Tag: windows

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Windows 10 May 2021 update can break audio service

Problem:
Sound is not working anymore in Windows and all programs. In the task area the speaker icon shows a red circle with an X. When you open sound settings it says there are no devices. In device manager the sound card is enabled and shows the correct latest driver.

Troubleshooting:
Removing (with delete driver) all the sound devices and output devices and reinstalling them has no effect. DISM /ScanHealth and SFC /scannow find no corruption. After trying lots of possible solutions, including doing a build upgrade to the same version, I was almost at the point that I would reset the entire system and install everything again. However in one last desperate Google search I came across the solution.

Solution:
The first solution I found was to add the localservice and networkservice (hidden) user accounts to the local administrators group. I tried this and sure enough this fixed the issue. But after reviewing other comments and checking on another (correctly working) computer I was convinced this was not a secure solution. So I removed the user accounts again from the group and sure enough the problem was back (after reboot). Luckily someone at the Dell forums found the real and secure solution.

The problem is a corrupted registry value that defines the Windows ACL rights for some part of the Windows Audio service. So open the registry editor (regedit) and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations

The issue is the value for ConsoleSecurity shows as binary null or empty and that’s faulty. The value is the same on each computer and should be:

"ConsoleSecurity"=hex:01,00,14,80,9c,00,00,00,a8,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,00,\
  00,02,00,88,00,06,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,01,00,00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,\
  04,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,bf,03,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,00,\
  00,14,00,89,00,0f,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,13,00,00,00,00,00,14,00,81,00,\
  00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,14,00,00,00,00,00,18,00,bf,03,0f,00,01,02,00,\
  00,00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,20,02,00,00,00,00,18,00,21,01,00,00,01,02,00,00,\
  00,00,00,05,20,00,00,00,2b,02,00,00,01,01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00,01,\
  01,00,00,00,00,00,05,12,00,00,00

I have attached a (zipped) reg file you can use to fix this value back to the original value.

fix_audio_service_no_devicesDownload

More information:
Apparently this happens when the Windows 10 May 2021 cumulative update (KB5003173) fails to install the first time. Somehow in this process the registry value gets corrupted.

As a side note somehow this update failure also changes the setting in the local group policy that requires you to press CTRL-ALT-DEL at the logon screen.

Resources and credit:
https://www.dell.com/community/Latitude/Latitude-5400-no-sound-after-May-2021-Windows-update/m-p/7980056/highlight/true#M34613
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/401440/kb5003173-no-audio-device-installed.html


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Windows 10 settings doesn’t open

Windows 10 Settings doesn’t work anymore. You see the window opening but then it immediately closes.

In the eventlog you can see an error from DCOM:

Log Name:      System
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-DistributedCOM
Event ID:      10010
Task Category: None
Level:         Error
Keywords:      Classic
Description:
The server windows.immersivecontrolpanel_10.0.2.1000_neutral_neutral_cw5n1h2txyewy!microsoft.windows.immersivecontrolpanel did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.

DISM won’t fix this, the scanhealth and restorehealth options didn’t help.

To fix this follow these steps.
Open a CMD with run as administrator (elevated priveleges) and type:

cd c:\windows
ren ImmersiveControlPanel ImmersiveControlPanel.old
SFC /scannow

After SFC is finished, the settings windows should work again.

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blog howto windows

Cannot upgrade Windows 2008 R2 to 2012 R2 in place

When you run the setup and choose upgrade you immediately get the message from compatibility report “Windows Server 2008 R2 cannot be upgraded to Windows Server 2012 R2 (With a GUI)”.

You need to have Service Pack 1 installed on Windows 2008 R2 to be able to perform the in-place upgrade. Download SP1 from the link below.

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=kb976932

Note: You also need to use a 2012 R2 setup edition in the same language and bit version (64bit).

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Windows 7 & 2008 R2 Update error 80072EFE

When you try to search for an update you receive an error code 80072EFE

This might happen on systems that have not been updated for many years or that had a clean install with very old install media.

The solution is to manually install KB3138612. Download from the link below.
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3138612

If you can’t install the update, make sure you are running Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 or 2008 R2. Download from the link below.
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=kb976932

After the SP update, reboot and try the KB3138612 update again and reboot again.

Searching for updates should now work!

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blog exchange howto server windows

SBS: complete certificate request error

So you created a certificate request on the SBS wizard and now want to complete the request by running the wizard again and importing the CRT certificate file you received, but you get an error.

The imported certificate does not match your web site

If you look in the detailed logfile named TrustedCert.log located at “C:\program files\Windows Small Business Server\Logs” you may find an error reffering to ASN1bad tag.

An exception of type ‘Type: System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException, mscorlib, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089’ has occurred.
Timestamp: 07/10/2019 11:04:25
Message: CertEnroll::CX509Enrollment::p_InstallResponse: ASN1 bad tag value met. 0x8009310b (ASN: 267)
Stack: at Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.CERTENROLLLib.Interop.CX509EnrollmentClass.InstallResponse(InstallResponseRestrictionFlags Restrictions, String strResponse, EncodingType Encoding, String strPassword)
at Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.CoreNetworking.CertificateProvider.InstallCertResponse(Byte[] certificateBytes)

Luckily you can manually import the certificate and restore the necessary private key from the request using the instructions below.

  1. Open an Microsoft Management Concole (mmc) as admin.
  2. Add the snap-in “certificates” and select computer account.
  3. Now go to Personal – Certificates, right click & select all tasks – import.
  4. Import the CRT file you received from the provider.
  5. Refresh the certificates list. The certificate is now present but without private key.
  6. Double-click the certificate, go to the details tab and copy the serial number. Should be something like: 1e 71 cb 7a ….
  7. Open an CMD with administrator rights and run the following the command: certutil -repairstore my “<serialnumber>”
    Where <serialnumber> is the value from step 6, i.e. 1e 71 cb 7a ….
  8. Refresh the certificate list in the MMC snap-in, the certificate should now show the key icon because the private key is present.
  9. I suggest you make an export with private key and extended properties to store for safekeeping for later use.
  10. I tried the import certificate wizard in the SBS console again, selected the CRT file, it still failed, but now the certificate was configured and the OWA was working again with the new certificate.

References:
https://support.microsoft.com/nl-nl/help/2351321/not-able-to-install-trusted-certificate-on-sbs2008
https://knowledge.digicert.com/solution/SO22327.html

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blog howto server windows

Can’t find script engine “VBScript” for script …

I recently came across this error while trying to execute a VBscript.

Can’t find script engine “VBScript” for script …

After some troubleshooting this was related to the uninstall of McAfee antivirus software.
McAfee antivirus intercepts all VBscript execution by changing the executable that runs the scripts.
After uninstallation, this change was not rolled back and VBscript execution would faill unless explicitely called by wscript.exe or cscript.exe.

Solution is to revert he change in the Windows registry.
In the following registry key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B54F3741-5B07-11cf-A4B0-00AA004A55E8}\InprocServer32
Find the value named (Default) of type REG_SZ and change the data back to:
C:\Windows\system32\vbscript.dll
instead of:
c:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\SystemCore\ScriptSn.20110218083735.dll

You have the adjust the permissions on the key InprocServer32 to give write permission to Administrator (or your user).

If your problem is unrelated to McAfee and the registry value is correct you might have to re-register the DLL’s.
Open a CMD with elevated privileges (run as administrator) and execute the following commands:

cd "%systemroot%\system32"
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 vbscript.dll
cd "%systemroot%\SysWow64"
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 vbscript.dll

More information and information that i used to troubleshoot this issue:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/cant-find-script-engine-vbscript-for-script/960f24d1-bf92-4cec-b73e-520a04891073
https://community.mcafee.com/thread/50961?start=0&tstart=0

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blog howto windows

Windows 2012 Server Manager refresh failed, requires a restart

The request to add or remove features on the specified server failed. the operation cannot be completed because the server that you specified requires a restart.

Role and feature refresh failed with the following error: The Request to list features available on the specific server failed. The operation cannot be completed, because the server that you specified requires a restart.

Restarting the server does not help.

Check the eventlog for an error from Service Control Manager ID 7041 that reads:

The MSSQL$MICROSOFT##WID service was unable to log on as NT SERVICE\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##WID with the currently configured password due to the following error:
Logon failure: the user has not been granted the requested logon type at this computer.

Service: MSSQL$MICROSOFT##WID
Domain and account: NT SERVICE\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##WID

This service account does not have the required user right “Log on as a service.”

Check the “Windows Internal Database” service is running, it probably is not and can’t start.

If this is a domain controller you can assign the logon as service right for the account using the “Default Domain Controllers Policy” GPO.

  1. Open gpmc.msc
  2. Select the “Default Domain Controllers Policy” under the “Domain Controllers” OU in the left tree.
  3. Right click on it and select edit.
  4. In the editor navigate to “Computer Configuration, Policies, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies, User Rights Assignments”.
  5. Open the properties of the “Log on as a service” item.
  6. Add the user “NT SERVICE\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##WID” (without quotes) using the Add User or Group button.
  7. Close the window with OK. Close the GPO editor.
  8. Run gpupdate and restart the computer.

If this is a normal member or standalone server you can assign the logon as service right for the account using the “Local Security Policy”.

  1. Open secpol.msc
  2. Navigate to” Local Policies, User Rights Assignments”.
  3. Open the properties of the “Log on as a service” item.
  4. Add the user “NT SERVICE\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##WID” (without quotes) using the Add User or Group button. If this is greyed out, than the item is set using Domain Group Policies (see above).
  5. Close the window with OK. Close the local security policy editor.
  6. Run gpupdate and restart the computer.
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Uninstall Sophos Antivirus tamper protection lost password

How to uninstall Sophos Antivirus when the Tamper Protection doesn’t let you, and you don’t know the Tamper password.

  1. Stop the Sophos Anti-Virus service if possible. Open services.msc and stop the service.
  2. Open notepad with UAC elevation, run as Administrator.
  3. In notepad open the file “C:\ProgramData\Sophos\Sophos Anti-Virus\Config\machine.xml”
  4. Find the configuration section for TamperProtectionManagement

    <TamperProtectionManagement>
    <settings>
    <password>123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ</password><enabled>true</enabled>
    </settings>
    </TamperProtectionManagement>

  5. Change the password string (123456789ABCD… above is just an example, yours will be different.) to the new value: E8F97FBA9104D1EA5047948E6DFB67FACD9F5B73
  6. Start Sophos Antivirus or restart the computer.
  7. Disable tamper protection using the new password: “password” (without the quotes).
  8. Uninstall Sophos Antivirus.
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blog exchange howto server windows

Exchange database dirty shutdown recovery JET_errLogFileSizeMismatch error -541

Warning: This is a technical article describing steps that you should only execute if you’re familiar and confident with the matter.

Error information:
Below is some error information that you might have seen and that’s why your search leads you here.

eseutil /ML “L:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2\E02.log”
Extensible Storage Engine Utilities for Microsoft(R) Exchange Server Version 15.00
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Initiating FILE DUMP mode…
Base name: E02
Log file: L:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2\E02.log
ERROR: Cannot read log file header. Error -541.
Operation terminated with error -541 (JET_errLogFileSizeMismatch, actual log file size does not match JET_paramLogFileSize) after 0.16 seconds.

eseutil /r “L:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2\E02.log”
Extensible Storage Engine Utilities for Microsoft(R) Exchange Server Version 15.00
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Initiating RECOVERY mode…
Logfile base name: E02
…
Performing soft recovery…
Operation terminated with error -541 (JET_errLogFileSizeMismatch, actual log file size does not match JET_paramLogFileSize) after 0.31 seconds.

Solution:
If possible have a backup or a copy of the database before you manipulate it! Transaction log files are critical for the database, these are not just information files that you can delete!

If the DISK where the log files of your exchange database resides has run out of space you could find yourself with a corrupt log file. When you try to perform a soft recovery with eseutil /r and the path to your E0?.log (in my case E02.log) file you get an error about header information and size mismatch. The E0?.log file is the current transaction log file that Exchange was writing to when the disk ran out of space. This file is now corrupt and transactions in the file that were not applied to the database will be lost. All other older log files will have hexadecimal sequence to it such as E0?00E475A.log and so on. You can check which log files are required for the database to perform a soft recovery by reading the header information of the database in question as follows:

eseutil /mh “F:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2\DB-MBBX2.edb”
replace path and filenames with your database

In the wealth of information returned you will see a line stating the state of the database, which will be Dirty Shutdown. (If it is Clean Shutdown than you do not need to perform recovery). Below the state is the line Log Required which shows the files needed.

Log Required: 190299-190336 (0x2e75b-0x2e780)

In my case the databases needs the files E020002E75B.log and newer on to E020002E780.log (this is HEX sequence). Older log files can be moved to a different hard disk if you need to free some space. Be careful, don’t delete, sorting these files in Explorer is not easy, you can’t do it by name because of the hex sequence and by date/time is not foolproof. So double-check or just expand the disk and leave all log files as-is.

Now to perform the recovery we have to move the corrupt E02.log file to a folder or other disk. Now that the corrupt file is removed and you are 100% sure that all the other required log files (see section above) are present we can perform soft recovery with the /a option to skip missing log files and bring the database back to a clean state.

eseutil /r /a E02 /l “l:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2” /s “l:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2” /d “F:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2”
change the names and paths to your situation.

/r is soft recovery
/a is skip missing logfile
E02 is the base name of the logfiles, this is dependant of the database, could be E01, E02, E03 …
/l is for the log files location (where E02.log and other E02xxxx.log files reside)
/s is for the system files location (where E02.chk resides)
/d is for the database files location (where DB-MBX2.edb resides)

Output will be like this:

eseutil /R /a E02 /l “l:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox
\DB-MBX2” /s “l:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2” /d
“F:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2”

Extensible Storage Engine Utilities for Microsoft(R) Exchange Server Version 15.00
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Initiating RECOVERY mode…
Logfile base name: E02
Log files: l:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2
System files: l:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2
Database Directory: F:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\DB-MBX2
Performing soft recovery…
Restore Status (% complete)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|—-|
……………………………………………

Operation completed successfully in 3.635 seconds.

The database is now clean, you can check again with eseutil /mh as we did before and see the state listed as Clean Shutdown.

If you want to quickly clean-up logfiles no longer needed you should perform an Exchange aware backup. If you don’t have one and you understand the consequences you can enable circular logging on the database.

Good Luck!

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Microsoft Print to PDF empty 0KB file

If you create a PDF file using “Microsoft Print to PDF” and the file is corrupt and appears empty 0KB. Try to make the file again but don’t use “,” (comma) in the name.