A Roaming Profile Bug Fix; Ntbackup Access Violation

Win2K Roaming Profile Bug Fix
When Windows 2000 creates a profile directory and writes a user profile to the directory for the first time, the OS sets permission on the profile folder to Full Control for the System account and the user’s account. Because the OS doesn't give Administrators Full Control, an Administrator can't access the newly created profile directory or the files it contains. And, even though you give Administrators Full Control over the parent directory where the profile resides, Win2K doesn't propagate that Administrator permission to the lower-level Username directory.

You can temporarily work around the problem by manually creating the user profile directory with Administrator access permission before a user logs on the first time. To permanently correct the problem, call Microsoft Support for the bug fix, which contains files system.adm released August 15 and userenv.dll released August 16. See Microsoft article Q222043 for more information.

NT 4.0 NTFS Modification Date Problem
Microsoft article Q267913 states that when you query for the last modified date of a file stored on a Windows NT-based server, the OS might return an incorrect date. If you subsequently use the incorrect date to manually update the file's last modified date, the incorrect date might apply to the file permanently. This behavior occurs because the Query File Information Server Message Block (SMB) returns only a 32-bit value for the last modified time, but NTFS stores the last modified time internally as a 64-bit value. When the server processes the SMB request, it returns the lower 32 bits of this 64-bit time instead of converting it to a valid 32-bit value. Call Microsoft Support for the new version of srv.sys released July 5.

NT 4.0 Ntbackup Access Violation
When you run ntbackup.exe, you might receive an access violation error message in ntbackup.exe when Backup tries to check the tape for a password and the tape isn't yet ready (e.g., when it's still rewinding). According to Microsoft article Q265025, this problem is most likely to occur when you start a new backup immediately after a previous backup session finishes. Call Microsoft Support and ask for the updated version of ntbackup.exe released June 8.

NT 4.0 Multiprocessor Blue Screen
If you have multiprocessor servers that run in a high-stress environment, NT might blue screen with a stop code of STOP:00000050,00000000,00000000. Microsoft article Q266129 indicates that a desktop heap corruption bug in win32k.sys causes the system crash. The file date for the bug fix is December 1999, so I’m not sure why Microsoft waited until last week to post this article as a post-Service Pack 6a (SP6a) fix.

IE 5.01 SP1
Internet Explorer (IE) 5.01 SP1 is ready for download. The update contains 39 fixes that should deliver a more reliable browser. The update include several security patches; updates that eliminate two memory leaks, an access violation, and a couple of browser hangs; and fixes for several other miscellaneous problems. For more information, see the following Microsoft articles:

Microsoft has offered two versions of SP1 for download. One version upgrades Windows 9x and NT browsers to 128-bit encryption but leaves Win2K systems at 56-bit encryption. You can download this version from the Microsoft Web site.

You can get the other version, for Win2K systems configured for high encryption, by clicking Product Updates at the Microsoft interactive update Web site. I’m not sure why you can’t download the Win2K high-encryption version without active setup, but this appears to be the only option available now.

IE 5.01 SP1 installs only the core browser program, Outlook Express 5.5, and scripting files on Win2K and doesn't let you customize the installation or use any advanced options during setup. If you are an ISP, Internet content provider, or a corporate administrator and you want to customize or distribute IE 5.01 SP1, you can get the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) for 5.01 from either of the sites listed below.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ieak/en/default.asp
http://corporate.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

IE 5.0 Repair Tool
Did you know that IE 5.0 has a built-in repair tool? I rarely—if ever—mess with the browser once I get it installed or updated successfully. The repair tool can diagnose and correct problems related to obsolete or superceded files and incorrect or incomplete IE file registration. It can also restore or repair desktop and Start Menu shortcuts. Somehow, I missed this feature—probably because you find it only when you run the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs applet. According to Microsoft article Q194177, the repair tool indicates when you must reinstall IE and creates an output file called "Fix IELog.txt," which summarizes the tool’s repair actions. Unfortunately, the instructions for accessing this feature in Win2K are missing!

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