How to Setup Visual Studio (TFS) Test Agents in the Cloud

We ran into some issues trying to get the Visual Studio Test Agents to register and communicate with the Visual Studio Test Controller when the controller is inside our network, and the agents are in the cloud. There are some strange quirks that need to be addressed before this will work. However, following these steps you should be able to run test agents on VMs in Amazon AWS EC2, Microsoft Windows Azure, etc.

Steps:

1. You will need to NAT a public IP address to the private IP address of your Visual Studio Test Controller system, or place it in a DMZ and assign it a public IP address. I recommend the first option.
2. You will need to put in firewall rules to allow the following ports from the public IP address of your Visual Studio Test Agent VMs to your Visual Studio Test Controller system.
• 137/udp, 138/udp, 139/tcp, 445/tcp, 6901/TCP, ICMP echo request.
3. Create a domain user named "VsTestService" in the domain where the test controller resides.
• Add this user ( <domain>\VsTestService ) to the "administrators" group on your Visual Studio Test Controller system.
• Add this user ( <domain>\VsTestService ) to the "TeamTestAgentService" group on the Visual Studio Test Controller system.
4. Create a local account on the Visual Studio Test Controller system named "VsTestService" with the exact same password as the domain "VsTestService" account that you created in step 3.
• Add this user ( <ComputerName>\VsTestService ) to the "admininstrators" group on the Visual Studio Test Controller system.
• Add this user ( <ComputerName>\VsTestService ) to the "TeamTestAgentService" group on the Visual Studio Test Controller system.
• Add this user ( <ComputerName>\VsTestService ) to the "TeamTestControllerAdmins" group on the Visual Studio Test Controller system.
5. Add the netbios hostname of the Visual Studio Test Agent system to the hosts file on the Visual Studio Test Controller system with the public IP address Visual Studio Test Agent system (or add it to your internal DNS). You can get this by running "echo %computername%" at a command prompt.
• Keep in mind that the public IP address of these VMs in the cloud often change if you shut off the VM and later power it back on. In this case, you will need to update the hosts file (or internal DNS) each time the IP address changes.
6. Install the Visual Studio Test Controller on the Visual Studio Test Controller system.
• When configuring it, set the service to run under the domain service account you created ( <domain>\VsTestService ). If you run it under the local account, the test manager will likely fail to authenticate to the test controller.
7. You will need to put in firewall rules to allow the following port 6910/tcp from the public IP address of your Visual Studio Test Controller system to your Visual Studio Test Agent system.
8. Create a local account on the Visual Studio Test Agent system named "VsTestService" with the exact same password that you used when you created the "VsTestService" accounts in steps 3 and 4.
• Add this user ( <ComputerName>\VsTestService ) to the "admininstrators" group on the Visual Studio Test Agent system.
9. Add the netbios hostname and FQDN (active directory domain, not internet domain) of the Visual Studio Test Controller system to the hosts file of the Visual Studio Test Agent system with the public IP address of the Visual Studio Test Controller system (see the example below).

   #Example

   111.222.333.444     ControllerName

   111.222.333.444     ControllerName.ADDomain.local

    
10. Log off of the Visual Studio Test Agent system and log back on with the local "VsTestService" account you created ( <ComputerName>\VsTestService ).
11. Install the Visual Studio Test Agent on the Visual Studio Test Agent system.
• When configuring it, set the service to run under the local "VsTestService" account you created ( <ComputerName>\VsTestService ).

It should install and test successfully if you followed all of these steps correctly!

Note* If you have any hosts file entries with the IP address 127.0.0.1, it will probably still fail. For more information on this quirk, see this article.

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Resolution: Visual Studio Test Agent Unable to Connect to the controller. There is no agent registered...

Problem: I discovered a weird quirk with the Visual Studio Test Agents (a.k.a. TFS Test Agents). We were trying to set them up to do some load testing, and were getting the error below.

 Unable to connect to the controller on 'MyController:6901'. There is no agent with the name 'MyAgent' registered on the controller.

If you click on the "View Log" link after attempting to configure the Test Agent, you will see the follwing detailed error:

 V, 2013/10/28, 17:33:25.342, Observed that agent 'MyAgent' does not exist. Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.Exceptions.EqtException: There is no agent with
the name 'MyAgent' registered on the controller.
 Server stack trace:
   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.Controller.AgentManager.GetAgentMachine(String agentName)
   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.Controller.AgentManager.GetAgentProperties(String agentName)
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Messaging.StackBuilderSink._PrivateProcessMessage(IntPtr md, Object[] args, Object server, Object[]& outArgs)
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Messaging.StackBuilderSink.SyncProcessMessage(IMessage msg)
 Exception rethrown at [0]:
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Proxies.RealProxy.HandleReturnMessage(IMessage reqMsg, IMessage retMsg)
   at System.Runtime.Remoting.Proxies.RealProxy.PrivateInvoke(MessageData& msgData, Int32 type)
   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.Execution.IControllerCommands.GetAgentProperties(String agentName)
   at Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.ConfigCore.TestControllerHelper.AgentExists(String agentName, IControllerCommands controllerCmds)

Cause: The problem I had was that the agent's host file had some entries in there pointing to the loopback IP address of 127.0.0.1. For some reason, the controller grabbed the host names from the hosts file on the agent machines, and was trying to talk back to them based on the information in DNS. In our case, this was the load balancers, not the agent machines.

Resolution:

1. Comment out any hostfile entries on the agent machines that have the 127.0.0.1 IP address with a "#" pound sign.
2. Run "ipconfig /flushdns" on the agent and the controller.
3. Restart all of the services starting with "Visual Studio" on both the agent and the controller.
4. Rerun the agent configuration.

Note* If you are trying to run the agent on a machine in the cloud, on a workgroup member computer, or a computer from another domain, see this article as well.

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Resolved: WCAT: Invalid code received - Run error detected, terminating clients

When implementing WCAT for load testing for the first time I ran into the overly vague error message below.

All clients connected, Test beginning.
 Invalid code received.
  message: Run error detected, terminating clients...
  message: Terminating all instances of wcclient...
  message: Terminating all local instances of wcctl.exe...

Nothing I did seemed to let me get anymore information to help me zero in on the issue. After spending a significant amount of time troubleshooting, I started the client in one window using the command below

wcclient localhost -b

Then I opened a separate cmd window and ran my job using this command

wcctl -clientfile ubr\scenario.ubr -settingsfile ubr\settings.ubr

Obviously, you need to point to your files in their relative locations, but that's what I ran. The big thing, is that by running it this way, instead of through wcat.wsf you will actually see a useful error message. In my case, missing s semicolon on line 149.

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Connection Pooling for Commerce Server 2007 and 2009

With as little as a couple hundred unique visitors on a website, we were seeing close to 300 SQL logons per second coming from Commerce Server. Every hit to SQL was creating a new connection. Luckily, this is a quick and easy fix to get Commerce Server to start reusing open connections to SQL by using connection pooling.

Take into account though, if you are using impersonation on your Commerce Server website then this is a security risk. If a one user reuses the SQL connection of a different user, they can assume the security rights of that previous user. See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa545755%28v=cs.70%29.aspx for more information on those risks.

To enable connection pooling:

If you are using the 32-bit version of Commerce Server, change the value of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Commerce Server 2007\Profiles\UnsafeAuthenticatedConnectionSharing registry key to 1.

 

If you are using the 64-bit version of Commerce Server, change the value of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Commerce Server 2007\Profiles\UnsafeAuthenticatedConnectionSharing registry key to 1.

 

Then, reset IIS

 

These registry keys are valid for Commerce Server 2007 and 2009, despite the registry path saying 2007.

 

 

 

 

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Resolved: IDRAC Drive Error Either Virtual Media is detached or redirection for the selected virtual disk drive is already in use

I haven't used Dell servers much in an enterprise environment, so working with their IDRAC (Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller) controllers was a little new to me. So when I got the error message below when trying to mount an ISO, I was a little confused at first.

Drive ErrorEither Virtual Media is detached or Virtual Media redirection for the selected virtual disk drive is already in use.

I guess it just comes down to sloppy navigation in my mind. You have to go to a completely different screen to "attach the virtual media" before you can mount an ISO.

Resolution:

1. In IDRAC, click on "System" in the far left column.
2. Then, click on the "Console/Media" tab.
3. Then, click on "Configuration".
4. Then, select "Attach" in the "Status" row under "Virtual Media".
5. And finally, apply your changes.

You should now be able to mount an ISO as you would expect to be able to.

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Resolved: Error message Windows is unable to install to the selected location. Error: 0x80300001 after loading additional drivers

There is a very misleading/deceptive error that you might run into when installing various versions of the Windows operating system. It typically happens when you load additional drivers for raid controllers, fiber cards, SCSI controllers, etc. That error is:

Error: "Windows is unable to install to the selected location. Error: 0x80300001."

When you get this error you will most likely get it for every available hard drive. Why? Because the error doesn't actually have anything to do with the disk that you are trying to install the OS too. It is complaining because the OS install CD is no longer in the drive because you took it out to load the drivers!

Resolution: Put the OS install CD back in the CD drive!

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How to Turn On Debug Logging for Group Policy

When you are troubleshooting group policy issues, it's helpful to turn on some additional logging. Unfortunately, it's not just a simple switch you turn on. You have to know what you are doing to get those logs.

1. Open regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
2. Create a subkey named "Diagnostics"
3. Create a new DWORD value under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Diagnostics named "GPSvcDebugLevel" (this is case sensitive)
4. Set the value of GPSvcDebugLevel to 0x00030002
5. Create the "usermode" directory under %windir%\debug\
6. You can run "gpupdate /force", but I prefer to reboot so you get a clean log as the policies are applied under normal circumstances.
7. Your new log is at %windir%\debug\usermode\Gpsvc.log

When you are done, change the value of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Diagnostics|GPSvcDebugLevel to 0x00000000 to disable the debug log or else it will continue to grow.

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Find a Cure for AIDS With Your Android Smart Phone

Ever wish you could do more for humanity? Think AIDS sucks? Ever feel like you’re not getting everything out of your smart phone that you could? Thanks to World Community Grid, now your Android smart phone can join in the fight against AIDS by helping to actively search for a cure to AIDS using grid computing technology.

Grid computing (a.k.a. distributed computing) is the concept of taking a bunch of computers or devices and teaming them up to figure out huge problems, which would normally take a single computer a really long time to figure out. Each device checks out a small work packet, does it’s computations on it, then checks in the results and asks for another work packet. These grid computer systems can far out-power the world's most fasted super computers.

Does the thought of running something like this on your Android smart phone scare you? Think it will kill your phone’s battery or jack up your data usage? According to the good folks at World Community Grid -

The FightAIDS@Home project is the first to be made available on our new Android app, with more projects to follow suit in the future. And don't worry, it won't kill your battery or use up your data quota: by default, the Android app will run only when your device is plugged in, and will only transmit data when your device is connected to a WiFi network.

Want to help find a cure for AIDS? You need to do two things:

1. Register with World Community Grid (if you haven't already)
2. Download the app here!

Don't want to you your phone, but still want to help? They have apps for computers too. Download an app for your PC here.

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Enterprise Level Management of Apple Mac OS X Devices

Apple products seemingly are not designed with enterprise IT in mind. They do not facilitate centralized management natively, and it’s a pain point for many IT shops. Never-the-less, companies are still being infiltrated with these devices as bring-your-own-device (BYOD) concepts gain ground.

I came across a solution for this problem in one of the last places I expected. I was doing an on-site interview at Google. Over lunch, one of the employees there mentioned that they developed a product similar to SCCM, but to use with Mac OS X devices. Furthermore, this software is freely available in their code library! How about that? An enterprise level solution for managing software on Apple devices, developed by one of the largest and most innovative companies in the world, it’s available for free, and it’s open source so you can make modifications to it if you want/need to!

According to the Google Code page, Simian can:

• Deploy new or updated software by targeting a single Mac or tens of thousands.
• Deploy updates whether the Mac is on an internal network/VPN or not.
• Force unattended/background installation of some packages, while allowing others to be optional.
• Forcefully deploy security patches and reboot Macs after a given date, with varying levels of warning notifications.
• Tightly manage Apple Software Update catalogs and update release, or let updates auto-promote automatically.
• Dynamically target clients based on user, hostname, OS version, group (tag), and more.
• Obtain reports on all of this and the fleet overall.

If this is something that you are interested in, you can check out this product at http://code.google.com/p/simian/

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Resolution: Error during encryption or decryption. System error code 997 in SharePoint

I was recently ran into an issue in SharePoint where my Central Administration web app disappeared. When I tried to redeploy Central Administration, I was confronted with the error below.

An exception of type System.ArgumentException was thrown.  Additional exception information: Error during encryption or decryption. System error code 997.

Everything I saw online said the only option was to create a new config database. Personally, I thought that seemed a bit extreme. Well, I found a better option that worked for me, and will probably work for you too.

The problem is caused by the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Web Server Extensions\12.0\Secure\FarmAdmin getting deleted or corrupted. Fortunately, it is a rather easy fix if you know what to do.

1. Open an elevated command prompt and change directories to %commonprogramfiles%\Microsoft Shared\Web server extensions\12\Bin
2. Modify the username and password in this command, and run it on each server in the farm (This updates that registry key that got deleted/corrupted).
   stsadm -o updatefarmcredentials -userlogin DomainName\UserName -password NewPassword -local
3. Modify the username and password in this command, and run it one of your SharePoint servers (this step may fail, but just continue on. The is to update the credentials inside the config database).
   stsadm -o updatefarmcredentials -userlogin DomainName\UserName -password NewPassword
4. Run this command on each of the SharePoint servers in your farm.
   iisreset /noforce
5. If you were like me, and you need to reinstall Central Administration, run this command on the server where you want to have Central Administration installed (You may want to choose a different port or authentication provider, I just listed the most common options.).
   psconfig.exe -cmd adminvs -provision -port 8080 -windowsauthprovider onlyusentlm

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How To Block Facebook Game Invites

I'm always seeing posts on Facebook from frustrated users who are asking their friends to not send them game invites anymore. Facebook doesn't make it real obvious, but you can block those annoying game invites.

There are two ways to do this. First, you can block specific user's from sending you invites. And the second is to block a specific game or app.

To block specific users from sending you game invites, first click on the little cog in the upper right corner of your Facebook page. It looks like this.

Next, click on "Blocking" on the left side of the screen.

Then scroll down to the "Block app invites" section, type the name of the friend that you don't want to receive game invites from anymore and hit enter. Repeat for any other friends that you don't want to receive game invites from.

The second method is to block specific Facebook apps. You can do this on the same page, you just scroll further down to the "Block apps" section which is pictured below.

In this section, you just type the name of the app that you want to block (e.g. Farmville), and hit enter. Repeat that for each additional app. This will also prevent them from showing up in your news feeds!

To help get you started, I posted a list of all the apps I have blocked. Some of them are duplicated because there are more than one apps with the same name. Not all of them are games per say... I would almost consider some of them a virus because they post false/fake stuff on your timeline and your friends walls to try to get them to grant the app rights to their accounts too.

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SimCity Social
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Wild Ones
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How To Remove The Root Hints from Windows DNS

I ran into a problem while I was locking down a Windows DNS server where I would remove the root hints, but they would keep coming back. I first thought it was because of the "root hints" updates that Microsoft releases every so often. In reality, it was because the root entries were listed in the %windir%\system32\dns\cache.dns file. If you comment out those root hints with a semicolon (including the lines that start with a period (.)), then remove the root hints from your DNS server properties in the DNS Manager MMC snap-in. They should stay away. An example of the cache.dns file after it's been commented out is below.

;
;   cache.dns -- DNS CACHE FILE
;
;   Initial cache data for root domain servers.
;
;   YOU SHOULD CHANGE:
;   ->  Nothing if connected to the Internet.  Edit this file only when
;       updated root name server list is released.
;           OR
;   ->  If NOT connected to the Internet, remove these records and replace
;       with NS and A records for the DNS server authoritative for the
;       root domain at your site.
;
;   Note, if you are a root domain server, for your own private intranet,
;   no cache is required, and you may edit your boot file to remove
;   it.
;
;       This file holds the information on root name servers needed to
;       initialize cache of Internet domain name servers
;       (e.g. reference this file in the "cache  .  "
;       configuration file of BIND domain name servers).
;
;       This file is made available by InterNIC 
;       under anonymous FTP as
;           file                /domain/named.root
;           on server           FTP.INTERNIC.NET
;
;       last update:    Nov 5, 2002
;       related version of root zone:   2002110501
;
;
; formerly NS.INTERNIC.NET
;
;.                        3600000  IN  NS    A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     198.41.0.4
;
; formerly NS1.ISI.EDU
;
;.                        3600000      NS    B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     128.9.0.107
;
; formerly C.PSI.NET
;
;.                        3600000      NS    C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.33.4.12
;
; formerly TERP.UMD.EDU
;
;.                        3600000      NS    D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     128.8.10.90
;
; formerly NS.NASA.GOV
;
;.                        3600000      NS    E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.203.230.10
;
; formerly NS.ISC.ORG
;
;.                        3600000      NS    F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.5.5.241
;
; formerly NS.NIC.DDN.MIL
;
;.                        3600000      NS    G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.112.36.4
;
; formerly AOS.ARL.ARMY.MIL
;
;.                        3600000      NS    H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     128.63.2.53
;
; formerly NIC.NORDU.NET
;
;.                        3600000      NS    I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.36.148.17
;
; operated by VeriSign, Inc. 
;
;.                        3600000      NS    J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;J.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.58.128.30
;
; housed in LINX, operated by RIPE NCC
;
;.                        3600000      NS    K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;K.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     193.0.14.129 
;
; operated by IANA
;
;.                        3600000      NS    L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     198.32.64.12
;
; housed in Japan, operated by WIDE
;
;.                        3600000      NS    M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
;M.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     202.12.27.33
; End of File

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Faulting application gpresult.exe, version 5.2.3790.3959, faulting module gpresult.exe, version 5.2.3790.3959, fault address 0x000000000001323c.

There is a problem with gpresult on 64 bit servers that can cause it to crash with the following errors.

Event Type:        Error
Event Source:    Application Error
Event Category:                (100)
Event ID:              1000
Date:                     4/11/2013
Time:                     3:01:51 PM
User:                     N/A
Computer:          SERVER
Description:
Faulting application gpresult.exe, version 5.2.3790.3959, faulting module gpresult.exe, version 5.2.3790.3959, fault address 0x000000000001323c.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 41 70 70 6c 69 63 61 74   Applicat
0008: 69 6f 6e 20 46 61 69 6c   ion Fail
0010: 75 72 65 20 20 67 70 72   ure  gpr
0018: 65 73 75 6c 74 2e 65 78   esult.ex
0020: 65 20 35 2e 32 2e 33 37   e 5.2.37
0028: 39 30 2e 33 39 35 39 20   90.3959 
0030: 69 6e 20 67 70 72 65 73   in gpres
0038: 75 6c 74 2e 65 78 65 20   ult.exe 
0040: 35 2e 32 2e 33 37 39 30   5.2.3790
0048: 2e 33 39 35 39 20 61 74   .3959 at
0050: 20 6f 66 66 73 65 74 20    offset 
0058: 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30   00000000
0060: 30 30 30 31 33 32 33 63   0001323c

To fix the problem, you need to change the value of HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SeCEdit\Reg Values\MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon/PasswordExpiryWarning/DisplayName to read "Interactive logon: Prompt user to change password before expire" instead of "Interactive logon: Prompt user to change password before expiration".

Also see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971243

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How to Disable Credential Caching in ADFS

If you have session problems in ADFS, you may need to disable Local Security Authority (LSA) credential caching on the AD FS server temporarily. This can affect any application that uses claims based authentication including SharePoint, CRM, Office 365, etc. To do this, you need to:

1. Create a new DWORD value named LsaLookupCacheMaxSize under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa.
2. Set the value of LsaLookupCacheMaxSize to 0.
3. Reboot the ADFS server.

Also see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2535191

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404 Error for Isolated Users in Dynamics CRM

I had an issue recently where one user was getting a 404 error when trying to log into CRM. While troubleshooting this issues I tried everything I could think of, including disabling Local Security Authority (LSA) credential caching on the ADFS server, recreating the user's Active Directory account, disabled/re-enabled her CRM account, purged her kerberos tickets, deleted her cookies, killed her ADFS sessions, rebooted servers, reset passwords, checked her security roles, etc. After trying every perceivable resolution, this is what I had to do to fix the issue.

1. Changed the logon account for the affected user to an unrelated service account that wasn't used in CRM, and disabled the CRM account.
2. Created a brand new account for the user in CRM, and assigned the security roles that the old account had.

Hopefully that works for you too.

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Resolution: Errors After Installing Update Rollup for Dynamics CRM 2011

After installing an update rollup for Dynamics CRM 2011 ( I was installing UR12, but others have gotten the same error with outher URs), I started getting this error.


Log Name: Application Source: ASP.NET 4.0.30319.0 Date: 3/28/2013 8:40:04 AM Event ID: 1309 Task Category: Web Event Level: Warning Keywords: Classic User: N/A Computer: crm_server.domain.local Description: Event code: 3005 Event message: An unhandled exception has occurred. Event time: 3/28/2013 8:40:04 AM Event time (UTC): 3/28/2013 1:40:04 PM Event ID: 857c1ec3a88c43799878637451e1b3a7 Event sequence: 36389 Event occurrence: 23 Event detail code: 0 Application information: Application domain: /LM/W3SVC/1/ROOT-1-140088322863478416 Trust level: Full Application Virtual Path: / Application Path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics CRM\CRMWeb\ Machine name: CRM_SERVER Process information: Process ID: 3508 Process name: w3wp.exe Account name: DOMAIN\service_account Exception information: Exception type: CrmException Exception message: Attribute objecttypecode on Entity PrincipalObjectAccessReadSnapshot is of type picklist but has Child Attributes Count 0 at
Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.ServiceCommands.PlatformCommand.XrmExecuteInternal() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.ServiceCommands.RetrieveMultipleCommand.Execute() at Microsoft.Crm.ApplicationQuery.RetrieveMultipleCommand.RetrieveData() at Microsoft.Crm.ApplicationQuery.ExecuteQuery() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderQueryBuilder.GetData(QueryBuilder queryBuilder) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderQueryBuilder.LoadQueryData() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderQueryBuilder.LoadData() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderBase.PrepareGridData() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderBase.PrepareData() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Controls.GridUIProvider.Render(HtmlTextWriter output) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Components.UI.Grid.DataGrid.RenderData(HtmlTextWriter output) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Components.UI.Grid.DataGrid.RenderInnerHtml(HtmlTextWriter output) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Components.UI.Grid.DataGrid.Render(HtmlTextWriter output) at ASP.claimsopssupporttest_tools_emailtemplateeditor_emailtemplateeditor_aspx.__RendercrmForm(HtmlTextWriter __w, Control parameterContainer) at System.Web.UI.Control.RenderChildrenInternal(HtmlTextWriter writer, ICollection children) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Forms.EndUserForm.Render(HtmlTextWriter output) at ASP.claimsopssupporttest_tools_emailtemplateeditor_emailtemplateeditor_aspx.__Render__control1(HtmlTextWriter __w, Control parameterContainer) at System.Web.UI.Control.RenderChildrenInternal(HtmlTextWriter writer, ICollection children) at System.Web.UI.Page.Render(HtmlTextWriter writer) at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) Request information: Request URL:     Request path: /CRMOrg/tools/emailtemplateeditor/emailtemplateeditor.aspx      Thread information: Thread ID: 24 Thread account name:
Stack trace: at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.ServiceCommands.PlatformCommand.XrmExecuteInternal() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.ServiceCommands.RetrieveMultipleCommand.Execute() at Microsoft.Crm.ApplicationQuery.RetrieveMultipleCommand.RetrieveData() at Microsoft.Crm.ApplicationQuery.ExecuteQuery() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderQueryBuilder.GetData(QueryBuilder queryBuilder) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderQueryBuilder.LoadQueryData() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderQueryBuilder.LoadData() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderBase.PrepareGridData() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Platform.Grid.GridDataProviderBase.PrepareData() at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Controls.GridUIProvider.Render(HtmlTextWriter output) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Components.UI.Grid.DataGrid.RenderData(HtmlTextWriter output) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Components.UI.Grid.DataGrid.RenderInnerHtml(HtmlTextWriter output) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Components.UI.Grid.DataGrid.Render(HtmlTextWriter output) at ASP.claimsopssupporttest_tools_emailtemplateeditor_emailtemplateeditor_aspx.__RendercrmForm(HtmlTextWriter __w, Control parameterContainer) at System.Web.UI.Control.RenderChildrenInternal(HtmlTextWriter writer, ICollection children) at Microsoft.Crm.Application.Forms.EndUserForm.Render(HtmlTextWriter output) at ASP.claimsopssupporttest_tools_emailtemplateeditor_emailtemplateeditor_aspx.__Render__control1(HtmlTextWriter __w, Control parameterContainer) at System.Web.UI.Control.RenderChildrenInternal(HtmlTextWriter writer, ICollection children) at System.Web.UI.Page.Render(HtmlTextWriter writer) at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint)

I poked around a little and noticed that the update rollup wasn't applied to one of my organization database. We have two organization databases and one was at UR12 and the other was still at UR11. In deployment manager, I tried to manually update the database and it failed. That led me to this error that was in C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\MSCRM\Logs\crm50dmsnapin.log.

09:05:35| Error| Installer Complete: OrganizationDatabaseHotFixer - Error encountered 09:05:36| Error| Exception occured during Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.OrganizationDatabaseHotFixer: Action Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.InstallDatabaseUpdatesAction failed. InnerException: System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. ---> System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: Cannot insert duplicate key row in object 'dbo.DependencyBase' with unique index 'ndx_UniqueDependencyNodes'. The duplicate key value is (guid).The statement has been terminated. at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection) at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.ThrowExceptionAndWarning() at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.Run(RunBehavior runBehavior, SqlCommand cmdHandler, SqlDataReader dataStream, BulkCopySimpleResultSet bulkCopyHandler, TdsParserStateObject stateObj) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.FinishExecuteReader(SqlDataReader ds, RunBehavior runBehavior, String resetOptionsString) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReaderTds(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, Boolean async) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method, DbAsyncResult result) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.InternalExecuteNonQuery(DbAsyncResult result, String methodName, Boolean sendToPipe) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteNonQuery() at Microsoft.Crm.CrmDbConnection.InternalExecuteWithRetry[TResult](Func`1 ExecuteMethod, IDbCommand command) at Microsoft.Crm.CrmDbConnection.InternalExecuteNonQuery(IDbCommand command, Boolean capturePerfTrace) at Microsoft.Crm.CrmDbConnection.ExecuteNonQuery(IDbCommand command, Boolean impersonate, Boolean capturePerfTrace) at Microsoft.Crm.BusinessEntities.SimpleBulkInserterWithType.Flush(ISqlExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.ObjectModel.DependencyHelperBase.BulkInsertDependencies(BusinessEntityCollection dependencies, ISqlExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.Dependency.ComponentCollector.CreateComponentDependencies(Dictionary`2 recordsByComponentType, ExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.Dependency.ComponentCollector.ProcessRecords(ExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.BusinessEntities.ExecutionContext.ProcessDependencies(FlushCacheOption option, CreateNewCollectorOption createOption) at Microsoft.Crm.BusinessEntities.ExecutionContext.OnEndRequest() at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.MetadataPatchService.ProcessMetadataDiffFile(String targetRevision) --- End of inner exception stack trace --- at System.RuntimeMethodHandle._InvokeMethodFast(IRuntimeMethodInfo method, Object target, Object[] arguments, SignatureStruct& sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeType typeOwner) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture, Boolean skipVisibilityChecks) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture) at System.RuntimeType.InvokeMember(String name, BindingFlags bindingFlags, Binder binder, Object target, Object[] providedArgs, ParameterModifier[] modifiers, CultureInfo culture, String[] namedParams) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Database.DllMethodAction.Execute(Guid organizationId) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Database.DatabaseInstaller.ExecuteReleases(ReleaseInfo releaseInfo, Boolean isInstall) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Database.DatabaseInstaller.Install(Int32 languageCode, String configurationFilePath, Boolean upgradeDatabase, Boolean isInstall) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Database.DatabaseInstaller.InstallUpdate(String configurationFilePath, Boolean upgradeDatabase) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Common.Update.DBUpdateDatabaseInstaller.ApplyDBUpdates(Guid orgId) at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.InstallDatabaseUpdatesAction.ApplyDBUpdatesInternal(Guid orgId, String orgUniqueName, String releaseFilePath, Boolean ignoreErrors) at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.InstallDatabaseUpdatesAction.ApplyDBUpdates(Guid orgId, String orgUniqueName, OrganizationOperationType operationType) at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.InstallDatabaseUpdatesAction.Do(IDictionary parameters) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Common.CrmAction.ExecuteAction(CrmAction action, IDictionary parameters, Boolean undo) InnerException: System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException (0x80131904): Cannot insert duplicate key row in object 'dbo.DependencyBase' with unique index 'ndx_UniqueDependencyNodes'. The duplicate key value is (guid). The statement has been terminated. at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection) at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.ThrowExceptionAndWarning() at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.Run(RunBehavior runBehavior, SqlCommand cmdHandler, SqlDataReader dataStream, BulkCopySimpleResultSet bulkCopyHandler, TdsParserStateObject stateObj) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.FinishExecuteReader(SqlDataReader ds, RunBehavior runBehavior, String resetOptionsString) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReaderTds(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, Boolean async) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method, DbAsyncResult result) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.InternalExecuteNonQuery(DbAsyncResult result, String methodName, Boolean sendToPipe) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteNonQuery() at Microsoft.Crm.CrmDbConnection.InternalExecuteWithRetry[TResult](Func`1 ExecuteMethod, IDbCommand command) at Microsoft.Crm.CrmDbConnection.InternalExecuteNonQuery(IDbCommand command, Boolean capturePerfTrace) at Microsoft.Crm.CrmDbConnection.ExecuteNonQuery(IDbCommand command, Boolean impersonate, Boolean capturePerfTrace) at Microsoft.Crm.BusinessEntities.SimpleBulkInserterWithType.Flush(ISqlExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.ObjectModel.DependencyHelperBase.BulkInsertDependencies(BusinessEntityCollection dependencies, ISqlExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.Dependency.ComponentCollector.CreateComponentDependencies(Dictionary`2 recordsByComponentType, ExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.Dependency.ComponentCollector.ProcessRecords(ExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.BusinessEntities.ExecutionContext.ProcessDependencies(FlushCacheOption option, CreateNewCollectorOption createOption) at Microsoft.Crm.BusinessEntities.ExecutionContext.OnEndRequest() at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.MetadataPatchService.ProcessMetadataDiffFile(String targetRevision) ClientConnectionId:be6bf5ae-acf5-4fe2-83a8-53e2gfe8a2a3 09:05:36| Info| Setting organization state. New state = Failed 09:05:36| Error| Update Organization with Id=(guid) failed with Exception: System.Exception: Action Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.InstallDatabaseUpdatesAction failed. ---> System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. ---> System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: Cannot insert duplicate key row in object 'dbo.DependencyBase' with unique index 'ndx_UniqueDependencyNodes'. The duplicate key value is (guid).The statement has been terminated. at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection) at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.ThrowExceptionAndWarning() at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.Run(RunBehavior runBehavior, SqlCommand cmdHandler, SqlDataReader dataStream, BulkCopySimpleResultSet bulkCopyHandler, TdsParserStateObject stateObj) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.FinishExecuteReader(SqlDataReader ds, RunBehavior runBehavior, String resetOptionsString) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReaderTds(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, Boolean async) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method, DbAsyncResult result) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.InternalExecuteNonQuery(DbAsyncResult result, String methodName, Boolean sendToPipe) at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteNonQuery() at Microsoft.Crm.CrmDbConnection.InternalExecuteWithRetry[TResult](Func`1 ExecuteMethod, IDbCommand command) at Microsoft.Crm.CrmDbConnection.InternalExecuteNonQuery(IDbCommand command, Boolean capturePerfTrace) at Microsoft.Crm.CrmDbConnection.ExecuteNonQuery(IDbCommand command, Boolean impersonate, Boolean capturePerfTrace) at Microsoft.Crm.BusinessEntities.SimpleBulkInserterWithType.Flush(ISqlExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.ObjectModel.DependencyHelperBase.BulkInsertDependencies(BusinessEntityCollection dependencies, ISqlExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.Dependency.ComponentCollector.CreateComponentDependencies(Dictionary`2 recordsByComponentType, ExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.Dependency.ComponentCollector.ProcessRecords(ExecutionContext context) at Microsoft.Crm.BusinessEntities.ExecutionContext.ProcessDependencies(FlushCacheOption option, CreateNewCollectorOption createOption) at Microsoft.Crm.BusinessEntities.ExecutionContext.OnEndRequest() at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.MetadataPatchService.ProcessMetadataDiffFile(String targetRevision) --- End of inner exception stack trace --- at System.RuntimeMethodHandle._InvokeMethodFast(IRuntimeMethodInfo method, Object target, Object[] arguments, SignatureStruct& sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeType typeOwner) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture, Boolean skipVisibilityChecks) at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture) at System.RuntimeType.InvokeMember(String name, BindingFlags bindingFlags, Binder binder, Object target, Object[] providedArgs, ParameterModifier[] modifiers, CultureInfo culture, String[] namedParams) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Database.DllMethodAction.Execute(Guid organizationId) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Database.DatabaseInstaller.ExecuteReleases(ReleaseInfo releaseInfo, Boolean isInstall) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Database.DatabaseInstaller.Install(Int32 languageCode, String configurationFilePath, Boolean upgradeDatabase, Boolean isInstall) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Database.DatabaseInstaller.InstallUpdate(String configurationFilePath, Boolean upgradeDatabase) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Common.Update.DBUpdateDatabaseInstaller.ApplyDBUpdates(Guid orgId) at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.InstallDatabaseUpdatesAction.ApplyDBUpdatesInternal(Guid orgId, String orgUniqueName, String releaseFilePath, Boolean ignoreErrors) at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.InstallDatabaseUpdatesAction.ApplyDBUpdates(Guid orgId, String orgUniqueName, OrganizationOperationType operationType) at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.InstallDatabaseUpdatesAction.Do(IDictionary parameters) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Common.CrmAction.ExecuteAction(CrmAction action, IDictionary parameters, Boolean undo) --- End of inner exception stack trace --- at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Common.CrmAction.ExecuteAction(CrmAction action, IDictionary parameters, Boolean undo) at Microsoft.Crm.Setup.Common.Installer.Install(IDictionary stateSaver) at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.OrganizationOperation.Install(IDictionary stateSaver) at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.OrganizationOperation.Execute() at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.OrganizationDatabaseHotFixer.Execute() at Microsoft.Crm.Tools.Admin.ApplyDatabaseHotFixInstaller.ApplyDatabaseHotFix(IApplyDatabaseHotFixInfo applyDatabaseHotFixInfo)

The problem was with one of the ndx_UniqueDependencyNodes indexs. To fix that problem we followed a suggestion we found on http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/crm/thread/cf12f112-f9b7-4504-925e-7d837e32a808?prof=required that said to "open the index 'ndx_UniqueDependencyNodes' for 'dbo.DependencyBase' and select 'Skip repeating values' option on 'Parameters' tab. This option is next after 'Rebuild index'."

After that I was able up manually update the organization database from the deployment manager successfully. Unfortunately, we were still getting our original error. We ended up rebuilding that same index on the other organization database that originally was updated successfully while installing the update rollup, and the errors went away on the entire environment.

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Filter Security Event Logs by User in Windows 2008 & Windows 7

If you are like me, you probably miss being able to easily filter your security event logs by a specific user like we did in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. Well, it is still possible in Windows 2008 and Windows 7. You just need to use the XML filter option. When you are in the security event logs, click on "Filter Current Log..." from the actions pane. Click the XML tab of the window that opens, and check the box next to "Edit query manually".

 

If you want to see all events in the security event log for a specific user, then you need to use an XML filter like this. (Make sure to replace <username> with the username that you want to show logs for.)

<QueryList>

<Query Id="0" Path="Security">

<Select Path="Security">* [EventData[Data[@Name='subjectUsername']='<username>']]</Select>

</Query>

</QueryList>

If you only want to see the successful and failed logon events for a specific user, than you could modify it to look like this.

<QueryList>

<Query Id="0" Path="Security">

<Select Path="Security">*[System[(EventID=4624 or EventID=4625)]]</Select>

<Select Path="Security">* [EventData[Data[@Name='subjectUsername']='<username>']]</Select>

</Query>

</QueryList>

 

 

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Dynamics CRM: Authentication is Required - Timing Out and Prompting for Credentials

If you are running Dynamics CRM 4.0 and 2011 with claims based authentication, by default you get a prompt saying "Authentication is Required" after 20 minutes. If you want to extend this timeout, you need to make some changes to the relying party trust in Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS).

1. Log into your ADFS server and open the The Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and determine the name of the relying party trust that CRM is using.
2. Open a Powershell prompt with elevated privileges ( right-click and run as administrator ).
3. Add the ADFS snap-in for powershell by running: Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.Adfs.PowerShell
4. Run the following command from your powershell prompt. Change "relying_party" with the name you found in step 1, and you can replace 480 with the number of minutes that you want the timeout to be Set-ADFSRelyingPartyTrust -Targetname "relying_party" -TokenLifetime 480

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List all of the Microsoft Hotfixes Installed on a System

If you need to list all of the Microsoft hotfixes/patches that are installed on a system, you can run the command below from a command prompt. Add/Remove Programs does not list them all.

wmic qfe list full /format:htable > C:\Temp\patches.htm

After you run the command, you need to open the file patches.htm that was created in the C:\Temp directory on your computer.

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$10,000 Worth of Microsoft Training Videos For Free

Microsoft puts on a huge training event every once per year, per continent called TechEd. This event is great! It offers hundreds of different focused training sessions every year that you can choose from to further your education. However, the registration fee alone is over $2,000 (standard pricing), then you have travel and hotel expenses on top of that. Because of that, this is not something that everybody can afford to attend.

If you cannot go to Teched, you can still watch the sessions from previous years for free online. These videos won't give you the full conference experience, but they are a great learning resource that's available for free. Right now, there are videos for many of the sessions that happened between 2008 and 2013. If you figure $2,000 per year to attend the conference, that's like $10,000 worth of education available for free!

Check out the free videos at http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica

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Fix Event ID# 7043 Load control template file /_controltemplates/TaxonomyPicker.ascx failed: Could not load type

This is an error that's a little misleading. At first it might seem that the file is missing or that there is a permissions issue, but that's not the case. The problem is that there is a bad charater in the template file.

Log Name:      Application

Source:        Microsoft-SharePoint Products-SharePoint Foundation

Date:          3/6/2013 1:07:44 PM

Event ID:      7043

Task Category: Web Controls

Level:         Error

Keywords:     

User:          DOMAIN\farm-admin

Computer:      sharepoint-server.domain.local

Description:

Load control template file /_controltemplates/TaxonomyPicker.ascx failed: Could not load type 'Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls.TaxonomyPicker' from assembly 'Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal, Version=14.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e4bce131e9439c'.

Event Xml:

<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">

  <System>

    <Provider Name="Microsoft-SharePoint Products-SharePoint Foundation" Guid="{6fb3e0cd-51e7-47ed-897a-241364937fc2}" />

    <EventID>7043</EventID>

    <Version>14</Version>

    <Level>2</Level>

    <Task>15</Task>

    <Opcode>0</Opcode>

    <Keywords>0x4000000000000000</Keywords>

    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2013-03-06T19:07:44.430Z" />

    <EventRecordID>143232</EventRecordID>

    <Correlation ActivityID="{EB866783-7CC2-4A8F-849D-D9551A56B66A}" />

    <Execution ProcessID="1508" ThreadID="6256" />

    <Channel>Application</Channel>

    <Computer>sharepoint-server.domain.local</Computer>

    <Security UserID="S-1-5-21-etc." />

  </System>

  <EventData>

    <Data Name="string0">Load control template file /_controltemplates/TaxonomyPicker.ascx failed: Could not load type 'Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.WebControls.TaxonomyPicker' from assembly 'Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal, Version=14.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c'.</Data>

  </EventData>

</Event>

To fix this, open up C:\Program Files\Common Files\ Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\TEMPLATE\ControlTemplates\TaxonomyPicker.ascx in notepad. Search for &#44 and replace it with a comma. Then save the file and do an iisreset. Problem solved.

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Fix Sharepoint/Powershell Error: The Farm is Unavailable

Below is an error that you can get in PowerShell or via STSADM for SharePoint

PS C:\> Get-SPServiceApplicationProxy
Get-SPServiceApplicationProxy : The farm is unavailable.
At line:1 char:30
+ Get-SPServiceApplicationProxy <<<<
    + CategoryInfo          : ResourceUnavailable: (Microsoft.Share...pplicationProxy:SPCmdletGetServiceApplicationProxy) [Get-SPServiceApplicationProxy], InvalidOperationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell.SPCmdletGetServiceApplicationProxy

This error occurs when the user running the command doesn't have enough access to the SQL server. You can either grant this user account more rights in SQL, or login and run the command with the farm admin account and this error should go away.

If you already have the SecurityAdmin role in SQL, you can run "Add-SPShellAdmin -UserName DOMAIN\User" at a powershell prompt to grant the rights rights in SQL that are needed as well.

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The Distributed Transaction Coordinator service terminated with service-specific error 3221229584 (0xC0001010).

If you get the following error in the system event logs while trying to start the Distributed Transaction Coordinator service, we can help.

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7024
Description: The Distributed Transaction Coordinator service terminated with service-specific error 3221229584 (0xC0001010).

To fix this error, run the following error from an administrative command prompt, and then the service will start fine.

msdtc -resetlog

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The IP Address You Have Entered for this Network Adapter is Already Assigned to Another Adapter

If you have ever replace and NIC card, either virtual or physical, and used the same static IP address as the old card had, you probably recognise the error below.

The IP address XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX you have entered for this network adapter is already assigned to another adapter <Name of adapter>. <Name of adapter> is hidden from the network and Dial-up Connections folder because it is not physically in the computer or is a legacy adapter that is not working. If the same address is assigned to both adapters and they become active, only one of them will use this address. This may result in incorrect system configuration.

Do you want to enter a different IP address for this adapter in the list of IP addresses in the advanced dialog box?

This is an annoying little message that you can click no on, and everything will still work fine. However, it will continue to pop up every time you go in and out of the network settings for that adapter. To get rid of this message, you need to remove the device the old NIC card using the directions below.

1. Run "set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" from an administrative command prompt. (if that doesn't work for you, another option is to add "devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices" as a new environment variable with a value of 1)
2. Go to Start > Run  and enter "start devmgmt.msc"
3. Click View > Show Hidden Devices
4. Expand the Network Adapters
5. Right-click the grayed out network adapter, then click Uninstall

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VMWare Console Window Blank

There's an issue with Data Execution Prevention (DEP) in Windows that causes you to get a black empty screen , or a white blank screen while trying to connect to a VMWare console using the VSphere client, or the Virtual Infrastructure Client (VIC). You might also be presented with one of the following errors

• Unable to get the window handle for the 'AxQuickMksAxCtl' control. Windowless ActiveX controls are not supported.
• Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation

To resolve this issue, run the following command from an administrative command prompt, then reboot.

bcdedit.exe /set nx AlwaysOff

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How to Delegate Rights to Modify SPNs in Active Directory

With Kerberos taking over as the preferred authentication protocol, system administrators need to be able to modify the SPN for their service accounts and computer objects in Active Directory. And you don't want to make all of your system administrators domain admins. To delegate this right, you can run the command below on your domain controller.

Before you run it, you need to change "OU=users,DC=domain,DC=suffix" to the distinguished name of the OU or object that you want to delegate the rights for. Then change "DOMAIN\GroupName" to your domain and the group or user that you want to grant the rights to.

dsacls "OU=users,DC=domain,DC=suffix" /I:S /G "DOMAIN\GroupName:RPWP;servicePrincipalName"

You can also limit this right to a specific class of object (e.g. user, computer, etc) by adding ";<InheritedObjectType>" immediately after "servicePrincipalName" in the command. Make sure to replace <InheritedObjectType> with the name of the class you want the right limited to, like this.

dsacls "OU=users,DC=domain,DC=suffix" /I:S /G "DOMAIN\GroupName:RPWP;servicePrincipalName;user"

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You have not entered a valid product key or the key is incorrect

The following two errors show up for Microsoft Office 2007 and 2003 users for a couple of reasons.

Error #1
The key is incorrect. Verify that you have the correct key, and then retype it.

Error #2
You have not entered a valid Product Key. Please check the number located on the sticker on the back of the CD case or on your Certificate of Authenticity.


The first, and most obvious reason you might get this error is because you entered the product key incorrectly. Check the key you entered, and make sure it's correct. Some characters can look a lot alike. For example, zeros and the letter O look alike, eights and the letter B, and so on.

If you already have another version of Microsoft Office installed, you can get this error. You need to decide which version on Microsoft Office you want to use, and uninstall the version of Office that you aren't going to use.

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Forceful Demotion of a Dead Domain Controller

If one of your domain controllers dies on you, then you cannot gracefully demote it. So, when this happens there are a few things that you need to do to remove it from the domain and cleanup the mess that this failure created.

The first step is to jump on one of your remaining domain controllers that's running Windows 2003 SP1 or newer.

Make sure that you are a member of the "enterprise admins" group. If you weren't a member already, add yourself to the group, then log off of the domain controller and back onto it.
Open up a command prompt, and enter ntdsutil.

At the ntdsutl: prompt type metadata cleanup and hit enter.

At the metadata cleanup: prompt, type remove selected server <distinguished name of DC you want to remove> and hit enter. The distinguished name of the domain controller object in the configuration partition of Active Directory, not the directory services partition.

If you get a message like this, your probably pointing to the wrong object in Active Directory.

Binding to localhost ...

Connected to localhost using credentials of locally logged on user.

LDAP error 0x20(32 (No Such Object).

Ldap extended error message is 0000208D: NameErr: DSID-031001CD, problem 2001 (NO_OBJECT), data 0, best match of:

        'CN=DC-Name,OU=Domain Controllers,DC=domain,DC=local'

Win32 error returned is 0x208d(Directory object not found.)

)

Unable to determine the domain hosted by the DC (5). Please use the connection menu to specify it.

Disconnecting from localhost...
 

Look at the distinguished name and make sure it is something like this and try the command again:
CN=<DC Name>,CN=Servers,CN=<Site Name>,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=<Domain>,DC=<suffix>

When you do this correctly, it should look like this:

Binding to localhost ...

Connected to localhost using credentials of locally logged on user.

Transferring / Seizing FSMO roles off the selected server.

Removing FRS metadata for the selected server.

Searching for FRS members under "CN=<DC Name>,OU=Domain Controllers,DC=<domain>,DC=<suffix>".

Removing FRS member "CN=<DC name>,CN=Domain System Volume (SYSVOL share),CN=File Replication Service,CN=System,DC=<domain>,DC=<suffix>".

Deleting subtree under "CN=<DC Name>,CN=Domain System Volume (SYSVOL share),CN=File Replication Service,CN=System,DC=<domain>,DC=<suffix>".

Deleting subtree under "CN=<DC Name>,OU=Domain Controllers,DC=<domain>,DC=<suffix>".

The attempt to remove the FRS settings on CN=<DC Name>,CN=Servers,CN=<Site Name>,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=<domain>,DC=<suffix> failed because "Element not found.";

metadata cleanup is continuing.

"CN=<DC Name>,CN=Servers,CN=<Site Name>,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=<domain>,DC=<suffix>" removed from server "localhost"

 Yes, there is a line in there that says:

The attempt to remove the FRS settings on CN=<DC Name>,CN=Servers,CN=<Site Name>,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=<domain>,DC=<suffix> failed because "Element not found."

This can be ignored. Microsoft actually says "Even though there was an error reported, the operation was successful. The error reported is misleading as the object in question was deleted by NTDSUTIL."

Now, go into Active Directory Sites and Services and delete the server object for the DC you are decommissioning. If it is the last DC in a particular site, you may need to reassign the subnets from that site to another site, depending on whether you are replacing that DC or not.

The DC should already be gone from the Domain Controllers OU in AD Users and Computers, but it's a good idea to check it anyway.

You will probably need to do some DNS cleanup too. Remove the “(same as parent folder)” Host(A) record from DNS for the IP address of the DC you removed. If that DC was a DNS server, there will probably be an NS record that you need to get rid of as well. Then, remove the A record for the computer name of the DC you removed. And finally, you will probably need to remove the A record for (same as parent folder) ender _msdcs > gs.

 

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How to Configure Windows Event Logs as SNMP Traps

There are a lot of different monitoring suites out there that monitor servers by using SNMP traps. If you want to be alerted when a specific error or warning occurs in any of your event logs, you need to configure those events to send an SNMP trap.

To do this, you need to launch %windir%\system32\evntwin.exe to start configuring them. That opens up a window like this.

 

Select the Custom radial button, then click Edit.

 

 

That opens this "Event to Trap Translator". First, you need to expand the event log that you want to look in from the "Event sources" window. That shows you all of the event sources that have registered events in that event log. Select one of the event sources, and the related events shows in the events window. In the example image I selected Kerberos. Then, in the "Events" window you select the event that you want to start sending SNMP traps for. Click Add to configure that event send SNMP traps.

 

You can click OK for it to generate a trap every time that event occurs. Or, you can modify some the settings in the "Generate trap" section to limit the amount of traps it sends out.

 

 

 

Click OK, and you are done.

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