How to Troubleshoot Small Business Server Before You Call Product Support (321887)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Small Business Server 2000
This article was previously published under Q321887
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SUMMARY

This article describes some of the most common causes for calls to Small Business Server Product Support. Read the section that is most closely related to the issue that you are troubleshooting, and then follow the suggested steps. You may be able to resolve your problem without calling Product Support. If the steps do not resolve your problem, see the last section of this article, What to Do Before You Call Product Support. This section contains information that may reduce the time it takes to diagnose your computer problem.

MORE INFORMATION

Setup

This section describes what to do before and during Setup.

Before Setup

To avoid many issues before you run Small Business Server Setup, follow these steps:
  1. Make sure that you have a known-good backup.
  2. If you are upgrading a previous version of Small Business Server, create or update your Emergency Repair Disk. If you are upgrading Small Business Server 4.5, run rdisk /s. If you are upgrading Small Business Server 2000, use Ntbackup.exe.
  3. Verify that you have the latest drivers for your hardware and that the hardware is on the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). To view the HCL, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

    HTTP://www.microsoft.com/hcl

  4. Document the drivers for your hardware, the hardware configuration, and your disk configuration.
  5. Plan your domain name space carefully. A correctly functioning network depends on a well thought-out name space. For additional information about how to set up your name space, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    296250 DNS Name Recommendations for Small Business Server 2000

During Setup

The following Setup issues may occur.

Error Message During Upgrade from Small Business Server 4.5

You may receive the following error message during an upgrade from Small Business Server 4.5:

You must be logged on as the Built-in Administrator.
This problem may occur during the Small Business Server portion of Setup if the administrator account has been renamed. To resolve this issue, you must rename the account to Administrator with a capital "A."

You Cannot Type the Product ID for Microsoft Outlook 2000

If Setup was started and then stopped, you may not be able to type the product ID for Outlook 2000 and the Next button may be unavailable (appears dimmed). The only button that you can click is Cancel.

To resolve this issue, follow these steps.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedt32.exe, and then click OK.
  2. Locate the following key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\BackOffice

  3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value.

    Value name: OutlookPID
    Data type: REG_SZ
    Value data: This value is the Outlook CD Key from the Small Business Server 2000 CD set.

    NOTE: Use the following format for the CD Key number:

    TTTTT-WWWWW-XXXXX-YYYYY-ZZZZZ

  4. Quit Registry Editor.
  5. Start Small Business Server Setup again.

Additional Setup Information

Small Business Server Integrated Setup Wizard : Use the Integrated Setup Wizard to install the programs that are included in Small Business Server. To start the Integrated Setup Wizard, do one of the following:
  • If Autorun is enabled on the server, insert Small Business Server CD1 into the CD-ROM drive. Click the Setup Small Business Server link in the Microsoft Small Business Server Setup dialog box.

    -or-
  • Insert Small Business Server CD1 into the CD-ROM drive, click Start, click Run, and then type the following

    drive letter:\setup.exe

    where drive letter is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.

    -or-
  • After you have successfully completed Small Business Server Setup, run Ntbackup.exe to create an Emergency Repair Disk. Click to select the Also back up the registry to the repair directory. This backup can be used to help recover your system if registry is damaged check box to update the repair information.

    After you have successfully completed Small Business Server Setup, run Ntbackup.exe to update your Emergency Repair Disk.


More Info Buttons: During the Small Business Server Integrated Setup Wizard, you can get additional help by using the More Info buttons, which are located in the lower-left corner of each of the Integrated Setup Wizard pages. Click the More Info buttons for information that may help you to successfully set up Small Business Server and prevent a call to Small Business Server Product Support.

Verify Networking Configuration

The most common networking configuration problems are:
  • TCP/IP configuration
  • Network binding order
  • DNS configuration
See the following sections of this article for information about how to confirm that your configuration is correct. You can also configure TCP/IP correctly by running the Internet Connection Wizard.

TCP/IP Configuration

Correct TCP/IP configuration is important for correct functioning of the operating system and the programs. The following sections describe TCP/IP settings-based network configuration.

Small Business Server 2000 with a Single Network Adapter Connected to a Router

To configure TCP/IP for Small Business Server 2000 with a single network adapter connected to a router, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click My Network Places, and then click Properties.
  2. Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.
  3. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties. By default, the IP address of the server is 192.168.16.2 with a Class C subnet, 255.255.255.0. The default gateway must be the IP address of the internal interface of your router. The IP address for the Primary DNS server must be the IP address of the server, 192.168.16.2 in this case. Leave the Alternate DNS server IP address blank.
Small Business Server 2000 with Two Network Adapters and a Full-Time Broadband Internet Connection

To configure TCP/IP for Small Business Server 2000 with two network adapters and a full-time broadband Internet connection, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click My Network Places, and then click Properties.
  2. Right-click Local Area Connection for the internal network, and then click Properties.
  3. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties. By default, the internal IP address of the server is 192.168.16.2 with a Class C subnet, 255.255.255.0. The Default Gateway for this connection must be blank. The IP address for the Primary DNS server must be the internal IP address of the server, 192.168.16.2, and the Alternate DNS server IP address must be blank.
The settings for the external network adapter depend on information that is provided by your Internet service provider (ISP). To set the external adapter to use a dynamic IP address, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click My Network Places, and then click Properties.
  2. Right-click the Local Area Connection for your external adapter, and then click Properties.
  3. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
  4. Click Obtain an IP address automatically.
  5. Under DNS, click Use the following DNS server. The IP address for the Primary DNS server must be the IP address of the server, 192.168.16.2, and the Alternate DNS server IP address must be blank. Do not list your ISP's DNS servers here or obtain DNS server IP address automatically.



Small Business Server 2000 Connected to the Internet by Modem or Terminal Adapter
  1. Right-click My Network Places, and then click Properties.
  2. Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.
  3. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties. By default, the IP address of the server is 192.168.16.2 with a Class C subnet, 255.255.255.0. The IP address for the Primary DNS server must be the IP address of the server, 192.168.16.2, in this case. Leave the Alternate DNS server IP address blank.

For additional information about how to configure Small Business Server, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

309633 Configuring SBS with One Network Adapter for Internet Access

306802 Configure SBS for Full Time Internet with Two Network Adapters

309652 How to Configure SBS for Internet Access Using Modem or Dial-up Connection

Network Binding Order

Incorrect binding order configuration can cause a number of network connectivity and program errors.

To correctly configure the network binding order, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click My Network Places, and then click Properties.
  2. On the Advanced menu, click Advanced Settings.
  3. Under Connections, use the up and down arrow buttons to put the connections in the following order:
  • Local Area Connection for the internal adapter
  • Local Area Connection for the external adapter
  • Remote Access Connections
For your external network adapter, open its property sheet, and then click to clear the Client for Microsoft Networks check box and the File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks check box if they are selected.

DNS Configuration

Correct DNS configuration is important for the correct functioning of Active Directory and programs on Small Business Server.

To verify correct DNS configuration, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DNS.
  2. Right-click the name of your server, and then click Properties.
  3. Click the Forwarders tab, and then click Enable Forwarders. If the IP addresses provided by your ISP are not listed here, add them by typing the IP address, and then clicking Add.



Internet Connectivity

You can resolve many connectivity issues by running the Internet Connection Wizard. To run the Internet Connection Wizard, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Small Business Server Administrator's Console.
  2. Click the To Do List in the left column.
  3. Click the link for Internet Connection Wizard.
If the Internet Connection Wizard link is not present, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  2. Click Microsoft Small Business Server 2000, and then click Change/Remove.
  3. Click Next to accept the default settings, and continue to click Next until the Component Selection screen appears.
  4. Expand Small Business Server.
  5. In the Action column, click the down arrow next to Connectivity.

    Maintenance is selected.
  6. In the Action column, click the down arrow next to Internet Connection Wizard, and then click Install.
  7. Click Next to continue through the wizard.

    NOTE: In some cases, the Internet Connection Wizard may look as if it is installed. In this case, click Reinstall.


MESSAGING


This section discusses how to troubleshoot sending e-mail and how to troubleshoot receiving e-mail.

Cannot Send E-Mail

  1. Verify with your Internet service provider (ISP) whether outgoing e-mail should be configured to use Domain Name System or to forward messages to host. To check this setting in Microsoft Exchange Server, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, click Programs, click Microsoft Exchange, then click System Manager.
    2. Expand Connectors, then right-click SmallBusiness SMTP Connector, and then click Properties.
    3. On the General tab, select either Use DNS to route to each address space on this connector, or Forward all e-mail through this connector to the following smart host, as appropriate and according to instructions from your Internet service provider (ISP).
    4. If you must forward your e-mail to a smart host, verify that you have the correct host name. Verify that you can ping the host by fully qualified domain name (FQDN) and that you can telnet to port 25 on that host.
  2. Test name resolution on the server. To do this, at a command prompt, try to ping an external e-mail server by FQDN. To test name resolution on the server, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, and then click Run. Type cmd, then click OK.
    2. If ping returns "Unknown host" the issue is related to name resolution. See the "Verify Networking Configuration" section of this article to verify correct IP configuration and run the Internet Connection Wizard.
    3. Type ping mail.contoso.com. After you verify correct configuration, if you still cannot resolve a fully qualified domain name to an IP address, contact your ISP to verify that you have the correct IP addresses for the DNS servers and that the servers are online. If ping returns an IP address, go to step 3.
  3. Telnet to port 25 on an external e-mail server:

    1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
    2. Type telnet followed by the fully qualified domain name of an external e-mail server, followed by 25. For example: type telnet mail.contoso.com 25. Substitute the name of the e-mail server you are testing against for "mail.contoso.com".

      If you can make this telnet connection, you see a banner similar to the following:

      220 Server01.contoso.com Microsoft ESTP Mail Service, Version Number ready at date and time

      Type "quit" to close this connection.

      NOTE: If the local echo setting is not turned on, you do not see the characters that you type on screen.

      If the telnet connection fails:

    3. Rerun the Internet Connection Wizard. On the Configure Packet Filtering page, select Enable ISA Packet Filtering.
    4. Under Grant Internet users access to the following services, click to select the My Mail Server (Exchange Server) check box to allow SMTP e-mail, and select the check boxes for any other programs that you want to grant access to the Internet.

LICENSING



This section describes some common licensing issues that result in calls to Small Business Server Product Support.

Verify that you do not have more users trying to log on than the number of licenses that are allocated on the server. To check the number of licenses on the server:
  1. Click Start, and then click Small Business Server Administrator Console.
  2. Click Server Status (BackOffice Home) in the snap-in.
  3. On the right side of the console under Helpful Links, click the About link. A dialog box appears, and shows the number of licenses on the server.
Clients receive the following error message when they try to access their e-mail:
There are no additional Microsoft Exchange licenses available. Contact your system administrator to obtain a client license to use Microsoft Exchange.
Additionally, you may see the following event logged in the System Event log on the Small Business Server 2000 server:

Source: Application Popup
Event ID: 26
Description:
Application popup: License Warning: License usage for a product licensed in per server mode has exceeded the maximum number of licenses purchased and will prevent further licenses from being granted. Consult the Application event log, or License Manager from the Administrative Tools folder for more information.

If Exchange Server 2000 Setup was used to either install or add components to Exchange Server, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  3. Click Microsoft Small Business Server 2000.
  4. Click Change/Remove.
  5. Follow the instructions in the wizard. Leave all of the default settings unchanged.



Users receive an "Out of License" error when they try to log on to the network:

If users receive an "Out of License" error message when they try to log on to the network, check the service pack level for any Windows 2000 Professional workstations on your network:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type winmsd, and then click OK.
  2. In the System Information MMC, click System Summary.
  3. In the details pane, view the Version item.
  4. If the Service Pack level is earlier than Service Pack 3 (SP3), obtain and apply SP3 for Windows 2000 to any Windows 2000 Professional-based computers on your network. Alternatively, a hot fix is available and can be obtained from Microsoft. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    302099 Windows 2000 Clients Use Multiple Connections Mapping Drives



  5. On the Small Business Server 2000 server, apply Service Pack 1 for Small Business Server 2000.

What to Do Before You Call Small Business Server Product Support



This section details actions that Microsoft recommends that you do before you call Small Business Server Product Support if the steps in this article did not resolve your problems. These actions may reduce the time that it takes to diagnose your issue.
  1. Make sure that any hot fixes or service packs for the operating system and the applications that may have been applied are downloaded and available locally.
  2. Have your Product ID available. To view the Product ID, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, and then click Small Business Server Administrator Console.
    2. Click Server Status (BackOffice Home).
    3. On the right side, click the About link.

      A dialog box that contains the Product ID appears.
  3. Make sure that you have the exact text and error codes from any applicable errors and the Event logs.
  4. Obtain a System Information file for the Small Business Server 2000 server:
    1. Click Start, click Run, type winmsd, and then click OK.
    2. In the System Information MMC, click System Summary.
    3. Click Action in the menu bar, and then click Save as System Information File.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:11/21/2005
Keywords:kbenv kbhowto kbsetup KB321887
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