Windows XP and 2000 Tips & Tricks UPDATE, August 26, 2002

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

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(below COMMENTARY)

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August 26, 2002—In this issue:

1. COMMENTARY

2. FAQS

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS

4. CONTACT US

1. COMMENTARY
(contributed by John Savill, FAQ Editor, [email protected])

This week, I decided to give "Windows XP and 2000 Tips & Tricks UPDATE" a bit of a problem-solving theme. I explain why you can't use certain reserved words to create DNS zone names, why you can't use Windows 2000's Scheduled Task Wizard to run tasks with SYSTEM account credentials, and why you can't use Win2K's 3D Maze screen saver with the OS's monitor power-saving mode. I also tell you why users might experience errors when using Win2K Server Terminal Services to connect to network shares and how to perform a quiet installation of a Microsoft Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

Microsoft recently released Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), which you can download from the URL below. The company is close to releasing Windows XP SP1 and I'll let you know when it's available.
http://office.microsoft.com

My new book, "The Windows XP/2000 Answer Book: A Complete Resource from the Desktop to the Enterprise" (Addison-Wesley), is now available for preorder on Amazon.com at the URL below. The book will be available at the end of September.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0321113578/windowsntfaq

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While you're there, check out this article on Exchange Server Antivirus Software:
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2. FAQS

A. Non-Active Directory (AD)-integrated zones (i.e., zones that don't store content in AD) use a file to store zone content. Zone names that contain reserved words will violate certain OS rules and result in an error.

Reserved words that you can't use as part of a DNS zone name are

Sample invalid zone names include nul.savilltech.com and con.windows2000faq.com. To create a valid DNS zone name, you must either select other words or use the Dnscmd utility to create the zone. Dnscmd lets you use a /file switch to specify the physical filename you want to use. For example, type

DNSCMD /zoneadd con.windows2000faq.com /primary /file conzone.com.dns

to specify conzone.com.dns as the filename.

A. If you attempt to specify the SYSTEM account when you use the Scheduled Task Wizard to create a new task, Win2K will display the following error message:

The attempt to log on to the account associated with the task failed, therefore, the task did not run.

The specific error is "0x80070057: The parameter is incorrect". Verify that the task's Run-as name and password are valid and try again.

This error message results from a bug in the Win2K Scheduled Task Wizard. To work around this problem, use the AT command to schedule your tasks—the AT command automatically uses SYSTEM account credentials to run tasks. If you subsequently use the Scheduled Task Wizard to modify an existing task that you created with the AT command, you'll have to enter alternative credentials for the task, and the task will no longer run under the SYSTEM account.

A. If you select the 3D Maze screen saver and you also use Win2K's power-saving mode to power down your monitor, the monitor won't go into power-saving mode as you might expect. Instead, the monitor waits until the screen saver starts, then waits for the power-saving mode timer to expire. This delay is the result of a bug in the 3D Maze screen saver that resets the monitor power-saving mode timer before the screen saver executes. No fix is available for this problem, and Microsoft recommends that users select an alternative screen saver to use with the monitor power-saving mode.

A. When a Terminal Services client connects to a network device, the Windows network redirector component creates a File Control Block (FCB) that handles the state of open files. When multiple users running Terminal Services sessions connect to the same network resource, a bug in Win2K prevents the network redirector from creating more than one FCB. As a result, when one user disconnects, the OS closes the FCB, which terminates all other remaining user connections.

If the remaining users were accessing data on the network resource, they will receive the error "Disk or Network Error".

If the remaining users were running a program on the network resource, the application might exit or display the error "C0000006 : In Page I/O Error".

Microsoft currently doesn't have a fix for this problem, although the same error doesn't exist in Windows .NET Server (Win.NET Server). Microsoft recommends that Win2K users copy all network resources to the local machine, then use the Subst command to create a dummy drive letter that points to the local path. However, the whole point of creating network resources is to be able to share those resources, and I doubt most users will follow Microsoft's recommendation.

A. A typical JVM installation requires that you reboot your machine and alerts you to any problems the installer encountered. However, you can use the /q and /qq switches to control the reboot requirement and the reporting of any problems. To prevent the installation from rebooting the system but still have it notify you of any problems, you would add the /q switch. For example,

msjavx86 /c:"javatrig.exe /exe_install /l /q" /q:a /r:n

To prevent the installation from rebooting the system and from notifying you of problems, you would add the /qq switch. For example,

msjavx86 /c:"javatrig.exe /exe_install /l /qq" /q:a /r:n

To download the JVM and obtain more information, visit the Microsoft Web site at the URL below.
http://www.microsoft.com/java

3. ANNOUNCEMENTS
(brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)

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Windows & .NET Magazine Network Road Show 2002 is coming this fall to New York, Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco! Industry experts Mark Minasi and Paul Thurrott will show you how to shore up your system's security and what desktop security features are planned for Microsoft .NET and beyond. Sponsored by Microsoft and NetIQ. Registration is free, but space is limited so sign up now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/roadshow

4. CONTACT US
Here's how to reach us with your comments and questions:

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