Category: Uncategorized

IP address change failed

We have changed IP addresses on a few SBS servers over the years and never had any real dramas using the Change IP address wizard from the server manager. That was until recently.
 
When we went to change the IP address we received an errors that IP change had failed. We set it back to the original and then tried to change it again. It took a few attempts but finally it did change.
 
We rebooted thinking everything would be fine but soon found errors with the DHCP server. It was working but we couldn’t view the DHCP server in the console manager. Also when we tried to do NSLOOKUP from the DNS console we got nothing.
 
The workstations all got their IP addresses correctly and everything seemed ok but we still felt that something was wrong. That night the backup software (Brightstor) failed backing up the Active Directory with Error E3156 EC8007003a. Also, the overnight SBS report was full of Exchange errors. There was definately something still wrong.
 
After extensive investigation as to why the server was still listing the old IP address in places, even after we successfully completed the change IP address wizard, it turns out that there was a manual entry for the server in the HOSTS file! Someone had manually gone into c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts and inserted an entry for the servername and the original (old) IP address. Clearly this will cause a problem since the HOSTS file normally takes precedence when doing IP lookups. Not wanting to point the finger at any party but it would appear that the previous IT people had made this entry because they had issues configuring something and thought it would fix their problems. Sure hope it did for them because it caused us no end of grief.
 
Once we removed the old IP entry from the HOSTS file everything started to magically work again (as it should!).
 
Moral of the story? Never, ever set a static IP address in the hosts file.

Trend Clients cannot update from the Security Server running on Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2

 
Problem:

The Client Server Messaging Security for SMB (CSM) clients cannot update from the server, and the IIS logs show a 405 error.
Solution:
     

To resolve the issue, please do the following:
   

1.

Open the IIS Manager.

   

2.

Double-click Web Sites and then right-click the OfficeScan website.
   

3.

Click Properties and then go to the Home Directory tab.
   

4.

In the Execute permissions field, choose Scripts and Executables from the dropdown menu.
   

5.

For the options under Local path, select the following check boxes:
   
 

•

Read

 

•

Write

 

•

Log visits

 

•

Index this resource

   

6.

Click Apply.
   

7.

When the Inheritance window appears, click Select All > OK.
   

8.

Go to the Windows Services console and restart the following:
   
 

•

World Wide Web Publishing Service
 

•

Trend Micro Security Server Master Service
   

9.

Log on to the Security Dashboard.

Microsoft Exam insurance

Thinking of taking a Microsoft Certification exam? Maybe an idea to hold off just a little while until they announce their exam insurance for August.
 
 
It would appear that if you take an exam and fail during the period you can take it again without cost. Alternatively, if you pass on your first attempt you’ll get a discount towards yoru next exam.
 
No dates have been set but the web site says that it is coming in August. Check the above web site for more information.

Netgear router into modem mode

If you have a Netgear Dg834 you can put it into modem only mode via the following URL :
 
 
Assuming the modem is at IP 192.168.0.1. Now if you attempt to access this page and you get an error then what you will need to do is upgrade the router firmware to the latest version. Once that is installed and router rebooted you should be able to access this page.

Paypal two factor authentication

Did you know that Paypal has a two factor security available if you are a registered PayPal member? Yes, you can order a security key via :
 
 
It now means that when you use your Paypal (or Ebay) account you simply append the number displayed on the key (when you press it) to end of your paypal password to gain access. Next time you want access you again press the key and again append the number displayed to your password. So everytime you now Paypal account it will require a unqiue password! Now that makes it really secure.
 
The cost of the key is only AUD$7.50. So if you use Paypal (or Ebay) extensively and you want to ensure that your account has the highest level of security we think this new security key is cheap, real cheap.

Error 0x8004020f during Internet connection wizard

Working on a SBS system that involved a Sing Migration. On the new machine when we ran the Connect to Internet Wizard we received a failure on the firewall configuration. When we looked at the logs we saw :
 
error 0x8004020f returned from call to sending RUP intro mail()
 
After some searching it appears that error was DNS related.
 
Turns out that we are changing the server from a 2 NIC configuration to a single NIC configuration and there were still some entries for the old external IP address ins some of the DNS zones. Once we removed there and rebooted the wizard ran fine.