Application Error

WOWEXEC caused a General Protection Fault in 
module MMSYSTEM.DLL at 000A:0032.

Choose close. WOWEXEC will close.

This error appeared when attempting to launch a compressed file located on the desktop. Since Windows XP has built in support for Zip files (compressed packages), I wanted to see if WinZip or some other add-on software had been installed and became corrupt. Since there was a folder on the desktop, I simply right clicked it and picked "Send To" and "Compressed File" to create a file on the desktop. This new file opened up just fine with XP's internal Zip support. This is when I realized the file having trouble is ".exe" instead of ".zip"

At this point, I was suspecting spyware had done something to Autoexec.NT or Config.NT so I referenced my previous post: Autoexec.NT is corrupt and unusable

Unfortunately, those files didn't show any trouble and so I began researching online. Many of the proposed "solutions" were a touch shady, so I dropped to a command prompt to snoop around. Turns out the MMSYSTEM.DLL file had an old date so I assumed it had been replaced with an older copy by some software installation.

 Directory of C:\WINDOWS\system32

08/24/1996  01:11 PM           103,248 MMSYSTEM.DLL

Luckily, the compressed version of the file was located on the hard drive, so it was fairly easy to expand a copy back where it needed to be.

 Directory of C:\WINDOWS\I386

08/29/2002  07:00 AM            31,349 MMSYSTEM.DL_


C:\>cd \windows\system32
C:\WINDOWS\system32>expand ..\i386\mmsystem.dl_ mmsystem.dll
Microsoft (R) File Expansion Utility  Version 5.1.2600.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp 1990-1999.  All rights reserved.

Expanding ..\i386\mmsystem.dl_ to mmsystem.dll.
..\i386\mmsystem.dl_: 31349 bytes expanded to 68928 bytes, 119% increase.

This was a much easier fix than any others I happened across and it worked quite well. Be sure to make a backup of any file before deleting or replacing just to be safe in the event the new copy causes more trouble than the first. When in doubt, always keep a safe copy.. especially when working on the command line (no recycle bin!)

 

 

( Windows XP Home WinXP )

A network server integrated into an AS/400 gets backed up during a full system backup. Unfortunately, it does not get backed up during a regular system backup on V4R3M0 with NT 4.0.

In researching this issue, these documents and links look promising:
AS400 NWSD link Use search term backup integrated network server. Click the Back up NWSD and disk drives... link on the left.

• Back up the NWSD and disk drives associated with an integrated Windows server
• What objects to save and their location on OS/400

 

 

( AS/400 )

I just spent the last ten minutes trying to figure out why my normal access to Blogger just wouldn't work! It kept sending me over to some "beta" site with a cutsie little wizard asking how I want my new blog to look. NO! That's not mine I said, but little mrWizard just kept on grinning.

Somehow, my Google email and password passed me on through without using my good old blogger username and password. Whatever. I got something to say! Let me in!!!

uhhh .. huh huh .. yeah

 

 

( )

I received an email about two weeks after several PCs on our network were swapped out. These Windows XP Pro systems were running a certain network application ( Mas90 version 4.0.5 ) very slowly. Printing was even slower. While looking over these systems, I discovered the Symantec Corporate settings did not match the server.

After much frustration and vocabulary exercise, I discovered that the little padlock is the key to it all. While this setting noticeably locks the users out of the client configuration screen, it hides the fact that this setting is necessary to force clients to exclude files specified by the server. Apparently, the lock mandates server settings are to be forced on the clients. Without this "lock down" setting active, the server suggests the exclusions to the clients and they can accept them if they feel like it. The end result is that everyone can have different settings without lockdown.

Yes, the document from Symantec did mention that little lock, but since I had no way of looking at the settings on each client, I didn't keep it locked. Big mistake! I did locate the registry keys that coincide with the exclusion settings and that's an easy place to verify the clients are configured correctly. I was able to check all clients' registry settings right from my desktop (logged on as a domain administrator).

These two registry locations are for excluded file and folder specifications. (extensions, network drives and folder paths):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTEL\LANDesk\VirusProtect6\CurrentVersion\Storages\Filesystem\RealTimeScan
"ExcludedExtensions"="SOA,M4T,M4L,LIB,DDF,DDE,DD"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTEL\LANDesk\VirusProtect6\CurrentVersion\Storages\Filesystem\RealTimeScan\NoScanDir
"u:"=dword:00000001

Yes, these can be imported into the registry by a login script if your clients are unmanaged, but hey, why do you have Symantec Corporate if it's unmanaged ?!! (hehe .. just kidding)

This is the configuration article on Symantec's website along with the instructions for client configuration. They specifically say to click the lock, but if you don't think that's important, have fun trying to figure out why it doesn't work~!

Excluding specific drives and folders from Symantec AntiVirus scans
To set up Auto-Protect exclusions for Symantec AntiVirus clients by using Symantec System Center

1. Right-click a server group, server, or client group, and then click All Tasks > Symantec AntiVirus > Client Auto-Protect Options (or Client Realtime Protection Options).
2. Check Exclude selected files and folders and then click the lock icon so that it appears as locked.
3. Click Exclusions.
4. If you use Symantec AntiVirus 8.x, check Check for exclusions before scanning and then click the lock icon so that it appears as locked.
5. Click Extensions, and follow the on-screen instructions.
   Add the extensions without punctuation.
6. Repeat the previous steps for as many extension exclusions as necessary, and then click OK.
7. Click Folders, and follow the on-screen instructions.
8. To exclude a drive, type the drive letter followed by a colon.

These are a few of the search phrases used in researching this issue:

symantec client file folder extension exclusions not taking from server group setting

symantec client file folder extension exclusions

symantec exclusions not propagating

symantec exclusions propagating

 

 

( Symantec Corporate Mas90 )

Okay, I'm at a loss again with Microsoft. Apparently, they are such greedy filth that they have designed this whole Exchange Server with Outlook package to fill up so you're forced to upgrade to the next (more expensive) level.

It appears that Exchange will happily keep your email all in one nice little message store until it reaches it's preset ceiling and then the server barfs allover itself.

Mailbox Manager should be called "mailbox trash pickup" because that's all it really does. It'll sift through folders and pick out messages that are either too large or too old and then trash them. Oh, you might elect to shuffle them into the "System Cleanup" folder, but that's just for teasing the users by saying "This is what would have been deleted. Bwahaha!!," says the evil Mailbox Manager.

Seriously though, shouldn't the manager be able to set up scheduled archiving and access instead of simply shuffling messages around until they are eventually lined up to be deleted? There are several add on packages to accomplish these tasks, but the server should have these features itself.

Outlook does a remedial job of clearing out items to a 2GB limited PST file. It does fine with the inbox, but folders confuse the heck out of it. "Do Not Archive" appears on folders at random and folders without this setting don't archive properly either. "Oh, that's a setting on your machine." Nope, I got five doing this. Outlook 2002 and 2003! And you can forget about mobile users even dreaming of this feature.

grrr .. can you hear me? hehe grrrr .. well, i guess i'd better shut up and get back to beating this dead horse .. he's about to get up .. i just know it!

 

 

( )

Check the time by using the command Time on a command line. (simple enough!)

Set the time with WrkSysVal and selecting QTime followed by 2 to change (i think .. i watched someone, but haven't tried it yet myself)

 

 

( AS/400 )