How to fix: An Unauthorized change was made to Windows Server 2008 error

Few days back, one of my office Server Machines (HP Proliant G6) running Windows Server 2008 (Genuine copy) popped up the following error message at startup,

 "An Unauthorized change was made to Windows, Windows has discovered a change that will result in limited Windows functionality. Use the link below to find out how to fix windows"

And believe me, it was quite annoying, as the error message did not provide any details of the error. Due to this error, I was not able to login into the Server. Rather, the machine Logged Off, as soon as I pressed the Close option on the Error Screen. But, another thing was quite interesting, that, the Server was running quite well and was replying to Client requests. It was successfully replying to both SQL and Network related requests of Clients. But the server itself was not allowing me to login.

Now, before fixing this error, let us first understand the error itself.

Error Description

The error below is actually related to Windows Activation. Either your Windows Activation has ended or there is some issue with the activation of your Windows. There can also be another possible reason for this error. i.e. Your Antivirus software is causing this problem.

Now, let's move to fix this problem with the windows.

How to fix "An Unauthorized change was made to Windows  Server 2008" error

In my case, the problem was with the Windows Activation. The activation of my windows had ended (3 Year Activation). But it was very important for me to continue with this copy of Windows Server 2008, as it was not feasible for me to switch this Live Server serving Dozens of clients.

So, in order to get myself into the Windows Server 2008, I used the below mentioned steps to fix the issue with my Windows Activation.

1) Click the option that launches an Internet Browser (on the error screen which reads Learn More Online)

2) Type: %windir%\system32 into the address field (To access the Windows System32 directory)

3) Find the file cmd.exe

4) Right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as Administrator

5) Type the following command on the Command Prompt: 

cscript %windir%\System32\slmgr.vbs /ilc %windir%\System32\licensing\ppdlic\Security-Licensing-SLC-ppdlic.xrm-ms)

6) Hit the Enter key

7) Reboot twice.

Conclusion

You need to reboot your machine Twice in order to fix this Issue. After following the above steps, I was able to fix the issue with my Windows Activation. But, if the issue is not solved by following the above steps, then you need to check if your Antivirus is causing this issue. If so, please uninstall the Antivirus software from your machine. Hope this solves the Issue.

By: Umar Bashir On 4/24/2015

Continue Reading

Convert a FAT32 Disk Partition into NTFS

Follow the below steps to convert a FAT32 Disk Partition into NTFS:

1. Go to My Computer, and note down the name of the drive (Hard Disk Drive or Flash Drive) whose file system you wish to convert from FAT32 to NTFS.

Note Down the Drive Letter and File System System of the Drive

2. Click on Start.

3. Type cmd in the search bar if you use Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows Vista. If you use Windows XP, click on Run and then execute cmd. 

Run dialog box to Start DOS command prompt

4. Execute chkdsk h: /f where H is the letter of the drive to undergo conversion. This checks the drive for errors and fixes them automatically.

5. Execute Convert H: /FS:NTFS, H is again the letter of the drive to be converted.

Command to convert FAT32 partition into NTFS

The command prompt will start the conversion process and after a few minutes, CMD will say that conversion was successful. This might also prompt you to schedule the conversion at next Restart. In this case, Restart the machine and windows shall run the convertion at Startup. After conversion, you can also confirm the File System of the Drive has been changed from FAT32 to NTFS by checking the Drive properties (as shown below).

By: Umar Bashir On 4/16/2015

Continue Reading

Using Windows Verifier to Fix Windows Blue Screen of Death Error

You, at some point of time in your life might have ran into a recurring Blue Screen of Death (BSoD), and, like many BSoDs, it’s because a bad driver is at fault.However, the screen isn’t giving you the correct information, either because it’s not listing a driver at all, or because it’s listing a system driver that’s acting as a false positive. Driver Verifier is a free utility included with all versions of Windows from Windows XP onward. It literally verifies each of the drivers on your PC until it comes across the one causing the problem, intentionally generating that same Blue Screen, but then recording the information in a log file, helping you to track down the problem.

Run Driver Verifier

If you’ve been getting the same Blue Screen often, and you’d like to become proactive and fix it, here’s how to use Driver Verifier.

In Windows XP:

1. Click Start
2. Click Run…
3. Type CMD and press Enter
4. In the new box, type verifier and press Enter
   
    

In Windows Vista and 7:

1. Click Start
2. Type CMD in the box and press Enter
3. In the new box, type verifier and press Enter

In Windows 8 and 8.1:

1. Press Windows Key + X
2. Click Command Prompt (Admin) (Windows PowerShell (Admin) in Windows 8.1)
3. In the new box, type verifier and press Enter

The Driver Verifier screen in Windows 8.

All verisons of Windows:

1. Make sure Create custom settings (for code developers) is selected.
2. Click Next.
3. Select Select individual settings from a full list.
4. Click Next.
5. Deselect Systematic Low Resource Simulation and Force Pending I/O Requests. (These two cause an unnecessary workload on your PC.) Make sure everything else is selected.
6. Click Next twice.
7. Select Select Driver Names from a List.
8. Click Next.
9. Select all the drivers on this screen, except those that say Microsoft Corporation under Provider. It’s very unlikely a Microsoft driver is causing the issue.
10. Click Finish.

Be sure Force Pending I/O Requests and Systematic Low Resource Simulation are deselected.

Note: If you’re not able to perform the above steps because the Blue Screen keeps happening, try booting in Safe Mode first.

You must restart your PC at this point. Then, try to cause the BSoD again by doing what you did before. Windows is placing extra stress on your drivers to help you along. If you can’t reproduce the BSoD, try letting your computer run overnight. Once the BSoD occurs again, restart your PC in Safe Mode and read the Minidump file.

Read the Dump File

Driver Verifier will run, trigger the Blue Screen and record a log file. That log file is found in C:\Windows\Minidump\. Read it, and you’ll see what driver is causing the problem. Try Googling the driver name to find out what piece of hardware on your PC uses it.

So how do you read it? You need a debugging tool, which you can download from Microsoft.

The Windows 7 version is here, and The Windows 8 version is here. (The Windows debugging tools are actually part of Windows SDK and you need to download the full SDK from these links to debug the Dump files). Download the SDK, install it, select the debugging tools, and deselect everything else.

Note that debugging tools for previous versions of Windows are no longer available; you’ll have to send your dump file to a Microsoft technician to analyze.

After installing it, find it on your Start Screen. It’s called windbg (x64). Run it.

Then:

1. Click File, then Open Crash Dump.
2. Navigate to C:\Windows\Minidump\ and open the .DMP file contained within.
3. Look toward the bottom of the resulting file, where the line says Probably Caused By. This is a good indicator of which driver is causing the problem.

Fix the Driver

Update the driver related to that piece of hardware:

In Windows XP:

1. Click Start
2. Click Control Panel
3. Click Switch to Classic View
4. Double-click System
5. Click the Hardware tab
6. Click Device Manager
7. Find the device causing the issue
8. Right click on it
9. Click Update Driver

In Windows Vista and 7:

1. Click Start
2. Click Control Panel
3. Double-click Device Manager
4. Find the device causing the issue
5. Right click on it
6. Click Update Driver

Right-click on the problem driver and click Update Driver.

In Windows 8 and 8.1:

1. Press Windows Key + X
2. Click Control Panel
3. View by Small Icons
4. Click Device Manager
5. Find the device causing the issue
6. Right click on it
7. Click Update Driver

Disable Driver Verifier

After you’re done using Driver Verifier, you’re going to want to disable it, as it’s quite a burden on your PC while it’s running.

In all versions of Windows:

1. Re-run Driver Verifier using the steps above.
2. Select Delete Existing Settings.
3. Click Finish.
4. Reboot your PC again.

By: Umar Bashir On 4/11/2015

Continue Reading

How to check the version(s) of Dot Net Framework installed

The .NET Framework is a software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was released by Microsoft in 2003. Since then many versions of the dot net framework have been released by Microsoft starting from version 1.0. The latest version of .net framework is version 4.5.1.

During all these years, dot net framework has evolved into a robust and versatile software development framework. Each time a new version is released by Microsoft, you should upgrade to the latest version as it will be helpful for other software installations on your system (like printer drivers). If you have a version of dot net framework installed on your system and you want to install or upgrade to the latest or newer version of .net framework on your system, you may like to know the current version already installed on your system.

By: Umar Bashir On 12/28/2013

Continue Reading