Chapter 23 - Troubleshooting

This chapter provides solutions for problems that might occur on a computer running Windows NT Server with Services for Macintosh (SFM) installed. This includes problems that both users and administrators might encounter. Network error messages are explained in the Windows NT Server message database, which is available as part of the Help system.

Administrator and User Issues and Solutions

When a Macintosh user is unable to gain access to an SFM resource, first check the Macintosh and ensure that the following are true:

• Macintosh client is using version 6.0.7 or later of the Macintosh operating system (the system software). 

• The Macintosh client is using current versions of its network drivers, and these versions are compatible with the version of the operating system on that Macintosh.

To determine whether the issue is with the Macintosh, try to access a network entity other than the computer running Windows NT Server or printer. (For example, try to access an AppleShare server or a printer that isn't used by SFM.) If the Macintosh cannot access any network entity, the problem might be with the Macintosh.

If a computer running Windows NT Server fails to start, and Event Viewer is filled with AppleTalk error messages see if your network has a bridge that is filtering packets. It might be filtering out the server's requests to find a unique address

See "Other Issues," later in this chapter.

The following are common user problems:

A Macintosh-accessible volume is unavailable to a user. 

• The volume might be configured as a private volume. A private volume is any volume for which the owner, primary group, and/or everyone categories have no access permissions — only the volume's owner has permissions. In this case, only the owner has access to the volume.

  To make the volume accessible to users, the owner should use the Permissions dialog box, available from the MacFile menu, to give the primary group and/or everyone categories at least one permission for the volume. 

• If the Macintosh-accessible volume is on a CDFS volume, and it appears in the Chooser but cannot be selected, the CD-ROM on which it was created might not be in the disk drive. 

  Be sure that the correct CD-ROM is in the disk drive and that the drive door is closed. 

A Macintosh user's password has expired without notification.

• Users will be notified that their passwords have expired only if the MS UAM files are installed on their clients. If they are using the Apple standard UAM, they will be told only that their logon attempts failed and to try again later. For more information on installing the Macintosh client software, see the Teachtext ReadMe file in the Microsoft UAM Volume. 

A user has forgotten his or her password. 

• Assign the user a new password. To do so, use User Manager to reset the password.

A user sees the message that their password is incorrect, even though it was entered correctly. 

• The user might have two accounts, with different passwords, on separate domains. Have the user enter the domain and then the account name in the Name box when they log on. For example: 

  Domain1\alex02A 

The computer running Windows NT Server and SFM appears in the Chooser on Macintosh clients and then disappears. The appearances are erratic and unpredictable. 

• Two physical AppleTalk networks have been given the same network numbers. The server started first works fine. When the second server is started, it appears in the Chooser on one Macintosh client, and then disappears and appears in the Chooser on a different client. The order of appearance is unpredictable.

  Use the Configure button, available when you choose the Network icon in Control Panel, to check the network numbers used for each physical network. When you find the duplicates, change one so that all physical networks use unique network numbers. After you make the change, restart the AppleTalk Protocol on the server on which you made the change. Refer to Chapter 19, "Configuring Services for Macintosh," for more information. 

  If you find no duplicates, see if your network has a bridge that is filtering packets. It might be filtering out the second server's requests to find a unique address.

The computer running Windows NT Server and printers intermittently appears and disappears in the Chooser. 

• Zones and network numbers are no longer in correspondence. 

  When you change the name of a zone, you must shut down the routers directly connected to the networks in question for 10 to 15 minutes before restarting. This allows the other routers to discard old zone information. 

• If you haven't changed zone names recently, this situation could occur if an AppleTalk network number is duplicated on your AppleTalk internet.

Cannot find a file or folder. 

• The user might not have the necessary permissions for the folder that contains the file or folder in question. The administrator or the owner of the folder can reset permissions to allow the user to access the folder.

Cannot save a file with an 8.3 filename from the Macintosh. 

• A short name might already exist with that name; however, Macintosh users cannot see it. 

  Give the 8.3 filename a different name.

Cannot find a server. 

Follow these steps:

1. Be sure the cable system between the client and the server is correct. Be sure the network connection, layout, and cable termination conform to the specifications of the cable system you are using. 

2. Start with the client that can't find the server. If the cable system is LocalTalk, ensure that the LocalTalk connector box is firmly attached to the printer port on the back of the Macintosh client, not the modem port. 

   If the cable system is not LocalTalk, ensure that the network connector is securely connected to its port. Select the Network icon in Control Panel to review other network settings. 

3. Determine whether other clients are having the same problem. 

   If they are, check the cables and connections at the server, and ensure that the server is operating properly. If the server is not the source of the problem, proceed to step 4. 

4. Check for breaks in the cable system. If the missing server is on a local network, check each client between the client that can't find the server and the server until you find the server in the Chooser. The break in the cable system is between the client that shows the server in the Chooser and the one that does not. 

   If the missing server is on a different physical network in the internet, use your router seeding plan and server information table to determine which client is the first one beyond the router that links the two networks. Test that client, and then test each client beyond it—in the direction of the server—until the server appears in the Chooser. For more information about router seeding plans and server databases, see Chapter 17, "Planning Your AppleTalk Network." 

   If the server was visible at the first client, work backward toward your own network, testing the client adjacent to each router until the server fails to appear in the Chooser. Isolate the break by testing the clients on this network. 

5. When you have isolated the network break, check the network cables and connections at that location to make sure all are securely attached, and try again to display the server in the Chooser. If necessary, try replacing cables or connectors.

Cannot see any zones within the Chooser on a Macintosh. 

• Make sure AppleTalk is active in the Chooser. 

• Open Control Panel, and then open the Network icon. Make sure the correct network port is selected. 

  There might be router problems. Check for the following:

  • The Macintosh might be running on an AppleTalk Phase 2 Network without the correct Ethernet driver. 

  • The router might be using Phase 1 and the rest of the internet is using Phase 2. 

  • The Macintosh is configured for one type of network media (such as LocalTalk) but is actually on a network that uses a different media type (such as Ethernet or token ring).

If the problem persists, make sure all routers are configured properly.

The Microsoft UAM Volume cannot be found. 

• When the computer running Windows NT Server was installed, there might have been insufficient disk space for the Microsoft UAM Volume. Or the computer running Windows NT Server might have been installed without an NTFS partition. 

  In this case, you can create the volume by typing and entering the following at the command prompt: 

  setup /i oemnxpsm.inf /c uaminstall 

  This command line copies UAM files to the AppleShare folder in the first NTFS partition and sets up Registry values for this volume in the Registry Editor. 

View of a folder is erased or does not match the view selected in the View menu. 

The folder owner must log on to the server, connect to the Macintosh-accessible volume, and select a view (such as View By Icon, View By Name, and so on) from the View menu. The selected view then remains in effect.

The Finder occasionally cannot show the correct view of a folder. Having the folder owner log on and select the view resolves the situation.

A file is now displayed with the default PC icon instead of the correct icon. 

• The application that uses that type of data file might have been removed from the Macintosh.

  If the file had no resource fork, use the Apple ResEdit utility to reset the file type and file creator of the file. Use this utility only if you are experienced with it.

A PC user cannot see the contents of a folder. 

• The PC user does not have sufficient permissions to view the contents of the folder. Use the computer running Windows NT Server to make sure the user has Read permission, or the folder owner can use a Macintosh to give the PC user both the See Files and See Folders permissions. (A PC user must have both these permissions to get the Windows NT Server Read permission.)

A Macintosh user did not receive a server message. 

• Only Macintosh clients running version 2.1 (or later) of the AppleTalk Filing Protocol can see server messages. Make sure the client has installed version 3.0 of AppleShare, which uses later versions of this protocol.

A user cannot automatically connect to a Macintosh-accessible volume using an alias. 

• Macintosh clients can be configured to automatically connect to volumes when the client is started or when the user double-clicks an alias to an object on a volume. However, automatic connection to volumes is not supported by the Macintosh system software if the volume is configured with a volume password, or if the user originally connected to the volume using Microsoft Authentication. 

  If the volume has a password, you can mount it through the Chooser and then use the alias. Or you can specify that it be opened at system startup time when you mount the volume. 

  If you are using Microsoft Authentication to log on to the server, you must mount the volume through the Chooser and then use the alias. 

Printing Issues and Solutions

The following are common situations involving printers or printing devices:

AppleTalk printers don't show up in the Printers Folder's Available AppleTalk Printer's dialog box. 

• Clicking the AppleTalk Zone name does not display the printers in that zone. You must double-click the Zone name from this dialog box.

Printing error messages consistently appear when the printing device prints documents. 

• Reset the printing device by turning it off and then on again.

The PostScript error "Offending command" appears at the end of the printed document or elsewhere. 

• A user or administrator might have canceled the print job while it was spooling. No action is necessary, and you can reprint the file as desired. 

• A user is spooling to a PSTODIB printing device, and it has PostScript level 2 elements or is a PostScript level 2 document.

Print jobs fail to print. 

• Check each printing device that prints jobs for these printers. If one of the printing devices is turned off, all printing devices can stop printing.

Macintosh extended characters (such as bullets, smart quotes, and copyright and trademark symbols) are changed into other characters on the LaserWriter II. 

• Set the communications port for the LaserWriter correctly, referring to the owner's manual for the printing device. If the LaserWriter hasn't been set correctly, printing problems can occur, regardless of how you set the COM port in Control Panel in Windows NT Server. This problem affects Macintoshes more frequently than PCs because Macintoshes use extended characters more often than other clients do. 

Other Issues

Filenames — POSIX 

• Do not use POSIX filenames in the same directory tree that Macintosh users can access through Macintosh-accessible volumes. The POSIX subsystem is case sensitive (that is, you could create one file called accounts, another called ACCOUNTS and even another called Accounts).

MCA Computers and LocalTalk Cards 

• Because of a hardware issue, the LocalTalk card should not be set to either IRQL.5 or IRQL.6. Otherwise, Windows NT Server will not reboot on MCA computers. 

• The interrupt setting used for the Local Talk card should not be shared with any other device.

Reinstalling and Permissions 

• If you install Windows NT Server on a computer that already has an NTFS partition, or if you reinstall Windows NT Server, you cannot designate or redesignate a directory as a Macintosh-accessible volume. You can avoid this situation by reformatting the NTFS partition or by simply not using formerly created NTFS directories when creating Macintosh-accessible volumes.

Adding and Removing Trusted Domains 

• If a domain administrator adds or removes a trusted domain, you need to stop and restart the File Server for Macintosh so that it can register the changes.