IT Uncovered

Dynamics CRM 4 Email Connector and IIS 7 Issue

// April 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // Dynamics CRM 4, IIS 7

I was recently rolling out a test environment for CRM 4 and trying to get the email connector working. I was looking through the logs and I couldn’t figure out why suddenly the mail connector would stop searching email. I noticed that it was getting a 401 error so I did some troubleshooting and it looks like it’s an issue with IIS 7 and how CRM 4 sends multiple requests. I was able to fix the problem by simply going through and and turning on double-encoded requests. This normally is turned off to protect against attacks but to get it working internally I had to disable it. To enable double escaping just drop to a command prompt and type the following (if the site is different please change it):

c:\windows\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config “Default Web Site”
-section:system.webServer/security/requestfiltering -allowDoubleEscaping:true

If you want to read more about the protection please go here:

http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/143/how-to-use-request-filtering/

How to set off mad panic with event logs

// April 22nd, 2009 // 2 Comments » // IT Insider Information

Ok, so today I was a little bored at my job so I decided to play a prank on one of my coworkers.  He’s been working really hard on building a Sharepoint server and getting it approved by management.  Well he’s also been testing with monitoring event logs also.  So for amusement I decided to start filling his event log with random errors.  So I went through and created a batch file and created 150 separate events using eventcreate.exe.  I then remoted into his server when he was on lunch and launched the batch file.  The next thing I know he comes running in with his phone vibrating like crazy because he was getting text message alerts for all the event log errors.  I guess he didn’t actually have the entry forwarded to him because otherwise he would have known it was a joke.  Once he logged into the server and looked at what the logs said he turned to me with the death stare.  I guess I shouldn’t have put the error message as:

“How does it feel to get OWNED you little B**CH!”

Now normally I would never do this but it was on a test virtual machine there was nothing he had to do other than clear out the event logs.  Right now I am kind of scared that my tires are now going to get slashed on my car…  Oh well the look of panic on his face was worth it.

If you want more reference on using eventcreate just go check out the Technet article here.

Fixing Offline Files Corruption and errors

// April 22nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Windows Server 2003, Windows XP

One of the biggest problems with offline files is when a different user gets someone other person’s offline folder sync stuck in their profile.  When this happens the person will go to log off and get an error every time because they don’t have the proper rights to the folder.  An easy fix for this is to format the Offline Files database on the local machine.  There are two ways to do this.  You can either edit the registry and add the following key and then reboot:

Video Game Violence – Dad Beats Son for Playing Poorly

// April 21st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Video Game Violence

I’m speechless right now.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090421/NEWS0107/304210008

EAST PRICE HILL – An East Price Hill father beat his 6-year-old son for poorly playing a video game, Cincinnati poilce say.

Terry Taulbee, 50, is held this morning on a domestic violence charge at the Hamilton County jail.

Taulbee is accused of hitting the boy on his lower back and buttocks, leaving a large red hand mark, court records state. The area swelled and caused pain for the child.

The victim’s mother told police Taulbee became upset when the boy didn’t play well in a video game.

What was this guy thinking?

// April 21st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // News

Really this is something you should never do to anyone trying to help you or anyone in general.  I hope this guy gets hit with the maximum sentence.

http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009904190314

“A Howell man was ordered to stand trial on charges he exposed his genitals to a computer technician trying to fix his slow Internet service.
Advertisement

The Comcast cable technician was the only prosecution witness to testify Wednesday at Chris Philip Trikes’ preliminary examination in Livingston County District Court. The hearing ended with Judge Carol Sue Reader ordering Trikes, 45, tried on a charge of indecent exposure by a sexually delinquent person.

The charge carries a penalty ranging from one day to life in prison.

Trikes’ criminal history includes a misdemeanor conviction for indecent exposure in 1999, for which he was subsequently sentenced to 10 days of community service, probation and counseling.

The technician testified that he went to Trikes’ Pinckney Road home Oct. 17, after Trikes complained his Internet service was too slow.

While at the defendant’s home, the technician said, Trikes began discussing pornographic Web sites that he had visited online as well as a sexually explicit video that he said he found in a gas station garbage can. The technician said he began talking about his date later that evening “to ease the uncomfortableness” of the situation.

However, the witness said, Trikes then exposed his genitals, which made the technician extremely uncomfortable, so the technician quickly left the home and reported the incident to his supervisor, who called police.”

Microsoft Office Accounting + SQL Server 2008 x64 Nightmare

// April 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // Microsoft

I’ve been running a small business with MOA 2009 on the default SQL Express 2005 instance, but I wanted to move it to a VM with SQL Server 2008 x64.  That’s where the nightmare began.  I could get the install to go but I could not for the life of me get MOA to find the database instance.  After troubleshooting for hours I discovered it’s because I’m using a 64-bit version of SQL.  All the tools for MOA are 32-bit only and will not work with a 64-bit SQL instance.  So basically I can attach my database and manage it from SQL Mangement Studio but I can’t create a new company or use MOA tools.  This is pure genius.  I guess it’s back to loading a 32-bit version of SQL or going back to SQL Express.

Terminal Server Fallback Printer Driver – Windows Server 2003

// April 20th, 2009 // No Comments » // Windows Server 2003

One of the most frustrating aspects of managing Terminal Services is printing.  Citrix has made great strides with the Citrix Universal Print Driver, but some people don’t want to spend the money on Citrix.  Microsoft addressed some of the issues with Windows Server 2003 SP1.  They added something called the Terminal Server Fallback Printer Driver Behavior as an option for Client Redirection.  Basically what they did is chose a HP driver to use for both PCL and PS printing that automatically passes the print job to the local printer driver on the client.  This all happens without having to install 50,000 printer drivers on the server.  Of course this isn’t perfect because if you need advanced options like choosing different trays it may not work well.  However, if your users only use basic printing functions then I suggest trying it out before looking at third party options.

You can read more here:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731963.aspx

Please note that they have the wrong location listed for the options though as the following is where you can find it: Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Terminal Services\Terminal Server\Client/Server data redirection.

Basically if it is set to not configured or disabled the fallback driver will not work.  You have to set it to enabled and choose the appropriate option.  I’ve found that using Show both PCL and PS if one is not found offers the best compatibility for printing.  If it doesn’t work well for you then try using just PCL or just PS.  Let me know how if it helps you.

Outlook 2007 SP1 and Autodiscover with just a SRV Record

// April 17th, 2009 // No Comments » // Exchange 2007

One of the challenges of Autodiscover was the requirements of having an additional Web Site and also two public IPs just to get it working.  Some people missed the fact that with SP1 for Outlook 2007 Microsoft added an additional option.  You can use a SRV record and redirect it to an A record.  Enjoy:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940881

If Internet Explorer 8 is Slow Try This…

// April 4th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Simply click Start and choose run and type the following: regsvr32 actxprxy.dll

Now click OK and reboot your computer.  Evidently Microsoft had a big issue with some machines not registering that DLL properly and once it’s done IE8 works much faster.  Please note if you’re running Vista with the UAC still enabled you will have to open a command prompt as an administrator and run it that way.