Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE--October 6, 2003

Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE, October 6, 2003, —brought to you by the Windows & .NET Magazine Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site
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1. Commentary

2. FAQs

3. Announcements

4. Event

5. Contact Us

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

This week, I explain why you might receive a file-copy error when you perform an in-place upgrade of Windows Server 2003, why a Windows XP machine's CPU usage climbs to 100 percent when you right-click in Windows Explorer, and why the Advanced Power Management (APM) tab appears in the Control Panel Power Options applet on only certain machines. I also tell you where to get the Windows 2003 domain rename tool, how to add a user to Active Directory (AD) from the command line, and how to delete a user from AD from the command line.

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2. FAQs

Q. Why do I receive a file-copy error when I perform an in-place upgrade of Windows Server 2003?

A. If you install Windows 2003 over an existing Windows 2003 installation, you might receive any of the following errors:

You might also notice errors in the scssetup.log file in the %systemroot%security folder. These errors are the result of a corrupted secedit.sdb file. This file corruption often occurs when a computer suddenly stops rather than completing a controlled shutdown.

To resolve these errors, you must use the esentutl.exe file to repair the database by performing the following steps:

You'll then be able to perform the in-place upgrade.

Q. Why does my Windows XP machine's CPU usage climb to 100 percent when I right-click a file or folder within Windows Explorer?

A. XP contains a known bug that causes the CPU usage to spike to 100 percent when you access the context menu under certain configurations. This bug causes file-copy operations to halt, network connections to slow, and streaming media (e.g., audio, video) to become distorted. To work around this bug, you need to disable the GUI's transition effects by performing the following steps:

Another solution that often works is to left-click the file or folder before right-clicking to display the context menu.

Q. Why does the Advanced Power Management (APM) tab appear in the Control Panel Power Options applet on only some of my machines?

A. Windows uses APM when Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) isn't available because of hardware limitations. For APM to be available, the computer must support APM 1.2 and not be listed in the Disable APM list in the biosinfo.inf file that the system checks during installation. Also, keep in mind that

You can check the APM status of your Windows XP and later machine by performing the following steps:

Your computer will display its APM status. For example, when you type this command on an ACPI-enabled machine, the command will return the following result:

This is an ACPI machine, APM is NOT relevant on this machine

Q. Where can I get the Windows Server 2003 domain rename tool?

A. The latest version of the domain rename tool for Windows 2003 is available at Microsoft's Web site. After you download the utility, open the file to automatically unzip the two included files (gpfixup.exe and random.exe). Before you can run the random.exe utility, you must raise the forest functionality level to "Windows Server 2003" level.

Q. How can I add a user to Active Directory (AD) from the command line without using a script?

A. Windows Server 2003 provides the Dsadd command, which lets you add objects (e.g., computers, contacts, groups, organizational units--OUs, quotas, users) to AD. The basic command syntax is

dsadd user  -samid  -pwd 

For example, to add user John to AD, I typed

C:> dsadd user CN=John,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com -samid John -pwd Pa55word

The system returned

dsadd succeeded:CN=John,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com

For a full list of options, type

C:> dsadd user /?

The options let you set the user's full name details, email address, group ownership, and Web page as well as set the password to never expire. The following example shows the use of several of these options:

C:>dsadd user CN=John,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com -samid John -pwd Pa55word -fn John -ln Savill -display "John Savill" -email [email protected] -webpg http://www.savilltech.com -pwdneverexpires yes -memberof "CN=Domain Admins,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com"dsadd succeeded:CN=John,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com

Notice that the "-memberof" option, which specifies the user's group ownership, is in quotes because the DN contains spaces.

Q. How can I remove a user from Active Directory (AD) from the command line without using a script?

A. Windows Server 2003's Dsrm command lets you remove objects from AD. The command syntax is

dsrm 

For example, to delete a user named piggy, you'd type

C:>dsrm CN=piggy,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com

The computer will ask you to confirm the deletion:

Are you sure you wish to delete CN=piggy,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com (Y/N)? y

If you answer "y", the computer will return the following response:

dsrm succeeded:CN=piggy,CN=Users,DC=it,DC=uk,DC=savilltech,DC=com

To avoid being prompted to confirm the deletion, you can append "-noprompt" (without the quotes) to the end of the command string.

3. Announcements
(from Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)

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