Error: 0xC004F04D When Activating Windows Using Given Confirmation ID

We were not able to activate the Windows license after we have re-setup a Windows 2012 R2 Server Core.  The below error was given when we tried using the Confirmation ID given by Microsoft Activation Center:

Error: 0xC004F04D On a computer running Microsoft Windows no-core edition, run ‘slui.exe 0x2a 0xC004F04D’ to display the error text.

We logged a call with with Microsoft APAC/GCR 24x7 Customer Service Center.  The support engineer gives the below steps which resolved the activation problem.

 1. Restart the software protection service,

             net stop sppsvc
             net start sppsvc

 2. Uninstall current key,

             cd c:\windows\system32
             cscript.exe slmgr.vbs -upk

 3. Restart the software protection service once again,

             net stop sppsvc
             net start sppsvc

 4. Install the product key again,

             cd c:\windows\system32
             cscript.exe slmgr.vbs -ipk XQ9T2-J7V39-RJJCR-DY2V9-72X9M

 5. Verify if the installation ID has changed or not,

             cd c:\windows\system32
             cscript.exe slmgr.vbs -dlv

     Check if the IID is the same as the initial one.

 6. Try to activate the server in GUI,

             slui 4

     Follow the instruction to enter the confirmation id.

     (If the IID is the same as the initial one, try the same CID one more time.) 

Windows 2012 Server Core: How To Disable And Enable TCP/IPv6?

Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) has not been implemented in our environment.  For server’s network adapters, we would usually disable TCP/IPv6.

At the Powershell prompt, issue the below command to disable TCP/IPv6 for network adapter NIC2:

PS C:\> Disable-NetAdapterBinding -InterfaceAlias NIC2 –ComponentID ms_tcpip6

If the TCP/IPv6 is disabled, you will get this error message when configuring an IP address using SCONFIG:

C:\Windows\System32\en-US\sconfig.vbs(696, 21) SWbemObjectEx: Invalid index.

At the Powershell prompt, issue the below command to enable TCP/IPv6 for network adapter NIC2:

PS C:\> Enable-NetAdapterBinding -InterfaceAlias NIC2 –ComponentID ms_tcpip6

Windows 2012 Server Core: How To Uninstall A Program?

We would like to uninstall a program but we are not able to do it as Server Core does not have the add/remove program feature.

To uninstall a program in Server Core, we have to do the following steps:

1.     Open Editor (Start > Run > regedit).

2.     Navigate to 
             HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL

or

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL.  

3.     Search through the registry entries to look for the program you intend to uninstall.

4.     Look for the “UninstallString” and note down the registry value.  This value will be used as commandline.

5.     Open a command prompt and run the above copied registry value.  It will start to uninstall the intended program.

6.     Navigate back to the registry keys mentioned in step and you will notice that the registry entries you found earlier are no longer there.  Those program files residing in the hard-disk are also gone.

7.     Exit Registry Editor.

Change The Startup Mode For Windows Store Service

We would like to change the startup mode for Windows Store Service to “disabled” but we are not able to do it successfully as it is greyed out.

To configure the startup mode to “disabled” via registry editor:

1.     Open Registry Editor (Start > Run > regedit).

2.     Navigate to 
               HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\WSService\Start.          
             
3.     On the Edit menu, click Modify.  In the Value data box, type 4 and then click OK.

4.     Exit Registry Editor.

5.     Restart the server.

Windows 2012 Server Core: How To Install Minimal Server Interface

The Minimal Server Interface includes Microsoft Management Console (MMC), Server Manager, and a subset of Control Panel.  It is similar to a Server with a GUI installation, but Internet Explorer 10, Windows Explorer, the desktop, and the Start screen are not installed.

In order to install Minimal Server Interface on server core, the following steps need to be carried out:

1.    Create a new folder in C:\ drive by issuing the below command at the command prompt:

       C:\> mkdir c:\mount

2.    Put the Windows 2012 DVD into the DVD drive (i.e. D:\)

3.    Open Powershell, then issue the below command to mount the windows image:

       PS C:\> mount-windowsimage –path c:\mount –imagepath d:\sources\install.wim –index 2 -readonly

4.    At the Powershell prompt, issue the below command to install the “Server Graphical Management Tools & Infrastructure” feature on the server core:

       PS C:\> install-windowsfeature server-gui-mgmt-infra –restart –source c:\mount\windows\winsxs

5.    Restart the server after the installation completed.

The Server Manager and command prompt will appear after you login to the server.

Windows 2012 Server Core: How To Access The SEP Client Interface?

In order to access the Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) client interface, the following steps need to be carried out:

1.    Search for the file symcorpui.exe by issuing the below command at the command prompt:

C:\> dir symcorpui.exe /s/p

2.    Record down the location of the folder containing the file symcorpui.exe.

3.    At the command prompt, change it to the location of the folder

C:\> cd \Program Files (x86)\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\12.1.2015.2015.105\bin

4.    At the command prompt, type symcorpui.exe and press <Enter>.

The SEP client interface will then appear.

 

Kerberos Client Received KRB_AP_ERR_TKT_NYV Error

Further to the problem mentioned in the previous blog post. It was found that the below entry appears in the Windows System Event log of the member servers:

Event ID 5 - The kerberos client received a KRB_AP_ERR_TKT_NYV error from the server KANDTIDC1$. This indicates that the ticket presented to that server is not yet valid (due to discrepancy between ticket and server time). Contact your system administrator to make sure the client and server times are synchronized, and that the time for the Key Distribution Center Service (KDC) in realm kandti.com is synchronized with the KDC in the client realm.

I did a check on the date and time of the domain controller KANDTIDC1 and found that both the date and time are incorrect. The correct date and time were then keyed in for the domain controller and a re-boot was carried out for all the member servers.

After the re-boot, the abovementioned error message does not appear in the Windows System Event log anymore. I tried connecting to the member servers using the server name and I am able to connect without any problem.

Remote Desktop Cannot Verify The Identity Of The Remote Computer

I had been able to connect to the Windows 2012 Server Cores from a Windows 2003 Server via Remote Desktop Connection using the server name but somehow I am not able to do so today.  I was greeted with the error message:

Remote Desktop cannot verify the identity of the remote computer because there is a time or date different between your computer and the remote computer. Make sure your computer’s clock is set to the correct time, and then try connecting again. If the problem occurs again, contact your network administrator or the owner of the remote computer.

I checked that the date and time of both the source and target servers are correct.  I tried a suggested solution found on the internet by changing the connection setting for the Remote Desktop Connection from “Automatically detect RD Gateway server settings” to “Do not use an RD Gateway server” under Options > Advanced > Settings.  I was greeted with the same error message when I tried to connect again.

In the end, I managed to connect using the IP address of the targeted Windows 2012 Server Cores instead.  I was then able to connect to it successfully without the initial error message.

 

Removing User's Permissions From Shared Folders

Due to change of job role, a user no longer has the needs to access a specific shared folder.  When we try to remove the permissions she has to the shared folder from the Security tab, the below message appears:

You cannot remove KANDTI\finmgr1 because this object is inheriting permissions from its parent. To remove KANDTI\finmgr1, you must prevent this object from inheriting permissions. Turn off the option for inheriting permissions, and then try removing KANDTI\finmgr1 again.

To remove the permissions which currently KANDTI\finmgr1 has to the shared folder without affecting the rest of the permissions for other users, the following steps were carried out:

1.     Log on to the Windows Server 2012 File Server which is running on Server Core.

2.     Open up the Task Manager by issuing the below command at the command prompt:

C:\taskmgr

3.     Click File > Run new task and click on the Browse… button.  The Windows Explorer will then appear.

4.     On the appeared Windows Explorer, locate the shared folder which we need to remove the user’s permissions.

5.     Right-click on the shared folder and from the context menu, click Properties.

6.     On the Properties box, click on the Security tab and click Advanced button.

7.     On the Advanced Security Settings box, make sure that Permissions tab is selected and click Disable Inheritance button to disable inheritance.

8.     On the Block Inheritance box, select Convert inherited permissions into explicit permissions on this object option to release all inherited permissions while copying the permissions on to the object.

9.     In order to force NTFS permissions of the current object onto the child objects, check Replace all child object permissions with inheritance permissions from those objects checkbox.

10.   Click Ok button to save the changes.

11.   Proceed to remove the user’s permission to the shared folder.

 

Windows 2012 Server Core: How To Get Back The Command Prompt?

Many of us are used to type exit to close off the Command Prompt.  In older versions of the Windows OS, it is easier to get back the Command Prompt.  This is not so for those Server Cores, the Command Prompt will not re-appear even if you tried to logout of the server and logon again.

In order to get back the Command Prompt, the following steps need to be carried out:

1.     Press and hold all the 3 keys; [Ctrl] + left [Shift] + [Esc]

2.     When the Task Manager will opened up, click File > Run new task.

3.     Key cmd and click the OK button

The Command Prompt will then appear.

 

Windows 2012 Server Core: How To Get Windows Explorer?

In order to get the Windows Explorer, the following steps need to be carried out:

1.     Open up the Task Manager by issuing the below command at the command prompt:

C:\taskmgr

2.     Click File > Run new task and click on the Browse… button.

The Windows Explorer will then appear.
 

Windows 2012 Server Core: About Windows Updates

Some Window 2012 Server Core servers have gone “live” in our production environment.  Hence, I am expected to know how to manage those servers.  In this post, it will be about Windows Updates for the Server Cores. 

In order to verify the current Windows Update setting, the below command need to be issued at the command prompt:

C:\windows\system32>cscript scregedit.wsf /au /v

Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.8

Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update AUOptions Value not set.

In order to start the Windows Update service, the below command need to be issued at the command prompt:

C:\windows\system32>net start wuauserv

The Windows Update service is starting.

The Windows Update service was started successfully.

In order to view updates installed on a specific date (i.e. 13 Sep 2013), the below command need to be issued at the command prompt:

C:\wmic qfe where (installedon like “9/13/2013”)

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2853587 KANDTIDC Security Update

KB2853587 KANDTI\Admin 9/13/2013
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2870699 KANDTIDC Security Update
KB2870699 KANDTI\Admin 9/13/2013
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2871389 KANDTIDC Security Update
KB2871389 KANDTI\Admin 9/13/2013
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2871777 KANDTIDC Security Update
KB2871777 KANDTI\Admin 9/13/2013

In order to view a specific update (i.e. KB285387), the below command need to be issued at the command prompt:

C:\wmic qfe where “HotfixID = ‘KB285387’”

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2853587 KANDTIDC Security Update

KB2853587 KANDTI\Admin 9/13/2013