The Mole 38: Technical Answers from Inside Microsoft - Exchange, Printer Drivers, and Removing Service Pack and Downgrading Encryption

  • Article

July 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:

  • Squirrelly Exchange Server Monitor

  • New HP Printer Drivers for Win 2000 Nearly Here

  • On Removing a Service Pack and Downgrading Encryption

On This Page

Squirrelly Exchange Server Monitor

New HP Printer Drivers for Win 2000 Nearly Here

On Removing a Service Pack and Downgrading Encryption

Quickies

Credits

Squirrelly Exchange Server Monitor

Dear Mole,

I have installed Exchange Server monitor. I setup to monitor Exchange Services and also setup 'Restart the service' at first attempt in case of failure or service shutdown.

Every time (once in a while), if any service goes down, the Exchange Server Monitor does not start the service nor do I receive an email as per the setup. I am starting the failed services manually whenever I discover that they are stopped. Where went wrong? Is Exchange Server Monitor working?

My setup is like this:

Three Exchange 5.5 Servers with SP2 and Windows NT SP4. Server Monitor is setup to monitor all servers (installed in only one server.) Services running are

  • Server Administrator ("SA")

  • Directory Services ("DS")

  • Information Store ("IS")

  • Message Transfer Agent ("MTA")

  • Internet Mail Service ("IMS"), running on only one server

  • FacSys Fax service, Lotus Notes Connector, Mailbox cleanup agent (only one server), Cheyenne Virus cleanup service and Exchange Event Service.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Putta V Anand, Weirton Steel Corporation

Dear Putta,

Mole thinks that there's probably just a configuration problem somewhere. Your description of setting up Server Monitor doesn't provide many details for Mole to chew on. As a result, Mole has to take the High Level approach at making a suggestion.

That suggestion is to start from the beginning and set up the Server Monitor again, from scratch. It isn't that difficult or complex, but sometimes, just following the specific instructions touches on one little item that may have been overlooked. Overlooking minor details has bitten Mole once or twice, which is a pretty good track record, considering Mole's meager eyesight.

A good place to start is by thoroughly reading the Setting Up Monitors on Your Exchange 5.5 Server article. In addition to describing the Server Monitor setup, this article provides details on creating a Link Monitor–at no extra charge!

One last nugget of wisdom that Mole hopes you will read and absorb is related to the Microsoft Windows NT® account that is monitoring remote servers. Here it is: To fully control each action offered within Server Monitor, such as Restart the Service, the Windows NT account that is currently logged on to the monitoring server needs to be a member of the Server Operators group on the remote server.

Hope this helps!

Mole

New HP Printer Drivers for Win 2000 Nearly Here

Mole,

We are in the process of evaluating Win 2000 as a replacement for Win 98 as our desktop OS. We have encountered a major obstacle, that is the unavailability of a viable print driver for the HP 8000/8100 series printers (the current Beta driver does not install correctly, and reports a needed file as missing). Can you give us an idea of the time frame for resolution, or should we look entirely to HP?

Greg Grabowski, Systems Manager

Hi Greg,

Printer drivers are written, supplied, and supported by the printer manufacturer. Some drivers are provided on the Windows NT/Windows 2000 product CD IF the driver is for a very common (read tested, tried & true) printer. The drivers included on the Win2000 product CD are provided to Microsoft by the device manufacturer. Windows NT provides the printing service within the operating system; the printer manufacturer provides the drivers. Generic print drivers are included with the Windows NT/Windows 2000 product, but these, of course are generic and don't provide complete functionality for a specific printer.

I hopped onto HP's Website to check on the printer driver status, and can confirm for you that PCL drivers for the 8000 series are in beta and are expected to go "Gold" (i.e., release candidates) in June–I am assuming this means June 2000. So the bad news is that the Mole knows as much as you do. But the good news is–it's June. I'd suggest adding HP's driver URL (https://welcome.hp.com/country/us/eng/software_drivers.htm) to your favorites and check back at HP's website often.

Good luck!

Mole

On Removing a Service Pack and Downgrading Encryption

Mole,

Some tough questions that I have yet to find an answer. Hope you can show me the way.

Q:* *How do I remove a service pack (6a, 128 bit encryption)?

or

Q.* *How do I downgrade from 128-bit encryption to 40-bit encryption?

Mark Boucher, Panurgy, Support Engineer

Mark,

Thanks for the questions.

So, Mole wonders, does he get to pick which question on which to elucidate? If so, Mole picks question number 1.

Just kidding, Mark, Mole will answer both of your questions. You say that these are tough questions, but the first one is actually pretty easy. So let's get that one out of the way. Instructions for uninstalling Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a are documented in the SP 6a readme file (you can find it under section 2.5, titled "2.5 Service Pack Uninstall"). Just read and follow the directions.

Mark's question causes Mole to make a little compositional detour. How many IT Pros out there read the readme document that come with products, fixes, and Service Packs? Please raise your hands. One? Two? Three? Four? Only four? Mole is disheartened. That's not enough. So please indulge Mole in a little proselytizing:

  • Read and understand the readme documents

  • Test Service Packs in a lab

  • Backup your systems

  • Backup the Registry

  • Test the backups

  • Back up the system again

  • Apply the Service Pack

You know Mole is only having a little fun. He doesn't mean to sound preachy, but he is serious about his advice when it comes to Service Packs and the like. So save yourself some grief and please heed Mole's advice.

Now on to the second question: "How to downgrade from 128-bit encryption to 40-bit encryption?" While it isn't so tough, the answer may be kind of tough to swallow. The answer is, with Service Packs 6 and greater, you cannot. Why, you ask? It's because of the rather extensive modifications that SP 6 makes to the Security Account Manager (SAM) database and the Security database. The changes made therein do not allow you to "downgrade" from high encryption (128 bit) to low encryption (actually 56 bit in SP6). If you must convert a computer on which any high encryption Service Pack has been installed, then Windows NT must be reinstalled.

Important: If you plan to install a previous Service Pack after uninstalling SP6, note that SP6 modifies the SAM database and the Security database so that older versions of the Samsrv.dll, Samlib.dll, Lsasrv.dll, Services.exe, Msv1_0.dll, and Winlogon.exe files no longer recognize the database structure. Therefore, the uninstall process doesn't restore these files when uninstalling SP6. If you install a prior Service Pack (for example, SP3) after uninstalling SP6, when the Confirm File Replace dialog boxes appear, click "No" to avoid overwriting Samsrv.dll and Winlogon.exe. If you overwrite the newer files with these older versions, you'll be unable to log on to the computer.

Note: If you're reinstalling SP6 after installing new software or hardware, you must create a new Uninstall folder. To retain your ability to return to a startup configuration, copy the current Uninstall folder to a safe location before running the SP6 installation program.

Regards,

Mole

Quickies

Exchange Org Name Change

Hi Mole.

Is there a tool or easy way to rename an organization name in Exchange? We want two Exchange servers to communicate but they have different organization names.

I hope you can help me. Thanks in advance

Edward, System Manager

Edward,

To answer your question "Is there an easy way to change the Exchange Organization. name?", the answer is "No", there is no "easy" way to do this. There are, however, instructions on how to do it. As is often the case, this information is documented in an excellent Knowledge Base article:

  • 158028: Changing the Exchange Organization Name

Yours,

Mole

Those Pesky Fatal Exceptions in Windows 98

Mr. Mole,

I have yet to find a good explanation of the causes of Fatal Exceptions in Windows 98. I have the Windows Resource Kit, access to the March 2000 edition of TechNet at work. What I am looking for is a likely cause for each type of Fatal Exception, like:

Fatal Exception OD

Fatal Exception OE: I've heard this is likely caused from video or memory issues
Fatal Exception O6

Any information will be appreciated, even a TechNet reference number will be fine!

Matthew

Well Matthew,

Then a TechNet reference it shall be! This is a rather rich subject–not all Exception Errors are created equal. Check this article out–it gives a pretty good overview of Exception Errors in addition to some hints on troubleshooting them:

  • 150314: What are Windows 95/98 Fatal Exception Errors

Hope this helps,

Mole

Auto Shutdown for Windows NT 4.0 Not Possible

Hi!

I recently installed NT Workstation 4.0 SP4 on a machine that previously had Windows 95. When Windows 95 was on the machine, when a shutdown was initiated, the PC completely shutdown (the user didn't have to hit the power button.)

With NT Workstation, the user has to hit the power button after windows shuts down. Is there any way to configure NT Workstation to completely shutdown the PC?

Blake Brown

Blake,

Sorry, man, but ya can't do it with Windows NT 4.0—it's just not built in to the operating system. Sometimes the computer manufacturer provides an Auto Shutdown capability, and this is usually implemented as a service running on Windows NT. But to somehow tweak a registry entry or apply some patch—nope, no can do. Auto Shutdown is not available in Windows NT 4.0 itself. Sorry, man. Now, it is built in to Windows 2000.

Pushing the big power button,

Mole

Credits

Muchas gracias once again to Lon Collins.