Tag: Windows

RemoteDesktop And Service Pack 3 For Windows XP

Uninstall FolderAfter installing Service Pack 3 for Windows XP my Remote Desktop does no longer work but throws a warning that “The pre-release version of Remote Desktop Connection has expired. To download the full version of Remote Desktop Connection. go to Windows Update or contact your system Administrator.”.

If you have the same problem after upgrading your Windows XP, here is how I worked around this issue:

Copy mstsc.exe and mstscax.dll from “C:\WINDOWS\$NtServicePackUninstall$” to “C:\WINDOWS\System32”.

That’s it

Update: John Willemse of Badkey Corner posted more information regarding RDP

Release Notes for Windows XP Service Pack 3. Remote Desktop Client 6.1 (KB 937468)
RDP and Windows XP Service Pack 3 console option is replaced. Use mstsc /admin


Service Pack Hell

John Willemse of Badkey Corner posted that Microsoft has released Service Pack 3 for Windows XP. I downloaded the file and installed the service pack on a virtual machine. Worked without problems …

Then I decided to install SP3 on my laptop. The Installation stuck with a hint that the product key is going to be verified. … After one hour still no progress. And, YES, I do have a valid product key!

I googled and found a hint that the same problem has been encountered with SP 2 already.
To avoid checking of product key do the following steps:

  • Extract the exe file with windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-deu.exe -x
  • Start the update from the commandline with …\sp2\i386\update\update.exe -o

Now the installation completes.


Ghost Devices

I moved a couple of machines from ESX 2.53 to ESX 3.5 and encountered problems with network settings.

Actually, I attached the vmdk file to a new virtual machine. When I started the VM and tried to change the IP address on the virtual network adapter from DHCP to static IP, an error occured, saying that the IP is already in use by another adapter on this machine.

Unfortunately I could not see any additional adapter in the device manager or in the network configuration. Even activating “Show hidden devices” in the menu had no effect.

To solve the puzzle, open the Advanced tab in the System Properties dialog and switch to the Environmental Variables sub-window.

Then create a new “system variable” devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices and assign it a value 1.

You should see the ghost device in the device manager and can uninstall the device and change the settings on the active adapter now.