The Mole #25: Technical Answers from Inside Microsoft - Windows 2000 & DNS, Blue Screens, Packet Filtering, DLLs
January 3, 2000
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:
Windows® 2000, DNS, RFCs and that annoying Underscore
Getting Rid of the Blues (Screens, that is)
Proxy Server Packet Filtering - Isn't
DLL Heck
On This Page
Windows 2000, DNS, RFCs and that annoying Underscore
Getting rid of the Blues (Screens, that is)
Proxy Server Packet Filtering - Isn't
DLL Heck
Got Questions? Mail the Mole
Credits
Windows 2000, DNS, RFCs and that annoying Underscore
Mr. Mole,
We have a domain name that has an underscore character in it (OURCOMPANY_1). I know that Windows 2000 subscribes to industry standards and no underscores are allowed in Workstation names or "Domain names". Will we have to rename our domain in order to have a smooth upgrade to Windows 2000 for our DCs?
Joel Stidley MCP Plano Molding Company
Hi Joel,
Mole will celebrate the New Year and New century by answering your question "No" and "Yes". If you live entirely within a Microsoft world and never deal with outside servers there's no need to change your domain name. But does this sound realistic?
Here's the scoop: Request for Comments (RFC) 1035 states that only letters, numbers, and hyphens are valid. However, Microsoft DNS allows less stringent naming policies in order to comply with many client-naming conventions found in the wider world. It's all about the added functionality of dynamic updates. When you use an underscore or other special character, the name is updated with Microsoft DNS. You then receive the warning message telling you that only Microsoft DNS is a supported method and other DNS servers may not support the registration.
Should "other DNS servers" be part of your reality, then Mole says "Yes", rename your domain. Lose the underscore. Just don't be cavalier about it. As Mole has mentioned before in his September 13th column, renaming a domain is not a trivial undertaking. Here's a Knowledge Base article to get you headed up the right tunnel: 178009: Renaming a Domain: Process and Side Effects.
For additional information about DNS and RFCs, please see RFCs 1034 and 1035.
Pick a good name,
Mole
Getting rid of the Blues (Screens, that is)
Dear Mole
Recently I upgraded 100 PC's of various manufacturers and specs from Windows NT® 4.0 SP3 to SP4. 30 of them were Gateway 2000 G5 -200.
Approximately half of the Gateway's blue screened on me resulting in rebuilds or in some cases a complete reinstall Since I have other offices at which I will be carrying out the same works over the next few weeks I was wondering if there is any reason that the dreaded Blue Screen Of Death only seems to appear on some of the Gateway PC's.
Ray Howells
Hey Ray,
Mole smells a rat. Heh, heh. Just kidding, Ray. No. Mole thinks the Blue Screens could be related to some hardware component or driver file. Nothing has been reported that describes any inherent flaw in Gateway computers. So that leaves you with a couple of questions:
What's different about the software or hardware in the machines that upgraded just fine and the machines that blue screened?
Was there anything peculiar about the installation method? What was the source of the Service Pack files? Over the network? Or local install from "official" Microsoft SP CDs? Consider the possibility that bad bits were used - it happens.
There's also our best friend, the Knowledge Base, to consider. You'll need any information you've gleaned from the blue screen, such as a STOP "hex number" messages (for example, "Stop 0x0000001e"), or file names. Use this information in your KB query. A good KB query phrase to use is "stop blue". Start your query on the wide side by using fewer keywords. Depending on the number of articles and the content of the articles that come back at you, start narrowing your search. Or simply start a slightly different query.
Microsoft Technical Support is well versed in troubleshooting Blue Screens. If all else fails and you decide it's time to contact product support, before dialing be sure to read the Knowledge Base article, **129845:**Blue Screen Preparation Before Contacting Microsoft. It'll help you make the best of the tech support opportunity.
Good luck beating the Blues!
Mole
Proxy Server Packet Filtering - Isn't
Mole,
I am trying to find information on the SETUP of Packet Filtering within MS Proxy 2.0
I am familiar with the basics on MSP - but now my business has "cable" modem and we installed a second NIC - once I turn on packet filtering....... all internet access comes to a halt - I'd prefer not to guess and have been searching the "net" for the last 3 hours - I found a few articles - but nothing about the setup of packet filtering in MSP 2.0??
John Newis
Hello John,
The answer is: Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) available on TechNet's Service Packs CD3. But that won't tell you how I got it, now will it? And it might not be the answer for anyone else with a similar problem ("When I enable Packet Filtering on my Proxy Server computer, user cannot access the Internet through the Proxy Server computer"). They're not all alike, these rascally problems. So here's the Mole's own trail o' Raisinettes from question to answer:
Mole started with Proxy Server 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions, which can be found at https://support.microsoft.com/support/proxy/faq/default.asp. Anyone responsible for setting up or administrating Proxy Server should read through this FAQ. Mole found Proxy Server 2.0 - Packet Filtering Frequently Asked Questions at https://support.microsoft.com/support/Proxy/FAQ/packetfiltering.asp right off the bat. And when you go there you'll find that the second question sounds a lot like yours, John. And the answer is downloadable above.
But here's another gem for one and all: **238375:**List of Fixes in Proxy Server 2.0 Service Pack 1. If you see on the list a problem you are having, then download the service pack (available on Service Packs CD3), test, and implement. Mole begs this one indulgence: Please don't just download and apply the service pack because it's new and shiny and there. Or you may find yourself looking around on the big lawns at the Microsoft campus for Mole's burrow door.
A good overview to start with (and review) is the TechNet Online article, Enhancing Network Security through Packet Filtering, written by Brien M. Posey, MCSE, for TechRepublic.
Oh - one more thing while we're at it: Here's an article that has been recently added to TechNet, Capacity Planning Scenarios - MS Proxy Server.
A fond filtered farewell,
Mole
DLL Heck
Dear Mole,
Can you suggest references or research techniques for diagnosing and resolving problems with Microsoft System DLL conflicts? My company is typically concerned with the redistributables that come with the development environments for VC and VB although some of the DLLs we rely on are distributed with IE. The problem typically looks like this:
I can see that a customer has installed newer versions of certain system DLLs than the ones we provide and I know that they are reporting a strange bug that we can't reproduce in our lab. The system DLLs are one source of suspicion.
- Some of the DLLs are interdependent and their updates may require updates in the DLLs they depend on. I suspect the customer's DLLs may be out of sync. Is there any sort of a reference page that says what versions of supporting DLLs are required for each version of a given DLL?
Some of them have even newer updates available than the ones the customer installed. Is there any sort of reference page that links a particular version of a DLL to all the Knowledge Base articles that were addressed in that update of the DLL?
Once in a while, it appears that a DLL may require some kind of special registration information beyond what might be created by calling it's DllRegisterServer function. Is there a reference for this sort of information?
If these references aren't available, perhaps you know a way that I could research the same sort of information on, just for example, MSVCRT.DLL version 6.0.8397.0. Searching the Knowledge Base for MSVCRT.DLL produces lots of hits, but if there's a document in there that has this kind of information available, I missed it.
Dan Smith
Dear Dan,
There's a special tunnel in Mole's subterranean universe, and he wanders down it from time to time, particularly in winter when he can't ever seem to get all the chill out of his Molish bones. In the very deepest chamber against the very farthest wall there's a futon and a reading light and a stack of old PC World magazines that just crack Mole up. You can't help but notice the wall sort of radiates a deep orange earthy glow. It's warm to the touch, which is why Mole likes it here. Very cozy. What's on the other side of the wall, you ask? Why, the hot fires of DLL Hell, a place it seems you've heard about, Dan.
Your problem is neither unique nor new. It's been a problem for every IT Pro ever since the second DLL was written. "DLL Version Control Problem" is just another name for hell. So don't be taken in by niceties.
You'll be pleased to know that help's on the way with Windows 2000. But right here, right now, check out my pals at the Microsoft Developer's Network (MSDN) website. They have a cool tool called DLL Help Database located at https://support.microsoft.com/servicedesks/fileversion/default.asp?vartarget=msdn that queries a database about file versions shipped with a selected set of Microsoft products. It's not only useful in the extreme but long overdue. I ran your file name, Dan, and came up with a frightening list of just about every MS Office product you'd ever care to install. MSVCRT.DLL doesn't look like the sort of DLL you want to blow away.
If you forget to add the URL to your favorites and want to find the site again, just go to the MSDN homepage at https://msdn.microsoft.com/default.asp, select the "Resources" link from the horizontal navigation bar at the top of the page, and then select the first item in the list: "DLL Help Database".
Everywhere you turn you'll find DLLs - not just in programming languages like Visual C and Visual Basic. Windows, Windows applications, BackOffice. Everywhere. Mole's curling up against a warm wall and deferring specific questions to the people and help you will find at the MSDN website. He's no fool.
The devil made him do it,
Mole
Got Questions? Mail the Mole
Communicate with Mole at [closed account]. Send him your toughest questions. And if you think you have a better answer than Mole's, or a different one, send that along, as well. Please include the following:
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Credits
Lon, Lon, Lon.
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