Justin A. Parr - Technologist

Problem:
In Windows Server 2003 (SP2), a task is created, and the assigned “Run as” user has minimal privileges. Upon checking the log (“Scheduled Tasks” window, Advanced menu…View Log), the start reason (or lack thereof) is “Access Denied”.

Cause:
Plain users do not have access to cmd.exe. In this particular case, I was trying to run a batch file. Without an interactive session, the default permissions for cmd.exe did not allow the “RunAs” user to execute it.

Resolution:
Add the “RunAs” user to the local group: TelnetClients

By default, this group has permissions to cmd.exe

WORKAROUND

Problem:

Using Remote Desktop from MachineA to MachineB (B is the RDP host, A is the client)

On B (via RDP), you can normally browse or map a drive to \\tsclient\c in order to get to MachineA’s C: drive.

You can get to OTHER drives normally (e.g. \\tsclient\d is probably the CDROM drive)

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Problem:

Vista registration expires, which allows the user to log in, but only runs Internet Explorer

Resolution:

Type the following in the address bar:

file://c:\windows\system32\explorer.exe

This launches the shell (desktop), and Vista functions normally from that point.

Scenario:

After major hardware / driver issues, Windows XP will not boot, or behaves erratically. In my situation, all networking was gone — new devices could not be added, existing NICs could not be removed, and did not properly redetect. All bindings (even those that are normally hidden) appeared under network devices in Device Manager as malfunctioning devices.

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Scenario:

After installing Symantec Anti-Virus 10, a Windows XP system may experience numerous “Stop 5A” blue screens.

Windows Version: XP Service Pack 2 (XPSP2)

Symantec AntiVirus Version: 10.0.2.2002

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Scenario:
Upgrading a site to Exchange 2003 from Exchange 5.5 by installing a new server in to the 5.5 site. The user mailboxes, public folders, distribution lists, and mail routing will be moved over to the new server.

The O (Organization) has already been upgraded to Exchange 2003, and several sites have already been upgraded, as well.

While running setup to install the first server in to this particular site, the following error message is displayed:

Failed to install sub-component Site Replication Service with error code 0xC1030B11

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Keywords: PIX PDM


Configuration

PIX 5xx
PIX OS 6.3
Tested with IE 6.0 SP1 and Firefox 1.03


Issue

Sometimes it is desirable to make a quick and easy change to a PIX config without having to deal with the bloat of PDM or the overhead of remote control to a PC with a TTY session to the console port.

This is also a good tool for Help Desk situations, where the Help Desk can be given a web page with links to a home user’s PIX in order to check status or make minor modifications.

Although I have not done this, this technique could also be used to write an app that polls statistics or periodically updates remote PIX configurations by using a tool such as cURL or other scriptable browser widgets.


HowTo

PIX OS 6 can accept URLs in the following form:

https://pixipaddress/exec/some command

The browser will prompt for a login, and will then run the command as if you were connected via console, telnet, or SSH. The command output (if any) will be displayed in the browser.

The browser will “escape” the spaces (turn spaces in to %20), but if you are using an odd user agent or script component, you may need to manually substitute the spaces manually.

Assumptions:
A. management subnet: 192.168.99 / 24
B. PIX management interface: 192.168.102.1

1. Add the following lines to the PIX config (assumes your management subnet is 192.168.99 / 24):

pdm location 192.168.99.0 255.255.255.0 inside
http 192.168.99.0 255.255.255.0 inside
http server enable

2. In a browser, go to the following URL:

https://192.168.102.1/exec/sh arp

Keywords: PIX PDM JRE

Configuration

PIX 5xx
Tested on 515, 515E, 501
PDM 3.0
PIX OS 6.3


Issue

PIX PDM runs on Java

PDM fails to initialize when running on JRE 1.5 (also called J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0).

Error message: “Applet failed to initialize”


Cause

(Unknown / Don’t care)


Resolution

Downgrade to J2SE JRE 1.4.2 or earlier.