Disk Management Error, unable to connect to logical disk manage

Greetings

I am trying to access disk management to check out an external hard drive (Seagate) connected by USB. When I attempt to open Disk manager via start menu - Run, and right clicking My Computer- Manage, I get these 2 errors:

Unable to connect to logical disk manager services.
Server execution failed

If there is something in the registry that I need to check, please provide specific steps to be taken :unsure:. MANY MANY Thanks, in advance.

Chuck

Hi Chuck :D

If you go to Start => Run => and type in services.msc => Enter

You should get a list of all your services. Find the Logical Disk Manager entry and make sure it's started. If not, start it (right-click) and then double-click on it and be sure it's Startup type is set to Automatic

Hopefully that will case it for you :top:

Hey Marvin

Good to hear from you again. Yes, Logical Disk Manager and Logical Disk Manager Admin. is also started, and set to Automatic. I tried stopping them and starting them again, and I rebooted, but the error still occurs.

One thing that is happening, It takes about 90 seconds for the error messages to show up. I'm not sure if anything is happening though because there doesn't seem to be any CPU cycles during the 90 seconds.

Thanks

Hi Chuck;

Are you seeing any errors in the event viewer that coorespond to the time you tried to open it?

If so can you copy and past the contents here?

You can get to the event viewer by going to Start => Run => then type in eventvwr.msc => hit enter and it will pop up. Be sure to look in both the System log and the Application log. :top:

Double click on any entries with red stop signs next to them and you'll see the contents of the error message.

I'm hoping there's one there that will describe the issue in more detail :)

Thanks for the quick reply. This is what showed up when I tried opening the disk manager:

The server {4FB6BB00-3347-11D0-B40A-00AA005FF586} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.


This message showed up in the SYSTEM log, there was no error in the Application log.

:top:

Hmmm.... interesting....

Someone else had a similar issue on the Internet and they published a .reg file to help address it. I don't know if it will work or not but I've had a look through it to ensure it's valid.

I'll attach it to this post. If you would, please download it and run it (answer yes if it asks) so that it will install.

Afterwards, please re-start the computer and see if that fixes it :)

I was really hoping that this would fix it, but it didn't. The event log gave the same error. I wish I had some more clues as to when this happened, but I haven't used disk management for quite some time. :rolleyes:

Hmmm.... that's unfortunate.

One thing that may be worth trying is running the System File Checker utility. You'll need your XP CD (put it in the drive) and then go to start => run => sfc /scannow => enter

It will go through and compare all the files on your system to the originals and the service packed ones and then replace any that are incorrect.

Once it's done be sure to visit Windows Update and be certain there are no updates available (sometimes SFC replaces newer files with older ones and some updates need to be reapplied).

Hopefully that will fix it. If not, I'm not sure what the answer is but hopefully you'll post back and let me know how you make out :top:

Thanks Marvin,

I had a problem a while back with the winauclt.exe module that caused my system to die a slow death. That module runs the automatic Win updates. I had to shut it down, and now I cannot get WinXP updates. Since sfc /scannow replaces updates with old data, that may cause me more problems. Ughhhhh!!!!! :( :wacko: :blink:

It really has me bummed out, because I run into these problems, and the utilities that can be used to troubleshoot it won't work, due to a bug of its own.

Thanks again for your time and help, Marvin.

Well, wait a second.... if Windows Updates haven't worked for some time then you've got a recipe for disaster right there. That issue should have been fixed first, long ago!

In fact, I'd go so far as to say there's not much point in troubleshooting anything unless your updates are all installed...

The typical reason Windows Updates stops working is due to a virus infection. Usually that's the first thing the virus will take out.

I've attached a batch file that stops the appropriate services, re-registers a ton of .dll files and then re-starts the services in the proper order. It's very much like a Windows Update 'repair in a can'. Normally, tune-up in a can is something to avoid but this batch file was created by Microsoft as the best way to nail down 99.999% of Windows Update issues.

As such, it's 100% safe to run :top: After it runs through, re-start your computer and see if Windows Updates works again.

BTW, I used this very method to repair a crippled O/S that was hit by a virus. :D

Hello Marvin :o :D :lol:

It's been a while, but I want to thank you for the link to the batch program you attached to get windows update working again. I ran it last night, and it worked like a charm :D Unfortunately, that was not a fix for the disk management problem I am experiencing.

I am wondering if you know of a way to trace the execution of diskmgmt.msc in order to find out what it's trying to do before failing to complete. Once again, event viewer shows "The server {4FB6BB00-3347-11D0-B40A-00AA005FF586} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout." for the failure. Clsid shows the server name to be Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service. Services.msc shows DCOM Server, Logical Disk Manager, and Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service as STARTED and AUTOMATIC.

I've searched the web and can only find this server error pointing to Win 2003 Servers but nothing pointing to Diskmgmt.

Again, Thanks for your help in the past, and any that you provide now.

Chuck

Hi Chuck!

You must be the most patient person in the world :lol: I think this issue started somewhere around early '09 :)

Are you able to get Windows Updates now? Did that file repair that issue? Is the computer fully updated? Let's start with that first because if we can't case that then there's little point spending time trying to track down the issue. :top:

Hmmm.... I see from your post over here that you did manage to run sfc /scannow and that it didn't fix the issue?

From above;

I see from your other post that you did in fact have a virus infection. That would have been good to know from the start......

When you ran sfc /scannow did it complete? Did it take forever? Once it was completed did your computer re-connect to Windows Update and re-download all the updates since time began? Did you have to have your install CD?

This post has been edited by Marvin Miller on January 26, 2010 01:22 am

Do you have the following registry keys?

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\{4FB6BB00-3347-11d0-B40A-00AA005FF586}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\dmadmin.exe
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{4FB6BB00-3347-11d0-B40A-00AA005FF586}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppID\{4FB6BB00-3347-11d0-B40A-00AA005FF586}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{4FB6BB00-3347-11d0-B40A-00AA005FF586}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppID\dmadmin.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{4FB6BB00-3347-11d0-B40A-00AA005FF586}

Because apparently this one;

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppID\{4FB6BB00-3347-11d0-B40A-00AA005FF586}

gets taken out by the Trojan-Proxy.Agent!sd5 / Backdoor.Trojan / Generic Dropper.av infection....it might be wise to see if you have all 7 entries listed above....

One fella that had the exact same issue was able to resolve it be re-copying a file to his Windows directory but that can't be the case because you ran the System File Checker and it would have caught that right away. :top:

Hi Marvin ... I was hoping you were still available for this old ticket :D I checked the registry entries you listed, and they are all present. Here are the answers to the first set of questions:

Are you able to get Windows Updates now? Yes :top:

Did that file repair that issue? Yes, it did :top:

Is the computer fully updated? Yes, I have SP3, and all subsequent updates :D

While researching this problem, I ran across some info that pointed out when diskmgmt is executed, it is suppose to call dmadmin.exe and dmremote.exe. These files are in the Windows\system32 directory. I looked them up, and found that they are both there. I also found 2 extra files that looked strange, dmadmin(2).exe and dmremote(3).exe. Not sure why they were there. They had different date-modified dates (older versions) then the aforementioned ones.

I renamed them to olddmadmin.exe and olddmremote.exe, rebooted, started task manager and ran diskmgmt again, but no change. I did notice that dmadmin was started by the system, but dmremote never showed up. So, I manually started it by double clicking its entry in the system32 folder. It started successfully, but it did not make any difference either. :blink:

Thanks again for revisiting this one, Marvin :top: .

Chuck

Yes, it runs as a client/server application. dmremote would be the client and dmadmin would be the server side of the application. It can probably be run remotely from another computer - thus the client/server design.

I still want to know about the system file checker B)

When you ran it did it;

• ask for your Windows CD?
• run for a long time?
• pop-up lots of windows asking if you wanted to keep files?

and, after it completed, did the computer then re-download all the service pack files? The whole sfc process should have taken hours... :)

Interesting that you would say the sfc /scannow should have taken hours :o It only ran for about 10 - 15 mins. To answer your questions:

When you ran it did it;

* ask for your Windows CD? No, it didn't ask for any mounts. I am on an HP desktop. HP does not include the Win CD. It's info is placed in a partition on the hard disk.

* run for a long time? Again, it ran for about 10 - 15 mins.

* pop-up lots of windows asking if you wanted to keep files? Not a single pop-up asking about files. :blink: The command opened a progress box that showed a blue bar advancing toward completion as it was running. When it finished, that box closed, and there was no info about any problems found. I've never run that command before, but I was under the impression that if problems were found, the files would just be replaced by the files on the partition.

You missed the most important question - did it then connect to the Internet and re-download all the updates etc?

My understanding of the system file checker is this, that it goes through your entire drive, compares all the O/S files to the *originals* and then replaces any that are not original. Typically, there are hundreds of files that are no longer original because they have been replaced by Windows Updates/Service Packs etc along with the odd virus-modified file.

So, what usually happens is this - you get a properly working O/S install that's more/less identical to the original install - sans updates. At that point your O/S is so far out of date that the first thing that happens is that the computer re-connects to Windows Update and downloads and installs them all over again.

So, this process should take a considerable amount of time. Now, I don't know if Windows updates the system file checker database to include all updates. When I last ran it on a system that was taken out by multiple viruses it didn't.

In fact, I had to implement a registry hack to force it to compare it's expected file version list against the latest service pack I had installed. That required considerable effort and so I would conclude that it does not, by default, check the file versions against anything other then it's original installed files (the ones with absolutely no updates or service packs).

That's why I say that it should have replaced a plethora of files, popped up a million windows asking if you really wanted to do this, and finally, completed itself by installing the original files off the CD which should have left your system more/less functional - but requiring every update ever released over the years.

My point is this - I'm not convinced that System File Checker actually did what it's supposed to. I could be wrong but my experience with it has been that it replaces every modified file with the originals leaving the O/S in a non-updated state. It does this without messing up the registry so generally speaking, once all the updates are re-installed then typically the system works as new, usually with one or two glitches that need to be addressed (usually they are self-evident).

The only other thing I can think of that may be of use if for me to export the registry keys relating to 4FB6BB00-3347-11d0-B40A-00AA005FF586 and you can try importing them to see if the !@!@#$$ thing works. :lol:

BTW, here's what MS has to say about it;

"System File Checker gives an administrator the ability to scan all protected files to verify their versions. If System File Checker discovers that a protected file has been overwritten, it retrieves the correct version of the file from the cache folder (%Systemroot%\System32\Dllcache) or the Windows installation source files, and then replaces the incorrect file. System File Checker also checks and repopulates the cache folder. You must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to run System File Checker. If the cache folder becomes damaged or unusable, you can use the sfc /scannow, the sfc /scanonce, or the sfc /scanboot commands to repair its contents. "

So, evidently, the system file checker will also compare the protected files with a list from the system32\dllcache folder. This causes me to wonder if a virus would also infect one of those files resulting in it's re-installation. I don't know, but it could happen...

It might be worth renaming the system32\dllcache folder to dllcacheold (if Windows will allow that) and then re-start the computer and re-run sfc /scannow in an effort to force the O/S into a non-updated original installed state. At that point you could then re-connect to Windows Update and re-install all the updates all over again and then you should, hopefully, have a nice clean fully patched installation with all the correct files.

That's a choice you would have to make. When I did one on a badly infected system (the virus had taken out at least 10 major functions of the O/S) it came back nearly perfectly. I was literally shocked at how well it worked. The client was already at the point where he understood the virus infection had so borked his system that a re-install was not only likely but almost a garantee. At that point he was already at the $400 point with respect to my time on his system.

Thing is, once I had removed the virus infections SFC got it all back. Once the updates were re-installed the entire O/S worked properly. It's been in service for more then a year since the near death disaster - and there's no way that you can tell that he was ever infected or that the O/S was so borked that major sections of it did not work. SFC performed a miracle. :top:

This post has been edited by Marvin Miller on January 26, 2010 04:37 pm

You missed the most important question - did it then connect to the Internet and re-download all the updates etc? No ... It didn't do anything after the progress bar completed.

All of what you have mentioned is making me wonder if sfc /scannow is corrupt :wacko:

I can re-run it now that updates is working :D but, windows will not allow me to rename the Dllcache folder. :blink:

Does SFC produce a log file?

Should I re-run it?

You know, I believe it does produce a logfile. I can't recall what/where it is though. It's been a while since I used it.

Before going that route why don't we try re-installing all the reg keys related to the 4FB6BB00-3347-11d0-B40A-00AA005FF586 class id.

I zipped up all of them in a self-extracting archive. I numbered them 1 through 8. If you would, please download the attached file and then unzip it by clicking on it. When you see the 8 files please right click each one and choose merge.

Then re-start the computer and try it to see if it works. It may or may not but it's an easy thing to try. Earlier we verified that the keys existed but we didn't verify whether the contents existed so it was not a very productive test.

Got all 8 keys merged, rebooted, started task manager, and ran diskmgmt. Got the same results. Dmserver did not start, dmadmin was started by the system, LDM service is started automatic, LDMAS is started manual.

If you run your diskmgmt, with task manager open, do you see dmserver start?

Do you know of a tool I can use to trace what happens when I click diskmgmt? Knowing what DCOM is waiting for would sure be a big help :rolleyes:

I ran computer managment with Task Manager opened and then went into disk management with no issue. I also checked my services startup settings and confirmed they are the same as yours.

Well, that takes one issue out the equation.

With respect to DCOM tracing, not specifically. But, what I would do, if you really want to see what's going on, is run Procmon. It will tell you exactly what happens in the background when you try to run disk management.

I've used it for troubleshooting some pretty wierd things. I wouldn't be surprised if you find out it's a permissions issue :o

Great, I will download procmon and update you on what it shows. I would love for it to be something as easy to fix as permissions. Many many thanks, Marvin :top:

You know, why don't we take a quick look into that?

If you go into Start => Programs => Administrative Tools = Component Services you should be able to see a list of all the services in DcomConfig.

If I scroll down to Logical Disk Administrative Service and right-click on it and choose properties this is what I see;

General Tab = default
Location Tab = Run application on this computer
Security Tab = Use Default, Use Default & Customize

Customize / Edit permissions are;

Full Control / Read & Special Permissions (that on in grey)
Creator/Owner = Special Permissions
Power Users = Read & Special Permissions
System = Full Control / Read & Special Permissions
Users = Read & Special Permissions

EndPoints Tab = ...default system protocols...
Identity Tab = This system account (services only)

Maybe that will help shed some light?

Hmm....maybe I did that backwards...probably should have focussed first on the client.... :lol: :o :D

Logical Disk Manager Remote Client Properties;

General Tab = Default
Location Tab = Run application on this computer
Security Tab;

All three should be set to customize and the Administrators and System account should have full control (check every box in the left column)
EndPoints Tab = ...default system protocols...
Identity Tab = The Launching User

If it's a permissions issue I would think it would have been with the client side first but hey, we're here now so why not check them both? :top:

When I go into Component Services, I get one object in the list. A folder named Computer. When I click on it, Component Services closes. Event viewer/Application lists 2 hits as Follows:

Type = Informational: Source COM+

Application image dump failed.
Server Application ID: {01885945-612C-4A53-A479-E97507453926}
Server Application Instance ID:
{AEB375AE-3A18-4108-A9F3-C07BF2439134}
Server Application Name: COM+ Explorer
Error Code = 0x80004005 : Unspecified error
COM+ Services Internals Information:
File: f:\xpsp3\com\com1x\src\shared\util\svcerr.cpp, Line: 1259
Comsvcs.dll file version: ENU 2001.12.4414.702 shp


Type = Error: Source COM+

The run-time environment has detected an inconsistency in its internal state. This indicates a potential instability in the process that could be caused by the custom components running in the COM+ application, the components they make use of, or other factors. Error in f:\xpsp3\com\com1x\src\comsvcs\package\cpackage.cpp(1184), hr = 8000ffff: InitEventCollector failed


Of course clicking on the more information link is useless, cause Microsoft has no further info available :blink: :(

Oh man, Why do people write viruses :unsure: I would think they would find something more useful to do with the tech knowledge they have.

I got the procmon installed, and just out of curiosity, I executed it to see what it does. :o :huh: :blink: I shut it down as fast as I could. It collected like 1.2 Gigs of data real quick. I'm going to read the documentation now :lol: :top: ... ttyl

Hi Chuck;

That's really wierd. I'm not even sure that the virus borked that. Your error is listing a really wierd directory;

File: f:\xpsp3\com\com1x\src\shared\util\svcerr.cpp

The only way it could come up with a directory like that is if it had help from the end user :lol:

With respect to procmon, if you have a lot of background processes or programs running it will report a lot of data. The idea here is that you are supposed to shut everything down before running it :)

Procmon will report file access and registry access in real-time. So if you have your favorite anti-virus program running as well as a million other startup programs you'll never get anywhere.

I found this on the Internet - I have no idea if it works as I've never had to re-install COM plus or the MSDTC.

How to reinstall COM+ in Windows XP

01. Rename %SystemRoot%\System32\Clbcatq.dll to %SystemRoot%\System32\~Clbcatq.dll, making sure that you include the tilde (~).

02. Shutdown and restart your computer.

03. Delete the COM3 sub-key from the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft.

04. Open a CMD.EXE prompt.

05. Type pushd %SystemRoot% and press Enter.

06. Type rd /s /q Registration and press Enter.

07. Type popd and press Enter.

08. Type exit and press Enter.

09. Use Notepad to remove Hide from the COM= line in %SystemRoot%\Inf\Sysoc.inf.

10. Start / Settings / Control Panel / Add/Remove Programs / Add/Remove Windows Components.

11. Press Next and reinstall COM+.

NOTE: If Windows File Protection blocks any of the above renaming and/or deletions, perform those steps in Safe Mode.

This post has been edited by Marvin Miller on January 27, 2010 01:07 pm

Ok, I went through the above steps, got to step 10, the progress of that step lasted about 10 seconds, and then got the following error:

Sub-component COM+ raised an exception while processing the OC_COMPLETE_INSTALLATION setup message.

d:\xpsp\com\com1x\src\complussetup\comsetup\ccompluscore.cpp (line 565)

Error Code = 0x80040206



An unexpected internal error was detected

The COM+ event classes could not be registered.

I am not able to search this error code out. I keep getting a connection failed error when using search engines i.e. Google, and Yahoo. Going to restore my image. back soon

Hi Chuck;

I don't think it's going to be worth troubleshooting this anymore. If the system were in front of me I could probably case it but at this point I suspect there's more wrong then just the COM+ issue and, without being able to actually 'see' the computer - we could spend a lot more time on this issue and potentially not get anywhere.

COM+ is an important aspect of the O/S and generally you don't go around un-installing/re-installing it. So it was a bit of a long shot to begin with.

Instead, I'd recommend doing a repair installation of XP. In the past I've used the repair feature once or twice and, to date, it's worked well. We really need to get the O/S back to a completely functional state and given that the System File Checker didn't seem to do it - a repair installation should.

How do you perform a reinstallation of Windows XP, sometimes called a repair installation?

Configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive. For more information about how to do this, refer to your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer. Then insert your Windows XP Setup CD, and restart your computer.

1. When the Press any key to boot from CD message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.

2. Press ENTER when you see the message To setup Windows XP now, and then press ENTER displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen.

3. Do not choose the option to press R to use the Recovery Console.

4. In the Windows XP Licensing Agreement, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.

5. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.

6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

PS> After doing the repair install be sure to visit Windows Update because you should need everything again (which is a good thing) :top:

OR, if you still want to case the COM+ issue this Microsoft KB article might give you better step by step advice :) Hmmm.... on second thought that article looks suspicously like the post above :lol: :wacko:

This post has been edited by Marvin Miller on January 27, 2010 02:39 pm

I agree Marvin. Thanks again for all your time and help that you provided. See you around the world wide web :top:

If you like you're welcome to visit and even help some others out with their issues from time to time :top: