Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE, December 20, 2004, —brought to you by the Windows IT Pro Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site
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FAQs
- Q. When I try to use Microsoft Windows Messenger 5.0, I get an error about component registration and Windows Messenger attempts to install. How can I solve this problem?
- Q. What's new in Microsoft Windows Messenger 5.1?
- Q. Can I use the .local or .pvt top-level domain (TLD) names as part of an Active Directory (AD) tree name?
- Q. How can I ensure that my mobile Dfs clients access link targets from an updated link-target list?
- Q. What's the Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit?
Commentary
by John Savill, FAQ Editor, [email protected]
This week, I provide a workaround for a problem with Microsoft Windows Messenger 5.0 and later and describe the new features in Windows Messenger 5.1. I also discuss alternatives to using the .local or .pvt top-level domain (TLD) names as part of an Active Directory (AD) tree name, explain how you can make sure that mobile Dfs clients access link targets from an updated link-target list, and tell you about the Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit.
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FAQs
Q. When I try to use Microsoft Windows Messenger 5.0, I get an error about component registration and Windows Messenger attempts to install. How can I solve this problem?
A. Microsoft has received many reports of problems that occur during installations of Windows Messenger 5.0 and later. To solve the problem you describe, perform these steps:
- Open the \winsxs folder (Start, Run, winsxs).
- Delete the folder named \x86_Microsoft.Windows.Networking.RtcDll_6595b64144ccf1df_5.2.2.1_<extra characters> or a file similar to this name.
- Restart the installation; the problem should be solved.
Q. What's new in Microsoft Windows Messenger 5.1?
A. New features in Windows Messenger 5.1 include
- improvements in file-transfer functionality for users who have multiple network connections (e.g., configurations involving wired and wireless network connections, users of VPN connections)
- improvements in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 and laptop support; specifically, improved support for onscreen stylus writing and better performance when using power-saving features such as standby or hibernation in portable computers
- improvements to presence integration with applications, including better presence integration when applications are in full-screen mode (to avoid unwelcome instant messaging--IM--interruptions) and quicker refresh of presence information in applications such as Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, Microsoft Outlook XP, and Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server services
- improvements to the sign-on process, enabling a quicker sign-on
- support for Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 federation and advanced architecture features
Windows Messenger 5.1 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=a8d9eb73-5f8c-4b9a-940f-9157a3b3d774&displaylang=en.
Q. Can I use the .local or .pvt top-level domain (TLD) names as part of an Active Directory (AD) tree name?
A. Companies often use a .local or .pvt TLD to name an AD tree. However, as I explain shortly, it's better to use a standard naming method--for example, create a name by using a subdomain of your company's DNS address space (e.g., if your company's DNS domain is ntfaq.com, you could name your AD tree ads.ntfaq.com). When you use this method, though, you must remember that the DNS information for the AD tree is hosted on internal DNS servers, not on your external DNS servers. This means that external users can't see information about your internal infrastructure because external users can access only the external DNS server, which has no information about your internal infrastructure. Alternatively, if you want to create a second-level name for your AD domain, reserve another name--for example, ntfaq.net--but don't set your AD domain to the same name as your external name, to avoid causing confusion in name resolution.
If you're determined to use a nonstandard TLD in your domain name, avoid the use of .local or .pvt because they aren't reserved. Instead, use one of these reserved top-level domains:
- .test
- .example
- .invalid
- .localhost
You can find more information about these names in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments (RFC) 2606. Remember, if you use these nonstandard DNS names, you can't obtain certificates from a third-party Certificate Authority (CA), which might cause problems for your organization.
Q. How can I ensure that my mobile Dfs clients access link targets from an updated link-target list?
A. When a client accesses a link in a Dfs hierarchy, the client obtains a list of link targets sorted by site location (i.e., link targets in the client's local site are listed first). The client then attempts to access the first link target on the list and, if it's successful, uses that link target until one of the following things happens:
- The computer is restarted.
- The client cache is cleared.
- The Time To Live (TTL) on the referral expires.
If the client continues to access a link target, the TTL for the referral continues to be reset, which means the client never checks back with the Dfs server for an updated link target list.
Usually, if a client moves from one location to another, the user restarts the computer. Doing so causes the client to requery the Dfs server for the list of referrals to link targets. This list is reordered according to the client's new site location, thereby letting the client use a link target in its new site. However, if the user puts the client computer into hibernation instead of restarting it, the link-target list isn't updated. The client laptop continues to use its referral cache to access data, so the TTL never expires; thus, the client can never use a more local version of the data. It's important that mobile users shut down their laptops when they change locations so that Dfs can function correctly.
Q. What's the Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit?
A. The Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit is a set of utilities and guidelines that let you migrate a physical server to a Microsoft Virtual Server 2005-based virtual machine (VM) environment. You can download the toolkit and related documentation at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/evaluation/vsmt.mspx. The migration process that the toolkit uses relies on the Automated Deployment Services (ADS) component of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; therefore, you need Windows 2003 Enterprise to use the toolkit.
You can use the toolkit to migrate physical servers that run any of the following OSs:
- Windows 2003 Enterprise and Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
- Windows 2000 Advanced Server Service Pack 4 (SP4) or later
- Windows 2000 Server SP4 or later
- Windows NT 4.0 Server with SP6a, Standard and Enterprise Editions
The toolkit works by providing custom ADS task sequences that capture the physical server's environment to an XML file, which is then used to create a virtual environment that mimics the physical box. ADS then captures the physical disks to an image file on the ADS server, and the image is deployed to the new virtual environment that was previously created. Although the capture process doesn't affect the actual physical server, the server is unavailable for a period of time while its physical disks are captured.
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