vista joining 2008 RC0 domain

[aspenjim]

I got a 2008 server up and going this weekend and joined a vista business client to it yesterday and lost the ability to right-click and see ANY properties. Control panel wouldn't open and when it did there wasn't anything there. I never could get the ability to right click and leave the domain, so I ended up doing a reinstall of vista. The vista client was a new dual core pc, 10000 rpm hdd, 2 gig memory, but at the time was overclocked from 2.2 to 2.93. I thought the overclocking caused the problem.

Today I reinstalled vista, did all of the updates, and joined the domain with the client pc being a different name. I had exactly the same result exactly after joining the domain. In safe mode, I regained the ability to right click to get into the various properties.

Both times I joined the domain as the domain admin and lost the ability to view any properties. It was like when a pc doesn't have enough memory to open an app like quickbooks. when you click on it, it just acts dumb as if nothing ever happened.

Any ideas from anyone would be welcome. this is just for testing and learning the 2008 server and it didn't have anything done to it as far as tweaking... such as gp., etc.

Seems kinda wierd to me. I have been using vista on all of my PC's since February, so I know Vista isn't misconfigured in any way, and these were both fresh installs.

Edited October 3, 2007 by aspenjim

[fizban2]

Have you applied SP1 to the Vista machines prior to joining them? what mode is Domain Services running in for the 2008 DC (2003? 2008?)

SP1 shouldn't matter but it might help, though i guess not everyone has access to it yet

[aspenjim]

No. I don't have SP1 and wasn't aware of different DC modes. I just ran dcpromo on the server and after the upgrade and a reboot i chose the roles I wanted.

Another sidepoint.... I d/l'd the ftp 7 upgrade, but haven't figured that out yet. There is alot of new stuff to learn, but admittedly, all of the changes are pretty cool. IIS 7 is radically different.

Why did you move this as it is a server\client issue as opposed to a vista issue?

[cluberti]

No. I don't have SP1 and wasn't aware of different DC modes. I just ran dcpromo on the server and after the upgrade and a reboot i chose the roles I wanted.

Another sidepoint.... I d/l'd the ftp 7 upgrade, but haven't figured that out yet. There is alot of new stuff to learn, but admittedly, all of the changes are pretty cool. IIS 7 is radically different.

Why did you move this as it is a server\client issue as opposed to a vista issue?

Because it only occurs with a beta server OS. If you can repro this with a Server 2003 server domain, then we can start blaming vista, but if server 2008 configurations are the catalyst, this probably belongs in beta.

Does Vista SP1 repro the behavior, btw? You mentioned previously you hadn't tried it, but if you are able to acquire a server 2008 license, you should also be able to give Vista SP1 a try.

[aspenjim]

I have a technet subscription and that is where I acquired 2008. I haven't seen any beta sp's there and I don't see it on the connect site. I suppose I could find it on a torrent.

BTW it's the 64 bit version of vista business I'm using (also from my technet sub). If you wanted to point me in the "proper" direction to "acquire" both 64 and 32 bit SP1, I'd happily try that and report back.

It's no big deal if it doesn't work or fix the issue as I don't have any critical domain needs inside my small business and I can quickly do a reinstall of Vista. I just wanted to get in on the ground level w/ 2008 as it looks quite promising and I can hardly wait for the SBS version to evolve.

Cluberti.... I'm the one who is still trying to get a handle on folder redirection/roaming profiles and would like to accomplish these 2 things before 2008 goes live. I haven't had a chance to make a test enviroment and experiment w/ the concept much, but really, really need to make the time. i doubt that it will change much w/ 2008.

[cluberti]

I have a technet subscription and that is where I acquired 2008. I haven't seen any beta sp's there and I don't see it on the connect site. I suppose I could find it on a torrent.

Ah, I made the assumption you were a tester. Yes, SP1 can be acquired and if you can, you may want to test an SP1 build to see if it repros. Is it safe to assume that you simply install vista from the technet iso, add it to the domain, and do nothing else to repro this issue?

[aspenjim]

Yes I did a clean install, installed whatever updates there were, right clicked a few times and rebooted a few times, just to makes sure everything worked (the second time), joined the domain as the domain admin using the local admin account and then the ability to view properties vanished. when the control panel did open, it was empty, as in no icons.

I did get the 32 bit SP and it was installing on another perfectly working vista business client when i left tonight. In the morning, I will join it to the domain when I come in and see if it exibits the same behavior.

The original PC that it happened to twice after joing the domain was 64 bit, but that should make absolutely no difference.

I'd be curious if having the SP applied makes a difference. It is the wierdest thing I've seen for awhile. Again I thought the first time it happened was because the PC was O'Ced pretty hard and the registry or windows got a little corrupted, so the second time I did my install the right way and had the same results.

Maybe it is just my crazy-assed luck though, or maybe it's just the fun of beta testing.

I'll let everyone know.