The Mole #18: Technical Answers from Inside Microsoft - Installing Service Packs, Common Folders, IIS

Article
02/09/2009

September 27, 1999

Editors Note The questions and answers below are from the Inside Microsoft column that appears regularly on the TechNet Web site at the following location: https://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/insider/default.mspx. To find out how to submit questions of your own, see the end of this article or go to https://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/insider/default.mspx.

The TechNet Mole provides expert answers from deep within Microsoft to questions from IT professionals. This installment focuses on these issues:

Mole's Guide to Serial Service Pack Installation
Creating Common folders on the Windows NT Start Menu
IIS: Different Intranet Site Name to Computer Name

Mole's Guide to Serial Service Pack Installation

Hey Mole, Answer This!

With all the server applications available for Windows NT 4.0, how do you properly install the various combinations of applications? For Instance, say you want to set up a single server installation of the following products.

Example 1.

Windows NT 4.0 with its service packs...and/or hotfixes

Exchange 5.5 with it's service packs...and/or hot fixesIIS4 with its fixes/hotfixesRRAS with its service packs and/or hotfixesIE5.0

Example 2.

Windows NT 4.0 with service packs

Proxy Server 2.0 with fixesRRAS with fixesIE5.0

As you can see, for the typical small business that can't afford a server for every application, we must struggle to get the various applications running together. What normally happens is you do something out of the sequence and you get some nasty event log error message and/or the application doesn't run, you then open a support call with Microsoft and the Support engineer explains the likely culprit to be the way things were installed.

Well, I've never seen the holy grail of installation procedures for combination servers and you don't get to do it enough to figure it all out yourself.

If you could put that little nose of yours to work on gathering up the tidbits of documentation that must exist below ground somewhere in Redmond, many of us above ground out here in the trenches would be greatly impressed with your hunting skills.

athomas

Dear athomas,

Mole is glad you're not A Doubting Thomas.

In fact, your faith in Mole's diggery has inspired him to unearth all the answers you requested, and perhaps a few more, besides. Before we proceed to the finer points of Service Pack arcana, though, you have to listen to Mole's Plan It! Test It! lecture first. Again.

The "approved Mole method", or "think before you implement"

Whether you're doing something as simple as replacing a DLL or as heavy duty as updating your version of Windows NT, always follow these steps. Omitting any of them may have serious consequences for your mental health.

Read the ReadMe File
Plan
Test in a test environment
Re-plan if necessary
Test some more
Back up the production machine that will receive the Service Packs or hot fixes
Okay, now you can install in the production environment
Testing a restore to a test machine doesn't hurt, either.

Mole knows the two most common reasons not to follow each and every one of these steps to the letter are 1) you think you don't have the time, and 2) you know you don't have a dedicated test network that replicates your production environment exactly. Nonetheless, it's important to do as much front-end thinking and back-end testing as you possibly can. Put it this way--you can't afford not to.

Scenario #1--The OS comes first

The application (e.g. Exchange) Service Pack you need to apply requires that a specific Operating System Service Pack be installed. (This is one of the things you learn by reading the application's ReadMe file.) Here you will apply the Operating System Service Pack first, the application Service Pack next.

Scenario #2--Age before beauty

Now let's look at a case where you want to apply an application Service Pack.

The currently installed operating system Service Pack meets the requirements of the application Service Pack, but you want to install a newer operating Service Pack anyway. Got that?

The basic rule is that you should install the Service Pack(s) in order of file dates, oldest to newest. This rule of thumb can be applied to two or more combinations of application and operating system Service Packs.

Perform compatibility testing after applying each Service Pack, if possible in an isolated test environment that duplicates your production environment. Do what you can.

And now, the exceptions:

Service Packs and OEM drivers

Microsoft recommends that you reinstall customized Windows NT components or drivers provided by the original equipment manufacturer, otherwise known as the OEM, after you install a new Windows NT Service Pack. The operating system Service Pack may update OEM-related components, but it's best not to count on it. (One example of OEM software is Compaq's Support Software Diskette, or SSD.)

Consult Knowledge Base article **139815:**Windows NT Service Packs and OEM Drivers for more information.
A specific issue between Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4 and Service Pack 5 that impacts "SMTP and News" and "MCIS (Microsoft Commercial Internet Server)"

From Knowledge Base article **234542:**SMTP and NNTP Are Updated with New Files by Service Pack 5:

"There are a number of non-core service pack files (ones not installed by the Service Pack Setup program) that were updated with Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5 (SP5) that are not updated by Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4."

Translation: There are some files that are in both SP4 and SP5 but are updated only in SP5. These files were updated to reduce potential system crashes and prevent data corruption. Specific applications affected are SMTP, News from the Windows NT Option Pack (NTOP) and Microsoft Commercial Internet Server (MCIS).

Note: that all fixes for IIS and RRAS are included in the Windows NT Service Packs.

Mole's Thoughts on Hotfixes

As you probably know, a hotfix is a collection of one or more files that can be applied to a system in order to correct a specific problem. They are not regression tested (Service Packs are). Microsoft recommends that if at all possible, you wait for the next Service Pack that contains the hotfix. Mole concurs.

Find information on applying (and removing) hotfixes in **184305:**How to Install and Remove Hotfixes with HOTFIX.EXE. Another good article to add to add to your tool kit is **166839:**How to Apply Windows NT Hotfixes Along with Windows NT Service Packs.

Mole's Service Pack and Hotfix Reading List

TechNet

Strategies for MS Exchange Service Packs and Version Upgrades

Access Service Packs and hotfixes from TechNet or go the TechNet website for the latest downloads: https://www.microsoft.com/technet.

Knowledge Base articles

185508: Error Message - Service Pack Setup Error. Here's a snippet from this article:

When you attempt to install Service Pack 4 for Windows NT 4.0, you may receive the following error message:

Service Pack Setup Error. You do not have permission to update

Windows NT. Please contact your system administrator.

This behavior can occur if you run the Update.exe file from a folder other than the Update folder. The Update.exe file must be run from the Update folder.

196269: When to Reinstall a Service Pack

After initial installation of a service pack for Windows NT, there are times the service pack may need to be reinstalled. This article describes those scenarios.

238552: How to Install Hotfixes and Check Versions of Installed Hotfixes

When you receive a hotfix from Microsoft Quick Fix Engineering (QFE), you have three different options to implement this fix. This article explains all.

EXCHANGE ISSUES

235978: Helpful Tips and Suggestions for Applying Exchange Server Service Packs

This article provides general information about applying service packs for Microsoft Exchange Server. This information can help you avoid problems that may arise during the installation process and help make the installation process as smooth as possible. The following topics are discussed:

· Before applying a service pack

· Applying a service pack

199662: Service Pack Update Fails on Exchange Standard Edition Running on a Cluster Node

If you install Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Standard Edition on one of the nodes participating in a Microsoft Cluster Server Configuration, you will not be able to install any Exchange Server 5.5 service pack.

SQL SERVER

192708: Installation Order, Cluster Server Support for SQL or MSMQ

When setting up a new SQL Server for clustering, a specific order of installation is recommended. This article documents the optimal procedure for installing multiple Microsoft products, including Internet Information Server

(IIS), Cluster Server, SQL Server, Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC), and/or Microsoft Message Queue Server (MSMQ), for use in a cluster environment.

COMPAQ ISSUES

162250: Service Packs on Compaq MPS Computers May Cause Systems to Stop Responding

After you install a Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack on a Dual Processor Compaq System with a Compaq SSD installed, the computer may stop responding at the Windows NT logon screen, without displaying any error messages. Read the article to see why and what to do.

177202: Installing Windows NT Service Packs with Compaq's SSD and Insight Manager

Conflicts may exist with certain files between Microsoft Windows NT service packs, Compaq's Insight Manager and Compaq's Support Software Diskettes (SSD). This article discusses the recommended method for installing these updates.

This is not the Holy Grail, of course, but perhaps it will do in the meantime.

Dear Mole,

On my Windows NT Server 4 (Service Pack 5) Programs menu there used to be a dividing line between "Windows NT Explorer" and "Administrative Tools (Common)". Recently this disappeared. I know it's hardly essential, but it's useful for quickly locating the admin tools. Is there any way of getting it back?

Phil Sharpe, IT Support, Norbar Torque Tools Ltd.

Hi Phil,

FYI, programs that appear below that dividing line on the Start/Programs menu are called "Common" folders. Common folders allow easy access to those programs no matter who is logged in. They're stored under winnt\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu\Programs. What appears below the line is yours to designate, once you know how.

Check out the Knowledge Base article titled, **154808:**How to Create a Common Folder in Windows NT 4.0. It describes a way to create Common folders via the Start button. Alternatively, you can create the folders, shortcuts, etc. directly from Internet Explorer.

IIS: Different Intranet Site Name to Computer Name

Hey Mole,

I'm running our company intranet using IIS on NT 4. At the moment, to access the intranet site, users just type the computer name into the address field in their browser (IE4), and up comes the site. How do I give the intranet site a different name to the computer name, and what do they need to type in their browser address field to get to the site?

Pete Hamel, The Research Business International Ltd

Pete,

Mole hopes you're using Internet Information Server version 4.0, because if you are, your prayers are answered. It doesn't make much sense to have to dedicate an entire server to host only one Web site. Before version 4.0, IIS was able to provide multi-hosting with multiple IP addresses. In IIS 4.0, it not only provides support for hosting multiple Web sites on a single computer running Windows NT Server, but also for hosting them on a single IP address. Such a deal!

IIS does this through the use of a host header that most new browsers support—for instance, version 4.0 of Internet Explorer 4.0 and version 4.0 of Netscape 4.0 or greater both do. This feature is most commonly known as "hosting virtual servers."

If you want to do this right away, read Knowledge Base article **190008:**Using Host Header Names to Host Multiple Sites from One IP Address and get on with it.

If you're managing your company's Intranet (or even a part of it), you should study the Microsoft Internet Information Server Resource Kit. Another good resource is MS Press' Running Microsoft® Internet Information Server. Both books cover version 4.0 of IIS.

Got Questions? Mail the Mole

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Credits

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