Interminable Technologies

When in doubt, Google it.

[interminabletech]

A client recently purchased a Windows 8 PC, and requested that it be set up like the rest of their workstations, all of which run either Windows 7 or XP. One frustration I've heard about Windows 8 (one that I share) is that it does not start at the desktop, but rather the new Start Menu. This link describes how you can counteract that, by creating a scheduled task that runs at the time of logon, running the desktop application.

[interminabletech]

No Elevation on Network Drives for 7/Vista

Windows 7 does not allow permanent elevation on programs running on network drives. This is because the drives are mapped using the standard user account, and the inherent permissions of a standard user take effect upon logon, which is usually when the drives are mapped. One can use the "Run As Administrator" option on a per-use basis, but by default one cannot set the compatibility options to make the program run as admin every time. This is obviously a problem if the program requires admin rights, but exists on a network location.

Luckily, there is a nice work-around, directly from Microsoft:

To work around this problem, configure the EnableLinkedConnections registry value. This value enables Windows Vista or Windows 7 to share network connections between the filtered access token and the full administrator access token for a member of the Administrators group. After you configure this registry value, LSA checks whether there is another access token that is associated with the current user session if a network resource is mapped to an access token. If LSA determines that there is a linked access token, it adds the network share to the linked location.  To configure the EnableLinkedConnections registry value, follow these steps:

ClickStart, typeregeditin theStart Search box, and then press Enter.

Locate and then right-click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Point toNew, and then clickDWORD Value.

TypeEnableLinkedConnections, and then press Enter.

Right-clickEnableLinkedConnections, and then clickModify.

In theValue databox, type 1, and then clickOK.

Exit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.

[interminabletech]

Missing Notification Icons in Windows 7

A new Windows 7 machine was having trouble with the notification area icons not displaying. A blank area would show for each icon, and it would highlight itself when the mouse went over it, but there was no behavior when clicking.

Here's a rundown for a quick fix I found here:

Back up the Registry by creating a restore point.

Go to Start > Run (or Windows-key + R), type in regedit and hit OK. 

Navigate to the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify

Delete the values IconStreams and PastIconsStream. 

Open up the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), go to the Processes tab, select explorer.exe and click End Process. 

Open the Applications tab and click New Task at the bottom-right of the window. 

In the message box that pops up type in explorer.exe and hit OK. 

Explorer.exe will reload, and the missing icons should now be back in the system-tray where they belong. 

Then if the volume bar isn't there, go to taskbar properties (where the volume was gray) and simply tick the box. 

Thanks to the OP!

[interminabletech]

XP's Slow Shutdown, or Auto Updates DCOM Error

A user reported having a hard time shutting down her Windows XP machine. By design (though not my own), the PC has no access to the internet, which is accomplished by assigning a static IP with no default gateway. The user would initiate the shutdown process from the Start menu, and the PC would hang there for several minutes - sometimes up to ten - before showing the shutdown dialogue. 

I thought at first that the PC was having trouble contacting the DC on the network. I know that Windows PCs on a domain can act funny if they cannot contact the DC.  A ping to the server's hostname resolved to a WAN address, and not even the correct one for this particular network. I thought this was odd, so I checked the DNS entries in the LAN adapter. This was set to the gateway address for the network. I set it instead to the IP for the DC, and just to be sure, I added an entry to the HOSTS file for the server. I could then ping the DC by name. I shut down the PC with no problems.

However, the user came back about a half hour later, saying the problem had come back. She tried to shutdown, and it sat for five minutes before showing the dialogue, and then sat for another five with the "Windows is shutting down" message. 

I finally check the system event log, and found a DCOM error right about the time.

(NOTE: The time in the image is not correct, as this was an image I found here. Thanks to OP!)

Some Googling found a handful of articles describing the same problem with shutting down. It appeared to be a problem with Windows Updates. Because the PC has no access to the internet, and WSUS had not been configured on the domain, the Update service was locking up when trying to shut down. 

I disabled Windows updates (I know, this is bad, but the PC has no internet access, and chances of picking up a bug are practically zero), and disabled the Auto Update service. After this, the PC has had no problems shutting down.

[interminabletech]

The Failed SP3 Install, or Why Can't I ping Google?

A client tried to install XP SP3, so he could then set up Office 2010.  His laptop was at least eight years old, so it was a bit of a lumbering beast.  He had three AV programs running at once, none of them up-to-date, and numerous startup programs running.  

When he tried to install SP3, it took over an hour and a half, which is long even by M$ standards.  When it eventually came back with a "Denied" message, he rebooted and decided to have me look at it another time.  However, he immediately had trouble accessing the internet.

When I started troubleshooting, I started by pinging his gateway, which was fine.  I then pinged the Google DNS server 8.8.8.8, which should always be pingable from anywhere on the internet), which also worked just fine.  However, pinging Google.com failed.  I checked he DNS settings, which were automatically assigned to his network DNS server.  I statically assigned them to open DNS servers, and still he could not ping any public DNS names.  I checked his HOSTS file, which was untouched.  I ran a malware scan, which did find a few infected files, but cleaning them did not help.  I booted into SMWN, still no go.

I then found this article.

Per this advice, I looked and found that SP3 was still listed in the Add/Remove Programs, though the system properties still showed he was at SP2.  I had incorrectly assumed that the failed install would have removed the changes it had made.  I uninstalled SP3, and BOOM!, I'm pinging names like a Cold War submarine.