Troubleshoot “Server Error in ‘/’ Application”

Have you ever setup a website in IIS and then you got this generic error: “Server Error in ‘/’ Application.

This is what I got right after installing SharePoint server 2007, setting up a portal and trying to access the site. Here is what you need to do to get a more detailed error so you can fix the issue. You need change a couple of settings by modifying the web.config file of your website.

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DriveImage XML

With today’s state of the economy companies are looking more and more to freeware, shareware and open source software to help cut cost. I know of a great imaging tool that works well and is completely free (for non commercial use). However the commercial product is competitively priced. You can get a 5 user license for $100. Pricing click here.

It is called DriveImage XML.

This tool is a nice alternative to Acronis and Norton Ghost. Here are some of it’s capabilities:

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Lock down shared computers using Steady State

Have you ever needed to lock down a computer for public or shared multiple user use? Have you Ever needed to lock down computers in a non server non centralized environment? I was recently tasked with locking computers down for public use in computer labs at a conference.

It is a challenge to know what users may or may not have changed after using a shared computer. My users needed permission to make changes to the hard drive and or applications during computer use. However I did not want these changes to be permanent.

Some of the problems I have seen from users of shared computers are: spy ware, viruses, the windows theme completely changed, downloaded programs installed, a corrupt OS and more. It takes time to reload an OS or re-image a machine. No one wants to spend time reloading or re-imaging multiple computers if they don’t have to. I discovered a free utility from Microsoft that was exactly what I needed for locking these computers down. It is called Steady State.

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Can’t email remote domain from Exchange

Have you ever had email from one specific domain bounce back from Exchange with status code of: #550 4.4.7 QUEUE.Expired; message expired ##? I ran into this problem. It turned out the mail server on that domain was blocking email coming from our Exchange 2007 mail server. Here is what I did to narrow down the issue.

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Backup your SugarCRM

The backup tool in SugarCRM does not work at all when in a shared server environment.

I have a better way to backup your SugarCRM that works. To restore your SugarCRM you need to restore the database first and then restore your SugarCRM files. Here is how it works:

First you need to export your full database. (I use MySQL) You do this from PhpMyAdmin. In order to reach it you have to log in your Cpanel, go to MySql databases and click on the link to PhpMyAdmin.

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Install SugarCRM on a shared server

I am going to give detailed instructions on installing SugarCRM in a shared server environment. For this article we will be using Sugar Community Edition. Note: some things may differ depending on your shared server environment.

My environment consists of:

  • Platform: Linux
  • Web Server: Apache
  • Database: MySQL
  • Language: PHP

First go to http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/download/sugar-suite.html to download the latest release of SugarCRM.

Create your MYSQL database. We will call our database sugar1.

Create or choose a domain name that will be used to access your SugarCRM once it is installed. We will pretend our domain name is www.sugar1.com .

Copy the SugarCRM files that you just downloaded from your computer onto your web server via FTP. Be sure to copy these files in the root directory for www.sugar1.com .

Check and set platform requirements and configurations before installing. My platform and configuration was already set to go. You can see what these are here: http://www.sugarcrm.com/wiki/index.php?title=Platform_Requirements_and_Configurations .

Now you can install SugarCRM using the sugar setup wizard. To access this type this URL in a web browser: www.sugar1.com/install.php . You will then see the setup wizard pictured below.

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