Tech.It.To.Me->{By.Anton.Perez}

My friend Anthony was getting “access denied” and “logon failure” errors when trying to to run psexec (from one of the PsTools suite) from an XP machine on a domain to an XP machine in a workgroup.  It was something similar to:

PsInfo 1.34 - local and remote system information viewer
Copyright (C) 2001-2002 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

Could not connect to machine_name:
Access is denied.

And…

PsInfo 1.34 - local and remote system information viewer
Copyright (C) 2001-2002 Mark Russinovich
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

Couldn’t access machine_name:
Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password.

Here are the settings/steps I checked/took that resolved the issue:

1. ping - was able to ping the machine by hostname.  So no problem here.

2. net share - verified the ADMIN$ share was enabled.  Again no problem here.

3. Remote Registry service - verified the service was started because the PsTools suite makes use of RPC calls via port 445.  Was fine here.

4. Administrator password - verified the Administrator did not have an empty password.  Was set here.

5. Test account - created a test account to use for psexec (e.g., psexec \\computer_name notepad.exe -u test -p test).  Was available here.

6. Access hidden share - tried to access C$ and found that user name field grayed out.  This tipped off the problem - cool!

To fix it, I had to set the Network Access: Sharing and security model for local accounts security option Classic - local users authenticate as themselves.

Access it via Start > Run > secpol.msc > Local Policies > Security Options (see screenshot below).

Apparently, updates to Windows XP now sets this security option to Guest only - local users authenticate as Guest, which denies the ability to implicitly or explicitly use of a specific user name/password combo.

Hope this helps someone out there.  Peace.

For MSDN subscribers, you can now download VS Team System 2008 RTM on the MSDN site (x86 and x64 WoW - DVD).

Have fun!

If you are using Windows Vista in a domain, you may find that Windows Update doesn’t work (it will say something like “No updates available”).  This is because when a computer is added into a domain, a registry key/policy is automatically added to connect to a WSUS server for updates.

So to resolve the issue, you need to delete the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Policies > Microsoft > Windows > WindowsUpdate

Make sure the subkey named AU is also deleted.  And finally when done, restart your computer and try it out.

Another way to do it is to change the key (below) from 1 to 0:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Policies> Microsoft > Windows > WindowsUpdate > AU > UseWUServer

If all works well, you should get something like this:

Go ahead and install the component and watch Windows Update start working, like so:

My Vista lab box presented this error when I tried to login into my company’s domain after several months of not doing so:

Trust relationship between this workstation & primary domain failed

I suspected my [Vista] installation was using cached domain information to login, which was the case and why it was being denied access.  This is because a computer that is not active for a certain period, is usually removed as a member of the domain. 

If you encounter this, you’ll need to rejoin the computer to the domain via My Computer > Properties > Computer Name > Change (you may need Help Desk/IT to do it for you).

For archival purposes, here’s the location of a ton of white papers for best practices or SQL Server on the TechNet site.

Best Practice is a management idea which asserts that there is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. The idea is that with proper processes, checks, and testing, a desired outcome can be delivered with fewer problems and unforeseen complications. Best practices can also be defined as the most efficient (least amount of effort) and effective (best results) way of accomplishing a task, based on repeatable procedures that have proven themselves over time for large numbers of people.