux guest operating systems, VMware Tools are not disabled or uninstalled. We highly recommend that you manually uninstall VMware Tools when you convert an offline virtual machine.
  • Supports Windows Server and Linux guest operating system conversion. For more details, see the section “Supported Configurations for Virtual Machine Conversion” in this guide.
  • Includes Windows PowerShell capability for offline conversions of VMware-based virtual hard disks (VMDK) to a Hyper-V–based virtual hard disk file format (.vhd file).
    Note The offline disk conversion does not include driver fixes.

Download

Source

Windows ADK 8.1 update (for Windows 8.1 Update) is available for download:

The Windows ADK 8.1 update (for Windows 8.1 Update) is available for download:

Windows ADK 8.1 update (direct download only: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39982

You still run adksetup.exe to install or download the updated ADK, but you do see that the new ADK is slightly bigger than the previous kit. The Patches folder content also have a higher version number. The October 18, 2013 release of Windows 8.1 ADK had a folder named 8.100.26020, but the April 2, 2014 release of Windows 8.1 ADK have 8.100.26629.

New features in ADK 8.1 are the WIMBoot option, updates to dism, updates to WinRE and a new WinPE version (5.1). There are also fixes for USMT.

Important Change:
DISM: Does not support Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 images.

More info about the changes here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn247001.aspx

Info on updating WinPE 5.0 to WinPE 5.1: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn613859.aspx

Incompatibility between Windows 8 roaming user profiles and roaming profiles in other versions of Windows

Roaming user profiles on Windows 8-based or Windows Server 2012-based computers are incompatible with roaming user profiles in other versions of Windows.
Profiles are compatible only between the following client and server operating system pairs: 

  • Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 
  • Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 

Note In this article, when the client operating system is referenced, the same issue applies to its corollary server operating system.
For example, if you try to deploy Windows 8 in an environment that uses roaming, mandatory, super-mandatory, or domain default profiles in Windows 7, you experience the following:

  • After you use a user account that has an existing Windows 7 profile to log on to a Windows 8-based computer for the first time, the components from Windows 8 read and modify the profile state.
  • Certain Windows 8.1 features may not work as expected because the expected profile state is not present.
  • When you try to use the same user account to log on to a Windows 7-based computer, the user profile modification that was performed in Windows 8 may not work as expected in Windows 7.

The issues occur because the profile will contain values that are used differently between the versions of Windows. The user profile will be missing default profile configuration information that is expected by the operating system, and could contain unexpected values that are set by a different operating system version. Therefore, the operating system will not behave as expected. Additionally, profile corruption may occur.

 

Hotfix: Download

Microsoft release a cool tool named Disk cleanup on Windows 7 Sp1

Microsoft released an update yesterday for the Disk cleanup utility. The problem Windows keeps copies of installed updates from Windows Update, even after installing newer version of updates. So the older versions of updates that are no longer needed and taking up space.

In Windows XP era the uninstalls were just hidden folders under Windows directory so easy to clean. Since Windows Vista this is now stored in the Windows Services folder WinSXS.

The space used by WinSXS can grow significant. In the past you could remove Service Pack uninstall files which helped, but Service Packs are not so common anymore. I think Windows 7 will never see SP2, yet the updates keep filling the WinSXS folder every month.

After the update is installed (no reboot needed) and you run Diskcleanup:

cleanup1

and when you click “Clean up system files”

You’ll see new options:

cleanup2

This update of diskcleanup delivers a new option Windows Update cleanup which deletes older versions of updates that are no longer needed and just taking up space.

The update is available through Windows Update as important or direct download at KB article posted below:

KB2852386: Update is available that enables you to delete outdated Windows updates by using a new option in the Disk Cleanup wizard in Windows 7 SP1

Now unfortunately this update is not available for Windows Server 2008 R2, while there are plenty scenarios where cleaning up WinSXS folder is helpful there too!

Bink.nu

KMS Update adds support for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 clients to Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2012 KMS hosts

This update extends the Key Management Service (KMS) for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2012 to enable the enterprise licensing of Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2.
KMS provides support for the following KMS client activations:

  • Windows Vista
  • Windows Server 2008
  • Windows 7
  • Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Windows 8
  • Windows Server 2012
  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows Server 2012 R2

KMS uses a KMS host key to activate itself on a KMS host and to establish a local activation service in your environment. This update extends support for KMS to provide activation for Windows 8.1 and for Windows Server 2012 R2.

Click here for the downloads

Configuring disks to use VMware Paravirtual SCSI (PVSCSI) adapters

PVSCSI adapters are high-performance storage adapters that can result in greater throughput and lower CPU utilization. PVSCSI adapters are best suited for environments, especially SAN environments, where hardware or applications drive a very high amount of I/O throughput. PVSCSI adapters are not suited for DAS environments.

This table shows the support matrix for use of Paravirtual SCSI adapters for data disks and boot disks for the various guest operating systems and ESX versions. Support shown in the table is from the listed ESX/ESXi version and later versions.

Guest operating system

Data Disk

Boot Disk

Windows Server 2012 (64 bit only)

ESXi 5.0 Update 1, ESXi 5.1

ESXi 5.0 Update 1, ESXi 5.1

Windows Server 2008 R2 (64 bit only)

ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 1, ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x

ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 1, ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x

Windows Server 2008 (32 and 64 bit)

ESX/ESXi 4.x, ESXi 5.x

ESX/ESXi 4.0 Update 1, ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x

Windows Server 2003 (32 and 64 bit)

ESX/ESXi 4.x, ESXi 5.x

ESX/ESXi 4.x, ESXi 5.x

Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit)

ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x

ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x

Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit)

ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x

ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x

Windows XP (32 and 64 bit)

ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x

ESX/ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x

Because the default type of newly hot-added SCSI adapter depends on the type of primary (boot) SCSI controller, hot-adding a PVSCSI adapter is only supported for those versions that support booting from a PVSCSI adapter.

Paravirtual SCSI adapters also have these limitations:

  • Hot add or hot remove requires a bus rescan from within the guest.
  • Disks with snapshots might not experience performance gains when used on Paravirtual SCSI adapters if memory on the ESX host is overcommitted.

Active Directory Replication Status Tool

The Active Directory Replication Status Tool (ADREPLSTATUS) analyzes the replication status for domain controllers in an Active Directory domain or forest. ADREPLSTATUS displays data in a format that is similar to REPADMIN /SHOWREPL * /CSV imported into Excel but with significant enhancements.
Specific capabilities for this tool include:

    • Expose Active Directory replication errors occurring in a domain or forest
    • Prioritize errors that need to be resolved in order to avoid the creation of lingering objects in Active Directory forests
    • Help administrators and support professionals resolve replication errors by linking to Active Directory replication troubleshooting content on Microsoft TechNet
    • Allow replication data to be exported to source or destination domain administrators or support professionals for offline analysis

System Requirements

Supported Operating System

Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Vista, Windows XP

      • ADREPLSTATUS does not install on server core installs of Windows
      • Windows 2000 not supported due to lack of support for .NET Framework 4.0

    Domain membership requirements:

      • Must be joined to the Active Directory domain or forest you intend to monitor

    .NET Framework requirements:

      • .NET Framework 4.0 (you may be prompted to install .NET Framework 3.5.1 first on Windows Server 2008)

    Required User Credentials:

      • Target forest/domain user account

    Supported DC OS versions that can be monitored by ADREPLSTATUS:

      • Windows Server 2003
      • Windows Server 2003 R2
      • Windows Server 2008
      • Windows Server 2008 R2
      • Windows Server 2012

      image

Office 2013 Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) and Office Customization Tool

This download includes Group Policy Administrative Template (ADMX/ADML) and Office Customization Tool (OPAX/OPAL) files for Microsoft Office 2013.

This download includes Group Policy Administrative Template files and Office Customization Tool files for use with Office 2013 applications. It also includes an \Admin folder with an Office Customization Tool, and ADMX and ADML versions of Office 2013 system Administrative Template files. For administrative template files, you may use the combination of ADMX and language-specific ADML files on computers running at least Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.

For the latest information about policy settings, please refer to the Microsoft Excel 2013 workbook, Office2013GroupPolicyAndOCTSettings_Reference.xls

admintemplates_32bit.exe

admintemplates_64bit.exe

List of Performance hotfixes for Windows 7 SP1

Applies to:
Windows 2008 R2 SP1
Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Windows 7 SP1

Article ID: 2505438 – Slow performances in applications that use the DirectWrite API on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2505438

Article ID: 2505454 – The startup process is delayed on a computer that has a large hard disk installed and is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2505454

Article ID: 2510636 – An update that improves the startup performance of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2 is available
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2510636

Article ID: 2523887 – You may encounter file corruption issues when you use the Offline Files feature to synchronize data in Windows 7
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2523887

Article ID: 2524478 – The network location profile changes from "Domain" to "Public" in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2. This problem can affect Group Policy processing at boot time because NLA does not know what network profile to use.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2524478

Article ID: 2525332 – You encounter a long logon time after you enable the "Do not automatically make redirected folders available offline" Group Policy setting in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2525332

Article ID: 2555428 – The Windows 7 startup process is slow when you create many restore points
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2555428

Article ID: 2561285 – You experience a long domain logon time in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 after you deploy Group Policy preferences to the computer
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2561285

Article ID: 2561708 – Offline files synchronization may not finish on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2561708

Article ID: 2581608 – Logon scripts take a long time to run in Windows Vista, in Windows Server 2008, in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2581608

Article ID: 2582112 – Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 stops responding when an application performs many I/O operations to a network share
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2582112

Article ID: 2610379 – The Folder Redirection policy does not work if a previous user sets a redirected folder to an offline mode in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2610379

Article ID: 2617858 – Unexpectedly slow startup or logon process in Windows Server 2008 R2 or in Windows 7
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2617858

Article ID: 2625434 – "ERROR_SHARING_VIOLATION" error message in Windows XP or in Windows Server 2003 when you try to open a file on an SMB share on a server that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2625434

Article ID: 2640148 – Windows Explorer stops responding if you try to expand a mapped drive in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2640148

Article ID: 2645611 – Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 stops responding if you try to log on a computer that has multiple monitors
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2645611

Delay occurs when you log on to a domain from a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=2709630

Article ID: 2709630  2690528 Slow performance when you browse the My Documents folder in the document library in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2690528/en-us

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