Install Windows Server 2003 Adminpak (Administration Tools Pack) on Vista
It's always frustrating when an update to one program from a company breaks compatibility with another program from the same company. In the case of Microsoft, the Windows 2003 SP1 Admin tools (adminpak.msi) do not work on Windows Vista.
- Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Administration Tools Pack
- Windows Server 2003 R2 Administration Tools Pack
The list of known issues (and some workarounds) are being tracked in KB 930056: https://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/930056. The primary workaround involves re-registering all of the .dlls involved with the Admin tools, and the solution is documented in the above KB.
I know from talking to a number of Microsoft Partners that this is extremely frustrating, and I have been monitoring the internal discussion aliases for a resolution. In reading through the changes in the March 2007 Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update, I noticed the following today:
The March 2007 Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update is a package of software updates that address common application compatibility issues in Windows Vista. When you try to install and run certain legacy games or applications in Windows Vista, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
•The game, the application, or the firmware may not be installed correctly.
•The game, the application, or the firmware may cause system instability.
•The primary functions of the game, the application, or the firmware may not work correctly.
This update is cumulative and supersedes update 929427. In addition to the fixes that are contained in update 929427, this update improves support in Windows Vista for the following games, applications, and firmware:
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Administration Tools Pack
Does this resolve some or all of the problems running the 2003 Administrative tools on a Windows Vista administrative workstation? I certainly hope so! I have pinged the Vista team to find out if I can get any clarification on the changes made, and as soon as I hear back, I will update this posting. I don't currently have a 2003 domain setup at home to test the tools, but will try to test the functionality after applying the update when I get back to work on Monday.
Note: This update is listed as "Optional", so it will not be automatically pushed out through Windows Update. You can manually run Windows Update and choose to install the compatibility update, or it can also be downloaded from the following site (which also lists the other compatibly fixes present in this update: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/932246
I also see that this update is being tracked over on the 4sysops site, and I would imagine that admins will start posting their experiences in the comments after loading the update: https://4sysops.com/archives/vista-compatibility-update-for-the-adminpak/
Comments
- Anonymous
June 10, 2015
US home solar power system capacity increase of 76% over last year, to 437 megawatts (MW) ,Solar Batterieshttp://www.poweroak.net the nation's new generating capacity, more than half of which is a photovoltaic power generation. The report shows that a quarter of the US solar power capacity by 1.3 gigawatts (GW), the sixth consecutive quarterly increase of over 1 GW. The total annual installed capacity is expected to reach 7.9 GW, Solar Power Peneratorhttp://www.poweroak.net , Solar Power Pack http://www.poweroak.net representing an increase of 27%.
The report predicts that by 2016 solar power will meet the electricity needs of about 800 million households in the United States to offset 45 million metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to removing 10 million cars. energy storage systemhttp://www.poweroak.net/energy-storage-system-c-1.html - Anonymous
June 23, 2015
The comment has been removed - Anonymous
June 23, 2015
The comment has been removed