I like to reboot both my Server 2003 boxes every two weeks just to keep them fresh. I restared my main server yesterday and it hung on Applying Computer Settings... Normally this screen just flashes before displaying the Ctrl-Alt-Del screen, this time it's displaying for over 10 minutes. Pulled the power, started in Safe Mode. Event Viewers indicated no problems, Device Manager fine as well. Tried booting up again, same thing. Called Dell, he had me do Last Known Good (same thing) also tried draining power by holding power button while unplugged (same thing) also tried unplugged the cables to the 2 nics I have in the PCI slots, but leaving the cable in the embedded nic (same thing). Now I'm panicing...the first user has just walked in the office, told him not to log in. Dell gives me MSFT's number. Called Microsoft, first tried unplugging all nic cables (same thing) then he asked me if I had APC software on this box. I said yes. He had me go in Safe Mode, disable the APC Agent service, reboot, BAM! There's my Login Screen! By 8am the network was back to life.

Prior to this, I though I was a pretty good net admin. How should I have suspected it was my APC software? It was installed on this box over 1 year ago with no problems. No other updates or changes were made by me since the last reboot on this server. I'm assuming the APC Agent updated itself with a bad patch? How would you guys have handled this situation?

If your server is set for automatic updates, then your server probably received patches from Microsoft yesterday. When you rebooted your system, the patches took effect. I submit that the APC software and those patches don't play nice together. This would also explain why Microsoft knew about this.

How could you have handled this differently? You may not have been able to do anything about it given the resources you have.

The best thing you can do is learn from it. In this case, probably the best things you could do is be more active in the management of your server. Don't install updates automatically. Test updates in a lab/non-production environment beforehand. However, you may not have the financial and labor resources to do that in your organization.

"Republicans in Congress are moving to ratify a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning, thus ending the Iraq insurgency."

WOW!
Automatic Updates were off and service disabled. It was, in fact, the APC software, nothing Msft related. How would you know what resources I have from my original post? How do you know I don't lab test everything? Thanks for the reply, but no thanks.

Hey, I was just tossing a theory out there.

I don't know what resources you have, and I said flat out your company *MAY* not have them, not that they DID or DID NOT. I didn't know if you lab tested everything or not.

My point really is you have to figure out how this happened, and then look what would have prevented it, and then changed your configurations or procedures to try to keep it from happening again, or if it does happen, have a contingency plan in place to restore services as quickly as possible.

I meant that post to reassure you that it may very well not have been your fault, and preventing something like that from happening again may require resources your organization doesn't have, or maybe they do have them, I don't want to get accused for presuming things.

"If that [soiled bed] sheet is a [holy] manifestation, then I'm working on a miracle in my Jockey's!"

Here's APC's explaination:

http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=7202

Thanks for the link Rob,

Solved my problem !

Don