Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE--May 9, 2005

Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE, May 9, 2005, —brought to you by the Windows IT Pro Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site
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FAQs

Commentary
by John Savill, FAQ Editor, [email protected]

In this issue, I tell you how to install the Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Inventory Tool for Dell Update and how to create a Microsoft Office 2003 installation source that has an integrated service pack and hotfixes. I also explain why SMS OS Deployment Feature Pack clients can't find a distribution point if you use Active Directory (AD) sites as your SMS site boundaries. Finally, I tell you about the new /NoExecute switch that's added to the boot.ini file after you update a machine to Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows XP SP2 and how to determine whether Windows 2003 Release 2 (R2) is installed on a machine?

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FAQs

Q. How can I install the Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Inventory Tool for Dell Update?

A. In partnership with Dell, Microsoft has released an inventory tool that scans and updates Dell-brand machines. You can download the tool at http://www.microsoft.com/smserver/downloads/2003/tools/dellupdates.asp . After downloading the file, open it to extract the installation files, then install the tool by performing these steps:

You'll now see new updates available in the Software Updates group in the SMS Administrator Console.

Q. How can I create a Microsoft Office 2003 installation source that has an integrated service pack and hotfixes?

A. You can create an Office 2003 installation source that has an integrated service pack (in this case, Service Pack 1--SP1) and hotfixes to avoid having to manually install the updates later. Ideally, you should perform this process on an administrative Office 2003 installation so that you don't have to enter product keys or other information. First, download the latest Office service pack at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9C51D3A6-7CB1-4F61-837E-5F938254FC47&displaylang=en . Then extract the service pack to a temporary location (e.g., D:tempoffice2003sp1) by executing the following command:

D:tempOffice2003SP1-kb842532-fullfile-enu.exe/t:d:tempoffice2003sp1 /c

(The commands wrap to several lines here because of space constraints, but you should enter each command on one line.) Click Yes to accept the license agreement. You can now patch the core Office component by executing this command:

D:tempoffice2003sp1>msiexec /p d:tempoffice2003sp1MAINSP1ff.msp /a"D:SoftwareMicrosoft Office 2003 AdminPRO11.MSI" shortfilenames=true/qb

Next, patch the Office Web Components by running this command:

D:tempoffice2003sp1>msiexec /p d:tempoffice2003sp1owc11SP1ff.msp/a "D:SoftwareMicrosoft Office 2003 AdminOWC11.MSI"shortfilenames=true /qb

The Office 2003 installation source is now integrated with SP1. It's also possible to integrate hotfixes. For example, you can download the Update for Office 2003 (KB885828) at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=160FB267-810B-4B40-BC34-E55E25D07A7E&displaylang=en . Then extract the files by running this command:

D:tempoffice2003-kb885828-fullfile-enu.exe /c/t:d:tempoffice2003tagpatch

Again, click Yes to accept the license agreement. You can now integrate the hotfix into your Office installation source. To do so, run this command:

msiexec /p d:tempoffice2003tagpatchMSOff.msp /a"d:SoftwareMicrosoft Office 2003 AdminPRO11.MSI" shortfilenames=true/qb

The Office installation now has the integrated hotfix.

Q. I use Active Directory (AD) sites as my Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) site boundaries. Why can't my SMS OS Deployment Pack clients can't find a distribution point?

A. SMS 2003 lets you define sites in terms of IP subnets or AD sites. If you define your SMS boundaries by using AD sites instead of subnets, you might receive an error message that says a distribution point for the OS package couldn't be found. The reason you receive this error is that the OS Deployment Feature Pack installation process can't query AD to find the site for the client. Therefore, the client doesn't fall within the boundary of an SMS site and can't access distribution points (which are restricted to clients in designated SMS sites). A workaround is to use IP subnets for your SMS boundaries or to install the hotfix that's included in the OS Deployment Feature Pack (but isn't automatically installed). The hotfix is the file sms2003-sp1-kb888311-x86-enu.exe.

Q. What's the new /NoExecute switch that's added to the boot.ini file after you update a machine to Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows XP SP2?

A. The /NoExecute switch relates to the new data execution prevention (DEP) technologies that Microsoft introduced in Windows 2003 SP1 and Windows XP SP2. DEP technologies help stop malicious code from accessing data pages. Two types of DEP technologies exist: software-enforced and hardware-enforced. The table at http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/images/tableNoExecute shows the four parameters you can use with the /NoExecute switch.

Q. How can I check whether I have Windows Server 2003 Release 2 (R2) installed?

A. To confirm whether you have Windows 2003 R2 installed, check for the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionR2Setup registry subkey. You'll also see a R2BuildNumber value that indicates the exact build of the R2 release.

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