Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE--October 6, 2003

Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE, October 6, 2003, —brought to you by the Windows & .NET Magazine Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site
http://www.windows2000faq.com

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1. Commentary

2. FAQs

Q. Why do I receive a file-copy error when I perform an in-place upgrade of Windows Server 2003?
Q. Why does my Windows XP machine's CPU usage climb to 100 percent when I right-click a file or folder within Windows Explorer?
Q. Why does the Advanced Power Management (APM) tab appear in the Control Panel Power Options applet on only some of my machines?
Q. Where can I get the Windows Server 2003 domain rename tool?
Q. How can I add a user to Active Directory (AD) from the command line without using a script?
Q. How can I remove a user from Active Directory (AD) from the command line without using a script?

3. Announcements

Success with Active Directory
New White Paper on Exchange 2003 Deployment

4. Event

The Mobile & Wireless Road Show Is Coming to Tampa and Atlanta!

5. Contact Us

See this section for a list of ways to contact us.

Sponsor: Aelita Software

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

This week, I explain why you might receive a file-copy error when you perform an in-place upgrade of Windows Server 2003, why a Windows XP machine's CPU usage climbs to 100 percent when you right-click in Windows Explorer, and why the Advanced Power Management (APM) tab appears in the Control Panel Power Options applet on only certain machines. I also tell you where to get the Windows 2003 domain rename tool, how to add a user to Active Directory (AD) from the command line, and how to delete a user from AD from the command line.

Sponsor: NetIQ

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2. FAQs

Q. Why do I receive a file-copy error when I perform an in-place upgrade of Windows Server 2003?

A. If you install Windows 2003 over an existing Windows 2003 installation, you might receive any of the following errors:

"Setup Cannot Copy the File Cmprops.dl_"
"Setup Cannot Copy the File Licwmi.dl_"
"Setup Cannot Copy the File Mmfutil.dl_"
"Setup Cannot Copy the File Servereps.dl_"

You might also notice errors in the scssetup.log file in the \%systemroot%\security folder. These errors are the result of a corrupted secedit.sdb file. This file corruption often occurs when a computer suddenly stops rather than completing a controlled shutdown.

To resolve these errors, you must use the esentutl.exe file to repair the database by performing the following steps:

Start a command session.

Run Esentutl's repair option by typing

esentutl /p %windir%\security\database\secedit.sdb

Click OK in the displayed dialog box. Esentutl will confirm the repair by displaying a log file similar to the following example:

Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Database Utilities
Version 5.2
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Initiating REPAIR mode...
Database: C:\WINDOWS\security\database\secedit.sdb
Temp. Database: TEMPREPAIR4072.EDB

Checking database integrity.

Scanning Status (% complete)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|
...................................................

Integrity check successful.

Note:
It is recommended that you immediately perform a full backup
of this database. If you restore a backup made before the
repair, the database will be rolled back to the state
it was in at the time of that backup.

Operation completed successfully in 129.176 seconds.

Navigate to the \%windir%\security folder by typing
```
cd %windir%\security 
```
Remove the edb0000x.log file by typing
```
del edb0000*.log 
```

You'll then be able to perform the in-place upgrade.

Q. Why does my Windows XP machine's CPU usage climb to 100 percent when I right-click a file or folder within Windows Explorer?

A. XP contains a known bug that causes the CPU usage to spike to 100 percent when you access the context menu under certain configurations. This bug causes file-copy operations to halt, network connections to slow, and streaming media (e.g., audio, video) to become distorted. To work around this bug, you need to disable the GUI's transition effects by performing the following steps:

Start the Control Panel Display applet.
Select the Appearance tab.
Click Effects, then clear the "Use the following transition effect for menus and tooltips" check box.
Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

Another solution that often works is to left-click the file or folder before right-clicking to display the context menu.

Q. Why does the Advanced Power Management (APM) tab appear in the Control Panel Power Options applet on only some of my machines?

A. Windows uses APM when Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) isn't available because of hardware limitations. For APM to be available, the computer must support APM 1.2 and not be listed in the Disable APM list in the biosinfo.inf file that the system checks during installation. Also, keep in mind that

APM isn't available on multiprocessor machines.
Server products don't support APM.
You must enable APM in the computer BIOS before APM will appear as an option in Windows.

You can check the APM status of your Windows XP and later machine by performing the following steps:

Start a command session.
Enter the command
```
apmstat -v 
```

Your computer will display its APM status. For example, when you type this command on an ACPI-enabled machine, the command will return the following result:

This is an ACPI machine, APM is NOT relevant on this machine

Q. Where can I get the Windows Server 2003 domain rename tool?

A. The latest version of the domain rename tool for Windows 2003 is available at Microsoft's Web site. After you download the utility, open the file to automatically unzip the two included files (gpfixup.exe and random.exe). Before you can run the random.exe utility, you must raise the forest functionality level to "Windows Server 2003" level.

Q. How can I add a user to Active Directory (AD) from the command line without using a script?

A. Windows Server 2003 provides the Dsadd command, which lets you add objects (e.g., computers, contacts, groups, organizational units--OUs, quotas, users) to AD. The basic command syntax is

dsadd user  -samid  -pwd

For example, to add user John to AD, I typed

C:\> dsadd user CN=John,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com -samid John -pwd Pa55word

The system returned

dsadd succeeded:CN=John,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com

For a full list of options, type

C:\> dsadd user /?

The options let you set the user's full name details, email address, group ownership, and Web page as well as set the password to never expire. The following example shows the use of several of these options:

C:\>dsadd user CN=John,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com -samid John -pwd Pa55word -fn John -ln Savill -display "John Savill" -email [email protected] -webpg http://www.savilltech.com -pwdneverexpires yes -memberof "CN=Domain Admins,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"

dsadd succeeded:CN=John,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com

Notice that the "-memberof" option, which specifies the user's group ownership, is in quotes because the DN contains spaces.

Q. How can I remove a user from Active Directory (AD) from the command line without using a script?

A. Windows Server 2003's Dsrm command lets you remove objects from AD. The command syntax is

dsrm

For example, to delete a user named piggy, you'd type

C:\>dsrm CN=piggy,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com

The computer will ask you to confirm the deletion:

Are you sure you wish to delete CN=piggy,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com (Y/N)? y

If you answer "y", the computer will return the following response:

dsrm succeeded:CN=piggy,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com

To avoid being prompted to confirm the deletion, you can append "-noprompt" (without the quotes) to the end of the command string.

3. Announcements
(from Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)

Success with Active Directory

Are you in charge of your company's Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 rollout? Are you migrating your Directory Services to Active Directory? What's new in Windows 2003? What new features exist within the AD internals? Invest your time and keep pace with the latest technologies, tips, and tricks. Register now for Windows & .NET Magazine Connections.
http://www.winconnections.com

New White Paper on Exchange 2003 Deployment

In this timely white paper, Microsoft Exchange Server expert Kieran McCorry, from HP's Exchange consulting group, outlines the best options for organizations migrating to Exchange Server 2003. The paper outlines inter- and intraorganizational migration issues and the benefits of server consolidation during deployment. Get your copy today!
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4. Event
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