Simulate System Crash
Multiple NetBIOS Names for Windows Server
Setting Windows Time Services
Remove Windows 2003 Login Wallpaper
Windows Server 2003 Network Load Balancing Error ID 7000
Windows 2003 DNS Problems
Extract Specific Snap-ins From Adminpak.msi
Open and Display CHM Files over Network
Clean Disk Space on Critical System Drives
Change Volume Letters
Simulate System Crash
A Windows 2000 Registry setting lets you use a special keystroke to
intentionally crash your system. This capability is extremely useful for
evaluating the effects of a system crash.
To enable this modification, run a Registry editor and navigate to the
HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters
Registry key. You'll need to create a Registry value called CrashOnCtrlScroll
(of type REG_DWORD) and set the value to 1. After you make the modification,
you must reboot your system.
HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters
REG_DWORD: CrashOnCtrlScroll=1
Then, you can manually initiate a blue screen crash by holding down the right
Ctrl key—the left Ctrl key won't work—and pressing the Scroll Lock key twice.
The system will produce a blue screen that contains the following message:
*** STOP: 0x000000E2
(0x00000000,0x00000000,0x00000000,0x00000000)
The end-user manually generated the crashdump.
Obviously, this modification is inherently dangerous because it performs an
abnormal system shutdown. The system crash that this tool produces might
cause Registry or file-system corruption, so use extreme caution when
initiating this behavior. In addition, consider using it on test systems
rather than production systems. At the very least, be sure to exit all
applications and stop as many services as possible before you produce the
blue screen.
Multiple NetBIOS Names for Windows Server
Multiple NetBIOS Names for Windows Server
o start regedit.exe/regedt32.exe, navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters
o create new REG_SZ value: OptionalNames (1 alias)
create new REG_MULTI_SZ value: OptionalNames (1+ aliases)
o enter the alias name(s); for REG_MULTI_SZ, use one per line.
o restart the computer for the change to take effect.
Additional Registry Keys:
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Lanmanserver\Parameters
DisableStrictNameChecking (DWORD, value 1).
Setting Windows Time Services
net time /setsntp:ntp_server
net time /setsntp:"ntp_server1 ntp_server2"
net time /setsntp:"tick.usno.navy.mil tock.usno.navy.mil time.nist.gov"
net time /querysntp
ntp2.usno.navy.mil at 192.5.41.209
tock.usno.navy.mil at 192.5.41.41
net time /domain:netbiosdomain /set
net stop w32time
w32tm –once
net start w32time
at 23:30 /every:Su "net time /set"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816042
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters]
"Type"="NTP"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Config]
"AnnounceFlags"=dword:00000005
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpServer]
"Enabled"=dword:00000001
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters]
"NtpServer"="time.nist.gov,tick.usno.navy.mil,tock.usno.navy.mil"
"NtpServer"="time.nist.gov,0x1tick.usno.navy.mil,0x1tock.usno.navy.mil,0x1"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient]
"SpecialPollInterval"=dword:00000384
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Config]
"MaxPosPhaseCorrection"=dword:00000e10
"MaxNegPhaseCorrection"=dword:00000e10
net stop w32time && net start w32time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Configuring Windows Server 2003 as NTP Server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816042
How can I enable a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server?
All versions of Windows 2000 and later can serve as an NTP server. Other
machines on the network can then use the NTP server to synchronize their time.
To enable an NTP server, perform the following steps:
o start regedit.exe, navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters
o create new DWORD value: LocalNTP
o set to 1 to enable or 0 to disable
o restart the computer for the change to take effect.
o to configure other network computers to use the new NTP server,
you must set their NtpServer registry value, which is located under the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters
registry subkey, to point to the NTP server.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters]
"LocalNTP"=dword:00000001
Remove Windows 2003 Login Wallpaper
[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop]
"Wallpaper"="C:\\WINDOWS\\BGInfo.bmp"
"Wallpaper"=""
Windows Server 2003 Network Load Balancing Error ID 7000
On a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer, you may receive the
following event ID in the system event log during startup:
Event ID: 7000
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Description:
The Network Load Balancing service failed to start due to the following
error: The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because
it has no enabled devices associated with it. Network Load Balancing is not
installed on the system. You receive this event ID even though the Network
Load Balancing service is not installed on the computer.
This issue may occur if the Network Load Balancing service is referenced as
a component in the startup group of a third-party service.
To prevent these error messages from occurring, remove the following registry
subkeys (export a backup first):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Eventlog\System\WLBS
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WLBS
or
By default, the Group string value is set to PNP_TDI. To prevent the
occurrence of event ID 7000, set the value of the Group entry to an empty
string. To do so, delete the PNP_TDI value in the Value data box, and then
click OK.
Restart cluster operations after fixing the problem by running 'wlbs reload'
followed by 'wlbs start'.
Windows 2003 DNS Problems
Turning off EDNS-0 Extended UDP Packets in W2k3 Server's DNS.
(EDNS0 as defined in RFC 2671)
Windows Server 2003's DNS server has a new capability, it can handle UDP
packets greater than 512 bytes. Unfortunately some firewalls cannot pass these
packets so it is desirable to have the DNS server fall back to TCP in this case
as it used to do in previous versions of NT DNS.
To turn off the EDNS-0 feature run this from a command prompt:
c:\>dnscmd /Config /EnableEDnsProbes 0
Once you run this your W2K3 DNS server will never advertise its EDNS
capabilities and so will never receive a UDP packet > 512 bytes.
dnscmd.exe is in the Support Tools. CDROM\support\tools\suptools.msi
If you don't have dnscmd.exe installed, just open the registry and go to:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNS\Parameters]
"EnableEDNSProbes"=dword:00000000
(EnableEDNSProbes DWORD 0x0)
Restart DNS
PIX Firewall
Pix with v6.3: Change the fixup protocol dns maximum-length 512 up to 768.
Extract Specific Snap-ins From Adminpak.msi
You can install adminpak.msi directly from the Windows 2000/2003 Server CD
media or find it in the %systemroot%\system32 folder on one of your Windows
2000/2003 servers.
If you wish to extract only the AD MMC Snap-ins from the Adminpak.msi file,
use the following command syntax:
msiexec /i adminpak.msi ADDLOCAL=FeADTools /qb
FeRRASConsole - Routing and Remote Access
FeDHCPConsole - DHCP
FeDNSConsole - DNS
FeDFSConsole - Distributed File System
FeWINSConsole - WINS
FeTAPIConsole - Telephony
FeACSConsole - QoS Admission Control
FeCERTConsole - Certification Authority
FeClusterConsole - Cluster Administrator
FeCMAKConsole - Connection Manager Administration Kit
FeIASConsole - Internet Authentication Service
FeIISConsole - Internet Information Services
FeRSConsole - Remote Storage
FeTSClientConsole - Terminal Services Client
FeTSMgrConsole - Terminal Services Manager
http://www.petri.co.il/software/win2003_adminpak.zip
Open and Display CHM Files over Network
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902225/
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896358/
If you trust all the computers on your LAN or intranet, you can lower the
restrictions on the Local Intranet zone to allow CHM files to be displayed
with the following steps:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\HTMLHelp\1.x\ItssRestrictions]
"MaxAllowedZone"=dword:00000001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To allow only specific remote paths, you can specify them in the UrlAllowList
string value, each path seperated with a semicolon (;). For each path, use
both the Windows designation (x:) and the URI designation (file://x:\\),
use two backslashes or whacks for each 1 (\\):
x:\windows_help_files:
x:\\windows_help_files
file://x:\\windows_help_files
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\HTMLHelp\1.x\ItssRestrictions]
"UrlAllowList"="x:\\windows_help_files;file://x:\\windows_help_files"
Clean Disk Space on Critical System Drives
The Windows\Help folder -> ~50Mb.
Then, the Drivers.cab file can be deleted from Windows\Drivers folder. This
file allows Windows to automatically install drivers for a plethora of popular
peripherals. However, if disk space is at a premium, you can always schlep out
the WinXP install CD.
Then, you can get rid of the stupidly large DllCache folder, which maintains
duplicate copies of Windows core system files for the "System File Checker"
utility. If any part of Windows is corrupted, this thing replaces the damaged
files automatically. Great idea if you have the disk space, but if you don't.
(or if you already have a Ghost/Drive Image backup of your Windows drive, then
you don't need it.)
Before deleting the DLLcache folder, though, you should disable SFC in the
registry. Otherwise it will just rebuild the folder. Go here:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Change SFCQuota from 0ffffff to 0, then you can delete all files in DLLcache.
Note that this folder is a +hidden +system folder, so you have to turn off
"Hide Protected Operating System Files" in Folder Options.
Note that the referenced KB mentions that if you reinstall the latest
Service Pack the SFC system will be rebuilt and those folders recreated. So,
if you don't like the results of your tinkering, just reapply the SP.
Change Volume Letters
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=223188
regedit.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
Look for "\DosDevices\[LTR]:" value eg. "\DosDevices\X:"
Example of Swapping D: and C: (Z: is used as a temporary pivot):
o Right-click "\DosDevices\C:", and rename it to an unused drive letter
"\DosDevices\Z:" (This will free up drive letter C: to be used later)
o Rename "\DosDevices\D:" to "\DosDevices\C:"
o Rename "\DosDevices\Z:" to "\DosDevices\D:"
Replacing a New Drive AFTER Copying Source Contents; To Preserve Shared Folders
and IIS Configurations, etc. (eg. Original X: ; Cloned K:, PIVOT P:):
o Rename "\DosDevices\X:" to "\DosDevices\P:"
o Rename "\DosDevices\K:" to "\DosDevices\X:"
o Delete "\DosDevices\P:" (Optional)
o Reboot