How do you manage a Windows Server 2008 Server Core? It has no GUI, so you normally would have to use the command line. You can, however, use Remote Server Administration Tools, as described in this article, from your Vista SP1 machine so you can enjoy a GUI interface. Keep reading →

In Windows Server 2008 and in Windows Vista, the Do not search files user policy setting does not work as expected. After you enable the Do not search files policy setting, you can still search for files by using the Start Search box on the Start menu.

However, you cannot use the Start Search box on the Start menu to search for files when you enable the Do not search for files policy setting on the Taskbar and Start Menu item in Control Panel.

In Windows Vista and in Windows Server 2008, the recovery password for Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption is not Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)-compliant. Therefore, you may encounter the following issues when the System cryptography: Use FIPS compliant algorithms for encryption, hashing, and signing Group Policy setting is enabled.

Issue 1
When you manually add a recovery password at a command prompt, you receive the following error message:

The numerical password was not added. The FIPS Group Policy setting on the computer prevents recovery password creation.

Issue 2
When you try to encrypt a drive on which BitLocker recovery passwords are required, you cannot encrypt the drive as expected. Additionally, you receive the following error message:

Cannot Encrypt Disk. Policy requires a password which is not allowed with the current security policy about use of FIPS algorithms.

Issue 3
When you encrypt a drive, a recovery key is created, but no recovery password is created as a key protector.

Issue 4
A recovery password is not archived in the Active Directory directory service.

On a client that is running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, you try to connect to a print queue that is hosted on Windows Server 2003, on Windows XP, or on Windows 2000 Server. When you do this, the connection to the printer cannot be established.

Additionally, the “Point and Print” feature throws one of the following error messages, depending on your situation.

When you use an administrator account

Connect to Printer
—————————–
Windows cannot connect to the printer.
Operation could not be completed (error 0×000006be).
Either the printer name was typed incorrectly, or the specified printer has lost its connection to the server.
For more information, click Help.

When you use a user account

Connect to Printer
—————————–
Windows cannot connect to the printer.
Operation could not be completed (error 0×000006be).
You do not have sufficient access to your computer to connect to the selected printer.
Note The “0×000006be” error code indicates that the remote procedure call failed.

Microsoft has begun including references to Windows Server 2008 in Windows Vista Knowledge Base Articles. This isn’t surprising as Server 2008 and Vista share a ton of code. Three of the articles released on August 1st make reference in some way to Server 2008. A ‘warning’ has been added to these articles pointing out that Server 2008 is a beta, and no formal support is provided. Keep reading →

I don’t recall as much drama with any previous service pack as compared to the Windows Vista SP1. Recent rumors suggest that the beta version will be available next week, and that the final version will be out in November. There is a new wrinkle in the information Microsoft is giving out that may suggest something different. Keep reading →