Re: KB958644 Disables RDP Connections to Server2K3 SE

[Susan Bradley]

Brian wrote:
> I just patched a remote system (which resides half way across the country via
> a remote hosting provider) and I am now unable to initiate a terminal session
> with this server. It's a Windows Server 2003 SE server with SP2 and all
> latest security/system patches. Also runs SQL Server 2000 with latest SP.
>
> I initiated the installation of this patch this morning via a terminal
> session and windows update. I have to do all my administration this way since
> I have no physical access to the box. Reboot initiated fine and the system
> came back up fine. I can access all other services remotely (SQL, IIS, etc)
> just not RDP. When I attempt to connect, I instantly get the notice that
> states "This computer can't connect to the remote computer. Try connectng
> again...". I have tried using the /console switch with no luck. When
> initiating a telnet session via port 3389, it connects for less than a second
> before the connection is forced shut.
>
> From a seperate remote system on that same subnet (which hasn't been patched
> yet) I was able to pull up remote management and verify the terminal server
> service is running. Also was able to remote registry in and verify it wasn't
> set to deny TS connections.
>
> Any advice on how to connect would be greatly appreciated. It's going to
> cost be big $ to have my hosting provider log in and uninstall the patch. I
> need to know what caused this and how to work around it.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> ~BP

Reboot the box again. Server 2k3 has a bug where RDP sometimes/randomly
gets nailed. It's not related to this patch.

[Brian]

I've got a reboot request pending with our provider. Unfortunately when i try
to remotely reboot it via command line i'm getting an access denied (5)
error. Hopefully the reboot will solve it. I just assumed it was the patch
since this is the first time this has happened.

I will keep you posted. Thanks so much for the reply!!

[Brian]

Thanks Susan, you were right...looks like something failed to initialize on
that server post reboot. I had our service team bounce the box and sure
enough it came right back up.

Thanks again!

[Karen]

After installing this patch on my w2k3 sp2 with exchange 2k3, every time I
open an RDP connection, the server freezes. The server also rebooted three
times last night by itself. When I check the console it's black and
unresponsive and the server no longer transfers mail or communicates with the
network. I have to do a hard restart. I uninstalled the patch this morning
and I still can't open an RDP connection without crashing.

[Brian]

Not sure if it's related specifically to this patch or not, but it sounds
like either your network adapter took a dump or network services are failing
to initialize. Have you checked your application and system log? Are you
seeing any errors there?(i'm sure you must)...Have you attempted to bring the
system into safe mode?

Check your logs, check system services and see if there are any sevices
showing "starting" or "stopping" that may be hung. You could try reinstalling
your network adapter drivers. You could also crank up diagnostic logging
within exchange which might help indicate where the problem lies. It's def
not an isolated problem if you are experiencing such wide spread issues.

Hope this helps

~Brian

[Karen]

There are no errors in the event logs other than event is 6008 - 'the
previous shutdown was unexpected'. The server rebooted this morning at
1:30am. When it freezes during production hours I bring the server back up
and I get the 'unexpected shutdown' dialog box with the following hex errors:
0x00000003 0x00000000 0x00000041 0x00000336 0x000057ff. I have cranked
up the diagnostic logging to maximum, but it doesn't seem to make a
difference in the logs.

[Brian]

If you aren't seeing any errors in the system or application logs relating to
failed services, then i'm thinking you might have an issue with your network
adapter. Does your server have dual nics? Have you checked device manager to
ensure both are functioning properly? It has to be something network related
based on the symptoms u described previously. Corrupt drives can often cause
a system to hang. I would try reloading your nic's drivers and/or swapping
out a spare card for testing. if you do that, make sure you disable the
onboard nics in the bios to see if that makes a difference.

Beyond that, i'm out of suggestions...there was another post regarding a
problem with IPsec. you should check this out as well
http://support.microsoft.com//kb/912023.

Also, another user suggested http://support.microsoft.com//kb/956189.

Good luck!!

[Karen]

Thanks Brian. I uninstalled the sp and updated the nic driver. I don't
really know what worked, but the problems have disappeared! I really
appreciate your help.

~Karen