MMC Snap-in Missing

[Guest]

I am trying to follow the instructions in KB278316 (ESENT event IDs 1000,
1202, 412, and 454 are logged repeatedly in the Application log) to re-create
the local Group Policy file. The article says that you should run MMC and
add the Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in to achieve the
re-creation of the database, but this snap-in is not listed in the selection
of standalone snap-ins.

Any ideas how I can get this snap-in?

I should say that I am running XP Home SP2 and this article relates to
Windows 2000 and that I am not having the problems with ESENT that this
article is designed to fix, but I got to the article via KB884018 (You cannot
add a Windows component in Windows XP) which covers the original problem that
I am trying to resolve.

Hope that makes sense. Grateful for any suggestions.

David

 

[Wesley Vogel]

You do not have a Group Policy, this is available only on XP Pro.

These two items do not come with XP Home edition:
gpedit.msc = Group Policy
secpol.msc = Local Security Settings

Security Configuration and Analysis is an MMC snap-in that provides security
configuration and analysis for Windows computers using security template
files.

Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in is for use with Security
Database Files (.sdb files).

Secedit.exe is a command-line version of the Security Configuration and
Analysis snap-in.

Secedit.exe is apparently available with XP Home also.

For secedit help, open a command prompt...
Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
Type: secedit /? and hit your Enter key.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

********************************
Thanks for your reply - see below

You do not have a Group Policy, this is available only on XP Pro.

These two items do not come with XP Home edition:
gpedit.msc = Group Policy
secpol.msc = Local Security Settings

********************************
That's what I was afraid of :-(

Security Configuration and Analysis is an MMC snap-in that provides security
configuration and analysis for Windows computers using security template
files.

Security Configuration and Analysis snap-in is for use with Security
Database Files (.sdb files).

Secedit.exe is a command-line version of the Security Configuration and
Analysis snap-in.

Secedit.exe is apparently available with XP Home also.

For secedit help, open a command prompt...
Start | Run | Type: cmd | Click OK |
Type: secedit /? and hit your Enter key.

************************************
Unfortunately secedit does not appear to be on my system.

I do have esentutl.exe which is mentioned in KB884018, but not recommended
for use!

Any ideas how I get around the problem of not being able to install the fax
services, which is the problem that brought me to this article? According to
the article I have the symptoms of a corrupt security database, but there
would appear to be no way to fix it in XP home.

TIA,

David

 

[Wesley Vogel]

David,

I do have esentutl.exe which is mentioned in KB884018, but not recommended
for use!

[[Note We do not recommend that you use the Esentutl.exe utility to recover
from security database corruption. The Esentutl.exe utility fixes corruption
by deleting data from the database and could possibly permanently mark Group
Policy settings in the registry. Only use this kind of repair as a last
resort. ]]
from...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278316

If you use the /g switch, all esentutl does is verify the integrity of a
database. It will not fix or repair anything.

Run esentutl /g and find out if secedit.sdb is messed up or not, so you can
rule it out if it's OK.

Type or paste the following line in a command prompt and hit Enter...

esentutl /g %WinDir%\security\database\secedit.sdb

You should get this if it's OK...

-------------
C:\>esentutl /g %WinDir%\security\database\secedit.sdb

Microsoft(R) Windows(TM) Database Utilities
Version 5.1
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Initiating INTEGRITY mode...
Database: C:\WINDOWS\security\database\secedit.sdb
Temp. Database: TEMPINTEG852.EDB

Checking database integrity.

Scanning Status (% complete)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|
...................................................


Integrity check successful.

Operation completed successfully in 1.1 seconds.
-------------

I have no idea what you get if it's not.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

Wes,

Thanks again. I ran the esentutl command and got the following:

************
Microsoft(R) Windows(TM) Database Utilities
Version 5.1
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Initiating INTEGRITY mode...
Database: c:\windows\security\database\secedit.sdb
Temp. Database: TEMPINTEG4988.EDB

Checking database integrity.

The database is not up-to-date. This operation may find that
this database is corrupt because data from the log files has
yet to be placed in the database.

To ensure the database is up-to-date please use the 'Recovery' operation.


Scanning Status (% complete)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|----|
...................................................


Integrity check successful.

Operation completed successfully in 1.703 seconds.
********************

So, not quite the expected response, but it does seem to show that the
security database is OK.

I am now completely at a loss as to why I cannot install fax services - are
you the right person to help with this or should I post EXACTLY what happened
in another area?

Thanks again for the help so far,

David

 

[Wesley Vogel]

David,

Who knows if I am the right person?

What exactly happens when you try to add Fax Services?

I do not even have a C:\Windows\I386 folder, mentioned in KB884018. Do you
have one?

Some PC manufacturers install an I386 folder instead of providing an XP CD.

The I386 folder on the XP CD has almost all of the necessary files to
install XP.

How To Add or Remove a Windows Component in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307894

You cannot add a Windows component in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/884018

If you really have the problem described in KB884018...
This problem occurs because the security database is corrupted.
To resolve this issue, contact Microsoft Product Support Services
to obtain a hotfix package. There will be no charge if you specifically
mention KB884018.

I just tried to add Fax Services in Add or Remove Programs\Add/Remove
Windows Components.

The Windows Components Wizard started and a Files Needed dialog popped up.

[[The file 'fxsapi.dll' on windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 CD is
needed.

Type the path where the file is located and then click OK.]]

The Copy files from: defaulted to C:\i386. I do not have that folder. That
is the folder mentioned above when cheap PC manufacturers do not provide a
CD.

I know that there is a copy of fxsapi.dll in the
C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache folder, so I hit the Browse button and browsed
to C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache. I then clicked on OK. Since I don't want
Fax Services, I clicked on Cancel. And deleted the fxsapi.dll that got
added in my C:\WINDOWS\system32 folder.

I could just as well have browsed to E:\I386\FXSAPI.DL_, my XP CD.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

Wes,

Once again thanks for your time on this - here is the problem as briefly as
I can make it

You are correct in assuming that I did not have a CD issued with my machine,
but I do have one from another so I have both the option of using the
directory c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386 or a pukka CD.

The first time I tried I used the control panel add/remove programs control
and selected add/remove windows components from there. I selected fax
services and started the process. After a few seconds it prompted me for a
file (can't remember the name), it had already anticipated the directory as
c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386 , but said there was no file present. When
I browsed I saw that the file was indeed present in that directory, so I
tried again, but it still complained that it could not find it. I then put
my XP CD in the drive and browsed to the i386 directory on there where it
showed that the compressed version of the file was present. Once again the
system was not happy and complained that it couldn't find the file. At this
point it asked if I wanted to continue by skipping the file - I selected 'no'
and cancelled out. I tried the whole process again a couple of times with
the same result with both destination directories failing to satisfy the
process.

I then tried using the option when the CD starts up to add/remove
components. This ended up in the same cycle of questions and had the same
result of a missing file, but I noticed that the file name was now different
- I had never agreed to skip the file(s) so I assumed (incorrectly as it
turns out) that it had somehow resolved the issue of the missing file and
moved on to the next one. I therefore went through the process a few more
times (maybe 10) and found that it was prompting me for a new file each time.
eventually it stopped prompting for missing files and continued the process
of installing the new set of components. However, although it seemed to
complete there was no sign of the fax service being installed. Well, there
was a new subdirectory in programs|accessories|communications called 'fax'
but this was empty.

Now when I try to add/remove components it still shows that the fax services
are not installed, but when I select it and try again I get no prompts for
missing files nor does it install the service - I just get another empty
directory called fax in the programs tree.

So I seem to have corrupted something so that although the files are
actually present they are not being processed when the installation occurs
and the system thinks that it is intalling fax services, but doesn't actually
do it - a vicious circle.

There have been a few similar experiences discussed in the printing and
faxing part of this community and the answer always seems to be to see:

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/FAQFAX.htm#_Toc88835132

which eventually leads to KB884018.

So I am at a loss and any help would be appreciated.

Thanks again for your time on this (hope my ramblings make sense?)

David

 

[Wesley Vogel]

David,

Since it can't seem to make up its mind about which files it can and can't
find, it sounds like...

To resolve this issue, contact Microsoft Product Support Services
to obtain a hotfix package. There will be no charge if you specifically
mention KB884018. Telephone (800) MICROSOFT (642-7676)

[[Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended
to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to
systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive
additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this
problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack
that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support
Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product
Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs,
visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support
calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a
specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will
apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the
specific update in question.]]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/884018

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In