Troubleshooting User and Computer Issues

The single most commonly asked question in the SBS community relates to the Connect Computer Wizard. A quick scan of Google Groups for Connect Computer yields thousands of threads reporting the same problem. With SBS 2003 prior to SP1, the error read "The list of users and computers could not be found on the server. Make sure that the Small Business Server network adapters are configured correctly." After SPS 2003 SP1 has been installed, a more reasonable error message is presented, which reads "Microsoft Windows Small Business Server Client Setup has detected that this computer is not configured correctly." The error message goes on to describe how to resolve the problem, but the simple answer is this: The IP configuration for the workstation needs to have its DNS server settings changed to point to the IP address of the SBS server. If the client workstation points to any other IP address for DNS, the Connect Computer Wizard will fail.

When trying to troubleshoot other errors related to the Connect Computer Wizard and its related components and other wizards, several log files can help lead you to the source of the problem. Table 16.8 lists and describes many of these log files.

Table 16.8. Log File Locations and Descriptions for User and Computer SBS Wizards

Filename	Location	Path	Description
SBSClientApps.log	Workstation	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Clients	Logs activities of the Client Setup Wizard (applnch.exe) at user logon
SBSNetSetup.log	Workstation	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Clients	Logs network configuration activities of the Connect Computer Wizard
Sbsmig.log	Workstation	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Clients	Logs changes to the workstation name and group memberships as part of the Connect Computer Wizard
add_security_group_wizard.log	Server	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Support	Logs activities of the Add Security Group Wizard
add_template_wizard.log	Server	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Support	Logs activities of the Add Template Wizard
add_user_wizard.log	Server	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Support	Logs output from the Add User Wizard
change_user_permissions _wizard.log	Server	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Support	Logs activities of the Change User Permissions Wizard
delgroup.log	Server	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Support	Notes any groups deleted using the Server Management Console tasks
delusr.log	Server	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Support	Notes any users deleted using the Server Management Console tasks
ExtWiz.log	Server	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Support	Logs activities from the Set Up Client Applications Wizard
PassPol.log	Server	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Support	Logs activities from the Configure Password Policies Wizard
scw.log	Server	C:\Program Files\Microsoft Windows Small Business Server\Support	Logs activities from the Set Up Client Computers and Set Up Server Computers Wizards

One last troubleshooting tip for resolving user and computer problems in the SBS environment is to make sure that the wizards have been run. In many cases, running the Change User Permissions Wizard to reset the settings for a user object can resolve access and other problems being encountered. This is especially the case if you suspect that a user or computer object was created without using the wizards. A quick search in the Active Directory Users and Computers console for the user or computer object can tell you whether the object was created with a wizard. If the object can be found in the default Computers or Users containers just beneath the root of the domain, the object was not created by the wizard.