Windows Server 2012 Essentials - Implement Group Policy for the 1st time

This is my first server. We have 15 users and 20 devices, all clients are running Win7 Pro.
On the Dashboard, Devices tab, when I click on each device there is an option to implement Group Policy in the right-hand task pane. Does this mean I can implement it for one device at a time? Or will it happen for everyone in the domain?
I'm hesitant to start. Is this something where I should wait for the weekend, so I can restore from a backup if need be?
Thanks for your help
Alan

Time to get a basic Windows networking reference book and read up on group policy. Policies are applied by the system on a predicable refresh rate, which if memory servers is 15 minutes. This can be forced from the stations with the cli command "gpupdate
/force" but in most cases there is little need to do so.
Some, like folder redirection, only impact the stations on reboot/sign on
Larry Struckmeyer[MVP] If your question is answered please mark the response as the answer so that others can benefit.

Similar Messages

Windows Server 2012 Essentials not listed in EasyStartup 3.8.1d for TS140

Recently purchased a TS140 (70A4 001RUS). Came factory installed RAID 1 with Windows Server 2012 Essentials pre-installed. Needed to reinstall, however:
- Windows Server 2012 Essentials does not show up in EasyStartup 3.8.1c DVD that came with server
- Downloaded latest EasyStartup 3.8.1d and created bootable DVD and ran with same result
- "Windows Server 2012" is listed (but not Essentials). Running this installation, it does not recognize the Windows Server 2012 Essentials External Recovery DVD that came with server. Continually asks to insert "Windows Server 2012" disk.
- "Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials" is listed (but not 2012 Essentials). Running this installation, it does not recognize the Windows Server 2012 Essentials External Recovery DVD that came with server. Continually asks to insert "Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials" disk.
- Have booted using UEFI, Legacy and Auto with no difference
- Ran lastest Firmware Updater v1.8.1013 - no updates listed as required
- Have updated BIOS to latest 70A
- Server will also not boot directly from Windows Server 2012 Essentials External Recovery DVD (dvd is set 1st in boot order in bios)
- Windows Server 2012 Essentials External Recovery DVD is readable on other machines - can copy to bootable USB key and run regular Windows installation on server (this is current workaround)
- using the above workaround, drivers must be installed manually.
- EasyStartup 3.8.1d Readme specificly lists Windows Server 2012 Essentials as supported on the TS140 in UEFI and Legacy mode here
As mentioned, the above workaround can work. However, this server may not always be maintained by myself and I would prefer the supplied software to acutally work properly for ease of use by others in the future.

I have several TS140s running WSE 2012 R2. Like you said, the easystart does not recognize properly the WSE R2 os, so I just did the basic from disc or USB install after I configured the boot drives or RAID1 array.
The main reason to load the easy start is for drivers, however WSE found and recognized all the hardware in the unit.

Windows Server 2012 Essentials (not R2) - all client computers offline

The server is Windows Server 2012 Essentials (not R2). I have had this problem ever since I first installed the Windows Server 2012 Essentials server in the summer of 2013 (before R2 was released). The Windows Server 2012 Essentials server shows offline
for all Devices under Dashboard. (Allow me to add that I just installed another site with Windows Server 2012 Essentials R2, and it was a breeze - all of the computers at the second install site are online.) I have one Windows 8.1 Pro client and the rest
are Windows 7 Pro clients. The problem occurs on ALL client computers.
I have removed computers from Devices in Dashboard on the server, rebooted the server, changed the client computer to a workgroup, rebooted the client computer, and reinstalled the connector software on the client computer. Same result. I
have tried this on a Windows 7 Pro client and a Windows 8.1 Pro client with the same results.
After running the connector on a client computer and waiting for the server to update its Devices status, if I look under Devices on the server Dashboard, the Windows 8.1 client computer will say online but within 24 hours it goes offline again. The
Windows 7 client computers never show online. Both computers stay offline - they NEVER show an online status (referring to the status under Devices in Dashboard).
I should make it clear that the clients can access the server shares with no problem. File synchronization works great. The clients can ping the server and the server can ping the clients. But client backups on the server fail.
One of the most troublesome things about this problem is that it prevents the client computers from being accessed remotely using the website setup by Anywhere Access. I can login to get remote access to the shared files on the server, but
the only computer that says "online" is the server. All of the other computers are "offline".
The server and clients are only using Windows firewall. The clients all use Microsoft Security Essentials for their anti-virus.
I used a troubleshooting tool that tells me that there are problems with port 6602 on the server, but the clients are all fine with port 6602. I know port 6602 is important for using Anywhere Access but I am still trying to find out more details on that.
I have checked all of the firewall settings related to port 6602 on the server, and the firewall settings look like the standard Windows settings for this port. I used netstat to find the PID associated with the port, and I looked up the PID to find the service.
That all looked standard, too.
I have been working on this problem since the summer of 2013!! Does anyone have ANY suggestions?!!
HELP!

Hi,
Just addition, please check if all necessary Windows updates are installed on those
“Offline” client computer.
When connect client computers to the Windows Server 2012 Essentials server by using the Connector software, there
will be LAUNCHPAD on the client computer. Was this LAUNCHPAD grayed out? Please check if can access Shared Folders via this LAUNCHPAD. Meanwhile, please ping the Windows Server 2012 Essentials via IP address and server name when client computers show as
Offline. Any find?
Get Connected in Windows Server Essentials
In addition, please follow the path on Server and client computer:
%programdata%\Microsoft\Windows Server\Logs. Did you check any relevant Server-side logs and
Client-side Logs if find more clues?
Windows
Server Essentials 2012/2012 R2 Log Files
If any update, please feel free to let us know.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Justin Gu
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact [email protected]

Windows Server 2012 Essentials r2 installed in a hyper-v

I have a virtual host running Server 2012 r2 with Hyper-V enabled and I would like to install Windows Server 2012 Essentials r2 in a virtual environment. The installation starts from a cd and when doing so I receive an error message that says "A media
driver that your computer needs is missing....."
I have successfully install Server 2012 Essentials (not r2) in the same virtual host. Why am I getting this message?

Hi,
I’m glad to hear that you have resolved the issue and thanks for sharing your solution in the forum. This will help others who face the same scenario resolve the issue quickly. If there is
anything else I can do for you, please do not hesitate to let me know. I will be very happy to help.
Best Regards,
Andy Qi
Andy Qi
TechNet Community Support

Windows Server 2012 Essentials Connector version is more current than server

In trying to connect a new laptop to domain/server, it kept failing with a message indicating that other software was in the process of installing or that a reboot was pending. Since neither was the case, I downloaded the current version of the Connector
software from the Microsoft website to try. That didn't work either. It turns out that a pre-installed software component called Intel Smart Connect Tech was keeping the laptop from connecting. I uninstalled this software and installed the
connector software and it appeared to connect to the server. However, it is displayed in the Essentials Dashboard as Offline. The client (Laptop) displays a message saying "The Windows Server 2012 Essentials Connector version that is installed
on this computer is more recent that the sever. Contact the administrator to ensure the server is up to date". I tried uninstalling the Connector software from Control Panel, but I get a message "Could not delete key \software\microsoft\windows
server. Verify that you have sufficient access to that key, or contact your support personnel". I've tried both with domain admin and local admin credentials. So, I ignored the message and continued the connector install. It finished
and appeared to connect successfully. The connector version displayed in Control Panel\Programs and Features is correct. However, the registry entry is not updated and the version error pops up with each login and the Dashboard shows the client
as offline.

Hi C.R.Lowe,
Based on your description, I’m a little confused with this issue. Before going further, would you please let
me confirm something more? Thanks for your understanding.
When connect the client to Windows Server 2012 Essentials, did you mean that use
http://<servername>/Connect
and then select Download software for Windows option? More descriptions, please refer to the following article.
To connect a client computer to the
server
If I misunderstand, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
On current situation, please navigate to the registry path as the error message shows. And check
Version value and let me know. Meanwhile, please right click
Windows Server folder in Registry Editor and select “Permissions…”, then check if the account was assigned the correct permission to delete key.
In addition, please check if you have installed the
Update Rollup 1 for Windows Server 2012 Essentials
By the way, please check Event Viewer and some related logs if can find some more clues. If any update, please
feel free to let me know.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Justin Gu

Migration of Windows Small Business Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Hi,
I am trying to migrate Windows Small Business Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 Essentials by following the steps given in the link below:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200112.aspx
I have looked at other threads on the forum but none of them have been too helpful.
The issue: When
I run the Migration Preparation Tool on the Source Server, it runs successfully and does not report any errors. However, when I try installing Windows Server 2012 Essentials on the Destination Server, it displays an error that says 'Source
Server not prepared for migration: After you run the Migration Preparation Tool successfully on your source Server, click retry'.
The Source Server has 2 network adapters-one for the local network and the other for connection to the internet and the router is set as the default gateway this adapter.
Since it is mentioned in the documentation - 'configure your Source Server to use one network adapter', I'm wondering if this is the issue and I need to make changes in this configuration?
On running the Microsoft IT Environment Health Scanner tool it
reported an error - 'DNS Server listening on multiple addresses' and a warning ‘Domain Controller listening on multiple addresses’. Both point to the same solution KB 272294 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/272294).
But it did not remove the errors.
Other steps performed:
As per the steps, I performed a backup, installed recent service packs and synchronized the source server time with external source.
On running the Best Practices Analyser. It shows 3 warnings.
- The threshold for the Allocated Memory alert is set to the default value. However the server has more than 2 GB of RAM installed.
- Microsoft Outlook Client not installed" Text="Microsoft Outlook Client is not installed in the ClientApps folder. You must run Windows SBS integrated setup.
- The MSFW instance should use the latest available service pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2000. The MSFW instance should use the latest available service pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2000.
I also ran the Ran netdiag.exe, dcdiag.exe commands
and no failures were reported.
The Event Viewer does not show any errors.
Not sure to what extent these warnings would affect the migration.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

The SBS2003 needs to use one NIC only so you'll need to change that before starting. If it is the premium version and has ISA server installed, that will need to be removed first. See:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2011/07/01/sbs-2011-standard-migrations-keys-to-success.aspx
-- Al

How can I upgrade Windows Server 2012 Essentials to Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials?

I have just installed Windows Server 2012 Essentials on my Home Network (from the installation DVD). I have done absolutely no configuration Installing Server 2012 was an oversight; I meant to install Server 2012 R2 Essentials.
I tried to correct by installing R2 from its DVD, hoping it would do an upgrade. That didn't work.
Is there a simple way to make it possible to install the correct OS?   For example, can I just demote the existing server and remove any roles that were installed, so that the R2 disk will install over top of the existing installation?
Alternatively, is it safe to just reformat the partition and install R2?
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn408635.aspx seems to imply that this is OK.
David Pike, P.Eng, MCITP

Hi Larry.   Thanks for the reply. It didn't work, but I don't believe you are wrong. Rather I think there is something weird in my system. I'm marking your reply as answer.
Some background: I'm repurposing an older PC (Compaq SR1614X) as a home server, to manage my home network, use as a gateway to my Azure server, and to help my Server 2012 training (on MVA). I've been messing with it for nearly two months,
on and off. From the start, I've had trouble installing the server 2012 software (see previous threads August-27 and August-16
), but when I got to the point that I could install Server 2012 Essentials, I thought I could upgrade to Server 2012 R2 Essentials exactly as you suggest. That was where you helped me a lot, i.e. you confirmed that my expectations were reasonable.
So when it didn't work, I spent most of yesterday trying various different procedures. I got tantalizingly close, but still no cigar.
I can install any Windows Client and Server 2012 Essentials, but the R2 Essentials installation never finishes; it goes into an "error 0x000000C4" boot loop. At first I wondered if it was because I was installing a server over a
server, but you confirmed that's not the issue. I later verified that I cannot install R2 over Windows 7 either, whereas R1 over Win7 is fine. I can only surmise one of two problems:
I have a bad installation disk
There is a hardware issue
I plan to eliminate (1) by creating a new disk from a new download. I have verified that the latest ISO file and the one I have been using have identical byte counts,
For (2), I had suspected that the problem was that the older system has no UEFI, but since R1 installs OK, I am discounting that. Today's effort: to eliminate the DVD drive, I will try booting from a Flash Drive. To eliminate
the hard drive, I will try installing to a different drive.
I am hoping you can help with one more thing. When I run setup.exe with the /noreboot option, I have a better chance of success. The option suppresses the first reboot only, but that one (after "Expanding the setup files") always
fails, so suppressing it gets me almost to the end of the install. Is there a way to modify setup.exe so the it always runs with the /noreboot option?

Windows server 2012 essentials errors

I get 2 errors in an email since I turned on my windows 2012 essentials server that I can not resolve. One is related to my router setup and the other is about the media server. Have not found any solutions to either of these problems and the router setup
show to be good on the dash board. Anywhere access is also working fine but it show the error below. Cannot get the media services to say anything except to try restarting the server and run the setup again.
CCS-SERVER: The router is not configured correctly
   The router is not configured correctly for Anywhere Access. You must configure the router to remotely access the network.
   12/7/2014 12:49:39 AM
Existing alerts:
CCS-SERVER: One or more services are not running
   The following important Windows services are not running: Windows Server Media Streaming Service (wssmss) Note: Services can be stopped when software updates are applied.
   11/13/2014 7:18:27 PM
Any help with this would be appreciated.

Hi,
à
The router is not configured correctly
Please open Dashboard, click
Settings. In Settings panel, navigate to Anywhere Access tab, did you find anything as “Issues detected. Click Repair to attempt resolving the issues.”? If it exists, please click “Repair…” button and check if can help you.
For Router Setup, please refer to following article.
Windows
Server 2012 Essentials: Router Setup
à
Anywhere access is also working fine but it show the error below.
Did you remember that encounter similar router issues when previously Set up Anywhere Access? If Remote Web
Access and other features really run as normal, you may be able to ignore it.
anywhere
access wizard issues
à
One or more services are not running. The following important Windows services are not running: Windows Server Media Streaming Service (wssmss)
Please logon the Windows Server 2012 Essentials, type
services.msc on RUN to open Service panel, navigate to Windows Server Media Streaming Service, open its Properties and start it. Did it start successfully or get error message?
If issue still exist, please open Event Viewer and check if find more clues. Meanwhile, please also check other
relevant log files.
Windows
Server Essentials 2012/2012 R2 Log Files
If any update, please feel free to let me know.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Justin Gu
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact [email protected]

Running two instances of Windows Server 2012 Essentials R2 on the same domain

We have Windows Server 2012 Essentials R2 running as a domain controller -- and have installed another licensed copy of the same thing on the same domain. We want to use the 2nd server for running an LOB application and provide backup for the
AD services.
The 2nd server is a member of the domain. Can I do this and have the 2nd server provide AD failover services like they do with 2012 Standard?

Two things to consider. In the XP and 2003 era, the OS was not written in a security-first fashion. While XP did have LUA, almost nobody used them. Then came Vista and UAC, and those prompts were a major pain point because nobody wrote for security. Fast
forward 6 years and standard accounts are a normal best practice. Almost nobody in business recommends running daily tasks as administrator.
I mention all this to illustrate that, similar to admin accounts, what you used to get away with no longer applies. Running LOB apps on a DC is just bad. Many times, the app just doesn't work. But even if you could get it to work, it is a terrible idea.
If the stories of Home Depot, Target, and most recently Sony don't already give it away, I'll spell it out. We no longer live in an age where you can take shortcuts and expect to be safe. Large organizations make national news when they screw up. But small
businesses are targeted just as often and are at just as much risk. From "leaking" their client info to having their data held for ransom, the small business is abused regularly, but never makes national news because they are, by definition, small.
If you can take simple easy steps to help minimize that risk, such as keeping a domain controller free of other software and locked down, then it is almost unethical to do Otherwise in the modern computing era. The world ha changed. It is our responsibility
as I.T professionals to change with it. That's why we get to call ourselves "professionals" in relation to I.T.
So, what bad things? Risking the customer's very livelihood. I consider that pretty darn bad.

SQL Server 2012 Express SP1 will not install on Windows Server 2012 Essentials R2

I have been attempting to install SQL Server 2012 with SP1 Express Edition for about a two weeks and have been unsuccessful. My organization recently purchased a new Dell PowerEdge T320 Server (64 Bit) with Intel Xeon Proc.-E5-2420; 2.2Ghz, 32 Gb RAM,
1 Tb RAID 5 H/D, and Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials (preinstalled). The server will be configured as an on premises server. We are running a small church management application that requires SQL Server 2012 SP1 Express. Per the direction
of our application vendor, we downloaded the SQL Server 2012 SP1 Express file (SQLEXPRADV_x64_ENU.exe) from the Microsoft SQL Server Website. We ran the file "As Administrator" and the SQL Server 2012 Setup program began.
We selected New SQL Server Stand-Alone Installation, successfully installed the needed Product Updates, and accepted the MS SQL Server 2013 Express License terms.
When the Feature Selection Page appeared we checked only the "Data Base Eng Services". The
Instance Configuration Page was displayed and we inserted a "Named Instance= Shelby",then pressed next. On the
Server Configuration Page the only change was setting the "sql server browser = automatic". The Database Engine Configuration Page appeared
and we inserted the following settings:1] Server Configuration Tab; a) mixed mode, b)inserted SQL Server Admin pswd, c) added current user as administrator: 2] Data Directories Tab; default/no changes: 3] User Instanced Tab; default/no
changes: and 4] Filestream Tab; default/no changes. Next the
Reporting Services Configuration Page came up and the reporting services native mode was set to
"install and configure". The Error Reporting Page appeared and was left as the
"default". The SQL Server 2012 Setup program proceeded to Installation Progress Page and started to install. Just before the install program ended it displayed a message saying that there
were errors and the Database Eng Services did not succeed. I uninstalled SQL Server 2012 SP1 Express three (3) times, ran Windows Update after every uninstall, attempted to install the Database Engine and got the same results. Are there any patches or
special procedures for correctly installing SQL Server 2012 SP1 Express on my hardware configuration or Windows Server 2012 Essentials R2? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Can you post the setup Summary and detail logs, which will help to figure out the problem? The details about the location can be found at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143702(v=sql.110).aspx
Satish Kartan www.sqlfood.com

Issues With Backing up Server to USB HDD in Windows Server 2012 Essentials

Hi,
I have a few installs of Windows Server 2012 Essentials on clients sites and I have an issue where by the server will back up to the connected USB HDD for while but then will fail and the only way to make it backup again is to wipe the HDDs then setup server
backup again.
I get the following error in the Application Event viewer:
The backup operation that started at '‎2014‎-‎01‎-‎16T05:00:12.595237100Z' has failed with following error code '0x80070020' (The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.). Please review the event details for a
solution, and then rerun the backup operation once the issue is resolved.
- <Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
- <System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Backup" Guid="{1DB28F2E-8F80-4027-8C5A-A11F7F10F62D}" />
<EventID>517</EventID>
<Version>1</Version>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2014-01-16T05:05:12.199871300Z" />
<EventRecordID>141805</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="7204" ThreadID="12092" />
<Channel>Application</Channel>
<Computer>ServerName.Domain.local</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
- <EventData>
<Data Name="BackupTime">2014-01-16T05:00:12.595237100Z</Data>
<Data Name="ErrorCode">0x80070020</Data>
<Data Name="ErrorMessage">%%2147942432</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
Are there any best practices that I am missing while setting this up or this a known issue and what is the resolution?
Best Regards,
Abby_Doc

Hi Abby_Doc,
Regarding to this issue, generally some application is causing sharing violation on files. Then backup fails to access those files. Such as some
Antivirus program and so on. Please temporarily disable antivirus program and monitor if this issue still persists.
Meanwhile, you can perform a clean boot in Windows to eliminate software conflicts that occur when you backup.
How to perform a clean boot in Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135/en-us
In addition, the Process Monitor will help us to find out which file was actually locked. You can download from following link.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
Justin Gu

Windows Server 2012 Essentials upgrade to Windows Server 2012 Standard

I've just upgraded a Windows Server 2012 Essentials to Standard via the Powershell command. The server restarted and is now Standard version. However I've noticed in the services that one particular service fails.
silsvc <Failed to Read Description. Error Code: 2 >
C:\Windows\system32\silsvc.exe
It is set to automatic.
I guess this is part of the essentials license and hasn't been removed. I would like to keep the Essentials Features however on a VM I replicated the same problem but when I removed Essentials features this service also got removed.
Is it ok to just disable this service? because I want to keep the Essentials features. Is it going to cause any issues?

Hello,
What is the procedure to migrate to standard essentials without losing programs?
Can you help me?
actually I have windows server 2012 essentials and I want to upgrade to standard

Is it possible to uninstall IE 11 from Windows Server 2012 R2 and replace it with the latest version of IE 10?

Is it possible to uninstall IE 11 from Windows Server 2012 R2 and replace it with the latest version of IE 10? We have a remote desktop farm setup with 2012 R2 servers and we are publishing some web links that only work with IE10. As a result, we need to
downgrade the remote desktop servers to IE10. I have a feeling that this isn't possible, but if I could get a definitive answer, I would greatly appreciate it, thank you!

Hi,
Agreed with DonPick.
Internet Explorer 11 is preinstalled with Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2.
More information regarding Internet Explorer 11, please check:
Internet Explorer 11 - FAQ for IT Pros
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn268945.aspx
Best regards
Michael Shao
TechNet Community Support

I am trying to logon to icloud for the 1st time on my pc, everything is setup, but it comes up with 'you cant sign in because of server error'

I am trying to logon to icloud for the 1st time on my pc, everything is setup, but it comes up with 'you cant sign in because of server error'

Hi tracey,
It sounds like you are having issues with connecting to the iCloud servers, a frustrating situation to be sure. I would suggest troubleshooting using the steps in this article -
iCloud: Account troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3988
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

I have windows and I have synced my ipad for the first time. I am at step 6 of 6 where it downloading Safari safe browsing data. It has been at this step for over an hour. Is that normal or should I stop it and start over?

I have windows and I have synced my ipad for the first time. I'm at step 6 of 6 Downloading Safari safe browsing data. I have been here at this step going on 2 hours. Is this normal or is something wrong.

Lyrics aren't supported in the Music app on iOS 5 on the iPad. These are user-to-user forums, they are not monitored by Apple (there are too many forums/threads/messages for that to happen). If you want to leave feedback for Apple then you can do so here : http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipad.html

Windows Server 2012 Essentials - Implement Group Policy for the 1st time

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