John Q. Brunson Jr. SharePoint, et. al

VM not showing up in Hyper V

2010-02-09T05:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the cramped formatting on the directory views.
You can copy and paste the blockquoted sections and paste
them in Notepad and they spreadout just fine.

Ok, so during the holidays I decided to whip up a SharePoint 2010 beta VM to have a look around and see what's new and start getting a feel for the new and improved SharePoint. So I crank out a Hyper V of SP2010beta and play around a bit. The last thing I do is shut down the virtual server not save it. Then a month or so goes by while I get my SQL 2008 Developer study on and one evening (this evening) I decide to take a break from studying and go play with the SP2010beta VM again. Well, low and behold, I crank up Hyper V Manager and BAM! My VM is not showing up. Ok, no worries, I go dig around the net and find John Savill's post on just what I'm seeing(citation below) so I follow his suggested steps and get my little virtual playground back up and running.

So here is my question, what caused the corrupted XML link? Was it because I shut the virtual server down rather than saving it? Is there a "time to live" default setting for VM's that are shut down rather than saved? How can I prevent this?

At any rate, once again as a big believer in redundancy, here are the steps needed to restore a VM in HyperV Manager if it goes missing.

1. Open a command prompt as adminstrator
2. Navigate to the Hyper V default folder on your local machine.
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines
3. From that directory you will see a symlink(hidden) to the missing VM's XML configuration file. It will look something like this;

Directory of c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines

02/09/2010 04:42 AM .
02/09/2010 04:42 AM ..
10/05/2009 11:19 AM 77A90856-CC14-4061-83A3-10919895F84D.xml
[G:\Virtual Machines\MCTS_Configuration_Server\MCTS\Virtual Machines\77A90856-CC
14-4061-83A3-10919895F84D.xml]
09/25/2009 01:35 PM 9AEFB72A-7525-4281-BA02-B84C7C753912
09/25/2009 01:56 PM 15,626 9AEFB72A-7525-4281-BA02-B84C7C753912.xml
02/09/2010 04:42 AM BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A560-2F8F5D0D1E93.xml
12/28/2009 04:28 PM BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A560-2F8F5D0D1E93.
xml [G:\Virtual Machines\SP2010\SP2010beta\Virtual Machines\BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A
560-2F8F5D0D1E93.xml]
4 File(s) 15,626 bytes
3 Dir(s) 324,143,992,832 bytes free

c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines>

4. Run Mklink to re-establish the link to your XML configuration file
Mklink BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A560-2F8F5D0D1E93.xml "E:\Virtual Machines\SP2010\SP2010beta\Virtual Machines\BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A560-
2F8F5D0D1E93.xml"
5. If necessary, you may need to set the VM service account perms again.
icacls BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A560-2F8F5D0D1E93.xml /grant "NT VIRTUAL MACHINE\BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A560-2F8F5D0D1E93":(F) /L

Now for my particular instance I also noticed that my original drive path had changed somehow. I had the VM on my E: drive and the new bogus reference was to the G: drive. So I had to open up the XML file on my VM directory, in this case on my external drive and change the drive letter to get the VM to finally open.

So once I was finished my c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines directory looked like this;

Directory of c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines

02/09/2010 04:42 AM .
02/09/2010 04:42 AM ..
10/05/2009 11:19 AM 77A90856-CC14-4061-83A3-10919895F84D.xml
[G:\Virtual Machines\MCTS_Configuration_Server\MCTS\Virtual Machines\77A90856-CC
14-4061-83A3-10919895F84D.xml]
09/25/2009 01:35 PM 9AEFB72A-7525-4281-BA02-B84C7C753912
09/25/2009 01:56 PM 15,626 9AEFB72A-7525-4281-BA02-B84C7C753912.xml
02/09/2010 04:42 AM BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A560-2F8F5D0D1E93.xml
[E:\Virtual Machines\SP2010\SP2010beta\Virtual Machines\BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A560-
2F8F5D0D1E93.xml]
12/28/2009 04:28 PM BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A560-2F8F5D0D1E93_bad.
xml [G:\Virtual Machines\SP2010\SP2010beta\Virtual Machines\BDA15939-83E1-4C5D-A
560-2F8F5D0D1E93.xml]
4 File(s) 15,626 bytes
3 Dir(s) 324,143,992,832 bytes free

c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines>

Notice the bogus G: SYMLINK as opposed to the now corrected E: SYMLINK.

Thanks to John Savill
http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/101212/q-how-can-i-add-virtual-machines-vms-to-the-hyper-v-console.html for this solution.

AdventureWorks2008

2010-01-26T03:53:00.000-05:00

If you are preparing for the 70-433 exam AND you're using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 - Database Development Self Paced Training Kit AND you're running a full version of SQL 2008...

When you attempt to attached the AdventureWorks2008.mdf (page xx in the book) you will run into "SQL Server Error: 5120". The work around is to execute the following script in SQL Server Manager;

Note: Be sure to change the pathing to point to the location of the files on your system.

USE [master]
GO
CREATE DATABASE [AdventureWorks2008] ON
( FILENAME = N'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.SQL2008\MSSQL\DATA\AdventureWorks2008_Data.mdf' ),
( FILENAME = N'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.SQL2008\MSSQL\DATA\AdventureWorks2008_Log.ldf' ),
FILEGROUP Documents CONTAINS FILESTREAM (NAME = Documents, FILENAME=N'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.SQL2008\MSSQL\DATA\Documents')
FOR ATTACH
GO

Anyone with the technical explantion of why, please comment for the benefit of the community.

Thanks to
http://geekswithblogs.net/influent1/archive/2009/06/09/132711.aspx for this solution.

WSS Contributor Permissions

2007-10-23T00:41:00.000-04:00

Ok so you have set up your Site collection and you have a site that you want folks to be able to add items to say a calendar and an announcement web part but you don't want them to be able to modify the web part on the page itself. It's a simple set-up just not one explicitly defined in the general/basic books/sites out there. Here's the steps;

1. Create the site and select "use unique permission" rather than inherhit from parent.

2. Create the calendar list and the announcement list and place a view on your site default page.

NOTE: By doing steps 1 and 2 in order you have accomplished the following: the site has specific Owner, Member and Reader groups and the two lists are inheriting permissions from the site.

3. Edit the permissions of the lists(by doing this you break inheritance from the site) but you don't have to change any permissions, you just want to break inheritance so any changes you make on the site level do not propigate down to the lists.

4. Now at the site level modify the Member group to read only.

By doing these 4 steps you keep the ability for the Member to be able to add, edit or delete items in the list but they no longer can Modify the web part itself on the page.

Good luck and Happy SharePointing

SPS Naming Conventions

2007-09-04T08:33:00.001-04:00

Site Names

In WSS Site Names may not contain the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > | # { } % & " ~ +

You cannot start a site name, subsite name, or a site group name with an underscore (_) character or with the period character (I recommend avoiding the (_) underscore in site names)

You cannot use the period character consecutively in the middle of a site name

You cannot use the period character at the end of a site name

File Names

Invalid characters: " # % & * : < > ? \ / { | } ~

Cannot be longer than 128 characters

You cannot use the period character consecutively in the middle of a file name

You cannot use the period character at the end of a file name

You cannot start a file name with the period character

Folder Names

You cannot use the following characters anywhere in a folder name or a server name: ~ # % & * { } \ : < > ? / | "

Cannot be longer than 128 characters

You cannot use the period character consecutively in the middle of a folder name

You cannot use the period character at the end of a folder name

You cannot start a folder name with the period character

Good WSS FAQ

2007-08-31T15:35:00.000-04:00

For an excellent WSS resource pay a quick visit to http://wss.collutions.com/.

This one covers it all...
Introduction I
General II
Installation III
Administration IV
Basic Customization V
Interaction with Office VI
Tutorials VII
Documents and Web Sites
Articles
WSS v3 FAQ
STS (v1.0) FAQ

Theme Customization

2007-07-29T19:15:00.000-04:00

For a fantastic to the point tutorial on creating custom themes check out this MSDN link;

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa979310.aspx

Also, for the no bones UI FAQ, Heather Solomon is the place to go.

http://www.heathersolomon.com/blog/category/8.aspx

Excellent Developer Resource

2007-06-11T19:09:00.001-04:00

If you don't mind the large poster sized charts, these free offerings from MindSharp are fantastic dev references.

https://www.mindsharp.com/Default.aspx?page=Login&destPage=RoadmapRequest

Comparison of features that are included in Windows SharePoint Services and in SharePoint Portal Server 2003

2007-05-21T06:32:00.000-04:00

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3bEN-US%3b830320

http://www.microsoft.com/sharepoint/evaluationoverview.asp

Beginning SharePoint development

2007-04-10T15:24:00.000-04:00

So you're wanting to create a custom web part? Well from one beginner to another let me walk you through the basics.

Environment:
You need to set up the proper development environment. While you can develop from a separate computer from the server that holds your SharePoint Portal, I will be showing you how to develop from the server itself. More experienced devs can chime in with best practice advice.
--Load Visual Studio 2005 (any version) on the SharePoint Portal server.
--Load Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Tools: Visual Studio 2005 Extensions on the SharePoint Portal Server (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=19F21E5E-B715-4F0C-B959-8C6DCBDC1057&displaylang=en)

Now you're ready to go.

Procedure:
Here are just a few tutorial links for initial development... best way to learn is jump in and get wet.
(http://www.datasprings.com/Resources/ArticlesInformation/Sharepoint2007CustomWebParts/tabid/775/Default.aspx)
(http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200510/ij_10_10_05a.html)
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/05/09/WebParts/default.aspx)
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=48B2C899-DB2C-4A93-AA95-AF4A37FA8AE8&displaylang=en)
(http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms564508.aspx)
(http://www.15seconds.com/issue/040218.htm)

Here are some language references (remember SharePoint is written in C#)
(http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vcsharp/default.aspx)
(http://www.csharpfriends.com/)
(http://www.dotnetfun.com/)
(http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/)
(http://www.csharp-station.com/Default.aspx)
(http://www.codeproject.com/index.asp?cat=3)

Good Luck!

Book recommendation

2007-04-03T09:57:00.000-04:00

For those who are just digging in to SharePoint development as I am, I have a book recommendation for you.

Microsoft SharePoint
Building Office 2007 Solutions in C# 2005
By Scot Hillier, MVP
ISBN-10: 1-59059-809-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-59059-809-2
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-SharePoint-Building-Solutions-Sharepoint/dp/1590598091/ref=pd_bbs_sr_8/102-2856765-7262565?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175609884&sr=8-8

Let me just say that for the beginning(SharePoint) developer this book is very specific in it's instructions, for example;

There is a handy little section in chapter 2 entitled, "Creating a Development Environment" it covers exactly how to set up VirtServ, database creation, creating the test client etc.

That is just one of the many goodies in this book. Give it a read you won't regret it.

Powerful Command Line Administration for SharePoint

2007-03-23T11:35:00.001-04:00

https://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/01/CommandPrompt/default.aspx

Method 'Post' of object 'IOWSPostData' failed

2007-03-23T08:50:00.000-04:00

Importing lists from Excel 2007 returns a Method 'Post' of object 'IOWSPostData' failed dialog. Again, not really a problem with WSS 3.0 but rather the result of a failed Application.SharePointVersion() call in the Excel Add-In which results in Excel attempting to use the IOWSPostData.Post() method to publish the Excel range which is used with SharePoint Team Services 1.0. By forcing the version lookup result variable to 2 or greater, Excel will use SOAP to communicate with WSS 3.0 and the publish request will be successful. To make this change, open the Excel Add-In EXPTOOWS.XLA locate in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\1033 by default. Press Alt+F11 to display the Visual Basic code editor and search (Ctrl+F) for the line lVer = Application.SharePointVersion(URL). Comment out that line with a single quote and add the line lVer=2 so your Intialize() method should now look like this:

Sub Initialize(List, Title, URL, QuickLaunch)

strQuickLaunch = QuickLaunch

aTarget(iPublishURL) = URL

aTarget(iPublishListName) = List

aTarget(iPublishListDesc) = Title

'lVer = Application.SharePointVersion(URL)

lVer = 2

End Sub

"The above solution provided by Bradley Elder" Thanks man you rock!!

New Application Templates for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

2007-03-22T15:54:00.000-04:00

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsserver/sharepoint/wssapps/templates/default.mspx

Lots of template goodies for all to enjoy!

As my wife is a teacher, I especially liked the Classroom Management template. One thing to keep in mind when you get ready to install these is that you must first install the Application Template Core. It can be found here...

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C1039E13-94DA-4D7D-8CAE-3B96FA5A4045&displaylang=en

Very small sampling

2007-03-19T21:00:00.000-04:00

For those who wish to get a bit more info on the Talpiot Tomb controversy here are some helpful links to just a few resources...

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/tomb/tomb.html - The Discovery Channel site
http://www.jesusdynasty.com/blog/ - Dr. James Tabor's blog
http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/ - Dr. Ben Witherington's blog
http://biblical-studies.ca/blog/wp/category/talpiot-tomb/ Society of Biblical Literature Tomb archive
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talpiot_Tomb - Wiki site
http://www.ntgateway.com/weblog/2007/03/talpiot-tomb-assorted-thoughts.html - Mark Gooacre's site
http://www.joezias.com/ - Joe Zias's site

There is of course much more and certainly more to come but this will give you a jump start into the issue. I am not endorsing any particular viewpoint but I am paying close attention to see how this one plays out.

The Talpiot Tomb

2007-03-17T20:11:00.000-04:00

In order to comply with Dr. Ben Witherington's wishes I have revamped this blog to reflect the needed information to justify his time in the form of a response. So I once again pose my initial question, "Of course the general public may not be aware of what may be an old argument among scholars. However, what I don't understand is the frantic tantrum being thrown by the academy over this issue. Professionalism and basic manners? No one is attacking anyone's faith. I simply don't 'get' why everyone is so up in arms. Can you give me an insight into this mindset Dr. Witherington?"

Since my original posting of that question I think it is safe to say that many academics have taken their reactions to a level that could be clearly labeled unprofessional.

My puzzlement is not the behavior itself but why THIS issue, what is it about the Talpiot Tomb?