Corrupt Arcserve database

Have an installation with Arcserve 11.1 where when you attempt to access either the device screen or the database screen the console hangs and has to be terminated by task manager. The tell tale sign that there is a problem with the Arcserve database is the fact that the Arcserve backup job runs but the details are not recorded in the database. So bottom line corrupt database.

Normally, this is pretyy easy to fix, you simply go to the Arcserve server admin and reinitialize all the Arcserve databases. This basically empties them ready for new content. If you need the Arcserve database back then you can simply restore from a tape or restore the Arcserve database itself.

Problem is when we went to initialize the database we got the same hang. There are good arcticle from CA about Arcserve databases here. Down the bottom it mentions about deleting the rdm files. We did this and still had the same problem. Next it mentions editing the velocis.ini file which we did and hey presto we could go in and reinitialize all the Arcserve databases. Also our console manager no longer hung when we acccessed the database screen.

Interesting this site also from CA says that you should be running maintenance on the Arcserve databases weekly. First time we have heard of that! It is a good idea when you have very Arcserve databases but generally it is easier just to reinitialize them and start fresh. has worked everytime for us.

Trend and WINVNC

All of sudden yesterday night we started receiving all these warnings that Trend CSM suit had detected multiple virus instances. The emails were flowing in from many sites we monitor every two minutes. Further investigation indicated that these warnings were being generated by WINVNC.EXE, which for those of you who don’t know is a free remote access tool.

Now it was simple enough to go an create the exceptions in each Trend CMS console to stop these notifications but the question was why did they happen? They didn’t happen on every site, even though other sites did have this software installed. Strange.

The issue has now apparently gone away so all we can deduce is that it had something to do with a recent virus definition update. As we said before, strange.

Installing SharePoint 3.0 on SBS 2003

Our latest video will show the steps you need to follow to install SharePoint V 3.0 on Small Business Server 2003. You’ll find the video by clicking here or by visiting the Video – Links part of our Supportweb site.

If you find any of this video beneficial we would appreciate a donation at http://donation.saturnalliance.com.au. All donations go directly towards improving the content that we currently provide for free.

Getting lots of Kerberos errors?

When you look at the SBS Monitoring logs everyday do you see lots and lots ( I mean thousands ) of errors coming from workstations? When you look at the workstation even logs you see Kerberos and DCOM errors.

We have found that these generally relate to printer status monitors that reside on the workstation (or server). We especially see this with the HP toolbox printer software that is loaded during the complete printer driver installation of HP Printers.

Do you need these printer monitor programs. No we believe not so if you don’t need them then they should be removed to prevent all the Kerberos errors. You can uninstall and reinstall the printer drivers but take a look in :

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\currentversion\run

and for HP printers remove the following startup entries :

StatusClient 2.6 REG_SZ

c:\program files\Hewlett-Packard\toolbox\statusclient\statusclient.exe /auto

TomcatStartup 2.5 REG_SZ

c:\program files\Hewlett-Packard\toolbox\hpbpsttp.exe

and then reboot the system. The printer toolbox will no longer be loaded and the security errors on the SBS system should now be gone. The actual monitor programs maybe different for different printer suppliers.

Well here we are

So the old .TEXT blog server is now kaput. We have a redirection from the old blog site (www.ciaops.net.au/blogs/ciaops) to here. We ahve merged our business blog and technical blog together as well as copying over the “more interesting” posts. So everything should no be good to go here in SharePoint.

Admittedly, SharePoint is a little slower to load but there is fare more functionality and control for us. Also, it consolidates our technology needs which also make a great deal of sense, not to mention making backup and restore much easier.

Onwards and upwards as they say.

ISA no longer to be supported on SBS

Here’s some more confirmation that ISA on SBS is going bye, bye.

– SBS no longer will support being the edge box. You’ll need SBS to be behind a network firewall of some sort — could be a hardware firewall, could be a software firewall, such as ISA.

– ISA, itself, will no longer support running on the SBS server itself They’re building the SBS tools in the next rev assuming that the network firewall is elsewhere.

As we have said before this a good move we believe since it means less load and less services running on the poor old SBS box. It will also mean that users can still surf the net if there is problem with the SBS server.

Don’t get us wrong ISA is a great product and can do some amazing things but the bottom line for most businesses running SBS all they want is a firewall. They don’t want reporting or web publishing and so on. So the easiest option is to buy a dedicated firewall device that just does the basics and give more memory to SBS to do other stuff.

Your greatest weapon

The most powerful weapon that people possess is their ability to learn. Human beings are thinking machines, they are able to improvise, adapt and overcome. The great pity is that most people seem to lose this skill once they leave school. Your ability to learn allows you to survive in the harsh environment that is today’s world.

Spend some time, take a look around, see what works and what doesn’t. Find out who’s successful and find out why. You should also look to fields that maybe you are not familiar with for inspiration. People like Leonardo Da Vinci are great examples of people who were experts in many diverse fields. Leonardo was a painter, designer, architect, engineer and more. Was he an extraordinary person? Yes, he was but how did he become like this? He continued to learn and grow throughout his whole life.

Everyone has the capacity within to learn. You don’t need to be the brainiest person you just need to love learning and love learning about new things. Sometimes it is very hard to move outside our comfort zone and challenge ourselves. This is where people like Leonardo excelled. They weren’t afraid of new challenges, they eagerly sought them out. I’m sure that initially this was probably not the case, even for people like Leonardo. Many of his attempts were dismal failures but his true genius was keeping at it.

Another role model for perseverance is Thomas Edison who coined the phrase, I believe, “invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”. Bottom line, you ain’t going to become as master over night, you gotta keep working at it but if you do then you will become a master.

I like to come back to the analogy of compound interest that I seem to use so often. Compound interest is such a simple concept with a GUARANTEED payoff, yet very few people seem to implement it. Why? Probably because they feel it takes tool long. Well, before you know it, the potential benefits would have started kicking in while most people continue to do nothing. The secret to compound interest is that you have to stick with it. It’s the same with learning you gotta stick with it and make it a life long passion for once you stop learning in my books you effectively stop living.