The Mistry Family at Alton Towers Theme Park (UK)

I had a fantastic few days off in Scotland. Also, been on thrill seeking rides at Alton Towers with the family. And, yes, I did conquer the Oblivion (free falling vertically 200ft downwards at a force of 4.5G's).

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Making users/resource inactive – considerations

I had a query from a user regarding making resources inactive. Here are some of the implications and considerations;

1. Making the Resource/User inactive will prevent the resource being available in the Build Team Dialog box for PMs i.e. they will not see these resources in Project Pro.
2. Inactive users (also resource) will not be able to login to Project Pro or PWA.
3. Inactive resources will still show in PWA > Resource Centre for the purpose of completeness i.e. checking which resource is active/inactive (left the company but were assigned on previous projects etc). Views can be setup/updated to show only the active resources (filtered).
4. Inactive resources on ‘part-complete’ tasks/assignments should be replaced with other active resources. There will be warning when project is opened when inactive resource are in the team. See example below for replacing incomplete assignment.

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Project Publish error 26000 – Database Corruption!

Issue

I recently came across an issue whereby some projects where publishing fine for some users and others where failing. After say a few tries, the same project would fail to publish with the dreaded 26000 error!

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
<errinfo>
<general>
  <class name="Queue">
   <error id="26000" name="GeneralQueueJobFailed" uid="8bf04958-b8c1-47ac-bfc9-a0bbebb59238" JobUID="cf6c2adb-22c4-43a8-bed8-e52113705c66" ComputerName="TAVMPS01" GroupType="ProjectPublish" MessageType="PublishProjectMessage" MessageId="135" Stage=""/>
  </class>
</general>
</errinfo>

Investigation

The only other time I had seen this before was when the RTM update had failed leading to binaries being at a patch level different to the databases. Not this time!

I checked the patch levels of each database and also the client apps. This was confusing! How can a project publish perfectly well as many as 10 times and then suddenly fail! The inconsistency was worrying and hard to troubleshoot.

- the SharePoint Config Wizard (SCW) indicated no problems with the farm

- projects were saving and checking in fine.

On closer examination of the ULS logs (throttled for verbose) I determined that there was a possible issue with a procedure in the Published SQL DB.  This was not a good sign.

 

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I then ran the database integrity check on the Published database and this pointed to database corruption! Error 8967 is not a good sign! but, at least I knew what the cause of the issue was.

This error was somewhat similar to another SQL issue http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960791/en-us. It did not, however, cover my exact scenario, but, was an indicator of the type of issue I was facing.

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Resolution

To resolve the issue the options were;

1. Repair the SQL database (REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS, REPAIR_FAST, REPAIR_REBUILD). Note: use the first option repair with data loss option only as a last resort as this may render your system unusable. Test the other repair options first on a test/development environment first before applying to live.
2. Restore previous ‘good’ backup of the SQL databases
3. Restore from previous SharePoint farm backup

I went for Option (2) above and everything started working fine. We had to replicate some of the changes as the ‘good’ DB backup copy was slightly older.

Recommendation

Avoid using option (1) above i.e. repairing the DB with data loss unless absolutely necessary and no other options are viable. This is no guarantee of a fix. If you want to try the other SQL database repair options then test thoroughly on a test environment first before applying on live.

I would recommend option (2) to fix this type of issue. Note: remember to restore all four project server databases and associated content DB. Do not be tempted to mix and match i.e. single DB restore.

This just goes to show how important it is to ensure that you have a proper SQL database backup maintenance plan setup (with verification) as per your business data loss (and DR) policy. Not only this, but it important to also do a restore test on a test/dev environment on a regular basis say every quarter. Stay tuned for post on recommended strategy for Disaster Recovery.

Note: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview! Check this out!

The best productivity experience across the PC, phone* and browser for what you depend on today and what you'll expect tomorrow. Microsoft Office 2010 helps you rise to the challenge of today's business environment without losing sight of what's needed for IT success. For your people, it means helping them work in a way that's faster, easier, and more intuitive—whether they're on the road, in the office, working solo, or as part of a team. For IT, it means utilizing a set of smart, easy-to-integrate tools in a security enhanced environment that work with what you have now, so you can grow your business instead of your budget.

Related Links

• Microsoft Office 2010 Home
• Go Backstage with Office

Co-authoring: collaboration without chaos

How much time is wasted when people try to make edits to the same document, passing it back and forth across desks and across teams? In Microsoft Office 2010, the game has changed. You and your coworkers can simultaneously work on the same document, whether it's in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote.

Microsoft Windows: software and services as unique as you are

Multiple user access to common project

If your EPM security/access rights is configured to allow Project Managers (Owners) to view and edit their own projects only, then this may help you. There may be instances when you may want other users/PMs to update your project.

This can be achieved by adding additional Status Managers on the same project.

In summary the process for adding additional Status Managers is as follows;

a) The ownership of the project is first passed on to the other user(s).

Note: the original owner will still be able to access the project plan as they will be setup as Status Managers for the tasks on the project.

b) The new ‘temporary’ owner then sets themselves as the Status Manager for either an existing task or a new ‘dummy’ task.

c) The new ‘temporary’ owner then re-assigns ownership to the original user via PWA > PC > Edit Project Properties.

Note: It is recommended that ownership is passed back to the correct owner responsible for the project.

d) Repeat the above steps for other users.

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It is important to understand that when multiple users have access to the same project, they could infact modify the contents of the entire project so there has to be some degree of ‘trust’ between the users of the common project.

Note: there is no way to prevent a user from modifying a sub-section of the project or a phase. Access to the project schedule is all or nothing. If security is paramount, then the option would be to split the components/work packages in main project into sub-projects so that specific users have rights to edit their own components/work packages only.

Applies to: EPM2007

EPM2007 Updates Catalogue (Post SP2)

Here is a catalogue of key Microsoft Project Sever 2007 updates and KBs post SP2, organised in chronological order. All in one place!

The update application and verification process is encapsulated in the figure below. Click figure below to open. 

 Updated: 10th Jan 2010

MS KB Article	KB Date	Description Summary / Resolution	My Comments
977022 977028 977266 977023	December 15, 2009             December 15, 2009               December 15, 2009         December 15, 2009	Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server hotfix package (Sts-x-none.msp): December 15, 2009 Some key issues fixed; 1.    After you create a calculated column that includes a reference to the hidden ID column in a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 environment, the CPU usage increases to 100%. 2.    When you upload some files to a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Discussion Board, multiple duplicated discussion items appear unexpectedly. 3.    In a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site, after you add an additional choice to the Task Status site column, workflow tasks that have a Task Status of Completed cannot be viewed. <Refer to other fixes in the associated KB> Project Server 2007 hotfix package (Pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): December 15, 2009 Some key issues fixed; 1.    When you change the calendar for a resource, the actual work that is already reported is recontoured. 2.    When you change the base calendar for a resource, the total actual work value for an assignment remains the same. However, the dates on which the work appears are changed. 3.    If there are no resources assigned to a task, assignment views display the incorrect number of work hours in Microsoft Office Project Web Access.A queue save job takes a long time to finish. This problem typically occurs when projects are very large and have many defined custom fields. <Refer to other fixes in the associated KB> Project 2007 hotfix package (Project-x-none.msp): December 15, 2009 This hotfix fixes the following key issues; 1.    When you copy and paste a duration column to another duration column, all assignment-level actual work changes to zero. The task-level actual work remains unchanged. 2.    Remaining Work is recalculated for some tasks when some actual work is entered in a different task. 3.    The Free Slack value is calculated incorrectly for two linked tasks that have Finish No Later Than and Start No Earlier Than constraints. <Refer to other fixes in the associated KB> SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update Server hotfix package (Coreserver-x-none.msp): December 15, 2009 Some key issues fixed; 1.    If a profile import occurs during the time that domain controllers in a domain are unavailable, the profiles for that domain are marked as "Profiles missing from import." 2.    Issue with Alternate Access Mapping 3.    A Date type cell in a .xlsx file is treated as a Number type cell by the IFilter component when the cell to the left of the Date type cell has a style applied but does not contain a value. <Refer to other fixes in the associated KB	High recommended considering the issues fixed in WSS, Project Server and Project especially resource calendar issue. Process for existing deployments; SP2 + Dec CU Process for NEW deployments; RTM + SP2 + Dec CU Apply this CU only if you are encountering types of issues fixed.
975002 974990 975923 974988	October 27, 2009 October 27, 2009 October 27, 2009 October 27, 2009	Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (Sts-x-none.msp): October 27, 2009 Some key issues fixed; 1.    You run a crawl for some Lists or Surveys, and you receive access violation error messages 2.    You upload a file to a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site, and the custom content type that you selected from the New menu is not used 3.    You encounter performance problems when you run a crawl on a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site 4.    Users who have read permission do not receive alerts for drafts or for minor version documents when the Content Approval option is enabled in a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site <Refer to other fixes in the associated KB> Project Server 2007 hotfix package (Pjsrvapp-x-none.msp, Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): October 27, 2009 Some key issues fixed; 1.    If you add specific fields to the Summary view on the Resource Assignments page, the view is broken and cannot be displayed. The following fields cause this problem: Task ID, Unique ID, Outline Number, and Duration. 2.    When you add lines to a timesheet that contains custom fields, the data in the custom fields is lost. 3.    An Active Directory sync fails if the enterprise custom fields have default values. 4.    When you try to save a resource plan, the resource plan cannot be saved. 5.    The Project Web Access regional setting issue <Refer to other fixes in the associated KB> Project 2007 hotfix package (Project-x-none.msp): October 27, 2009 1.    This hotfix fixes the following key issues; You assign cost resources and work resources, or material resources and work resources to the same task in Office Project 2007 and tasks are in progress. After you publish a project, the Reporting (Project Publish) queue job takes a long time to be completed. 2.    You expand a sub project from a master project and make a change. Then, you open the same sub project by itself within the same session. You cannot save the sub project. Additionally, Office Project 2007 crashes. <Refer to other fixes in the associated KB> Prerequisites You must have 2007 Microsoft Office suite Service Pack 2 or 2007 Microsoft Office suite Service Pack 1 installed to apply this hotfix package. SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package): October 27, 2009 This hotfix contains Project Server 2007 updates. Prerequisites To install this hotfix, you must have 2007 Microsoft Office Servers Service Pack 2 or 2007 Microsoft Office Servers Service Pack 1 installed.	Apply this HF only if you are affected for example WSS crawl, mixed resource assignment save time issue etc. I would recommend not mixing the resource types on same tasks. Process for existing deployments; SP2 + Oct CU Process for NEW deployments; RTM + SP2 + Oct CU Apply this CU only if you are encountering types of issues fixed.
973410 WSS3 (Aug CU) 973937 PS2007 (Aug CU) 973930 P2007 (Aug CU)     973409 MOSS (Aug CU)	August 25, 2009 Rev: 1.0 August 25, 2009 Rev: 1.0 August 25, 2009 Rev: 1.1 August 26, 2009 Rev: 1.0	Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (Sts.msp): Aug 25, 2009 This hotfix fixes the following key issues; custom site content types - cannot create a new child content type calculated column - "The SQL server might not be started" error message rename a folder name - the approval comments for the document are removed unexpectedly <Refer to numerous updates in the KB> Project Server 2007 hotfix (Pjsrvapp.msp & Pjsrvapp.msp): Aug 25, 2009 This hotfix fixes the following key issues; submitting more than 100 task updates gives error issue with Resource Assignment page Total field at the bottom of Timesheet view is incorrect because overtime work values are doubled Time-phased actual work is incorrect after you submit the actual working hours during nonworking time in PWA When you assign cost resources and work resources or assign material resources and work resources to the same task in Project 2007, the reporting publishing job takes a long time. <Refer to numerous updates in the KB> Note Before you apply the hotfix that is described in this article, delete temporary Internet files in Internet Explorer. Project 2007 hotfix (Project.msp): Aug 25, 2009 This hotfix fixes the following key issues; Inactive resources on 100% complete tasks on enterprise projects give warning message. Issue with editing views in Enterprise Global. SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package): Aug 25, 2009 Still confirming if this includes Project Server Aug CU (973937). Note: the KB is still in progress and public download is not available yet (checked 2nd Sep).	I am currently testing this CU. Following successful testing, I will be recommending applying this Aug CU which resolves the Admin issue of Enterprise Global views etc.  Process for existing deployments SP2 + Aug CU Process for NEW deployments RTM + SP2 + Aug CU Apply this CU only if you are encountering types of issues fixed.
970946 WSS3 (Jun CU)   971502 PS2007 (Jun CU)             971501 P2007 (Jun CU)                 971537 MOSS (Jun CU)	3/07/2009 Rev 2.0 15/07/2009 Rev 1.0 01/07/2009 Rev 2.0 22/07/2009 Rev 2.0	Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (Sts.msp): June 30, 2009 Key fixes include sub-site migration issues, issues with list with more than 500 items, issues with version control etc. Refer to numerous updates in the KB. Note: There is an additional WSS CU (971538) released end June for languages other than English. Project Server 2007 hotfix (Pjsrvapp.msp & Pjsrvapp.msp): July 15, 2009  The Tracking Method setting on the Task Settings and Display page is not applied to proposals or to converted proposals! In Resource Usage view, the total work for summary resource assignments under the Other Projects and Commitments sections is wrong. Issue with My Tasks page In Project Professional 2007, the values for actual work differ from the values that are submitted by resources after you accept updates for assignments. These incorrect values are displayed on the My Tasks page if you save and publish the project after the data is changed by accepting the updates for assignments. etc, refer to other details in the MS KB Project 2007 hotfix (Project.msp): June 30, 2009 This hotfix fixes the following issues; If an enterprise resource task assignment has 0 hours of work associated with it, the values that you see for the summary resource assignments under the Other Projects and Commitments sections in the Resource Usage view do not match. If projects have complex contours and large amounts of actual work, the save process to Project Server 2007 takes a very long time in Project Professional 2007. Performance is very slow when you insert custom field list items in the Japanese version of Project 2007 by using the CustomFieldValueListAdd Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) method . You have resource leveling set to automatic. You also have a VBA event code that is running. After the event code runs, leveling no longer occurs automatically. You create cross project links between tasks. When you change the scheduling of a task, the linked tasks are not updated. SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (MOSS server-package): July 15, 2009 Includes Project Server Jun CU (971502). If Project Server is deployed on a MOSS platform then apply this ‘combined’ MOSS update.	Apply this CU only if you are encountering types of issues fixed. If not, and you can wait until end Aug then I would recommend you apply the Aug CU which is earmarked to resolve the Admin issue of Enterprise Global views etc.  I will keep you posted on the Aug CU. Process for existing deployments SP2 + June CU Process for NEW deployments RTM + SP2 + June CU
2000241	01/07/2009	Queue Job Status shows "Waiting to be processed" and then never completes Cause; Although there may be other causes for this error, this issue can occur when the SQL retry limit value is set to 0. Resolution; To resolve this problem, set the SQL Retry Limit value to the default value of 5 and then restart the Microsoft Office Project Server Queue Service. To do this, follow these steps in the KB.	Apply the resolution if you are encountering this type of issue. Remember to also check if there any jobs that have may have failed and blocking correlation.
2000163	27/06/2009	In Microsoft Project Web Access, when a project is published and a Project Workspace is created by a project manager, other project managers at the same level in the Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) structure do not have access to the newly created workspace. Resolution: Refer to Workaround options in the KB. Alternative Resolution: Add user to project team and assign to project say a ‘dummy’ task.	Does not affect you if your business processes dictates that PMs can only view edit own projects.
971620	26/06/2009	During the installation of the 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2, a product expiration date is activated incorrectly.	If you have applied the manual fix then this does not concern you. Apply this patch only if affected. Apply SP2 + 968860 + 971620
971562	26/06/2009	In the Resource Usage view, the total work for the summary resource assignments under the Other Projects and Commitments sections is wrong.	Apply this patch only if affected. Apply SP2 + 968860 + 971562
2000144	16/06/2009	The tasks status indicator states "Update has not been submitted" even though the task is submitted. Resolution: In order to display the correct indicator next to the task, click My Tasks in the left navigation pane to refresh the page. Alternately, click away from the My Tasks page and then go back to the My Tasks page. When you do this, the red exclamation point disappears.	Update your internal end-user training material as appropriate.
971217	02/06/2009	The SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard fails after you install any cumulative update or service pack for Project Server 2007 that was released in October 2008 or later	Highly recommended if you have a pre Oct 2008 patch level. Run the check script to identify potential upgrade issue.
971202	11/05/2009	Actual Work entered in My Tasks changes when Non-work time is entered in My Timesheets in Microsoft Project Web Access Cause; This problem may occur when the Non-Work time typed into the timesheet is entered as a calendar exception into the resource’s calendar. Creating a Non-Work entry makes the resource unavailable for work for a portion of the day. The Work is timephased across the entire day and not in a specific period, resulting in a change in the entered Actual Work for the same day. There may be an overlap of Work time entered in My Tasks and Non-Work time entered in My Timesheets. This problem occurs even if the total number of hours reported does not exceed the resource’s availability for that day. Workaround options; Project members should enter overhead time in “My Timesheets” BEFORE they enter the billable time “My Tasks”. OR Enter time in the “My Timesheet” category, then import it into “My Tasks” category using the Import Timesheet feature in Project Web Access.	Update your business processes as necessary to accommodate these workaround options.
971189	11/05/2009	Outlook freezes when typing an e-mail message when the Project Web Access add-in is installed	Apply this patch only if affected. Apply SP2 + 968860 + 971189
971066	13/05/2009	In Project 2007, the values for actual work differ from the values that are submitted by the resources after you accept updates for assignments. These incorrect values are displayed on the My Tasks page if you save and publish the project after the data is changed by accepting the updates for assignments.	Apply this patch only if affected. Apply SP2 + 968860 + 971066
968860 (Apr CU)	30/Apr/2009	Project Server 2007 Post SP2, April Cumulative Update (CU). Key fixes include; Issue with editing a custom field through PWA affecting booking type issue Milestone progress issue Issues with PWA > My Tasks page Issues with PWA updates and approval "Check-in pending" issue Review the full list in the KB for further details.	Highly recommended as this has has key updates. Apply SP2 + 968860

Note: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.Test all updates thoroughly on a ‘replica’ development/test environment prior to applying on your production environment.

Author: PJ Mistry

SP2 issue – fix for product expiration date activated incorrectly

MS Article ID: 971620

During the installation of the 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2, a product expiration date is activated incorrectly. This means that the product will expire 180 days after Service Pack 2 is deployed, as if it were a trial installation.

If you have applied the manual fix then this does not concern you. If have not and or are planning SP2 upgrade, then the recommended solution is to apply the following updates available from the Microsoft Download Centre:

When you install the 2007 Microsoft Office servers Service Pack 2, the product expiration date is activated incorrectly

Note: for background, refer to previous post regarding this.