SBS Wizards won't come up

So this week was pretty busy. From my last post I was in a server closet rebuilding a network and as I was updating SBS Premium 2003 with service packs I updated my blog.

After I was finished with the updates I continued with the process of adding users and computers, configuring reports and backups as is typical with the SBS To Do List. Well, well, well.... wouldn't ya know it - none of the wizards worked.

This wasn't the only problem with the install I also had issues with Exchange not installing or some of the other Support Tools. So the first thing I did was to reinstall the Server Tools/Console.

To reinstall the Server Tools do this:

Place Disk 1 in CD player and either through autoplay or by drilling down to the setup.exe file choose the Set Up Windows Small Business Server on the SBS Splash Screen.

It will run through it's processes and end up on the Welcome to Microsoft Windows Small Business Server Setup page. Click Next three times until you are at the Setup Requirements page.

Here you will click on the down arrow next to the Server Tools list and choose the Maintenance option. This will open up the secondary options. Next to Administration
click the down arrow and choose Reinstall.

Click Next twice and then Finish. Once it is done it will ask you to restart the computer go ahead and log on as Administrator to finish the install. Try the wizard again.

In my case it didn't work for the wizards. So I went ahead and switched the DEP settings to Turn on DEP for all Windows Programs and Services only. This has happened to me a couple times and it soooooooooo frustrating to have Microsoft break their own equipment with Service Packs and Upgrades, but it is not that uncommon with them.

To turn on DEP as stated above:

Go to My Computer, right click and choose Properties. Click on the Advance tab and click on the Performance Settings button. Choose the Data Execution Prevention tab and choose Turn on DEP for all Windows Programs and Services only.

Restart the Computer. Log on as Administrator and try the wizards again.

Both these steps worked for me with the last one being what allowed for the wizards to function properly again. I was able to finish the install and get the clients back into the network properly with a User Migration from the //servername/connectcomputer set up tool.

DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT add users and computers like you do in Windows Server 2003 from the AD. If you do the first thing you will notice is authentication problems, next you will see your Default Domain Policy is not being recognized by the clients, due to no authentication within the directory. With SBS you MUST use the wizards for everything.

J

Exchange, ESEUTIL and the Dirty Shutdown

It is pretty easy to tell when your Exchange server bit the dust. Nobody is getting emails and your ear is ringing from the everyone letting you know this. You get to the Mailbox Store and Public Folder Store and they are unmounted with a big red X covering them. You right click and mount the volume only to be denied.

This is when you have to check for a dirty shutdown and corrupt files in the Exchsrvr folder.

I am forewarning you though. This tip sometimes has the ability to make things worse due to file scrape and deletion. MS support will not like to hear you did this this trick that was created by them. So make sure you have TWO backup copies of the files we are going to work with. So if the first one dumps and you need MS support you can use the second copy and they will be none the wiser.

Here is what to do if you cannot mount your stores:

Find the location of all the important files:

C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA

Stop all the MSExchange Services on the server then copy the folder MDBDATA to the desktop. Inside this folder is the store files.

From the same location as the MDBDATA folder copy the bin folder and paste it to the local C:\ this will make is much easier to run the eseutil tool from the command prompt.

Now start a command line session and get to the bin folder and use the eseutil tool:

C:\bin\eseutil /p "C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\priv1.edb"
C:\bin\eseutil /p "C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\pub1.edb"

This will check the database integrity and repair any problems it may find. If you want a real in depth definition of what is going on look on the Microsoft Web Site or google eseutil.

It will give you a running percentage of the check status on the command line screen. You may also get prompted as to whether or not you really want to do this. As long as you have a second copy of your MDBDATA file you will be OK.

Now that the scans are finished delete the .log and .chk files located in the C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA one by one. Resist the temptation of selecting them all and deleting. You will run into a problem and won't be able to delete them. At least this is my experience.

Now run a defrag on the pub1.edb and priv1.edb files with the commands:

C:\bin\eseutil \d "C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\priv1.edb"
C:\bin\eseutil \d "C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\pub1.edb"

Once this is complete go back to your Exchange Services and restart them. Then go back to your Mailbox Store and Public Folder Store and remount them. Send out some test emails and pray for the best. If you get to the point where you will need to call MS support you can copy the files from the original MDBDATA folder from the desktop back into the one you were working on at anytime.

I hope this helped somebody out there. It took me about three days to figure this out, but once I knew it I never forgot it and I've used it more than once.

J