esSJae's Virtualization (&stuff) Blog

Symantec pcAnywhere potential risk!

essjae — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:43:39 +0000

If you’re a user of Symantec pcAnywhere, Symantec is suggestions you disable it until further notice. Anonymous apparently stole source code from them back in 2006.

http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/01/symantec-says-anonymous-stole-source-code-tells-customers-to-disable-security-product.ars

Hotfix for Windows Virtual PC and AMD Bulldozer based CPUs

essjae — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:05:59 +0000

If you have an AMD Bulldozer based CPU, you probably can’t install Windows VPC successfully. AMD Bulldozer based CPUs includes the new FX series (FX-8170, FX-8150, FX-8120, FX-8100, FX-6200, FX-6120, FX-6100, FX-4170, FX-4150, FX-4120, FX-4100)

Microsoft released a hotfix yesterday for this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2519949

You cannot install Windows XP Mode on a Windows 7-based computer that has an AMD Bulldozer-based multicore processor installed

SYMPTOMS

When you have an AMD Bulldozer-based multicore processor installed on a computer that is running Windows 7, you cannot install Windows XP Mode. Additionally, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

Could not complete Setup. Please try again.

CAUSE

This issue occurs because of a compatibility issue between Windows XP Mode and AMD Bulldozer-based multicore processors.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a “Hotfix download available” section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

NoteIf additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft website:

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

NoteThe “Hotfix download available” form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running Windows 7 or Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

For more information about how to obtain a Windows 7 or a Windows Server 2008 R2 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

976932 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976932/ ) Information about Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2

Installation instructions

To resolve this issue for OEM partners, integrate the hotfix package into the installation image of Windows 7. To do this, follow these steps:

Download all the necessary files and tools. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Install the Windows 7 OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK).
2. Copy the hotfix package to a folder on the computer. For example, copy the package to the folder C:\Test\Updates.
3. Copy the Install.wim file from the Windows 7 installation media to the computer. For example, copy the Install.wim file to the folder C:\Test\Images.
Add the hotfix to a Windows 7 image. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows OPK, right-click Deployment Tools Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
2. At the command prompt, retrieve the name or the index number for the image that you want to change. To do this, type the following command, and then press Enter:
  Dism /Get-WIMInfo /WimFile:C:\test\images\install.wim
3. Notice the index number or the name of the Windows 7 image to which you will add the hotfix.
4. Use a DISM command to mount the image by using the index number or the name that you noticed in step 2C. For example, the index number of the image to which you will add the hotfix is 3. The following command mounts Index 3 to a folder that is named “offline” in the test directory:
  Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\test\images\install.wim /Index:3 /MountDir:C:\test\offline
  Note You must create the C:\Test\Offline folder before you mount the image.
5. At the command prompt, type the appropriate command to add the hotfix, and then press Enter.
  For x86-based versions of Windows 7:
  
  Dism /Image:C:\test\offline /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\test\updates\Windows6.1-KB2519949 -x86.msu
  
  For x64-based versions of Windows 7:
  
  Dism /Image:C:\test\offline /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\test\updates\Windows6.1-KB2519949 -x64.msu
6. At the command prompt, type the following command to commit the changes and to unmount the image, and then press Enter:
  Dism /Unmount-WIM /MountDir:C:\test\offline /Commit

Registry information

To use the hotfix in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows 7 file information notes

The files that apply to a specific product, milestone (RTM, SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table:

Collapse this tableExpand this table

Version Product Milestone Service branch

6.1.760 0.16xxx Windows 7 RTM GDR

6.1.760 0.20xxx Windows 7 RTM LDR

6.1.760 1.17xxx Windows 7 SP1 GDR

6.1.760 1.21xxx Windows 7 SP1 LDR
GDR service branches contain only those fixes that are widely released to address widespread, very important issues. LDR service branches contain hotfixes in addition to widely released fixes.
The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the “Additional file information for Windows 7″ section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are very important for maintaining the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

Version	Product	Milestone	Service branch
6.1.760 0.16xxx	Windows 7	RTM	GDR
6.1.760 0.20xxx	Windows 7	RTM	LDR
6.1.760 1.17xxx	Windows 7	SP1	GDR
6.1.760 1.21xxx	Windows 7	SP1	LDR

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7

Collapse this tableExpand this table

File name	File version	File size	Date	Time	Platform
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7600.16782	296,064	17-Mar-2011	04:44	x86
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7600.20926	296,064	17-Mar-2011	06:58	x86
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7601.17580	296,192	17-Mar-2011	04:40	x86
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7601.21685	296,192	17-Mar-2011	06:57	x86

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7

Collapse this tableExpand this table

File name	File version	File size	Date	Time	Platform
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7600.16782	360,704	17-Mar-2011	05:19	x64
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7600.20926	360,704	17-Mar-2011	05:19	x64
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7601.17580	360,832	17-Mar-2011	05:29	x64
Vpcvmm.sys	6.1.7601.21685	360,832	17-Mar-2011	05:06	x64

Get your free NFR license for Veeam Backup & Replication v6 for Hyper-V

essjae — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:49:04 +0000

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/hub.1326407570.html

Veeam is offering an NFR license for MVP/MCP/MCTS:

http://www.veeam.com/nfr/free-nfr-license-hyper-v

Get your free NFR license for
Veeam Backup & Replication v6 for Hyper-V

If you are a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) or a Most Valuable Professional (MVP), you can get a FREE 2-socket NFR* license for Veeam Backup & Replication v6 for your home or work lab.

Register NOW! Get your FREE NFR license from Veeam

*An NFR (Not for Resale) license can only be used for evaluation or demonstration purposes. Read EULA for more details.

Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 SP1 wins gold medal!

essjae — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:30:41 +0000

Searchdatacenter’s 2011 product of the year award for System Management is SCVMM 2008 R2 SP1!

http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/guide/SearchDataCenter-Products-of-the-Year-Systems-Management-winners-2011

Waterfox–The fastest 64-Bit variant of Firefox

essjae — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:22:01 +0000

This is a great upgrade to Firefox

http://waterfoxproj.sourceforge.net/

Definitely “feels” snappier than Firefox, although I have not run any benchmarks.

How to access XP Mode’s Network Settings

essjae — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:08:08 +0000

Changing the Networking settings from Shared Networking (NAT) to the host’s physical network card (NIC) comes up a lot in the forums for XPmode-WinVPC, here are a couple ways to do it. The XP Mode settings or any WinVPC virtual machine are accessed from Windows 7. When selecting the NIC you want to use, make sure you select your active NIC. Your active NIC is the one that is connected to your local network and is how you access your network. The active NIC can be wireless or wired, or in some cases both your wireless and wired connections may be active.

1. Goto the virtual machines directory on physical computer via explorer, or paste the path below in run or search:

C:\Users\%username%\Virtual Machines

Click once to select XP Mode. Next, click Settings from the menu bar. Select Networking. From the Adapter 1 drop list you can select the host’s active NIC to allow XP Mode to be on your local network. You will need an available IP address for XP Mode.

2. From the XP Mode window, click the Tools menu on the XP Mode window menu. Select Networking. From the Adapter 1 drop list you can select the host’s active NIC to allow XPMode to be on your local network. You will need an available IP address for XP Mode.

In this case, the active NIC is a Broadcaom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit controller. Your NIC may not be the same.

Click OK to close the window.

Once the setting is changed, you need to trigger XP Mode to release the old IP address can get a new one. If you have DHCP you can: simply reboot XP Mode or drop to a command prompt in XP Mode and do the following commands

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

If you do not have a DHCP server, then you will manually need to enter a unique IP address for XP Mode in the same way you did on your Windows 7 computer.

Troubleshooting:

If you get a 169.x.x.x IP address in XP Mode, there are several things that could be the issue:

1. The network card selected is not the active NIC

2. There are no DHCP servers available to lease an IP address or there are no available IP addresses on your network.

Linux Integration Services 3.2 released for Hyper-V

essjae — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:36:01 +0000

New version of the IC was released yesterday (1-Dec-2011).

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28188

Overview

When installed in a supported Linux virtual machine running on Hyper-V, the Linux Integration Components provide.

Driver support: Linux Integration Services supports the network controller and the IDE and SCSI storage controllers that were developed specifically for Hyper-V.

Fastpath Boot Support for Hyper-V: Boot devices now take advantage of the block Virtualization Service Client (VSC) to provide enhanced performance.

Timesync: The clock inside the virtual machine will remain synchronized with the clock on the virtualization server with the help of the pluggable time source device.

Integrated Shutdown: Virtual machines running Linux can be shut down from either Hyper-V Manager or System Center Virtual Machine Manager by using the “Shut Down” command.

Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) Support: Supported Linux distributions can use up to 4 virtual processors (VP) per virtual machine.

Heartbeat: Allows the virtualization server to detect whether the virtual machine is running and responsive.

KVP (Key Value Pair) Exchange: Information about the running Linux virtual machine can be obtained by using the Key Value Pair exchange functionality on the Windows Server 2008 virtualization server.

Integrated Mouse Support: The cursor is no longer bound to the VMConnect window when used with the Linux Graphical User Interface.

====

New/updated from 3.1 release:

Synthetic Mouse Support: The virtualized mouse device is no longer bound to the VMConnect window, and can now be used with a RDP session.
Merged Device Drivers: We now present a single device driver for both IDE and SCSI devices (hv_storvsc).
Windows 8 Fix: The synthetic network device (hv_netvsc) can now be used with a Windows 8 host, eliminating the hang on boot that was previously seen.
SCVMM Fix: This release fixes the issue as described in KB2586286.
Improved Setup Experience: Users now only need to run install.sh (as root) to automatically detect the correct architecture and install the appropriate drivers.

Windows VPC Networking Options explained

essjae — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:04:30 +0000

Reposted from the Windows Virtual PC help file (it always amazes me how many people ask for explanations about this on the forums, when they have the answer in their local help file):

Configure networking for virtual machines

You can configure networking to provide virtual machines with different types of network connectivity. A virtual machine can have as many as four network adapters enabled, each of which can be configured to use a different type of networking. You can use the following types of networking in a virtual machine:

Internal network. This option provides networking between virtual machines only. This type of network connection is useful when you want to provide a networking communications channel to the virtual machines on one physical computer while isolating the virtual machines from all external networks, both wired and wireless, as well as the host operating system.
(on host operating system). This option is sometimes referred to as “bridged mode”. It uses a physical network adapter to connect the virtual machine to a physical TCP/IP-based network as a separate computer. The virtual machine appears and operates like a separate physical computer on the network. You use this option by selecting the name of the physical network adapter that is connected to the network you want to use. You can choose from both wired and wireless network adapters.
Shared networking (NAT). This option is available for the first network adapter in the virtual machine. It allows the virtual machine to share one connection to a physical TCP/IP network with the host operating system. When you use this option, the virtual machine is not listed as a separate computer on the network. This is useful if you regularly move the host between different network configurations, if you want to connect the virtual machine to the Internet through a broadband or dial-up connection used by the host, including a virtual private network (VPN) connection, or if there is a shortage of IP addresses. However, performance is not as fast as the performance offered by bridged mode.
If the Windows 7 host uses a wireless WAN (WWAN) device to connect to the Internet and you want a virtual machine to be able to use this connection, you must configure the virtual machine to use shared networking (NAT).

	Note
	A network adapter that is disconnected from all available networks is listed as Not Connected. You can connect a network adapter to a network regardless of the state of the virtual machine. However, a virtual machine must be off before you can add or remove a network adapter—it cannot be running or hibernated. For information about closing a virtual machine, see Close a virtual machine.

To configure networking for a virtual machine

Open the settings for the virtual machine. Do one of the following:
- In the Virtual Machines folder, right-click the name of the virtual machine, and then click Settings.
- From the virtual machine window, click the Tools menu, and then click Settings.
In the left pane of the Windows Virtual PC Settings page, click Networking.
To add or remove a network adapter, click the new number of network adapters you want. When you add a network adapter, it is disconnected.
To connect the network adapter to an available type of connection, select it from the drop-down list next to an available network adapter.
Click OK to save the change.

Caught! The elusive XP Mode password window!

essjae — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:05:04 +0000

After reading dozens of threads where the poster says there was a never a prompt for them to enter a password for XPMode, I’ve finally tracked down this elusive beast while setting up my new work laptop.

Behold!

Notice how the Next button is grayed out? You can’t proceed with the install until you enter a password.

Default installation folder is:

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\

Does your CPU have what it needs to run Hyper-V 3.0 with Windows 8?

essjae — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:57:07 +0000

Mark Russinovich does it again with a sweet little tool, CoreInfo.

Coreinfo is a command-line utility that shows you the mapping between logical processors and the physical processor, NUMA node, and socket on which they reside, as well as the cache’s assigned to each logical processor.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc835722

You will need to download, extract and run as an administrator with the -v option.

-v	Dump only virtualization-related features including support for second level address translation. (requires administrative rights on Intel systems).

here’s my i7-2620m: ( the “-” means not present, the “*” means present/supported)

Also:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU       M 560 @ 2.67GHz
x86 Family 6 Model 37 Stepping 5, GenuineIntel
HYPERVISOR      –       Hypervisor is present
VMX             *       Supports Intel hardware-assisted virtualization
EPT             *       Supports Intel extended page tables (SLAT)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU       X 980  @ 3.33GHz
Intel64 Family 6 Model 44 Stepping 2, GenuineIntel
HYPERVISOR      -       Hypervisor is present
VMX             *       Supports Intel hardware-assisted virtualization
EPT             *       Supports Intel extended page tables (SLAT)