Rhyous

Ok, so I have another Windows 7 annoyance. (It is the same annoyance on Windows 2008 R2 SP2 Server too.) Again, I am not trying to bash Windows 7. For ever bad thing I post, there are numerous good things I don’t post. Yes, I am a FreeBSD guy (as if you couldn’t tell) but I am not anti-Mircrosoft as some Linux/Unix/BSD admins are. I am more like a car mechanic that wants a good tool for the job at the right price.

PROBLEM
Another Windows 7 annoyance: Right-click options for a folder when it is open from “Libraries”

How to duplicate
I am using TortoiseSVN (because I am a developer and must use a dev repository to commit my code because it is good practice) and it adds options to the right-click menu.

I have a folder under the Documents library that is called “New Folder”. The folder is open and empty, so I should be able to right-click anywhere there is blank space and get some right-click options.

With Tortoise SVN installed I should be able to right-click anywhere there is blank space in the folder and do an SVN Checkout but the option is not there as you can see in the image below:

So in order to get the option to show up, I have to go to the directory without using the “Libraries” interface. Or I can go up a level and right-click on the folder itself (as apposed to having the folder open and right-clicking in blank space). I really am going to be in the folder usually though and going up a directory is annoying. I can browse directly by clicking Computer, or go up a level and right-click on the folder and choose Open folder location and then go into the folder, and it works. Then the option shows up.

So if anyone knows how to fix this, let me know, I will be grateful. I have seen posts on how to remove “Libraries” altogether but I think they are a good idea and really this is the only part of them I don’t like. So I will keep them, I will just be annoyed until Microsoft fixes this or there is a new solution. Maybe Libraries get their right-click options elsewhere and installers will have to add plugins in two places…

oh…sysinternals will show me what happens when I right-click…Ok I am done complaining and am off to test this latest idea that I might be able to add the plugin elsewhere.

Just an update to all who are wondering about my previous post.
Windows 7 hangs when creating a new folder and hangs again when renaming it

I have done some troubleshooting, trying to Analyze what is causing the hang but I still don’t have the answer. I am very disillusioned with Windows 7 because of this problem.

My efforts to troubleshoot this have failed.

Troubleshooting

ACTION: Followed this article:
http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2005/08/28/the-case-of-the-intermittent-and-annoying-explorer-hangs.aspx

RESULT: I have a nice capture of everything my machine was doing (39 MB but only 3.6 MB zipped) though I filter on explorer.exe in Process Monitor. It show that Explorer.exe hangs, but doesn’t tell me why. Maybe someone can tell what the problem is:
ftp://ftp.landesk.com/incoming/Explorer Hangs.zip
(link only good for about two weeks)

ACTION: Ran this command from an administrator command prompt:

RESULT: Nothing wrong

Verification 100% complete.

Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

ACTION PLAN

Try a clean boot.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

User context is very important. What works for a logged in user may not work for the LocalSystem account. If a process is running as LocalSystem, it is important to test that what you are doing will work when running as LocalSystem. Testing as the logged in user may give incorrect results as the logged in user may have different access rights and permissions.

There used to be many ways to do this, but now in Windows 7 those ways have been cut down.

Here are the two ways I know of that still work, however, only the first way I would recommend:

Method 1 – Using PsExec from Sysinternals

1. Download psexec from here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897553.aspx
2. Extract it.
3. Open a command prompt and change to the directory where you have psexec and run the following:

   psexec -i -s cmd.exe
   

Method 2 – Using an interactive service

1. Open a command prompt as administrator (right-click on the cmd.exe shortcut and choose Run as administrator) and run the following:

   sc create CMD binpath= "cmd /K start" type= own type= interact
   sc start "CMD"
   WARNING:  The service testsvc is configured as interactive whose support is being deprecated. The service may not function properly.
   

   A prompt may appear or it may only show down on the start bar and you have to click it to see it. It looks like this:

   

2. Click “View Message”.You are now at a local system command prompt.
3. When you are done, close the command prompt and click return.How to verify that the command prompt is running as Local System?

   1. Run Task Manager and make sure that the cmd.exe process is running as user SYSTEM.

   2. Run SET in your command prompt and make sure the username variable equal your computer name with a $ at the end. For example if you computer is named MyPC1, the username variable would be MyPC1$.

Ok, so I have another complaint about Windows 7 and Explorer.

I am sure my system is in a state based on my usage that leads to this bug because it doesn’t always happen.

I wonder if this problem has the same cause as this one:
Windows 7 hangs when creating a new folder and hangs again when renaming it

Problem

Files deleted in Explore sometimes don’t delete from explorer right away, though they do delete. It takes too long to update. It takes far too long to update. It takes abismally too long to update. (I consider anything over 1 second too long, anything over 2 seconds far too long, and anything over 10 seconds abismally too long.)

Time to update is sometimes as long as 45 seconds.

Steps to duplicate

Here is what I do:

1. Delete a file in a folder.
2. Wait 15 seconds or more and the file doesn’t show as deleted.
3. Delete the file again and it says it is already deleted.

Getting to the state where this occurs
Unknown but here is what I do

I have a T61p Laptop running Windows 7 64 bit.
I am joined to a Windows 2003 domain and often the domain controller is not available (like I said I have a laptop).

I use Remote Desktop.
I use network shares often.
I use Visual Studio often.
I use Outlook often.
I use Firefox and IE often.
I have Windows Live Messenger running all the time.
Sometimes I VPN into work.
I do all of the above while VPNed

Software with plugins to explorer include: TortoiseSVN and Notepad++ (could be something they are doing, but even if it is, why would microsoft allow code that calls a plugin to execute when deleting a file?)

Resolution
Unknown, but the problem comes and goes.

Conclusion
Microsoft didn’t not test Explorer in production environments very well or they would have seen this.
If they have seen this and haven’t fixed then that would make me more annoyed.

So I opened a command prompt to test that a port is open using the standard practive test:

telnet ipaddress port

For example, I was checking if RDP was open to an address:

However, Windows 7 just complained.

So where is telnet in windows 7? Well, I am first going to check Add / Remove Programs to see if I can add it.

1. Open Add / Remove Programs. Here is how if you don’t know.
   1. Click on Start.
   2. Type in Add / Remove Programs.
   3. Selecte and start Add / Remove Programs.
2. I then clicked on “Turn Windows Features On or Off”.
3. I then found the “Telnet Client” option.
4. I checked the box and clicked OK.And the Telnet client installed.So I have windows 7 ultimate. I understand leaving telnet off Windows 7 home by default, but I don’t understand why to leave it off of Windows 7 Ultimate. Oh, well. I guess we will just have to enable it ever time when we want it.

Ok, so I am using Windows 7 64 bit and while I have overall been pleased with Wndows 7, I must be unbiased and post the problems too, right.

Well, I have a problem that is frustrating.

PROBLEM
Windows 7 hangs when creating a new folder and hangs again when renaming it

How it happens
The problem occurs when I create a New Folder. Explorer hangs for about 45 seconds. I am not sure what the problem is, but there is no excuse for taking 45 seconds to create a new folder.

To make the problem worse, the first thing I do when I make a new folder is I rename it. So if I try to rename the folder, it hangs another 45 seconds.

Cause

Unknown…

Could it be my hardware? Maybe. I have a Lenovo T61p with 4 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive that is just shy of two years old.

Could it be some application? Maybe. But I don’t have any of the most likely culprits such as Antivirus installed. I a a developer, but I don’t have MySQL or SQL Server Express running or anything.

How is my processor and memory utilization when this occurs? Fine.
CPU: I don’t have 100% CPU, and I have almost no CPU usage, under 10% (moving between 3 and 9% and once hit 16%).
RAM: 1.3 GB used, 2.7 available.

So this is a the first big fat negative for windows 7. If you have seen this, then that would confirm that it is a wide spread issue and not just an issue on my single machine.

update: 2/20/2010
The cause is obviously something to do with going to full hibernate mode and returning.

Possible Resolutions

Do a clean reboot.
Or restart Explorer.
Or disable Windows Search??

So Windows 7 has been around in Release To Manufacturer (RTM) for since August 14, 2009.

Many have been using it in production since then. In fact, many have been using in Production since it was still in beta/release candidate form.

I have been using it for 1 month.

Quick Opinion
It is so much better than Vista and XP that it would take a novel to describe all the ways it is better. Most of them are simple things.

Anyway, please post comments on how long you have been using Windows 7 and why you like it.

Ok, so I couldn’t get Cisco’s VPN client to work for Windows 7 64 bit. So I went in search of another VPN solution that would be more compatible.

(UPDATE: I got ShrewSoft’s VPN Client working, so keep reading down below.)

I came across ShrewSoft’s VPN Client a while ago, but it originally blue screened my Windows 7 box, but it was a version that didn’t support Windows 7. However they have a new version that is out that is for Windows 7 64 bit. Actually they now have a release version on their download site but there is a beta of the next version (Update 3/05/2010)2.1.6-beta-6 that your may want to use (or a later version if you are reading this well after I wrote or updated it). See the comments on why.

I installed it and it requested a reboot so I rebooted, and the first good news is that I didn’t blue screen when my workstation booted up. Horray!!!

After installing, I tested undocking my laptop from its docking station and then docking my laptop, and again, no blue screens, so I think it is good to go. Now I just have to figure out how to configure it to connect here at work.

I like the license, they say:

Stay tuned for more testing….

Ok…I am back for more notes.

At work we are using a Cisco VPN solution, so it turns out that when my Cisco VPN would install on a 32 bit machine, it used a .pcf file. Well, guess what is awesome about ShrewSoft’s VPN Client? It can import a .pcf file.

I imported the .pcf file and I appear to connect, then disconnect. Not sure what is going on. I am at work, but I should be able to connect to the VPN while at work, at least that is what my IT staff said.

So hopefully it connects when I am at home.

Here is my log:

I will try to debug later…

All right I am back again and I am trying to debug. I found this post:
http://lists.shrew.net/pipermail/vpn-help/2009-October/002282.html

There is a program under Start | All Programs | Shrew Soft VPN Client called “Trace Utility” that is installed with the Shrew Soft VPN Client can be used for debugging. However, it wouldn’t work for me. The buttons weren’t enabled.

I had to right-click on the “Trace Utility” shortcut and choose “Run as administrator” then I was able to turn on debugging.

Positives for Shrew Soft VPN Client
– It has a debugging utility.
– It supports Windows 7 64 bit
– It imports cisco .pcf files.
– There is a lot of documentation.

Negatives for Shrew Soft VPN Client
– I don’t have it working yet
– There is not really any clear failure reason for a user.

So I will keep at it. I think I am about going to email the developer, but I sure don’t want to bug him.

Hopefully for some of you, it worked first time for you when you imported the .pcf file.

Got it working

Another positive. The developer has a mailing list, as you saw with one of my links above. I found this link:
http://lists.shrew.net/pipermail/vpn-help/2009-October/002275.html

The key piece of information I needed was this:

In the tool, after importing my .pcf file, I only had to make one configuration change. I had to change the PFS setting to “group 2”. See this screen shot.

So I have this working now.

I have to say that I am very impressed with Shrew Soft. It took me some time to figure it out, but it works. Now the only question time will tell is how stable it is. Expect an update in a week or two about whether I think the Shrew Soft VPN Client is stable.

The steps are easy for me to connect to my VPN at work. Now every VPN is different so I am sorry if these steps don’t work for you:

1. Use the correct (and latest) version: 2.1.6-beta-6 or later
2. Install Shrew Soft VPN Client
3. Reboot.
4. Import the .pcf file.
5. Modify the configuration and change the PFS setting to “group 2”.
6. Apply the configuration.
7. Click connect.
8. Enter your domain user and password and you will connect.

Success!!!!

Also, I exported my configuration as a Shrew Soft VPN Client export, which is a .VPN file. When I import it, I don’t have to make a configuration change like I did with the Cisco .pcf file.

Key words: cisco vpn window 7 64 bit

Well, it doesn’t exist because it no longer needs to exist and hasn’t needed to exist for a while.

You can easily add icons to your “Start bar” in two ways:

Method 1. By opening a program, then right-clicking on the icon while it is open and choosing Pin this program to task bar.

Method 2. Right-click on the “Start bar” and choose Toolbars | New toolbar. Then select a folder that contains the icons you want. For example, to get a quick launch toolbar of Office 2007 icons, you would select this folder:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Microsoft Office

Check out my “Start bar”. You have to right-click it and choose “View image” to see the whole thing.