Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows Readme

2.1 Support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

The Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms are now supported by the Novell Client, in addition to the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 platforms. The same Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows installation set can be used to install the Novell Client on all four platforms.

See Section 3.1, Supported Windows Platforms for more information on supported Windows editions and configurations.

3.1 Supported Windows Platforms

The Novell Client for Windows is supported on the following platforms:

The Novell Client for Windows might run but is not supported on Windows Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium editions. On Windows Server platforms, the Novell Client for Windows might run but is not supported on Datacenter Edition, Web Server Edition, or on Server Core installations using any edition.

3.2 Supported Server Platforms

The Novell Client for Windows supports Novell Open Enterprise Server (OES) 1, OES 2, NetWare 5.1, NetWare 6.0, and NetWare 6.5.

3.3 Installing the Novell Client

To install the Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows, run the setup.exe file located in the C:\Novell\Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows directory.

3.4 Uninstalling a Later Novell Client to Reinstall a Previous Novell Client Version

The NMAS client installed with Novell Client for Windows includes NICI as a required dependency. Uninstalling the Novell Client automatically uninstalls the NMAS client, but intentionally does not uninstall NICI because other applications on the workstation besides NMAS or the Novell Client may still be using NICI services.

If you uninstall the Novell Client with the intention of installing a previous version of the Novell Client, it is recommended that you also uninstall NICI (and NICI for Windows x64, if running Windows x64) before re-installing the previous Novell Client for Windows release.

Attempting to install the initial an earlier Novell Client for Windows without first removing NICI can result in one or more of the following issues:

If you fail to follow these guidelines, features that require NMAS will not function, due to one or all of the above conditions.

These guidelines and issues also apply to installing the Novell Client on a Windows Server 2008 machine where Novell eDirectory 8.8 SP5 or later has already been installed. Novell eDirectory on Windows Server 2008 includes NICI 2.7.6 or later, and installing previous versions of the Novell Client which include NICI 2.7.4 or earlier can cause the NICI installation to become damaged.

3.5 The Total Path to the Installation Set Must Not Exceed 214 Characters.

The path to any and all files within a Novell Client for Windows installation set must not exceed 256 characters.

Currently this means the directory path into which you extract the installation set must not exceed 214 characters. This limit is relative to the traditional MAX_PATH or 256-character limit in Windows applications, but also takes into account additional path space that is needed for running the installation.

If the installation set is being accessed from a remote network location, for example \\servername\volumename, the length of the network server and volume name also counts against the maximum depth, due to underlying processing that makes use of the real path to the installation set. Even if a mapped drive letter and/or the map root feature is used for accessing the installation set, the limit is measured as if a UNC path had been used.

4.1 Novell Products Not Supported with the Novell Client for Windows

The NetWare Administrator utility (nwadmn32.exe) and ConsoleOne are not supported on Windows 7 or Windows Vista or with the Novell Client for Windows, except where explicitly declared by the ConsoleOne release notes.

4.2 Welcome Screen Issues

4.3 Authentication Issues

4.4 Using Ctrl+Alt+Del to Change Your Password

If you are currently authenticated to eDirectory, after entering your old password and new password, you will see a Change Password dialog box after clicking the Submit button. From the Change Password dialog box, you can choose which resources you want the password change to go to.

If you are not currently authenticated to eDirectory, the password change will only be performed for your Windows account.

4.5 MSDIA80.DLL File Installed to Root of Windows System Drive

When installing the Novell Client for Windows on an x64 version of Windows, an MSDIA80.DLL file might appear in the root of the Windows system drive. This is a known issue of the Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 SP1 VCREDIST_x64.EXE installer. For more information, see KB 927665. Note the hotfix available for KB 927665 is for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, not SP1.

4.6 Enabling 802.1X Authentication

The Novell Client for Windows includes the ability to enable 802.1X authentication, but this feature is currently supported on Windows Vista platforms only. Configuration of 802.1X authentication on Windows 7 currently fails once the Novell Client 802.1X feature is enabled. This issue is being examined for future versions of the Novell Client.

To enable 802.1X authentication, right-click the Red N icon, then click Novell Client Properties. On the Advanced Login tab, select 802.1X Authentication in the Parameter list box, then set it to On. The 802.1X tab now appears on the Novell Login dialog box. You can use the 802.1X tab on the Novell Login dialog box to turning 802.1x on or off on a per-login basis.

For more detailed information, see Configuring 802.1X Authentication in the Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows Administration Guide.

4.7 Mapped Drive Icon Doesn’t Update on Re-Authentication

When you detach from a mapped Novell drive, the mapped drive icon displayed in Windows Explorer changes to a red X to indicate that the mapped drive is no longer accessible. If you use the Red N icon to re-authenticate to the Novell tree (and you selected the Check to always map this drive letter when you start Windows option when you originally mapped the drive), the mapped drive icon does not update to show that the drive is accessible again.

4.8 LDAP Contextless Login Differences in the Novell Client for Windows

The LDAP Contextless Login feature in the Novell Client for Windows includes the following limitations for those familiar with the Novell Client 4.x for Windows XP/2003.

4.9 Login Profiles

4.10 Using the Force Grace Login Password Change Option

If you set the Force Grace Login Password Change option (available on the Advanced Login tab in the Novell Client for Windows Properties dialog box) to On (it is Off by default), the Novell Login will require a password change on the next-to-last grace login instead of the last grace login.

To work around this issue, use one of the following options:

4.11 Disk Space Restrictions Ignored

If File Caching is enabled for the client, both user and directory disk space restrictions (quotas) on NSS volumes are ignored. Novell does not plan to remove this limitation in the future.

For information on File Caching, see “Advanced Settings” in the administration guide for the client.

For information on disk space restrictions, see the NSS documentation in the Open Enterprise Server 2 documentation or the equivalent for your servers.

4.12 Potential System Crash with File Caching Enabled

When accessing files from a Novell server, under certain conditions the Windows machine may potentially freeze or blue screen. This issue is known to be related to the File Caching functionality in the Novell Client, but no corrective fix is currently available to eliminate this issue if it occurs.

To work around this issue, do the following:.

For additional information, see TID 3532535.

4.13 File Caching Settings Ignored

The Novell Client for Windows ignores the SET CLIENT FILE CACHING ENABLED parameter on NetWare servers. Caching is on by default. Setting the parameter to on or off has no effect on the Novell Client behavior. This set parameter does still affect the NCP server’s behavior with regard to granting level 1 oplocks when requested.

To disable caching for a client, do the following:

For information on File Caching, see “Advanced Settings” in the administration guide for the client.

4.14 Use Administrator Privileges Functionality Might Not Work on Non-English Windows

The Update Agent feature in the Novell Client 2 for Windows Vista/2008 and earlier may be unable to successfully provide the Use Administrator Privileges functionality on some non-English versions of Windows, or on any machine where the built-in Windows Administrators group has been renamed.

This issue is addressed in the Novell Client 2 for Windows Vista/2008 (IR1a) and later, but either the Novell Client 2 (IR1a) or the Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows will need to be manually installed on such machines before being able to successfully use the Update Agent feature to perform successful future upgrades via the Use Administrator Privileges functionality.

For more information and potential workarounds, please see TID 7002896.

4.15 Exceeding Disk Quota Is Reported As Out Of Disk Space Error

When a user or directory quota has been exceeded, the expected error condition will reflect only out of disk space, in whatever manner the application chooses to report this error condition. The error status will not differentiate between the disk is out of total physical space and the current user or directory quota has been exceeded.

4.16 Login Script Execution Starts Before User’s Desktop

When logging in to both eDirectory and Windows through the credential provider of the Novell Client, the processing of login scripts stored in eDirectory now starts at the same time other login scripts are processed, such as the Windows user login script. This means that eDirectory login script execution will start (but not necessarily finish) before the user's Desktop is built.

In addition, existing Windows policies such as Run logon scripts synchronously now apply to how the Novell logon script execution will be handled. This appears to be the default behavior in Windows Server 2008 with Terminal Services, but the policy may need to be explicitly set in other Windows configurations.

If you require that logon script processing must finish before the user's desktop is built, you can enable this Windows policy in the Group Policy Editor (GPEDIT.MSC) under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Scripts > Run logon scripts synchronously. Note the same policy is also available as a User Configuration policy.

4.17 Roaming User Profile Paths Saved On Non-Windows Servers

In Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP1 and later, by default Windows will require that the roaming profile directory successfully pass a test for specific Windows-based permissions. This test fails against Novell paths since permissions are based on eDirectory permissions instead of Windows permissions, and can fail against Windows- or other non-Windows-based servers as well.

Windows defines a Do not check for user ownership of Roaming Profile Folders policy CompatibleRUPSecurity) to allow opting out of this security check where necessary. Enabling this policy is required to successfully store roaming profiles on a Novell server or other Windows or non-Windows server where the security check cannot succeed.

In the Novell Client for Windows XP/2003, installation of the Novell Client automatically enabled the CompatibleRUPSecurity policy by default, regardless of whether it was known that user profiles were being saved to Novell paths. Administrators who did want to allow the new Microsoft security test to be performed had to override and disable the policy.

Installation of the Novell Client on Windows Vista and later does not enable the CompatibleRUPSecurity policy by default. Administrators must enable this policy if they intend to store roaming profiles on Novell or non-Novell servers that will fail the Microsoft security check.

For additional related information, please see TID 10074402.

4.18 Installation From A Non-NSS Novell Server Volume May Fail

Installing the Novell Client from an installation set stored on a Traditional File System (TFS) volume may fail when an older Novell Client is being used to access the Novell server.

This issue is addressed in the Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows and later, but the Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows will need to be manually installed before being able to successfully use an installation set stored on a TFS volume during future installations and upgrades.

4.19 After Disconnecting From eDirectory Tree, Switch User and Change Password Attempts May Continue Prompting For Novell Credentials

If a user logs into eDirectory using Novell Logon from the Windows welcome screen, but then subsequently logs out of eDirectory or clears all of their eDirectory connections, subsequent attempts to invoke the CTRL+ALT+DEL Change Password functionality or Switch User can potentially prompt for eDirectory credentials in addition to Windows credentials as though the user session is still logged into eDirectory.

This represents an unintentional behavior, and is being examined for future versions of the Novell Client. The workaround is to proceed with the attempt to provide eDirectory credentials. This will fail specifically on the eDirectory credential verification, but should fall back to using or prompting for Windows credentials.

4.20 Exceeding A User Volume Restriction Or Directory Space Restriction Quota Reports Out Of Disk Space

The error that Windows or an application reports when a user space restriction or directory space restriction has been exceeded on a Novell Server will not be distinguishable from any other out of disk space message. The error status being returned reflects only the insufficient disk space condition, and does not imply or distinguish between insufficient quota conditions.

4.21 Windows Program Compatibility Assistant May Be Invoked After Successfully Running NCIMAN.EXE on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2

After running the Novell Client Installation Manager (NCIMAN.EXE) application on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows may prompt with the Program Compatibility Assistant as though NCIMAN.EXE was an installation program that may not have completed successfully.

NCIMAN.EXE is not actually a program that attempts to install or uninstall any part of Novell Client software, and is just a tool for creating and editing Novell Client Property Files (NCPF), such as an UNATTEND.TXT file.

This warning can be ignored by simply selecting the This program installed correctly link offered by the Windows Program Compatibility Assistant.

4.22 Detaching From eDirectory Tree In Novell Connections Window May Present Error

When detaching from an eDirectory tree using the Novell Connections window, an error may be reported for the detach attempt even though the eDirectory tree connection was successfully cleared.

This issue was addressed in the Novell Client 2 SP1 (IR2) and later.

4.23 TSClientAutoAdminLogon May Not Use The Profile Specified In DefaultLoginProfile

As part of establishing a TSClientAutoAdminLogon policy, it is required to create a DefaultLoginProfile value to specify which Novell Client login profile should be used for the eDirectory portion of the login.

For Windows Server configurations where only a single Novell Client login profile exists anyway (for example, Default), there is no issue and the single profile will be successfully used. But it has been observed that when more than one login profile is defined, it is possible for the TSClientAutoAdminLogon attempt to use the last-used Novell Client login profile for a user instead of the login profile explicitly specified in the DefaultLoginProfile configuration.

This represents an unintentional behavior, and is being examined for future versions of the Novell Client. The workaround if this issue is encountered is to define and use just a single Novell Client login profile, at least on Windows Server machines on which Terminal Services and TSClientAutoAdminLogon are expected to be used.

4.24 A Kernel-Mode Bugcheck May Occur If eDirectory Connections Are Cleared While A File Copy Operation Is In Progress

If a file copy operation is in progress with many and/or large files and the user attempts to either clear their eDirectory connections or change whom they are logged into eDirectory as while the file copy operation is still in progress, it has been observed that instead of the expected file access failure it is possible for the workstation to report a blue screen or kernel-mode bugcheck.

This issue is being examined for future versions of the Novell Client. The workaround is to recommend that users not attempt to clear their existing eDirectory login or NCP connections out from under a file copy operation that is in progress.

4.25 Running PUTTY.EXE From A Novell Path May Cause Workstation Hang

Running PUTTY.EXE from a Novell path can sometimes cause the workstation to become non-responsive. Analysis has shown that the Novell NCP server appears to become non-responsive to the workstation right at the time SSH-specific communication is attempted by PUTTY.EXE.

This issue is being examined for future versions of the Novell Client and/or the Novell NCP servers.

4.26 Login From Windows Welcome Screen May Not Use Windows Username From Novell Client Login Profile

In cases where the Novell Client credential provider used by the Windows welcome screen login is switched between Computer Only Logon mode and Novell Logon mode prior to performing a Novell Logon login attempt, the Windows account name used during the login attempt might be whatever Windows account name was specified in the Username field while the credential provider was in Computer Only Logon mode, instead of the correct Windows account name saved and retrieved from the Windows tab of the effective Novell Client login profile.

This represents an unintentional behavior, and is being examined for future versions of the Novell Client. The workaround is to avoid the switch between Computer Only Logon mode and Novell Logon mode when possible. And when the issue does occur, provide the correct Windows account credentials in the Windows logon fields that appear after the attempt to use the incorrect Windows account name.

4.27 Compressed Folders Shell Extension May Fail When File Caching Is Disabled

When the File Caching parameter in Novell Client Properties dialog is set to Off, attempting to select multiple files on a Novell path and invoke Send to Compressed (zipped) folder results in an error stating that the .ZIP file is corrupt or invalid.

This issue is being examined for future versions of Novell Client. The workaround is to create the Compressed Folder (.ZIP) file on a non-Novell path, and then drag the files from the Novell path to this compressed folder.

4.28 Password Change Or Synchronization May Attempt To Include Windows Account Even When Password Not Currently In Sync

When performing a password change using the Novell Client in response to an expired eDirectory password, or when performing a password change using the "Novell Password Management" change password option from the red 'N' menu, it is possible for the Windows account to be included in the list of resources for which the password should be changed, even though the Windows account password is not currently in sync with the eDirectory password(s) that are being changed.

This condition will result in a password change failure unless the Windows account is de-selected before committing to the password change attempt, since a different "old password" is required for the Windows account as opposed to the "old password" currently known and being used to change the eDirectory account(s).

The password on multiple resources (Windows and/or eDirectory connections) can only be changed together if the passwords are currently in sync. If one or more of the resources have a password that is not yet in sync with the desired password, change the password for those individual resources separately such that they will be in sync with the rest of the resources during future password changes.

If its desired that the Windows account never be included in the list of resources for which the password change is being attempted, set the "Windows Password Synchronization" parameter to "Off" in the Novell Client Properties.

4.29 File Byte Range Locking Failures In Novell Client 2 (IR1a) And Later

Novell Client 2 (IR1a) and Novell Client 2 SP1 can exhibit an issue in which byte range locking against Novell files inappropriately fails as though the file is still locked, when in reality the byte range in question should have already been released. The workstation would issue lock release NCPs for the requested range, but the server would continue to deny NCP clients access to the range as though it was still locked.

This issue was addressed in the Novell Client 2 SP1 (IR1) and later. For additional information, please see TID 7005097.

4.30 Failures Installing, Uninstalling, and Using the Novell Client if Novell iPrint is Installed Before the Novell Client

The Novell iPrint 5.32 and iPrint 5.30 clients contain an issue in which incorrect security is established on the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Novell] registry key, if and when the Novell iPrint client was the first installed software that needed to create this registry key. This registry security issue is addressed in the Novell iPrint 5.35 client and later.

If the Novell iPrint 5.32 or iPrint 5.30 client is installed prior to the Novell Client 2 SP1 for Windows, the security that is established on the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Novell] registry key causes incorrect security to be propagated to the Novell Client's own registry sub-keys. In addition, the incorrect registry security can cause the Novell NMAS Challenge Response Method installation to fail with Error 1603, due to incorrect registry security which was propagated to the Novell NMAS Client's registry sub-keys.

The Novell Client 2 SP1 (IR1) contained some mitigation for this issue that could clean-up the incorrect registry security established by Novell iPrint and proceed with a successful Novell Client installation if the Novell Client 2 SP1 or earlier Novell Client installation had not already been attempted and failed after installing the Novell iPrint client. If a failed Novell Client installation had already been attempted after installing the Novell iPrint client first, the Novell Client 2 SP1 (IR1) installation will still fail due to the improper registry security which has already been established.

The Novell Client 2 SP1 (IR2) contains further mitigation which will actually clean up the registry security issue created by the Novell iPrint client, and furthermore will clean up the incorrect security which may have already been propagated to the Novell Client registry sub-keys and the Novell NMAS Client sub-keys. So on a machine where the Novell iPrint 5.32 or iPrint 5.30 client was installed prior to the Novell Client for Windows, but a Novell Client for Windows installation has already subsequently failed, the primary corrective action to perform is to install Novell Client 2 SP1 (IR2) on top of the previously failed Novell Client for Windows installation.

There is however one scenario under which even the Novell Client 2 SP1 (IR2) fix will be unable to detect and clean-up registry security problems which still exist due to the Novell iPrint client installation. This problem scenario occurs specifically when all of the following conditions are met:

In this specific sequence where the initial failed Novell Client installation was performed after explicitly deselecting Novell NMAS from being installed with the Novell Client, the subsequent mitigations for the Novell iPrint security issue performed by the Novell Client 2 SP1 (IR1) and Novell Client 2 SP1 (IR2) installations are unable to detect or correct that further clean-up of the Novell iPrint registry security permissions is still necessary.

The symptoms that occur when a machine is still in this broken state include a crash that occurs whenever the Novell Client login dialog would have been presented. For example, when attempting to invoke the "Show Advanced Options" link on the Windows welcome screen, the Windows LogonUI.exe process can crash. When trying to invoke "Novell Login" from the red 'N' menu in the Windows taskbar notification area (systray), the Novell NWTRAY.EXE process can crash.

Unfortunately the incorrect permissions established on the registry by Novell iPrint client will also prevent successful un-installation from being performed after the machine is already in this state. This remaining scenario where the Novell iPrint registry permissions are not successfully cleaned up is being examined for additional mitigation in future versions of the Novell Client.

5.1 Mapping RDN Paths

Relative distinguished name paths are not supported for mapping network drives. For example \\tree\server_volume.context. (note the trailing period) is not supported whereas \\tree\server_volume.context (no trailing period) is.