Windows Server 2008 R2

Hyper-V Integration Services Error in VMM 2012 R2

Richard Green on

When working with System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 R2 recently, I encountered an issue whereby deploying a Windows Server 2012 R2 virtual machine from template worked great but deploying a Windows Server 2008 R2 virtual machine from template reported a failure in the VMM Jobs view. The error shown is that Hyper-V Integration Services reported an error installing and generated the error code 60001.

When working with virtual guests it is important to consider the requirements for the guest operating system. In this incident, the issue was caused by using Windows Server 2008 R2 as the guest operating system however as per the About Virtual Machines and Guest Operating Systems page on TechNet at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794868(v=ws.10).aspx for Windows Server 2008 R2, you must be running Service Pack 1.

After using an updated template with Service Pack 1 incorporated, the error no longer occurs when deploying the guest operating system. A lesson to us all to double check everything. I had assumed that the .iso file I was using for Windows Server 2008 R2 incorporate Service Pack 1 however clearly on this occasion, it didn’t.

The Case of Remote Desktop Services Random Disconnections

Richard Green on

If you are running Windows Server 2008 R2 servers and you find yourself randomly being disconnected from RDS (Remote Desktop Services) sessions on your servers, or sometimes find your servers completely inaccessible you could be impacted by an issue as a result of servicing order (AKA, the order in which you install Windows Updates). The issue effects servers running Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 and with KB2667402 (Update for Terminal Service Denial of Service Vulnerability).

This is something I thought I had written about already as it effected us in a big way at work due to the way in which our virtual machine images were compiled but it seems actually, I hadn’t.

In Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM, the file version of the rdpcorekmts.dll file in Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM is 6.1.7600.16952. In Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1, the file version of the rdpcorekmts.dll file is 6.1.7601.17767 and the file version of the rdpcorekmts.dll file after installing KB2667402 is 6.1.7601.17828.

If as a result of servicing order, you installed the KB2667402 update prior to installing Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1, the file version of rdpcorekmts.dll is downgraded from the KB2667402 version number to the SP1 version number and the hotfix is in essence removed. This causes the Remote Desktop Services service to fail and terminate itself repeatedly as the service believes that there is an attempt to modify it’s files occurring and as a failsafe, shuts down remote access.

In order to resolve the issue, Microsoft re-released KB2667402 as KB2667402v2 which allows you to re-install the update after an installation of Service Pack 1 to bring the file version back up to 6.1.7601.17828 and to allow the Remote Desktop Services service to work again as normal. Trying to re-install the original release of KB2667402 will result in a message that the update is already installed and does not apply to this computer.

You can download the version 2 release of the update from the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29169. The update is 327KB and requests a reboot, however you can install the update and delay the restart by simply manually restarting the Remote Desktop Services service. You should still restart the server at some point in time though as the pending reboot will block operations such as installation of roles and features.

Installing SharePoint Server 2007 Updates

Richard Green on

As a SharePoint Administrator, you will see a plethora of updates released overtime to resolve numerous issues as well as add new functionality, however SharePoint does not make patching very easy or intuitive for a newcomer.

Patches for SharePoint Server 2007 are actually two-fold although you will find it hard to locate a source which tells you this definitively. SharePoint Server 2007 is a combination of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (WSS) and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS). When you come to patch SharePoint installations, you need to install updates for both components, and you need to install the WSS updates first.

The second thing to note is that all SharePoint updates of late are cumulative – You can jump straight to the latest and greatest without needing to install previous updates, so long as you have a service pack installed. All of the recent Cumulative Update packages from Microsoft have a minimum requirement of Service Pack 2 for WSS and MOSS.

You can download Service Pack 2 for WSS and MOSS from the following links:
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (WSS) Service Pack 2
Microsoft Office Servers Service Pack 2

At the time of writing, the most recent Cumulative Update for SharePoint 2007 and WSS 3.0 is the June 2010 updates which you can download as follows:
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (WSS) June 2010 Cumulative Update
SharePoint Server 2007 June 2010 Cumulative Update

As a side note, for those planning an installation of SharePoint 2007 on Windows Server 2008 R2, you must slipstream the Service Pack 2 components of WSS and MOSS into the DVD media to be able to complete the installation otherwise you will receive reports of an unsupported operating system and will not be able to proceed with the installation.

This time next week, I will hopefully be blogging about my experiences performing a SharePoint 2010 upgrade, so keep yourself posted.

Yes, Windows Server 2008 R2 is 64-bit Only

Richard Green on

I got asked a question yesterday at work regarding the architecture of Windows Server 2008 R2.

Just for the record and to ensure anyone else to who may be interested knows, Windows Server 2008 R2 is available in two architectures:

  • 64-bit (x64)
  • Intel Itanium (ia64)

There is no 32-bit (x86) version of Windows Server 2008 R2, nor will there be 32-bit versions of any future Windows Server operating systems.

This move to a pure 64-bit architecture is also following suit in the server technologies and products including Exchange, SharePoint, SQL Server and more to come no doubt.

I would also anticipate that Windows 7 is the last client operating system to be available in 32-bit and I think that Windows 8 or however it manifests itself will also likely be a 64-bit only architecture operating system.

I don’t know what architect Microsoft Midori will be based on but that’s a totally different subject and one I don’t know anything about yet to comment on.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Dates

Richard Green on

So it’s all official now, as Microsoft have confirmed 22nd October 2009 as the Release to Market date for both Windows 7 Client and Windows 7 Server (Windows Server 2008 R2).

If your thinking of a Vista deployment, I’d hold off. As if features like the new taskbar, touch support, new usability control features, Problem Steps Recorder, DirectAccess and more weren’t enough to tempt you.

New Version of Windows AIK Available

Richard Green on

There is a new version of the Windows AIK available for Windows system integrations and deployments.

The new version supports Windows Vista (RTM, SP1 and SP2), Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 and also Windows 7 Beta.

I’m sure there will be an update for this once Windows 7 goes RTM, but for now its good, because the previous version of WAIK does not work with Vista SP2 WIM files.

For the download, just click