Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE--April 12, 2004

Windows Tips &amp Tricks UPDATE, April 12, 2004, —brought to you by the Windows &amp .NET Magazine Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site
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FAQs

Q. How can I use Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 to install an OS?
Q. I use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in from a remote computer. I've noticed that certain Property tabs are missing. Can I restore the tabs?
Q. What's User Profile Hive Cleanup Service (UPHClean)?
Q. Why can't I log off, restart, or shut down my Windows XP machine?
Q. I've set a screen saver in my local policy, but it doesn't start on my Windows XP machine. How can I display the screen saver?

Commentary
by John Savill, FAQ Editor, [email protected]

This week, I tell you how to use Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 or VMware Workstation to install an OS and how to restore the Property tabs on a remote computer that uses the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. I also explain User Profile Hive Cleanup Service (UPHClean), troubleshoot a problem with logging off and restarting a Windows XP machine, and provide a workaround for implementing a screen saver policy under XP.

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FAQs

Q. How can I use Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 to install an OS?

A. The process for installing an OS on a PC running Virtual PC 2004 (or VMware Workstation, for that matter) is the same as installing an OS on any PC. You simply create a new virtual machine (VM) using the wizards supplied in Virtual PC and VMware Workstation. After you create the VM, you must configure its virtual CD-ROM drive to either connect to a physical CD-ROM drive that contains the installation CD-ROM for the OS you want to install or, if you have an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) file (i.e., an image of the CD-ROM), select that file as the CD-ROM to install. You might have to open the VM's BIOS when the VM starts and configure the CD-ROM as the first boot device. After the VM starts, it detects the CD-ROM and begins the installation. Before you install the OS, you can optionally create a disk of a set size and allocate its space to the OS, which could improve the OS's performance after it's installed and running. Look for a review of Virtual PC 2004 and VMware Workstation 4 in an upcoming issue of Windows & .NET Magazine.

Q. I use the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in from a remote computer. I've noticed that certain Property tabs are missing. Can I restore the tabs?

A. If you use the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in from a remote computer (such as a Windows XP workstation), you might notice certain tabs are missing--for example, Published Certificates, Object, and Security. To display the tabs, click View, then Advanced Features. You'll also notice that the Dial-in tab is missing. Unfortunately, you can't display the Dial-in tab on a remote XP workstation that uses the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. If you have to edit the options on the Dial-in tab, you can use Windows 2000 Server Terminal Services to log on to a domain controller (DC) and set the options on the remote workstation from the DC.

Q. What's User Profile Hive Cleanup Service (UPHClean)?

A. Frequently, a driver or application leaks registry handles, which means the driver or application opens the registry but doesn't close it. The open registry isn't a problem until you log off, when the profile of the logged-on user tries to unload the user's registry but fails because it's still in use. An open registry connection is a major problem if you use roaming profiles; because the system can't unload your profile, Windows can't copy it back to the profile storage server. If the system doesn't unload your profile, when you log on the next day you'll receive an error stating that your local profile is newer than your remote profile. Typically, with this problem an administrator will see event ID 1517, 1524, or 1500 in the event logs.

Microsoft provides a service called UPHClean, which checks for leaked connections to the registry and cleans them up, thereby letting a user's profile unload cleanly so Windows can copy it back to the remote profile storage area. You can download UPHClean at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1b286e6d-8912-4e18-b570-42470e2f3582&displaylang=en. Your best option is to download file UPHClean-Setup.msi, which you can then deploy through Group Policy or--if you need to deploy UPHClean on a large scale--Systems Management Server (SMS). You need Administrator privileges to install UPHClean interactively. I've used UPHClean many times, and it has always fixed the profile-locking problems.

Q. Why can't I log off, restart, or shut down my Windows XP machine?

A. When you attempt to log off, restart, or shut down an XP system and you see a flash on the screen and nothing else, check whether Symantec Norton Antivirus 2003 is installed on your computer. If Norton Antivirus 2003 is installed, its ccApp.exe component causes the problem you describe. To solve the problem, use the Symantec LiveUpdate feature to download the updated Symantec Common Client programs. Installing these programs should fix the problem.

As a workaround on an XP Professional Edition machine in a workgroup or on an XP Home Edition computer, perform the following steps:

Click Start and select "Log Off."
Click Switch User.
Click Turn off &ltlocal computer name&gt.
Click Turn Off or Restart.
At the prompt that warns that other users are logged on to this computer and asks whether you want to continue, click Yes.

Q. I've set a screen saver in my local policy, but it doesn't start on my Windows XP machine. How can I display the screen saver?

A. The problem you describe occurs with XP Service Pack 1 (SP1). Windows writes the screen saver to the registry setting as an incorrect type, and XP ignores the setting. Microsoft will fix the problem in the next service pack. Until then, use a domain stored Group Policy Object (GPO) to implement the screen saver policy (you can apply the policy at the site, domain, or organizational unit--OU levels).

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