Firefox 7 – Restore the Full URL / Address Bar

KB ID 0000517 

Problem

Firefox 7 came out today (Download Firefox 7), and the new version has decided to shorten the URL displayed in your address bar, to put it back to its old style you need to change a setting.

Solution

1. In the address bar type about:config, and then click “I’ll be carefull, I promise”.

2. Locate the  browser.urlbar.trimURLsentry then double click it to change it from true to false.

 

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

NA

Google Searches Work, But All the Result Links DON’T(BT Broadband)

KB ID 0000740

Problem

I was covering the phone for one of the days over the Christmas period, and a client had rang in with this problem, at first I thought it was simply an EDNS problem like this. However some testing proved DNS was working fine? Then I thought it was an Internet Explorer problem, until Chrome and Firefox did the same. I could go to Google and search for what I wanted,but all the links (and any other URL I tried, with the exception of YouTube strangely), would not work. SMTP/Email worked, as did FTP and everything else I tested? But HTTP and HTTPS would not, with the exception of Google/YouTube.

So I knew the problem was either the router, (a Cisco 1800 with firewall IOS), or the ADSL circuit itself that was causing the problem.

Solution

As BT Business Broadband ADSL circuits don’t usually come with a Cisco Router, I thought if I rang them I’d get the “We didn’t supply or support that router” speech, so I got the client to dig out their supplied (2Wire) router, and asked him to ring BT while I was on-site.

While he was explaining the problem, the Engineer on the other end said, “Unplug the 2Wire and plug the Cisco router back in, I will ring you back…”. This was strange behavior for BT, and I thought we would be the victim of “BT Syndrome“, and sure enough five minutes later is magically fixed itself.

When BT rang back, they explained that this had been imposed on the client, because they were a ‘little late’ paying their bill, (there’s Christmas spirit for you).

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

NA

IIS – ‘This Web site cannot be started. Another Web site may be using the same port’.

KB ID 0000660 

Problem

After being unable to access my Exchange Management console, it turns out the default website had stopped. When I attempted to start it I was greeted with this error.

Solution

1. Nothing was using the usual web ports (80 and 443) which I found out by running the following two commands;

[box]netstat -aon | find “:80″</p> <p>netstat -aon | find “:443″[/box]

Note: If you do have a process using these ports, it will be sown with its PID. To find out what that PID is, right click your Task bar > Launch Task Manager > Processes Tab > View > Select Columns > Turn on the PID column > locate the PID and investigate.

2. My problem was there was a ‘Binding’ to https that had no information in it? Right click the website > Edit Bindings > here you can remove any spurious entries. (Warning: if you’re unsure, document any binding before you remove it – just in case).

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

NA

Cannot Access Exchange Management Console

KB ID 0000477 Dtd 02/05/13

Problem

Since Exchange 2007, its management tasks have been done via PowerShell, (yes even the GUI Management). Which is fine, however it runs all that PowerShell from a virtual directory that lives in the servers’ IIS webserver. When that fails or there is a problem, Exchange runs quite happily, but you can’t run the management tools.

There are a number of reasons for this to fail and a number of different error messages, I will list them as I come acoss them.

Error 1 (Seen 16/10/12)

Error: Connecting to the remote server failed with the following error message: The client cannot connect to the destination specified in the request. Verify that the service on the destination is running and is accepting requests. Consult the logs and documentation for the WS-Management service running on the destination, most commonly IIS or WinRM. If the destination is the WinRM service, run the following command on the destination to analyze and configure the WinRM service: “winrm quickconfig”. For more information, see the about_Remote_Troubleshooting Help topic. It was running the command ‘Discover-exchangeserver- useWIA $true – suppressError $true’ -CurrentVersion ‘Version 14.1(Build 218.15).

I got the same when trying to access the Exchange Management Shell as well.

Update 16/10/12: I got this problem today again! It seems AVG 2012 causes this problem as well, if you have AVG installed remove it and try again.

Solution (Error 1)

1. Firstly drop to command line > then (as asked) run “WinRM QuickConfig”. Carry out any changes that it asks by simply pressing “y”.

2. Run the same command again untill it returns two positive results.

3. Start > Run > Services.msc {enter} Locate the following three services, make sure that they are set to “automatic startup” and are running.

IIS Admin Service Windows Remote Management (WS-Management) World Wide Web Publishing Service

4. Start > Administrative Tools > Expand Sites > Default Web Site > Make sure the default web site IS STARTED.

THIS WAS MY PROBLEM! If you can see the green start arrow then its NOT started.

5. When I attempted to start the default web site I got the following error:

Error: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070020).

Essentially one or both of the two comms ports that IIS uses (Port 80 HTTP and Port 443 HTTPS) have been taken by another process or program. Have a common sense check, what’s been installed on this server that might have a “web portal”? UPS software, AV software, another web server like Apache for example?

To find out what process is using the port

6. Close down any open windows that you have on the server. At command line issue the following two commands:

[box] netstat -aon | find “:80” netstat -aon | find “:443” [/box]

The fist checks for programs using port 80, In my case there were none, the second command checks port 443, heres my culpritt. All I know at this point is it’s PID (in the example below 4852).

7. To find out what that PID is, right click your Task bar > Launch Task Manager > Processes Tab > View > Select Columns.

8. Turn on the PID column.

9. Sort the PID column (by clicking on the column title) locate the PID in question, find out what it is. Once you know that stopping it will not harm the server, then simply right click and “End Process Tree”.

Note: Some legitimate important Windows processes might be using these ports like “lsass” and “system”.

10. Now you should be able to start the default website, and the Exchange Management Console should open correctly.

WARNING: You have not fixed the problem! (Just identified it), the software that hijacked the IIS ports needs uninstalling, or changing so that it uses a different port.

 

Error 2 (Seen 02/05/13)

Connecting to the remote server failed with the following error message: The WinRM client… cannot determine the content type of the HTTP response from the destination computer. The content type is absent or invalid. For more information, see the about_Remote_Troubleshooting Help topic. It was running the command ‘Discover-exchangeserver- useWIA $true – suppressError $true’ -CurrentVersion ‘Version 14.1(Build 218.15).

And from the Exchange Managent Shell;

Other Symtoms;

Attempting to open OWA gives a 500 – Internal server error. (If that’s the only problem and it’s SBS 2011, make sure the ‘Microsft Exchange Form Based Authentication’ service is running).

Solution (Error 2)

I spent an entire afternoon fighting with this error on an SBS 2011 server! Every post I found on the internet did NOT fix it. Not even this one (which was so close) but my envirnment variables were correct

The EMTShooter did not help either, I checked it’s recommendations. and they were all correct.

The bottom line is: This is an IIS problem not an Exchange one, the site I was at had done a lot of work on this server and just installed some third party software, (that may or may not have changed some IIS configuration settings). So I connected to another working SBS 2011 Server and copied the contents of the c:inetpubwwwroot folder to the affected machine (back it’s contents up first!). Then run the following command;

[box] iisreset [/box]

If you don’t have access to a working SBS 2011 server, here you go, (you owe me a vodka!)

 

Error 3 (Seen 30/04/14)

 

“The attempt to connect to http://server.domain.com/PowerShell using “Kerberos” authentication failed: connecting to remote server failed with the following error message : The WinRM client cannot complete the operation within the time specified.  Check if the machine name is valid and is reachable over the network and firewall exception for Windows Remote Management service is enabled.  For more information, see the about_Remote_Troubleshooting Help topic.”

Solution Error 3

1. Exit the EMC > Windows Key +R > cmd {Enter}

2. Execute the followig two commands;

[box]

DEL "%USERPROFILE%AppDataRoamingMicrosoftMMCDEL "%USERPROFILE%AppDataRoamingMicrosoftMMCExchange Management Console.*"

REG DELETE HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftExchangeServerv14AdminTools /v NodeStructureSettings /f

[/box]

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Exchange 2010 – No Exchange servers are available in any Active Directory sites

Original Article Written 15/07/11

 

Exchange 2007 & 2010 – Setup and Deploy Outlook Anywhere

KB ID 0000519 

Problem

What used to be a fiddly job, is now very simple to do, setting up Outlook Anywhere (formally known at RPC over HTTP) takes about 10 minutes.

What is Outlook Anywhere?

This is a system that lets you connect Microsoft Outlook to to your Exchange server over the web, this means you can connect to to your email, calendaring and tasks etc, without the need for a VPN connection.

Solution

Outlook Anywhere with Exchange 2007 (Exchange 2010 Skip to Step1)

If you plan to deploy Outlook Anywhere with Exchange 2007 there is an additional step you need to carry out before you start. From server manager > Feature > Add Features > Add in the ‘RPC over HTTP Proxy’ feature before you start. (Note: you DONT need to do this if you are running SBS 2008).

Step 1 Configure Exchange

1. First we need to turn it on: from within the Exchange Management, expand Server configuration > Client Access > Select the server in the central pane > Select “Enable Outlook anywhere” in the action pane.

2. Enter the publicly addressable name of your Exchange server, for this example I’m using NTLM authentication > Enable.

Note: The external host name is the address that you would type into a browser to contact the Exchange server i.e. for Outlook Web Access http://mail.domaina.com/owa. This would mean the public name is mail.domaina.com. This name must be the Common Name (CN) on the Exchange server’s digital certificate.

Exchange 2010 – Working with Certificates

3. Take heed of the information, nothing’s going to work for 15 minutes (Even Exchange is telling you to apply the cup of coffee rule) > Go and have a hot milky beverage.

4. Look at the timestamps and the clocks, this one took 14 minutes (for once the dialog had it spot on!) You should see Event ID 3007, 3003, 3004,(all these are normal) and finally,

5. Event ID 3006 > Outlook Anywhere is up and running on the server. (Note: you will NOT see this on an Exchange 2007 Server, see the second screenshot).

Note: To Access from Outside your network the public name of the Exchange server (in this case mail.domain.com), needs TCP port 443 (HTTPS) open to it, or “Port Forwarded” to the Exchange server.

Note2: To work internally make sure that mail.domaina.com resolves to the INTERNAL IP address of the Exchange server.

6. You may also want to execute the following command. Particularly if you use SBS, which has a habit of setting remote.publicdomain.com as the default outside name.

[box] Set-WebServicesVirtualDirectory –Identity ‘EXCHANGE-MAILEWS (Default Web Site)’ –ExternalUrl https://mail.domain.co.uk/ews/exchange.asmx[/box]  

Step 2 Configure Outlook for Outlook Anywhere

1. In this example I’m using Outlook 2010 and the mail profile/account has NOT been setup, if you already have an account edit it, select “More Settings” and jump to number 4.

Note: To support Outlook Anywhere you need a minimum of Outlook 2003 SP2

2. If you are setting up your Outlook client internally, the autodiscover service should fill in the details for you.

3. If it auto configures the settings for you, tick the box to manually configure server settings.

4. More Settings.

5. Connection Tab > Tick “Connect to Microsoft Exchange Server using HTTP” > Click “Exchange Proxy Settings”.

6. Put on the URL (Public name of Exchange – see step 1 number 2) > I’m using NTLM authentication you may be using basic, if you don’t know, check with your IT department, or try each one.

7. Security Tab > Ensure “Encrypt data between Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange” is selected.

8. Restart Outlook – you may be asked for your username and password again this is normal.

 

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

Original article written: 04/10/11

Exchange 2010 – Working with Certificates

Buy Your Exchange Certificates Here!

Exchange – Redirect OWA (HTTP to HTTPS)

KB ID 0000697 

Problem

Out of the box, Exchange (quite rightly) secures Outlook Web Access so that you have to access it via https. The problem is some of your users are used to accessing websites via http, (or simply typing a URL in their browser, without typing any prefix, so it defaults to http).

If you try and access OWA via http://server.domain.com/owa..

There are a number of ways to get round this, the simplest is to redirect that error message (above) back to the correct OWA URL.

WARNING: DO NOT do this on a Microsoft SBS Server. (For SBS you need to create the custom error messages on the OWA Virtual Directory (directly)). This procedure assumes you have a stand alone Exchange CAS server with no other web services or virtual directories being served from its IIS.

Solution

1. Open IIS Manager and drill down to the Default Web Site > Error Pages.

2. Add > Status code = 403.4 > Select “Respond with a 302 Request” > Type in the correct (https) URL for your OWA site > OK.

3. Then restart the website (or reboot the server).

Note: DONT attempt to test this in the Exchange server itself! That will always show the original error, you need to test it from a client machine.

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

NA

Exchange – 4.5.1. 4.4.0 Primary Target 4.2.1 unable to connect to alternative host

KB ID 0000790 

Problem

My colleague Allen was doing an Exchange 2003 to 2010 migration today, and things were not going well, mail refused to flow from the Exchange 2003 server to the Exchange 2010 server (it flowed from 2010 to 2003 without error). During migrations that’s not unusual, and removing and recreating the routing groups usually fixes it, but he had done that. Mail was sat on the Exchange 2003 Server outbound queues on the queue that matched the routing group connector, but refused to move with the above error.

Solution

For about 45 minutes I was also scratching my head, but then I had a brainwave. If Exchange 2003 has a ‘Smart Host’ Configured on the ‘Default SMTP Virtual Server’ then it attempts to send traffic down the routing group via the smart host, (which will obviously fail). Remove any entry from the smart host section.

When done, restart the SMTP Service, and the Exchange Routing Service, and the queues should start to clear.

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

NA

Juniper SRX Firewall – Allow Web Management from Outside

KB ID 0000708 

Problem

Assuming you already have web management enabled, and you want to access it from the outside (the untrusted zone).

Solution

1. Log into the web console of the Juniper.

2. Navigate to Security > Zones/Screen > Select the ‘Untrust’ Zone > Edit > Host inbound traffic – Interface > Select the Outside interface > Under Interface services add in ‘http’ > OK.

3. Then to save the change click Action > Commit.

4. Test Externally.

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

NA

 

Cisco Catalyst Switches – Set a Management IP and Allow Telnet and Web Management

KB ID 0000614 

Problem

If you want to manage your Cisco Catalyst switch it’s not always practical to plug a console cable in to change its settings or monitor what it is doing. Putting an IP address on it and enabling remote management via Telnet or from your web browser is a better alternative, particularly if you have a lot of switches.

Solution

Enable Telnet Management on Cisco Catalyst Switch

1. Connect to the Switch using a terminal emulation program like HyperTerminal or Putty,

2. Issue the following commands;

[box]

enable
{enter enable password if prompted}
conf t
line vty 0 15
password {password required}
login
exit 

[/box]

Add a Management IP to a Cisco Catalyst Switch

3. Whilst still in configure terminal mode issue the following commands;

[box]

int vlan1
ip address {IP address required} {Subnet required}
no shutdown
exit

[/box]

Cisco Catalyst Set an Enable Password

4. If you telnet in you cant change any system settings without an enable password being set.

[box]enable password {Password required}[/box]

Optional : Set the Cisco Catalyst Switches Default Gateway

5. Just in case you need to manage the switch from another subnet, you will need to set a default gateway.

[box]ip default-gateway {IP address required}[/box]

Enable Web Management on Cisco Catalyst Switch

6. To connect to and manage the switch from a web browser execute the following command, and then exit configure terminal mode.

[box]

ip http server
exit 

[/box]

7. Finally save the changes with a “write mem” command.

[box]write mem[/box]

Testing the Configuration

8. From a machine on the same network segment make sure you can ping the switch on its new IP address.

9. Then make sure you can “telnet” into it.

10. Open a web browser and navigate the the switches IP > Select ‘Web Console’.

Note: You will require Java for this to work.

11. After entering the enable password you should see the following.

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

Cisco Catalyst Password Recovery / Reset