2003 Service Pack 1 released today... anyone installed it yet? [Archive]

GaryK

2005-03-31, 00:02 AM

IMO it's way too soon to be deploying SP1 on a production machine. I've already downloaded it and will be testing it on my in-house test server for awhile. There have already been reports of it causing problems with certain programs that do physical memory mapping. However I was pleased to read that it can be installed via Remote Desktop without locking you out during the reboot. My major concern is with the changes to DCOM.

mwilson02

2005-03-31, 08:13 AM

Gary,
I was pleased to read that as well. For everyone else, here is something from eWeek Labs..

To counter server vulnerabilities after a clean operating system install, SP1 provides a PSSU (Post-Setup Security Updates) dialog box after the initial boot that prompts administrators to download updates and configure Automatic Updates settings. While the PSSU screen is up, SP1 enables the Windows Firewall and blocks all inbound network connections, protecting the server from attacks until update downloads are complete.

PSSU is enabled only on new installations, not on upgrades. In addition, Windows Firewall is not enabled by default, only during clean installations of SP1.

DXD

2005-03-31, 08:29 AM

The email that I got from Microsoft from their Webhosting Parterns division was YES SP1 is available but said DO NOT INSTALL it as they are still testing it for issues for web hosting companies.

mwilson02

2005-03-31, 09:25 AM

well, I installed it just fine, but upon reboot I made the mistake of trying to re-enable Tiny Personal Firewall Pro, which locked me out. :(

I'm guessing 2003 Sp1 and that build of TPF aren't compatible.

DotNM

2005-03-31, 16:12 PM

... but I think I may have locked myself out or something. I've got a ticket open to investigate, but I'm starting to get a little ansy.

Of course, being the "professional" I am, I read the documentation (that included that little bit of the firewall mods) after I installed it....

:oops:

Maybe I should :rtfm: first next time.

vbgamer45

2005-03-31, 16:22 PM

Yeah, I am going to a wait a little bit. Just want to see what happens and see how everyones server is still doing. And plus I don't want to get locked out for a while.

hotshot

2005-04-01, 00:25 AM

Yeah, I am going to a wait a little bit. Just want to see what happens and see how everyones server is still doing. And plus I don't want to get locked out for a while.

Hey guys, I hate to burst everyones bubble, but it's not 1999 or 2000 anymore. SA's that farted around installing hotfixes and security patches because they wanted to see if it was buggy have paid some big prices.

I remember many, many years ago when there were some problems with hot fixes, etc. But all of my clients have auto updates and auto install on XP Pro and nobody has EVER had a problem.

Sometimes it is time to let the past be the past.

Do you really think that Microsoft has not installed the SP1 on a live web server? If you are running IIS, FTP, and major apps like IMAIL, what could you be scared of?????

devilspgd

2005-04-01, 03:07 AM

See http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=22CFC239-337C-4D81-8354-72593B1C1F43&displaylang=en

Has anyone here installed it on their windows Serverbeach machines?

Up and running. Has anyone enabled Windows Firewall on 2003web? Can you confirm it's similar to XPsp2 in that it leaves RDP enabled by default?

DXD

2005-04-01, 08:20 AM

Hey guys, I hate to burst everyones bubble, but it's not 1999 or 2000 anymore. SA's that farted around installing hotfixes and security patches because they wanted to see if it was buggy have paid some big prices.

I remember many, many years ago when there were some problems with hot fixes, etc. But all of my clients have auto updates and auto install on XP Pro and nobody has EVER had a problem.

Sometimes it is time to let the past be the past.

Do you really think that Microsoft has not installed the SP1 on a live web server? If you are running IIS, FTP, and major apps like IMAIL, what could you be scared of?????

That's very true and I do agree. But When Microsoft Also sends out an email to all it's registered Web Hosting Partners to NOT install it and let them test it more I would say it would be better to wait because if this patch causes something to break then you have to wait for them to come up with a fix which could take weeks.

DXD

2005-04-01, 08:22 AM

danilocelic

2005-04-01, 11:48 AM

Well, I installed it, and after doing the reboot as requested, I wasn't able to get back in. Sent in a trouble ticket and turns out the system would get to the windows splash screen and would reboot automatically from there, again and again and again.

FYI vbgamer45: I your http://www.visualbasiczone.com link in your sig is missing the "c" in basic.

knightfoo

2005-04-01, 12:10 PM

As with many large security updates, it is highly recommended that you install Windows 2003 SP1 on a non-production machine for testing. With a 300MB+ download size, it has got to be doing something major! Microsoft does test their service packs, but they cannot possibly test every combination of configurations and third-party applications to make sure something doesn't crash. We are currently in the process of testing SP1 with our installations and we will announce when we will start installing it by default. A word of caution to control panel users: not all of the control panel vendors have tested their control panels with SP1 yet, and Ensim notified us that they are still in the process of testing. Please check with the vendor of your control panel and see if anyone else has done a successful upgrade before attempting to install SP1. You should also make backups (as always) just in case something goes wrong.

-knightfoo

robc

2005-04-01, 16:38 PM

I installed sp1 as well and now I cannot get back into my server. The status shows online and I can ping it, but none of my sites are accessible. Any ideas?

luciddream

2005-04-02, 16:42 PM

Oh yea baby, she's d-e-a-d. The install of SP1 kicked some nasty error speaking of a failed installation that would in all likelihood render her inoperable during its attempt to uninstall the mess. Before I rebooted I did catch that the ASP.NET ISAPI filter in IIS was not happy for whatever that's worth, but I think that is the least of my worries. I also gave the SP1 install a try on a non-SB server that has rendered that server unreachable for the moment but it at least completed the SP install. Crazy thing with that install was that I disabled just about every non-MS service running prior to the upgrade sooo...

Secondly, a note to the fella who has the rebooting server. Same thing happened to me [and a friend who also has a SB box] on an attempt to install the Trend OfficeScan client. I was able to get control of mine by initiating a terminal session at the right moment and telling the terminal services client to load cmd.exe on login then sneaking in a quick "sc stop offending-service". Setting up a non-terminating ping can help get the timing just right.

Question for those out there. The Rapid-Reboot ended in a ticket being automatically opened "to investigate". Think I should submit another support request or let them get back to me on that one first?

DotNM

2005-04-02, 18:10 PM

Looks like SP1 also killed my SB server. I installed it and needed to use a support ticket to get them to bring it back up. Seems to be the same symptoms -- they couldn't get it back up except in safe mode.

However, I am back online and would like to thank the support techs. :beer:

TangentWizard

2005-04-07, 04:36 AM

There are a number of issues with SP1 mostly concerning hosting and FrontPage enabled sites.

Users can no longer login and other login issues with Remote/terminal.

It seems SP1 also enables some of the group policies that were disabled by default.

So I wouldn't be in any hurry to upgrade just yet.

Um if you do decide to install it and have windows firewall running then disable fire wall first, install, reboot then enable firewall. That will solve some of the issues.

And while I am about it like to send thanks to the tech support for fixing the problem I had with changing something I shouldn't have done although I didn't relize that I did (honestly I didn't). :violin:

Many Thanks :applaud:

leolucas

2005-04-19, 23:14 PM

I installed the SP1 update with no problems on a server running Windows Server 2003 Web Edition.

DXD

2005-04-20, 08:18 AM

Based on the latest email and webcast from the Web Hosting Team at Microsoft they are saying wait till June when they will have some patches for SP1 that will help people that have been having problems with it.

GaryK

2005-04-24, 11:27 AM

If you're using ISAPI_Rewrite you need to upgrade to their latest version before installing SP1 otherwise the rewrite engine will not work. It won't disable your server it just won't execute any of the rules in httpd.ini.

I'm following Chris' example though and waiting until MS says it's ok for folks like us to install it.

hotshot

2005-04-24, 11:32 AM

I'm following Chris' example though and waiting until MS says it's ok for folks like us to install it.

Can someone please reference where they say not to upgrade? I'm a little confused here, you'd think they would know they most people running Windows 2003 server are running a server.

GaryK

2005-04-24, 11:36 AM

Chris (DXD) is a MS Webhosting Partner. According to an e-mail and a webcast he was told by MS to hold off on installing SP1 in hosting situations. Not everyone here is using their server to host websites. Those of us who are would be wise to heed the advice of MS. MS is rarely so candid as to suggest not using one of their patches or service packs so when they say not to use it I take them at their word. ;)

KyleMulligan

2005-04-24, 12:46 PM

I am also a partner and received the email.

PLEASE READ THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION BELOW

Microsoft will be releasing Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003 on March 28th 2005. With the release of SP1, Microsoft is taking the opportunity to introduce features and enhancements, in addition to software updates, designed to improve security, reliability, and productivity.

The Hosting Solutions Team is in the process of conducting detailed testing of the Solution for Windows-based Hosting and the Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration running on Windows Server 2003, Service Pack 1. Until such time as full testing is complete, the team recommends NOT updating your Windows Server 2003 infrastructure to Service Pack 1.

The Hosting Solutions team will complete testing by the end of March. Between April 11th and April 15th, the team will host a series of online meetings and webcasts (details will be posted on http://www.microsoft.com/hosting), during which recommendations will be presented, and questions will be answered.

The team is also now focused on leveraging Service Pack 1 in the architecture of the next releases of both Solutions. The next release of the Solution for Windows-based Hosting is due to ship in the June / July timeframe, and for the Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration, the date is September / October.

Again, we recommend that your immediate course of action is to attend the online meetings and webcasts to understand how to best leverage Service Pack 1.

For more information on Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/servicepacks/sp1/default.mspx. For the complete Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Product Overview Guide, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/servicepacks/sp1/overview.mspx.

Thank you.
_______________________________________________

Michael van Dijken

Free, anonymous technical assistance from Windows Hosting Experts:
Microsoft's Windows Hosting Forums

BinaryBoy

2005-04-25, 01:56 AM

There are quite soma applications that are no longer doing their job when you install SP1. Most of them are not applicable for the SB servers, but there are some applications that might be used here, like MS Exchange and Kerio Server Firewall.
More info here (http://entmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=6659)

GaryK

2005-04-25, 10:48 AM

When I asked Kerio support about KSF I was told there were no problems interacting with SP1. According to the article you linked to Windows won't restart after installing SP1 unless you update a driver for KSF. I'm sure that's the case. But what really makes me mad is there is no mention of this problem anywhere on Kerio's support forums. Thanks for the heads-up. I'm off to complain to Kerio about their lousy support. I can't understand how a company that makes such a great product can have such lousy support. And yet they've proven over and over again that their support stinks.

hotshot

2005-04-25, 22:46 PM

Not everyone here is using their server to host websites.

I don't know if any of you can comprehend how large of an audience there is for this product, but there are MILLIONS of people using this software running IIS on Intranets and Extranets. It is ludacrous for a SP not to work with the built in features of the software as a whole. Products like Imail server which is also used on MILLIONS of machines should also be tested at the Microsoft facilities.

This whole thing is a big joke and these people are getting paid the big bucks to sit around and pick their nose all day apparently.

GaryK

2005-04-25, 23:05 PM

I fail to understand why you chose to quote me out of context for your rant. If you want to rant go ahead and rant. But don't drag me into it unless I did something to warrant it.
:badmood:

hotshot

2005-04-25, 23:12 PM

I fail to understand why you chose to quote me out of context for your rant. If you want to rant go ahead and rant. But don't drag me into it unless I did something to warrant it.
:badmood:

None of the post was directed toward anyone specifically, however you were not quoted out of context.

Am I the only one who sees how ignorant this entire situation is with Microsoft? This isn't rocket science. You obtain software, you install it on a Windows 2003 server, and you test it. With all the staff, it shouldn't really even take that long.

I would assume it should work with all the major firewalls, Norton Corporate, all major mail servers, especially Microsofts OWN mail product!

This is not brain surgery or rocket science.

GaryK

2005-04-25, 23:20 PM

By quoting me you directed your rant at me. Also, I was quoted out of context. My statement about websites had to do with Microsoft's own recommendation that people acting as website hosts should hold off on installing SP1 until further notice. It had nothing to do with Intranets, Extranets, IMail or rocket science.

Where are the moderators for this forum?

hotshot

2005-04-25, 23:30 PM

By quoting me you directed your rant at me. Also, I was Where are the moderators for this forum?

I already said it was not directed at you, you are really reading a lot into this and this is so typical. After I already told you it was not directed toward you, you come back and tell me yes it was, and start hollering for moderators? Do you realize you are the one engaging an argument? How do you know what I am thinking? AGAIN, the rant was not aimed at you, it was CLEARLY aimed at MS not fully testing the product and using us for Guinea Pigs. I am a little aggitated, because I thought they had stopped doing this, and at TS2 they assured us those days were over.

I actually own and operate a very large discussion forum myself, and I see quite often where users take innocent posts and try to alert the moderators to get them to edit something out for attention. What exactly is going on here that you think needs moderated? We're having civilized conversations about SP1.

There's nothing to moderate, we're just having a "discussion" on a discussion forum.

The rant is about a billion dollar company not testing SERVER software with the most distributed applications that are used with it.

GaryK

2005-04-25, 23:40 PM

While I'm no MS apologist you're delusional if you think releasing a service pack with this level of complexity doesn't come close to rocket science. There are thousands of commercial software products out there. Do you really expect MS to test their service pack on all of them? Rather, it's the job of each developer to make sure his/her product is ready to go when the service pack is released. That's why developers get the SP before the rest of us peons get it.

If Exchange Server doesn't work with the SP then shame on the Exchange development team. But if it doesn't work with Norton, Kerio or any other third-party app then shame on Norton, Kerio, et al.

EDIT

>>users take innocent posts

Again, if you want to direct your rant to nobody in particular then please do not quote someone in particular when doing so. If you mention my name and then launch into a rant I have every reason to expect it's at least partially directed at me. The fact is your rant isn't directed at me. But that's not the impression I was left with. Thank you.

hotshot

2005-04-25, 23:44 PM

If Exchange Server doesn't work with the SP then shame on the Exchange development team. But if it doesn't work with Norton, Kerio or any other third-party app then shame on Norton, Kerio, et al.

I believe ideally they all need to work together ESPECIALLY the top 5 anti virus companies and next in line should be firewalls. Of course, MS's own firewall doesn't even work with multiple IP's :nope:

The whole thing with software and passing the buck is getting out of control.

Good night all, sorry if I ruffled any feather's look at my post history, that's not what I'm about.

knightfoo

2005-04-26, 11:37 AM

Whoa, wish I had seen this thread sooner.

Everyone needs to realize that every Windows 2003 Server out there is not a web server, and that every web server is not configured in the same manner. There are billions of different combinations of how a server may be configured, from installed 3rd party applications right down to bits and bytes in the system registry. Some users may simply turn on IIS, configure a default web root, and be done with it. Others may install a dozen extensions and filters, some of which may not be from Microsoft. There is no possible way that Microsoft could test their service packs for every possible combination of software applications and configurations then put a stamp on it that says "this will work for everyone". You also can't say "they should have tested application X because everyone uses it", because everyone probably does not use it.

I would argue that this is much more complicated than rocket science. Even the software that runs the Space Shuttle is probably half as complex as a consumer operating system. You have a much smaller group of users (hundreds, not millions) on a much more limited and very well documented hardware platform and there is very stingent change control at all levels. You don't have to worry about the astronauts installing their own firewalls, web browsers, or IM clients on the Space Shuttle. The mission controllers aren't sitting around modding their workstations in their spare time. When the NASA developers roll out a software upgrade, it gets installed on a few dozen systems in a very controlled environment.

So .. everyone chill out. :) It's not the end of the world if SP1 does not work, because all of the critical security fixes have already been rolled out in the form of hotfixes. Your server will not burst into flames if you do not install it right now.

-knightfoo

GaryK

2005-04-26, 11:40 AM

I finally got a reply from the folks at Kerio. Version 1.1.1 is now compatible with SP1. It would have been nice if they made this more obvious. But at least it's one less problem to deal with before installing SP1.

So, at least for me that means ISAPI_Rewrite and KSF are now SP1 compatible. I got word this morning that CuteFTP Pro is now SP1 compatible. BTW, isn't that an awful name for a professional IT person to have to use? LOL.

hotshot: I'm sorry if things got out of hand last night. I'm dealing with a lot of physical and emotional issues right now and I'm a little too quick on the draw. You're right about your posting history here. All I ask is that in the future if you want to rant please don't quote me unless your rant is directed at me. If I've done something to deserve being the target of a rant thats fine. Lord knows I deserve it occasionally. :)

EDIT:

Thanks for the informative post knightfoo.

hotshot

2005-04-26, 12:02 PM

Whoever posted about Exchange server, check this out

http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/sysreqs/2003.mspx

wwwuser

2005-04-30, 14:12 PM

Has anyone come across a message stating Data Execution Prevention - Microsoft Windows?

To help protect your computer, Windows has closed this program.

Name: ddres32

It is filling my error logs.

Any help would be great.

Thanks:

GaryK

2005-04-30, 14:18 PM

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875352

wwwuser

2005-04-30, 16:50 PM

Thanks GaryK
I did take a look at it and it was one that I read already. I noticed in the reading that it states the following:
APPLIES TO
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005

The reason that I created the post in this section is because it started within 2 1/2 weeks of installing Sp1 for Server 2003.
Do you think that this is similar?

In the how to fix section of the KB I did follow those instructions but it is still happening. I have opened a support ticket with SB to have them verify some other reports that I was reading stating that something is not compatable with the CPU vendor.

Either way thanks for the direction.

GaryK

2005-04-30, 17:28 PM

You're welcome. Yes I do think it's similar and I'm sure there's a KB article that covers the same issues for 2K3. The basics of DEP are the same in XP and 2K3. There are still some applications that have not been updated to work within the restrictions imposed by DEP. I cannot however find anything about the ddres32 you are referring to. A search on all the major engines turns up nothing at all about it. Do you know what it is?

wwwuser

2005-04-30, 18:59 PM

Quoted from SB Support "Subject:
Hello,

"We killed the process tree that was running, but we did not make any
changes. The file still exists in c:\WINNT\system32. We are still
investigating, since we have not been able to find any information on
the internet about this file. "

It appears that no one knows about it yet? I run full antivirus etc. No spyware, malware, usual stuff..

Thanks

GaryK

2005-04-30, 21:31 PM

I posted a message on a professional webmasters site I subscribe to. Maybe we'll have better luck finding a solution for you there. I'll update you when there's something to report on.

wwwuser

2005-05-01, 08:41 AM

Thanks for your help.

hotshot

2005-06-18, 23:37 PM

So whats the deal? I just noticed that SP1 says

"Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
Date last published: 6/15/2005
Typical download size: 165 MB

So is it safe now?

Monsoonstorm

2005-06-29, 13:49 PM

So whats the deal? I just noticed that SP1 says

"Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
Date last published: 6/15/2005
Typical download size: 165 MB

So is it safe now?

I would like to know this too. Anyone out there install SP1 and if so, can you give us your experience? Have you had any problems??

devilspgd

2005-06-29, 14:01 PM

I would like to know this too. Anyone out there install SP1 and if so, can you give us your experience? Have you had any problems??

No issues, the only comment I have is that the install appears to freeze near the end, plus the first reboot is scary (It takes three times as long as a normal reboot)

DXD

2005-06-29, 14:46 PM

I havn't installed it yet in fear of it breaking something.

I've read alot of people are still having issues with it and have to uninstall it after they have installed it. Especially if your using the HELM control panel as SP1 appears to change alot of COM+ stuff which HELM uses.

GaryK

2005-06-29, 22:29 PM

I finally installed it on my development server which is a clone of my SB server and there were no problems at all. The install went smoothly and so far I haven't run into a single problem. I've got two web apps under development that make extensive use of COM+ (my own and third-party stuff like Mail Enable's APIs) and haven't had any issues. RDP is fine. SQL Server is fine. If anything the server seems faster than it did before SP1, but I have no solid proof of that.

Others may still need to wait before installing SP1, but for a basic server with no control panel software it seems to work just fine.

GaryK

2005-07-03, 11:17 AM

Did anyone else notice that SP1 replaced the existing browscap.ini with a much older one?

That seems to have happened to me.

I know because one of my hobbies is maintaining a regularly updated browscap.ini file and when I did my weekly analysis this morning I had thousands of "new" user agents that couldn't be found in browscap.ini. So I looked at the file and it wasn't my file. It was the one that came with Server 2003 and is several years old.

hotshot

2005-07-18, 19:19 PM

I took the plunge and installed SP2 and had no adverse effects. I have several applications running on the server, but I don't use a control panel.

Curious to see how it goes for everyone else.

DXD

2005-07-18, 19:31 PM

I took the plunge and installed SP2 and had no adverse effects. I have several applications running on the server, but I don't use a control panel.

Curious to see how it goes for everyone else.

You meant SP1 correct? The issues with SP1 are with COM+ and IIS and any applications that make calls from IIS to COM+ applications. You will receive OUT OF MEMORY errors. Microsoft is aware of this and is working on a solution.

GaryK

2005-07-18, 20:46 PM

Most of my work involves COM+, IIS and web apps. Installing SP1 on my development server was a huge mistake. It eventually hosed the entire system and I had to reinstall everything. It cost me a whole day of lost productivity and I had to pay someone to reinstall the stuff I don't understand like the VPN between SB and my home LAN.

mroy

2005-08-03, 16:23 PM

I just got done installing & subsequently uninstalling SP1. After installing it all of my websites came up "Service Unavailable" when I browsed to them. I didn't find anything useful on google, so I'm uninstalling it now. I also noticed that in the firewall upgrade it hosed all of my pre-SP1 rules, so I'll have to redo those on the next upgrade. Hopefully the uninstall goes well.

hotshot

2005-08-03, 23:34 PM

I just got done installing & subsequently uninstalling SP1. After installing it all of my websites came up "Service Unavailable" when I browsed to them.

So why do you think this is? Everything worked fine on my 3000 server after I applied the SP and I have TONS of stuff running on the server.

hotshot

2005-08-09, 09:46 AM

mroy

2005-12-27, 20:40 PM

I finally got around to installing SP1 again and had the time to investigate the "Service Unavailable" problem. Checked the error logs, and it showed a process failing 4 times, and then using the new process killer designed to prevent DOS attacks from having any detrimental effects on servers, server 2003 started blocking all IIS requests. Since I've had problems with ISAPI_Rewrite on another server (Win2K) before I uninstalled that first, and restarted IIS, and problem solved.