for IT Professionals

The Windows Event viewer can sometimes seem like a blessing and a curse. Sometimes the messages can really help you discover what might be going wrong with the operating system or an application. Then Microsoft began to include hyperlinks that would help us get more information on what the error message was trying to tell us. But most times when you clicked on that hyperlink, all that you get is something to the effect of "Sorry. We don’t know what it means either."

So, I have had my share of disappointments with messages from the event viewer.

However, recently, I got an error message in the event viewer that not only told me what had gone wrong (and in language that I could understand), the message actually told me how to fix the problem. And I did not have to go out to a web page either!

The problem that I had been trying to fix was that some computers on my network were not getting the Group Policy firewall settings that I had recently changed. Some computers were getting the settings, but others, even when using a forced GPUPDATE would still not update the firewall setting.

After weeks of searching, I found myself in the place I should have gone to in the beginning - the Windows Event Viewer of one of my Domain Controllers.

In the File Replication Service event viewer there was an error message related to replication of data between my two Domain Controllers. This would explain my situation. Since the two  domain controllers were out of sync, this domain controller had the older firewall settings. Some of my computers were getting their updates using the older settings from this domain controller.

Now normally I would then have to search the Microsoft Knowledge Base to figure out how to solve this. But read the details of this error message (isn’t it pure poetry?)

Event Type:    Error
Event Source:    NtFrs
Event Category:    None
Event ID:    13568
Date:        9/12/2008
Time:        3:13:07 AM
User:        N/A
Computer:    Domain Controller
Description:
The File Replication Service has detected that the replica set "DOMAIN SYSTEM VOLUME (SYSVOL SHARE)" is in JRNL_WRAP_ERROR.
Replica set name is    : "DOMAIN SYSTEM VOLUME (SYSVOL SHARE)"
Replica root path is   : "c:\windows\sysvol\domain"
Replica root volume is : "\\.\C:"
A Replica set hits JRNL_WRAP_ERROR when the record that it is trying to read from the NTFS USN journal is not found.  This can occur because of one of the following reasons.
[1] Volume "\\.\C:" has been formatted.
[2] The NTFS USN journal on volume "\\.\C:" has been deleted.
[3] The NTFS USN journal on volume "\\.\C:" has been truncated. Chkdsk can truncate the journal if it finds corrupt entries at the end of the journal.
[4] File Replication Service was not running on this computer for a long time.
[5] File Replication Service could not keep up with the rate of Disk IO activity on "\\.\C:".
 Setting the "Enable Journal Wrap Automatic Restore" registry parameter to 1 will cause the following recovery steps to be taken to automatically recover from this error state.
[1] At the first poll, which will occur in 5 minutes, this computer will be deleted from the replica set. If you do not want to wait 5 minutes, then run "net stop ntfrs" followed by "net start ntfrs" to restart the File Replication Service.
[2] At the poll following the deletion this computer will be re-added to the replica set. The re-addition will trigger a full tree sync for the replica set.
WARNING: During the recovery process data in the replica tree may be unavailable. You should reset the registry parameter described above to 0 to prevent automatic recovery from making the data unexpectedly unavailable if this error condition occurs again.
To change this registry parameter, run regedit.
Click on Start, Run and type regedit.
Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Click down the key path:
   "System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NtFrs\Parameters"
Double click on the value name
   "Enable Journal Wrap Automatic Restore"
and update the value.
If the value name is not present you may add it with the New->DWORD Value function under the Edit Menu item. Type the value name exactly as shown above.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

It’s just amazing! The solution is in the error message details!

After I performed the steps outlined in the error message, all of my clients now have the proper firewall settings.

This is error documentation at its best!

So, my recommendation from this experience is this. If you are having a problem with Group Policy settings not being applied to all of your clients, check the File Replication Service Event log on all of your domain controllers for any error messages.  Who knows, it may give you the solution to your problems.

Recently I was just trying to run XAMPP Lite on my Vista PC.  XAMPP is a cool little utility that lets you run Apache, MySQL, PHP, and Perl all from a USB drive and without installing anything to your windows computer. Although I could get MySQL to start, I could not get Apache to start up. I did not have IIS installed, which could have caused a conflict with Apache, since both are web servers.

I ran xampp-portcheck, the port check utility that was included with XAMPP. It showed that ports 80 and 443 were being used by SYSTEM (see below).

RESULT
——

Service              Port   Status
==================================
Apache (HTTP)          80   SYSTEM
Apache (WebDAV)        81   free
Apache (HTTPS)        443   SYSTEM

MySQL                3306   free

FileZilla (FTP)        21   free
FileZilla (Admin)   14147   free

Mercury (SMTP)         25   free
Mercury (POP3)        110   free
Mercury (IMAP)        143   free

I opened a browser and it reacted as if I had a web server on localhost. The page was blank.

I decided to view the HTML source code and found the following:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN”>
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content=”text/html; charset=windows-1252″></HEAD>
<BODY></BODY>
<META content=FUGCLQURCL name=SKYPE_FRAMEID>
<META content=FUGCLQURCL name=SKYPE_FRAMEID></HTML>

I noticed that at the bottom of the source code in a META tag, there was a value of SKYPE_FRAMEID. I decided to stop Skype and sure enough Apache was able to start.

I then started Skype and both programs are able to run.

Skype is a smart program. Since most firewalls allow ports 80 and 443 for web traffic, Skype uses those ports if they are available. If 80 and 443 are in use, Skype will choose other ports to use.

OK, no more of The Bill and Jerry Show.

The latest Microsoft commercial campaign is entitled "I’m a PC". Although Bill Gates does appear briefly, Jerry Seinfeld is not. <insert sigh_of_relief here>

The commercial is a mix of celebrity and real people and FINALLY a direct response to the Mac vs. PC ads.

And best of all, I know what the commercial is advertising. (as opposed to four and a half minutes of Seinfeld’s "nothing" which was entertaining, but not advertising)

In this episode, Bill and Jerry decide to live with a "real" family. And this "commercial" makes we want to buy Vista, how?

It’s comical and geeky. Enjoy!

OK. Usually I am immune to viral videos, but the Jerry Seinfeld - Bill Gates commercial for Vista is so Geeky that I have not been able to stop watching it, yet. I have even seen it one time on television.

Go check it out (if you haven’t already!)

Sorry for the gap in posts. The gap got bigger when I took my vacation.

First of all, thank you to all who have purchased CBT Nuggets videos through my web site link. I appreciate your sales very much. I will try to demonstrate my appreciation in the future with regular and useful blog posts.

I have just received access to the CBT Nuggets videos for Windows Vista, tests 70-620 and 70-622. Both videos are taught by one of my favorite CBT Nuggets instructors, James Conrad. I will post a review of these videos hopefully within the next month.

I am also working on two software deployments: Microsoft Forefront Client Security and Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager Workgroup Edition. I am sure I will have some comments to share with you during and after these deployments.

On a personal note, I am starting my Master’s Degrees in Management Information Systems this fall at the University of Central Florida (where I am also employed). I am excited and fearful about this all at the same time. I have wanted to go back for a Master’s Degree for a long time. This degree will also give me academic credentials in the field that I have been working in for so long (my bachelor’s degree is in Industrial Engineering).

My mention of an academic degree may cause some readers to wonder which is more helpful to your career - degree or certification. My suggestion is that if you have the time and resources, go for the degree. My bachelor’s degree that I earned in 1991 still helps me find work 17 years later. I cannot say the same for my certification in Windows 3.1/MS DOS 6.x that I earned in 1995! However, my certifications do show an employer that I am continuing to learn and remaining current in my field (as opposed to just 1991 knowledge).

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or ideas for articles, please comment or email me at blogmail@itcertpro.com.

As a reseller of CBT Nuggets IT Training videos, I have decided to offer a discount to readers of my blog. If you click on the CBT Nuggets link on my page under “Helpful Links” or here or call (888) 507-6283 and mention promotion code ITCP08, you will receive a 10% discount on your order.

In the coming months, I will be posting a review of a CBT Nuggets title. I have been using CBT Nuggets for my own studies since 2003. In fact, I started selling CBT Nuggets because I enjoyed using them so much.

Let me also apologize for not completing my blog entries for Tech Ed. (I guess I really was tired!  :-)) I will post a summary of the rest of Tech Ed soon.

Thank you for reading.

WHEW! I am tired.

Got to Tech Ed today just before 9:00 am to hear most of the keynote speech. At the end of the day, two announcements have stuck with me.1. System Center Virtual Machine Manager. A cool feature allows you to move a virtual server to a different physical machine without your users even knowing! And the software even suggests the machine that would be the best one to move the virtual image.2. SQL Server 2008’s compression It not only makes your databases smaller, but it makes them faster as well.I hung out at the MCT Lounge and met some really great MCT’S including Calahan, Kim, Brian and Bob.I also attended a breakout session on System Center Essentials 2007. I wanted to review the featured to make sure I was using the product to its fullest. Dynamic groups seemed to be the coolest feature that I overlooked. Dynamic groups allow you to define conditions, such as OS version, to make computers part of a group.I got to meet with the gang from Train Signal IT Training videos. I got to meet Coach Culbertson in person! He is just as friendly in person as he is in his videos. Train Signal announced that their videos will soon be including Trancender practice tests!Right now the vendor party is going on with everyone eating and drinking. Tonight is the invitation only Microsoft All-Star Community Pit Stop party which should also be a lot of fun.Until next post.

Since Tech Ed 2008 It Pro does not officially start until tomorrow, the Orange County Convention Center is still a little quiet. However, with registration beginning today, things seem a little busier.
My main mission for today was to register for Tech Ed and to study and take exam 70-649 which I crammed for the day before. Upon arriving at the Testing Center and showing my MCP Id, I was treated to one of the limited edition “Certified” hats, designed by Trika. It was so surreal after following Trika’s blog posts on these hats and then finally holding one in your hand. The hat read “certified. I am. You’re not”
I then sat down with Self Test Software for some last minute studying before my test. Then, of course, it was on to take the dreaded 70-649. 49 questions, I passed! Thank you Zach for the exam cram on Sunday!
I left the exam room to encounter a vaguely familiar laugh. A laugh that I had not heard in about a year. It was my good Microsoft blogger friend, Trika Harms zum Spreckel. I hold Trika personally responsible for driving me to blog.
Another highlight of the day was attending a Train the Trainer class on Powershell. The speaker was Thomas Lee and he was incredible. His level of knowledge of PowerShell is just amazing. Also, his attention to detail in his training style is phenomenal! He was able to cover a three day course in three hours.
I was also able to attend the first ever “Party with the Pros.” Attendance was good and there were plenty of giveways. Thank you to all the sponsors who made this event happen. “Party with the Pros” was billed as the largest non-Microsoft event at Tech Ed with over 600 registered attendees.
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I started my Tech Ed experience on Sunday to take part in an exam cram for 70-649, the MCSE 2003 Upgrade test for Server 2008. The training was led by Zach Nieman who is the president of Training Experts. Zach is a great presenter. I have to give credit to anyone who can keep my attention for the entire day the way Zach was able. From 8:00 to 4:30 pm, Zach covered the material from exams 70-640, 70-642, and 70-643 (which is what 70-649 covers). I am scheduled to take the exam tomorrow at 1:00.
It was interesting seeing how empty the Orange County Convention Center was on this “tweener” weekend.

Since the Tech Ed developers and it pros were separated into two conferences this year, the covention center was opened up to user groups. Training events were held over the weekend covering topics for both developers and it pros. The Certification Testing center was open over the weekend and will be open on Monday for Tech Ed attendees only.
I was also able to talk with William Sabo, a consultant from the Tallahasse, Fl area. He was there for a pre-conference on SharePoint.
Ken Rosen was at the Testing Center for Microsoft. Although he has changed positions within Microsoft, I still think of him as a MCT Celebrity.
Speaking of MCT Celebrities, I got to meet Bill Chapman of Microsoft.
Good times today - except that I did not get to see my blogging Microsoft friend, Trika.