D3/NT can no longer shell out to OS

#11

What about the comspec system environment variable? On UniData we had some
trouble when someone added some parameters to it.

What about being hacked? I think there are a couple of hacks that change the
cmd.exe??

hth
Colin Alfke

"Mark Brown" wrote

Quote:

One more question and then I'll give up.

If this is D3/NT, how do you have it start? As a service or through a CMD
prompt?

If you have it start as a service, have you tried starting it in a CMD
prompt? The reason I ask is that if "nothing's changed" and it doesn't
work
then it might be a permissions thing. If it starts as a service, it
starts
in the background as the user you tell it or as the adminstrator. If you
have it set to start in "this account" instead of "Local Sysem Account",
maybe that user no longer has permission?

If you start it in the CMD window, it starts the the local forground user
and should have whatever permissions are active for the currently logged
on
W2K user (administrator?). That should cut thru any permissions issue and
at least give you one more thing to try and cross off the list.

Mark

#12

Mark Brown wrote:

Quote:

If this is D3/NT, how do you have it start? As a service or through
a CMD prompt?

As a service - Local System Account

Quote:

If you have it start as a service, have you tried starting it in a
CMD prompt?

Haven't started it like this, but have tried changing the service
startup to start as a particular user (Administrator), and it makes no
difference.

What is also odd is how !FTP stopped working, but !DIR did work for a
while, then stopped.

I'll have to try starting the foreground via a cmd window on the
weekend. It's a busy system and now they're into their month end
processing, so it's hard to take it off-line.

Thanks for the thoughts. I'll keep you posted.

--
Kevin Powick

#13

Colin Alfke wrote:

Quote:

What about being hacked? I think there are a couple of hacks that
change the cmd.exe??

Unlikely, but these days you never know. I'll investigate.

Thanks,

--
Kevin Powick

#14

Are they running Virus protection ? A firewall product ? If so, then
D3VME may have to be "enabled" to undertake these tasks ... and if you
DON'T have some form of AV, download something like AVG and scan the
machine (just in case)

Might also want to do a d3vme /debug, rather than starting as a
service, just to see if that makes a difference -->there are also a
batch of new patches for Win2K, if they are running SUS/WUS, then these
may have automatically been applied & broken stuff

When all else fails, a reboot of windows can often work wonders (solved
a VPN issue on an ISA-Server today that has been bugging me for a week
!)

Good luck

#15

Kevin Powick wrote:

Quote:

Colin Alfke wrote:

What about being hacked? I think there are a couple of hacks that
change the cmd.exe??

Unlikely, but these days you never know. I'll investigate.

Thanks,

I have a D3-NT 7.2.0 installation and had unexplainable

problems. RD support told me to set the service startup
to manual and let the server completely finish its bootup
process and then start the D3 Service. It cured my problems.

YMMV
Ron White

http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

#16

Ron wrote:

Quote:

I have a D3-NT 7.2.0 installation and had unexplainable
problems. RD support told me to set the service startup
to manual and let the server completely finish its bootup
process and then start the D3 Service. It cured my problems.

Good idea, but we already have it set this way. Our D3 VME Service is
always started manually.

Thanks anyway,

--
Kevin Powick

#17

Ross Ferris wrote:

Quote:

Are they running Virus protection ? A firewall product ?

Yes. Maybe something there has changed. It's frustrating when users
don't tell you what's changed.

Quote:

there are also a
batch of new patches for Win2K, if they are running SUS/WUS, then
these may have automatically been applied & broken stuff

They shouldn't have patches applied automatically, but you never know.
I'll check. Personally, I had one MS security update the totally
screwed-up my development machine. Thank the net gods for Google to
solve that one.

Cheers,

--
Kevin Powick

#18

Kevin Powick wrote:

Quote:

I have a customer with an old D3/NT 7.2.1 system running on W2K.

On a nightly basis, this system sends some files via Windows' built-in
FTP client by shelling out to the o/s and running the client against a
script

example: !FTP -s:SendFile.txt

This has worked flawlessly for several years, until last week. Now
when you try to execute the script, you are simply returned to the D3
prompt. No action, no errors.

The big question is "what has changed"?

Of course the claims are that, "nobody has changed anything", but
things just don't change by themselves.

We know the FTP client and script file work fine, as it can be invoked
at the DOS Command Prompt, so all I can think of is a security issue,
preventing D3 from being able to execute the FTP client. Funny enough,
I can still use ! for some commands, such as !DIR <drive>\Path....

I rarely use D3 anymore, so any ideas would be appreciated.

Regards,

Kevin from the c:\ prompt type PATH

Now from TCL type !PATH

If it's different try the fully qualified path name from D3.

Something different to try.

Patrick, <;=)

#19

Hi Kevin

I run a lot of 7.2.0 on NT, 2000 and XP and in my experience then only
sure way to solve these type of problems is to do a VME restore. I have
a nice little routine to automates that. Mail me if I can help.

Diets

#20

Kevin:

Follow Mark's suggestion and _DO_ the following:

1) shutdown D3
2) open a DOS window and do:

....>cd /d \...whatever...\d3\d3programs
....>d3vme /debug
Loading Configuration 'pick0'

D3 7.4.5.0388
Type G)o to continue execution, H)elp for help.

Quote:

g[Cr$]

then watch what happens. If it starts ok simply minimize the DOS window,
log onto D3 then try to execute the DOS commands again.

Bill

"Kevin Powick" <nospam (AT) spamless (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

Mark Brown wrote:

If this is D3/NT, how do you have it start? As a service or through
a CMD prompt?

As a service - Local System Account

If you have it start as a service, have you tried starting it in a
CMD prompt?

Haven't started it like this, but have tried changing the service
startup to start as a particular user (Administrator), and it makes no
difference.

What is also odd is how !FTP stopped working, but !DIR did work for a
while, then stopped.

I'll have to try starting the foreground via a cmd window on the
weekend. It's a busy system and now they're into their month end
processing, so it's hard to take it off-line.

Thanks for the thoughts. I'll keep you posted.

--
Kevin Powick