In Vista, I have seen my network and sound icons disappear from the notification area quite often.  Microsoft KB article 945011 explains why and how to workaround the issue.  Unfortunately, this isnt a permanent fix and they still seem to disappear occasionally.  I have created a batch file to do the work for you so that you can run it often if need be.  Take the following text, paste it into a text file and then save it as restore_icons.bat or something similar (must end in .bat).  Run it to restore your icons.

 NOTE! This blog breaks up the first two lines at the first space.  Make sure you piece the code back together as it should be.

reg delete “HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify” /v IconStreams /f

The Microsoft Performance Team posted a great article on how to troubleshoot svchost.exe, here is the link

 http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2008/01/11/getting-started-with-svchost-exe-troubleshooting.aspx

The part of the registry where the services load into the generic process is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Svchost

With Windows XP there isn’t a native way to manage power settings via a group policy setting. With Vista and Longhorn server this is now managable. Here is a link to the Energy Star website for a downloadable tool with an .adm file and a client application.

 http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_pm_ez_gpo

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/041105-windows-crash.html?page=1

This primer will show you how to solve problems quickly. Using a tool that costs nothing, you can solve approximately 50% of Windows server and workstation crashes in a few minutes. The tool is WinDbg , the free Windows debugger.

When you attempt to install updates using the Windows Update Web site, you receive an error similar to:

Error number:0×80245003. Windows Update has encountered an error and cannot display the requested page.

This behavior occurs because the redirector identification number of the downloaded Wuredir.cab file is lower than the redirector identification number of the %SystemRoot%\SoftwareDistribution\Wuredir.cab file.

To workaround this issue:

1. Open a CMD.EXE window.

2. Type net stop wuauserv and press Enter.

3. Type rmdir /s /q %windir%\softwaredistribution\wuredir and press Enter.

4. Type net start wuauserv and press Enter.

Try using the Windows Update Web site to install updates.

When Windows XP is a member of a workgroup, the security tab in the properties window may not be displayed by default.  This Microsoft article discusses it:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290403

Basically, change the following registry key to 0:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\ForceGuest

Here are some examples of  shortcuts to type from Start –> run

 Blog info:

http://blogs.technet.com/wsus/archive/2007/05/15/srvhost-msi-issue-follow-up.aspx

What you need:

1) Microsoft KB 927891 - link

2) Build 0374 AU client/ WSUS 3.0 client: - link

 Other related too: Microsoft (SysInternals) Process Explorer - link

See: Remote Web Workplace Part 1 (PDF) for more info

Basic Setup:

Configure Internet and Email access settings to allow access to the Remote Web Workplace web service from the Internet (Server Management -> Connect to the Internet -> Web Services Configuration)

Configure the IIS Web application named Remote to Allow access by Default ( ISS Manager -> Web Sites -> Default Web Site -> Remote -> Properties -> Directory Security -> IP address and Domain Name restrictions -> Edit)

Configure the Firewall to allow SSH (Port 443)  to the SBS box from the WAN.  Create a custom service for RWW (Port 4125) and allow access to that service from the WAN to the SBS box.

Connecting client machines must be Windows XP Pro or better

Access the site to test:
From the LAN  https://SBSSERVER/Remote
From the WAN:  https://mail.domainname.com/Remote

With Vista and RDP 6.0, you will see an extra warning message when connecting to remote PCs saying something like:

“Remote Desktop cannot verify the identity of the computer you want to connect to…”

To eliminate this, set the following registry key to 0.  Create the key if it doesn’t exist.

\\HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\AuthenticationLevelOverride