Windows Server 2003 Install and Configure Automatic Client Update Settings

Install and Configure Automatic Client Update Settings: The client components for SUS are contained in Windows 2000 SP 3, Windows XP SP 1, in all Windows 2003 installations and as an msi file. For Windows 2000 SP 3 or later, no additional component installation is necessary. Older client operating system machines can either download the necessary components from the Microsoft public Web site, or create a package from the msi file and Group Policy for distribution internally. The recommended way to configure SUS behavior for Windows 2000 and Windows XP clients is through Group Policy. Group Policy settings always take precedence over local settings.

In Group Policy, select Computer Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Windows Update .Double-clicking on Configure Automatic Updates will open the initial configuration dialog.

Once enabled, you have to choose from three options (2, 3 or 4) for the notification behavior. If 4 is chosen, then the update can be scheduled. This is the primary configuration for client settings. The other major setting is the next setting, Specify intranet Windows update service location. This allows you to tell the client the server from which to download updates, and also where to send statistics relating to downloads.

Configure Software Updates on Earlier Operating Systems: For earlier Windows operating systems, Group Policy will not be effective. For Windows NT, Microsoft recommends using the System Policy editor. For all down level, clients use registry edits. Use these edits with caution because they can cause serious problems on a machine. The registry settings are stored in HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU. To specify the server running SUS that you want your clients and servers to connect to for their Windows updates, you need to add two entries to the registry in the subkey HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate. For the required entries, see

Entry Name Values Data Type
WUServer The HTTP name for the Windows Update intranet server (for example, http://intranetsus). Reg_SZ
WUStatusServer The HTTP name for the Windows Update intranet server (for example, http://intranetsus). Reg_SZ

Source: http://www.trcb.com/Computers-and-Technology/Windows-Server-2003/Windows-Server-2003-Install-and-Configure-Automatic-Client-Update-Settings-2204.htm

Configure Server 2008 with these handy shortcuts

Windows Server 2008’s interface is quite a change from the familiar interfaces of Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server. Find out how you can get the most important configurations via a command line.

• ncpa.cpl: The additional clicks to get to the Manage Network Connections configuration are among the bigger learning curves for new installations. Simply running ncpa.cpl will take you right to the interface's configuration.
• desk.cpl: The display and resolution configuration are also buried in different areas, but you can quickly access the resolution by running desk.cpl.
• appwiz.cpl: Skip the visit to the Control Panel and simply run appwiz.cpl to jump into the Programs And Features applet.
• sysdm.cpl: It is not as easy as right-clicking My Computer anymore, but running sysdm.cpl can take you to the system properties screen to perform server renames, domain joins and device manager access and enable remote desktop.
• CompMgmtLauncher.exe: You can quickly access this server manager (which is much different than in Windows NT 4 version) by running CompMgmtLauncher.exe.

These handy shortcuts can help you make the transition to Windows Server 2008 quickly and, in some cases, perform tasks in the same fashion as in previous versions of Windows Server.

From: http://www.zdnetasia.com/techguide/windows/0,39044904,62047382,00.htm

Windows XP Installation on FAT32 Partitions Larger than 32GB

As you probably know already, Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003 have built-in support for FAT32-formatted partitions . Although these operating systems can read, write and boot from FAT32 partitions, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 have a maximum size limit of 32GB for creating such partitions.

The above paragraph means that you CAN use any FAT32 partition you want, no matter it's size, however you CANNOT create FAT32 partitions larger than 32GB in size.
Also, Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003 do NOT have a native utility that can be used to convert FAT16 partitions to FAT32.

There is a way to trick Windows 2000, XP or Windows Server 2003 into using FAT32 partitions bigger then 32GB. Here is how you do it:

• Get a Win98 boot disk.
• Boot from boot disk and run Fdisk.
• Partition the drive to what size you want up to 120GB.
• Reboot the computer off of the Win98 boot disk.
• Format the drive.
• Boot the computer off of the Windows 2000, XP or Windows Server 2003 CD.
• Proceed to install Windows.
• When Setup asks you what partition to install to choose the disk you just formatted it will give you several option dealing with NTFS. Don't make any changes and choose the last option, which is to install the OS to the current drive without making any changes. Setup will proceed to install normally and you will have Windows 2000, XP or Windows Server 2003 installed to a fully functional FAT32 Partition greater than 32GB.

As stated above, remember that Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003 can use larger than 32GB partitions, but Microsoft intentionally limited the Fdisk portion in Windows in order to push people to use NTFS instead.

Via: petri.co.il/install_windows_xp_on_large_fat32_partitions.htm

Server Core Installation Option of Windows Server 2008

Windows Server 2008 is Microsoft's most full-featured server operating system yet, so it's ironic that one of its most exciting new features is Server Core: an install option that cuts out most of the other features.

Choosing the Server Core option results in a minimal Windows Server 2008 installation, with no graphical user interface shell, no Start button or system tray, and the ability to install just the features or services needed to perform any of nine server roles:

• Active Directory Domain Services
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services
• DHCP Server
• DNS Server
• File Services
• Print Services
• Streaming Media Services
• Web Server (IIS 7.0)
• Hyper-V (Windows Server Virtualisation)

In addition, there are an extremely limited number of optional features that can also be installed, including WINS, backup, failover clustering (Microsoft Cluster Services), SNMP, and BitLocker Drive Encryption.

A Server Core installation actually makes a great deal of sense in many instances, and here's why. A Windows server is often deployed to fulfil a particular role - a DNS or DHCP server for example - and in this role it will never need many of the services or features that are present in a full installation. Cutting out all this unnecessary code makes the resulting server:

• More secure: a Server Core installation has a reduced attack surface, since it's not possible to exploit vulnerabilities in code that isn't installed.
• Easier to manage: a Server Core installation only requires patches to the parts of the Server 2008 operating system that are installed. Microsoft estimates this should result in about 60 percent fewer patches being required in a typical Server Core installation compared to a full Server 2008 install.
• More reliable: a system running less software will in general be more reliable than one running more. In fact, a Server Core installation runs to about 1.5Gb, compared to a full Server 2008 installation of about 5.5Gb.

Why is the Server Core code guaranteed to be more stable than the full Server 2008 code? The answer to this is simple. It's because Server Core is a subset of a full install. The patches in Server Core and a full installation are identical, as are the kernel, registry files, the HAL (hardware abstraction layer), and every other Server Core file. Since Server Core is a subset of a full install, there are fewer opportunities for instabilities to arise.

Before deciding to implement a Server Core installation, there are a couple of things to bear in mind. First, once a Server Core installation is performed, there is no way (at present, in any case) to upgrade it to a full Server 2008 installation. And in fact the reverse is also true: it is not currently possible to migrate from a full Server 2008 (or Server 2003 for that matter) installation to Server Core - only a fresh install is supported.

Deploying Server Core is very straightforward. It is simply a matter of running the Windows Server 2008 installation disk and, after entering the product key, selecting the Server Core installation option. Initial configuration can then be carried out using command line tools from the Server Core command prompt or, alternatively, installation and configuration can be carried out using an unattend file. Particular server roles (from the nine listed above) and options can then be added with the Server Core specific tool command line tool Ocsetup (except for Active Directory, which requires the Dcpromo utility).

Microsoft's IIS 7.0 was one of the last roles to be added to Server Core, and it's important to remember that it does not include the .NET framework (because the framework has hooks in to the GUI that has been removed from the Server Core installation) and therefore doesn't support ASP.NET. However, Microsoft has announced that the next version of the .NET framework will be componentized, and will therefore be able to work with the Server Core version of IIS to get ASP.NET functionality. There are also no GUI tools in Server Core, and it lacks the ability to run PowerShell scripts or managed code.

How does one manage a Server Core installation without a traditional Windows GUI? There are a number of options, the most basic of which are to use the command line interface locally, or remotely using Terminal Server remote administration mode.

Other options include remote management using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Snap-Ins, Windows Remote Shell from a Vista or another Server 2008 machine, or via an SNMP-based management tool. The Task Scheduler also allows tasks to be carried out automatically on a regular basis, and the presence of the Windows Script Host means VBScript and Windows Script files can also be run.

In terms of hardware, Server Core includes Plug and Play to make new installations simple. For example, adding a new NIC is a just a matter of shutting down the machine, installing the card, and starting the server up again. Server Core will then detect and install the driver silently. (If a driver is not included in Server Core it's necessary to copy a new Plug and Play driver to the Server Core machine from the command line before hardware installation.)

Finally, while it's true that Server Core has no Windows GUI shell it does have some GUI functionality and a couple of simple GUI tools. These include two control panel applets to change time zone, language, and keyboard settings, and the Notepad and Regedit applications familiar to all Windows users.

A Server Core installation won't be the ideal solution in all situations; many organisations will use a full installation to exploit the new feature set of Windows Server 2008 more fully. But when a server is required to fulfil a certain limited role, the increased security, manageability, and stability of Server Core proves the old adage that sometimes less really can be more.

Source:devx.com/Windows_Server/Article/37560

How to install Windows 2000 after XP?

This procedure was performed on FAT32 drives but it should also work for NTFS.

Install Windows 2000

• Use a Win98/Me Startup disk (with CD support) to boot your computer. If you don't have one, you can download the files to make a boot disk at bootdisk.com
• Insert your Windows 2000 CD into the CD Rom drive.
• At the A: prompt type X:\I386\WINNT.EXE where X: is your CD-ROM drive.
• Proceed with the install. Install Windows 2000 to a different partition than XP is installed in.
• Complete the Windows install. Allow the computer to boot into Windows 2000.

Note: You may also want to read this thorough guide on how to Install Windows 2000 Server.

Repairing the Windows XP Boot Loader

Note: Some users have reported that Step 1 is not necessary, but in testing I found that it was. Since the C: drive is FAT32, you can use a 98/Me boot disk and skip Step 1, if you wish, but you may find that you need to do it anyway.

Boot your computer with the Windows XP CD. When prompted to Setup or Repair, choose Repair. In the Recovery Console, enter the following commands.

• FIXBOOT, answer Yes
• CD\
  
• ATTRIB -H NTLDR
• ATTRIB -S NTLDR
• ATTRIB -R NTLDR
• ATTRIB -H NTDETECT.COM
• ATTRIB -S NTDETECT.COM
• ATTRIB -R NTDETECT.COM
• COPY X:\I386\NTLDR C:\
• COPY X:\I386\NTDETECT.COM C:\

In Steps 9 and 10, X is the letter of your CD-Rom drive.

Source:petri.co.il/install_windows_2000_after_windows_xp.htm