ravashaak

Ya know... Do you have SP2's firewall running on any of these systems? Or any other software (or hardware) firewall running on or between these systems? If so, try disabling it long enough to run another test. - Ravashaak

Since you have already said that other levels of connectivity are functional, the following suggestion probably won't solve the problem. However, have you tried to ping to each machine, from each machine? Try it by both machine name and IP address, from each system. Did you get any failures? I've also verified your syntax with shutdown.exe and it works on my network. Psshutdown also allows you to specify a username and password in order to shut down the remote system. Even though I don't *think* this is your problem, you could try psshutdown and actually specify the admin account on the remote system: psshutdown \\main -u main\administrator -p yourpassword -s -f And no, psshutdown does NOT have to be present on the remote system. - Ravashaak

I use cusrmgr.exe from the resource kit to perform this task on the local administrator account during my unattended installs. It works like a champ and I even use it to remind me, at first manual logon, to change my password (that way I don't have my permanent password in a sif file on a floppy floating around somewhere). The only drawback is that you'll need access to the resource kit. - Ravashaak

Hmmm. Could be alot of causes for this one. Have you tried performing this operation with the remote system's IP address in place of its name? I think shutdown.exe will support it. If you keep striking out, you could try sysinternal's psshutdown utility. Personally, I prefer it to the native shutdown.exe. Here's the link... http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/psshutdown.shtml Let me know if you need further help. Good luck. - Ravashaak

I know there are a great many differing views as to the problem's source. However, I'll repeat myself: A gold-colored lock symbol appearing on your network connection icon is an indicator that the built-in Windows XP firewall is enabled. This is almost certainly the cause of the problem. This should be resolved (by disabling the firewall) before further and more elaborate troubleshooting. Trust me on this one. - Ravashaak

It sounds like that connection has Windows XP's built-in firewall enabled. Disable it, then test again. - Ravashaak

A default gateway should not factor into this problem since the PCs in question are all plugged into the same switch and are on the same subnet. However, for external connectivity, a default gateway would be necessary. - Ravashaak

Are you trying to make me blush? LOL! I'm a little rusty, but I went through CCNA/CCNP training a couple of years ago. - Ravashaak

I'm far from awake yet this morning. However, that shouldn't prevent me from spouting off at the snout 1. Perform an ipconfig /all for each computer. This will allow you to verify your network settings on each system. 2. Second thing to try would be to ping 127.0.0.1 from each computer. Pinging this loopback address successfully will verify basic operation of the IP stack. 3. Third, I know you've stated that there is no firewalling. However, if you've installed SP2 on these systems, the firewall is enabled by default. I'm pretty sure you already know this, but it needed to be said again, just in case. 4. Trying pinging each computer by name AND IP address. 5. Last (for now), perhaps we should take a closer look at that switch. What make/model of switch is it? Is it managed or unmanaged (aka dumb)? If it's managed, then perhaps there's a configuration issue (such as defined VLANs) on the switch. Let us know what you discover! - Ravashaak

While we're discussing the start command, I'll mention another quirk I have noticed. If you use the /wait parameter, followed by the /b parameter, then the /wait parameter will not be honored. For those who don't recall, /b will completely hide the command window. However, usage of /b also seems to interfere with the /wait parameter, causing the script to immediately pass control to the next line even if the command invoked with /wait /b has not yet completed. Just FYI... - Ravashaak

You should also download the disk diagnostic utilities from the website of your hdd manufacturer. Run the non-destructive diagnostic tests and see if your drive is having problems. If this issue replicates across multiple drives, then it could even be a problem with your SATA controller or SATA cable. Additionally, do your disks get enough airflow? High temps can contribute to premature disk failure. Just a few possibilities... - Ravashaak

When I was commonly installing Shockwave on alot of systems at work, I'd let Shockwave sneak the yahoo companion toolbar onto the system, then I'd immediately remove it via the next line of my install script. I think the syntax went something like the following: regsvr32 /u C:\ProgramFiles\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\ycomp5_3_19_0.dll You may have to alter the code slightly for version differences. Let me know if this helps. - Ravashaak

I've ran across this problem quite a bit on different systems. Not being able to view source and being only able to save images as bitmaps really sucks. And this bug (with many different causes), has existed for a long time now. There are fixes, but I've found the best one to be a better browser. The adjustment period might not be 100% painless, but for me, FireFox rocks! If you persist in your quest to repair IE, I wish you luck. I've met with about a 1/3 success rate when confronted with this issue. Even then, I've noticed that many of those same systems will sooner or later revert back to this same behavior. Most annoying indeed. - Ravashaak

Too bad, huh? I almost got excited for a moment. - Ravashaak

Found what I was seeking. I should have searched a little harder to start with. Oh well. - Ravashaak

What about disabling this via registry or something else that can be automated? - Ravashaak

Still evaluating here. Once I am comfortable, then I'll deploy it. I don't want my users beating down my door, pitchforks in-hand - Ravashaak

Firefox for me! I switched, thinking I might be slightly impressed, but WOW! I'll never go back. If not for Windows Update, I'd never run IE period. - Ravashaak

ardi, Have you updated all your drivers as well? Drivers can occassionally cause this kind of behavior. Otherwise, I'll keep digging. - Ravashaak

Have you tried enabling verbose status messages yet? - Ravashaak

Have a Plextor PX708-A 8x DVD burner myself. It has performed like a champ thus far with approximately 40 or so DVDs burnt and maybe 30 CDs. Too bad DVDs don't hold about ten times what they actually do. Heh. - Ravashaak

I just had another thought. You may even want to try this before the advice in my first post. You can enable verbose status messages for startup, shutdown, logon, and logoff by editing the following registry key(s): [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System] To enable verbose status messages create a new DWORD value called "verbosestatus" and set it to "1". An additional value called "DisableStatusMessages" forces status messages to be disabled, make sure this value does not exist or is set to "0". Restart Windows for the change to take effect. - Ravashaak

This is somewhat of a guess, but maybe you should try updating all of your device drivers (chipset, peripherals, usb, everything) with the newest versions you can DL from the manufacturers' respective websites, after you apply SP2. I know that device drivers can occasionally cause this issue. Although, exactly why it does this only after application of SP2 is a bit of a mystery to me. - Ravashaak

BioHazard: I'm using 0.9.3 at home and at work and it is working fine for both. So, it must be a setting or something similar. - Ravashaak

I vary between 2-4 per day myself (more towards 4 when it's cold, more towards 2 when it's not). So, on average, I probably knock back around 20 cups per week. - Ravashaak