Setup FAQ and troubleshooting guide for SharePoint Portal Server 2001

The following FAQ contains important information about SharePoint Portal Server installation, as well as troubleshooting steps and known Setup issues.

Note that any URLs listed here may change without notice; check the following Microsoft Web site for the latest information: Additional sources of information related to installation are found in the "More Information" section of this article.

Compatibility and Co-existence

NOTE: For more information about software that cannot coexist with SharePoint Portal Server, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q1: Does SharePoint Portal Server require Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server?

A1: No. Although SharePoint Portal Server uses a version of the Web Storage System, the server installation includes everything necessary for server operation.

Q2: Can Exchange 2000 coexist with SharePoint Portal Server on the same computer?

A2: This scenario is not supported. The demand on system resources, and the additional complication of backup or restore procedures, makes this scenario undesirable. You do not need to have the applications on the same computer if you want to have SharePoint Portal Server index Exchange 2000 content sources.

Q3: Can I install SharePoint Portal Server on Microsoft Windows XP?

A3: Yes, you can install and use SharePoint Portal Server 2001 client software on Windows XP. Note that the initial release-to-market (RTM) version of SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Server only works with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server or Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Support for future releases of Windows server software will be added in a future SharePoint Portal Server service pack release.

Upgrade Issues

Q4: Can I upgrade from a pre-release version of SharePoint Portal Server to the RTM version?

A4: No, this is not supported. Uninstall the pre-release version, restart your computer, and then install the RTM version. You cannot restore data that was backed up from a pre-release version to an RTM server.

Q5: Can I restore workspaces from my pre-release version server to an RTM installation?

A5: No, this is not supported and may cause unexpected behavior.

Q6: How do I upgrade from the evaluation version to the RTM version?

A6: The upgrade process overwrites the portal files, which may result in loss of customizations that you have made to the dashboard site. If you have already upgraded and need to recover your customization, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: Q7: The uninstallation procedure did not remove everything it should have. How do I manually clean up my computer?

A7: See the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Configuring for Extranet Operation

Q8: What are the specific steps to configure SharePoint Portal Server for extranet operation?

A8: See the "Deploying SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Across an Extranet" white paper at the following Microsoft Web site: Extranet topics covered in this white paper include proxy settings, Domain Name Server (DNS) issues, testing your deployment, using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and fully qualified domain names (FQDNs), firewalls, discussions, and troubleshooting.

An extranet configuration tool, which automates most of the tasks in the white paper, will be released with the SharePoint Portal Server Resource Kit in Q3 2001. Q9: I don't need extranet access, but I do need to access my server on my intranet using the fully qualified domain name (FQDN). How can I do this?

A9: You must configure a host header on the Default Web Site for the server FQDN. See the "Specify an Internal FQDN for the SharePoint Portal Server Computer" section in the "Deploying SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Across an Extranet" white paper referenced in A8.

Diagnosing Setup Failures

Examine the following information if server installation fails for SharePoint Portal Server. Also, review the "Common Causes of Installation Failures" section later in this article. If you are calling for technical support, compress the information below into an archive and provide it to Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS).

All Errors

• Application and System event logs
• The Eventlog.txt file from the %programfiles%\Microsoft Integration\SharePoint Portal Server\Logs folder.
  
  NOTE: The Errorlog.txt file in this folder contains any errors found in the Eventlog.txt file. This is a useful first place to look, but it is also helpful to locate the errors in Eventlog.txt to see what setup actions occurred just before the error.
• The Exchange Server Setup Progress.log file from the root of your operating system drive.
  
  NOTE: This file is created by SharePoint Portal Server installation, and is present and relevant even if Exchange Server has never been on the computer.
• List of applications installed on the computer.

VAIfy and Web Storage System Installation Failures

When these failures occur, the installation UI displays an X in a red circle next to the Web Storage System component, and the Errorlog.txt may contain VAIfy errors. Examine the information listed under "All Errors," as well as the following:

• List of Microsoft Windows 2000 hotfixes (especially any related to security and Internet Information Services) that have been installed. For more information about determining which fixes are installed, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  282784  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/282784/ ) Qfecheck.exe verifies the installation of Windows 2000 hotfixes
• The Internet Information Services (IIS) configuration. To obtain configuration information from the IIS metabase, at a command prompt, navigate to %systemdrive%\Inetpub\Adminscripts. Run the following command:
  cscript adsutil.vbs enum_all w3svc > w3svc.txt
  Be sure to verify that the W3svc.txt file contains information, not just an error message. If an error is present, verify the command line syntax and that the Adsutil.vbs file is present in the Adminscripts folder.

Error Registering Msdaipp.dll

When this failure occurs, Errorlog.txt will contain errors registering the file, or Setup may appear to hang while registering it.

• See the "Common Causes of Installation Failures" section later in this article. Also see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
  297075  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297075/ ) Msdaipp.dll does not register during Setup
• If the preceding troubleshooting information does not resolve the problem, examine the information listed in the next section, "Errors Installing an MSI File."

Errors Installing an MSI File

When these errors occur, the Errorlog.txt file will contain failures related to .msi files. Examine the information listed under "All Errors," as well as the following:

• Spsclisrv.log from %programfiles%\Microsoft Integration\SharePoint Portal Server\Logs.
• MSMhost.log from %programfiles%\Microsoft Integration\SharePoint Portal Server\Logs.

Common Causes of Installation Failures

• Always disable virus scanners during installation and workspace creation. If you do not disable virus scanners, problems may occur. For example, a .dll file may not register, or you may receive the following error message:
  The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.
  For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  287309  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287309/ ) Error message: The process cannot access the file because iIt is being used by another process
• Make sure that all hotfixes on your server are properly installed. Incorrectly installed hotfixes can cause installation failures. For more information about determining which fixes are correctly installed, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  282784  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/282784/ ) Qfecheck.exe verifies the installation of Windows 2000 hotfixes
• Check the bindings and port settings for the Default Web Site in Internet Services Manager. HTTP://localhost:80 needs to be a valid way to connect to the Default Web Site; the server bindings and security (IP address and domain name restrictions) must allow this.
  
  NOTE: Although http://localhost is a valid way to access the Default Web Site, never use http://Localhost/workspace to access an SharePoint Portal Server workspace.
• Make sure the Default Web Site is started (not paused or stopped).
• If you uninstall SharePoint Portal Server, be sure to restart your computer after the uninstallation procedure completes. If you do not, subsequent installation attempts may fail.
• Setup will fail if you are logged on using cached credentials. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  297432  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297432/ ) Setup does not respond when you use cached credentials
• If you are installing using the /unattendfile option (unattended installation using an .ini file), no path may contain double-byte character sets (DBCS), extended ASCII, or be over 140 characters long.
• Verify that Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) is installed correctly by running the Comcheck utility available at the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/data/aa937695.aspx (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/data/aa937695.aspx)
  Use Comcheck to verify that the MDAC version is 2.5 or later, and that the MDAC .dll files are all correct. If you find an error and need to reinstall MDAC 2.5 on your Windows 2000-based server:
  
  
  1. Locate the %systemroot%\Inf\Mdac.inf file in Windows Explorer.
  2. Right-click Mdac.inf, and then click Install. You may be prompted for your Windows 2000 installation disc or service pack file location.
  You can download MDAC 2.6 from the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/data/aa937729.aspx (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/data/aa937729.aspx)
• The Oledb32.dll file may not be properly registered. The error message that you are likely to see is:
  Setup failed while installing sub-component OLEDB protocol with error code 0xc103798A
  For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  283985  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283985/ ) Error message: Setup failed while installing sub-component OLEDB protocol with error code 0xc103798A
• COM problems on the server can cause installation failures. You may receive an error message in the Exchange Server Setup Progress Log.txt file that states that registration failed for the Cdoevt.dll file. Check the following to ensure that there are no COM problems:
  • Make sure that the COM+ Event system and Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) services are running.
  • Check the System event log for any errors related to these services.
  • Verify that COM is working by enumerating any COM packages on your server. To do so:
    
    
    1. Under Administrative Tools, click Component Services.
    2. Expand Component Services, expand Computers, expand My Computer, and then expand COM+ Applications.
    You should receive no errors. If you do find a problem, follow the steps in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article to reset the COM service:
    246499  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/246499/ ) COM+ setup problems while upgrading to Windows 2000
• You must have at least one drive letter free during the installation or repair procedures, or the Web Storage System component will fail.
• If Exchange Server was previously installed on the server, there may be remnants left in Active Directory. To determine if this is the problem, try changing the machine name, and then reinstalling.
• Check Event Viewer to see if it mentions problems with duplicate security IDs (SIDs). This can occur if you incorrectly use imaging software to install the same machine images to multiple computers, and then promote one of them to a domain controller. If you then join another computer created from the same original image to that domain controller and attempt installation, you may have a VAIfy failure.
• Check the date on the computer to make sure it matches the date on the domain controller.
• If the Default Web Site has "Cache ISAPI applications" disabled, Server Setup will hang. To check this setting:
  1. View the Default Web Site properties in Internet Services Manager.
  2. On the Home Directory tab, click Configuration.
  3. Verify that Cache ISAPI applications is enabled on the App Mappings tab.
• If the World Wide Web Publishing service is disabled, Setup will fail with a VAIfy error (0x80004005).
• If the NT LM Security Support Provider service is disabled, Setup will fail with a VAIfy error (the search component failures are 0x0000042c and 0x8007042c, which cause VAIFy to fail with error 0x80004005).
• If the Net Logon service is disabled, Setup will fail with a VAIfy error (VAIFy 0x80070005).
• If no Web site exists as W3SVC/1 (this is typically the Default Web Site), Setup will still attempt to run, but the Web Client subcomponent Setup fails (error code 0x80070003.)
• If the Internet Information Service Administrator service is disabled, Web Storage System (WSS) Setup will fail (sub-component Web Client, error 0x80070422).
• If the Event Log service is disabled, Setup will fail (Error opening ExchangeServer admin object for 'server'. hr=0x80070057).
• If the Protected Storage service is disabled, Setup will fail (error code 0x8007042C).
• If HTTP Keep-Alives are disabled on the Default Web Site (w3svc/1), Setup will fail (VAIFy error 0x80072eef).
• If a host header is set on the Default Web Site for the entry (All Unassigned) on TCP/IP port 80, Setup will fail (VAIFy error 0x80072efe). The host header should be blank during SharePoint Portal Server installation.
• Running Server Setup with the Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC) service stopped fails with a Web Storage System install error (0xC103798A).
• If you receive the error "Setup is unable to determine a valid ordering for the installation. See the error log for more details," verify that the Server service is started.
• If the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service is not started, Setup will fail (error code 0xC103798A, and in Exchange Server Setup Progress.log you will see an error message indicating "command regsvr32 /s cdowfevt.dll failed").
• If the server installation appears to hang when attempting to register the Msdaipp.dll file, try the following procedure:
  1. Using Task Manager, end the Setup.exe process.
  2. Delete the Msdaipp cache folder that is causing the error. To find the location of the cache folder, from the root of the operating system drive, type the following at a command prompt:
     dir /S *_R
     The files should be located under the Offline folder; delete that folder.
  3. Re-run Setup, and click Repair when prompted.
• If you attempt to publish or assign the client components package using Group Policy, and you receive the message that publishing information could not be extracted, it may be that you have installed SharePoint Portal Server on this Domain Controller. Use a different domain controller to publish the client.

Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles

The following Knowledge Base articles address known installation issues and contain information both for the Client components and for the Server. This list may not be comprehensive; be sure to search the Microsoft Support Knowledge Base for the most recent information, or contact Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) directly:

General Recommendations for Avoiding Installation Problems

• Disable virus scanners during installation and workspace creation.
• If you have a beta version of Microsoft Office XP on the computer, uninstall it before you attempt to install SharePoint Portal Server. Make sure that the Secmgr.dll file is not present on the operating system drive.
• If you uninstall SharePoint Portal Server, you should always restart your computer to remove leftover files, even if you are not prompted to by Setup.

Read the documentation available on the following Microsoft Web sites before you install SharePoint Portal Server:

• Planning and Installation Guide for SharePoint Portal Server
  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sppt/sharepoint/plan/planinst.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sppt/sharepoint/plan/planinst.mspx)
• Installing SharePoint Portal Server
  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sppt/sharepoint/plan/spsinst.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sppt/sharepoint/plan/spsinst.mspx)
• If you want to access your server on your intranet using the fully qualified domain name (FQDN), or if you want to make your server available over the Internet, read the "Deploying Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Across an Extranet" white paper.