Archive for November, 2013

Argument "SMTP" for option "connection" is not valid. The command line parameters are invalid.

Posted by Russell Wright on November 18, 2013

When scheduling an SSIS package deployed to SQL Server the job failed. The job history indicates my SMTP connection is invalid for some reason. So, I checked the command line created by the job scheduler.

Argument “SMTP” for option “connection” is not valid. The command line parameters are invalid. The step failed.

What you will see is the /CONNECTION parameter for the SMTP connection manager is enclosed in “\ and \” characters. Not sure why, but you can see this is also the case for the SQL Server connection manager, but it doesn’t suffer from the same problem.

Before:

/CONNECTION “SMTP Connection Manager”; “\”SmtpServer=smtp.mail.mycompany.com;UseWindowsAuthentication=False;EnableSsl=False;\””

After:

/CONNECTION “SMTP Connection Manager”; “SmtpServer=smtp.mail.mycompany.com;UseWindowsAuthentication=False;EnableSsl=False;”

Making this simple change seems to have corrected the issue.

Posted in SQL Server | Leave a Comment »

WAN Miniport (IP) Driver Error Lenovo Yoga Windows 8.1 (Code 31)

Posted by Russell Wright on November 11, 2013

I recently upgraded my Yoga 13 to Windows 8.1. While looking around I noticed the WAN Miniport (IP) network adapter driver had a little yellow exclamation mark on it.

To fix this, I found KB2871372 which appears to identify and fix the problem.

I chose to “fix it myself” because I always like to get some idea of what’s going on. These are the instructions, copied and pasted, for your quick reference. Basically it appears you install the Microsoft KM-TEST Loopback Adapter and then uninstall it, scan for hardware changes and voilà, you’re done! The only problem I’ve seen with this is that it returns every once-in-a-while. Not sure why.

If you have already installed the operating system and are currently receiving a "code 31" error on the WAN Miniport (Network Monitor) device, follow these steps:

Open Device Manager.
Right-click the WAN miniport (Network monitor) device, and then click Update Driver Software.
Click Browse my computer for driver software.
Click Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
Clear the Show compatible hardware check box.
In the column on the left side, select Microsoft, and in the column on the right side, select Microsoft KM-TEST Loopback Adapter.
In the Update Driver Warning dialog box, click Yes to continue installing this driver.
After the driver is installed, right-click the device, and then click Uninstall.
After the device is uninstalled, right-click the computer name in Device Manager, and then click Scan for hardware changes.
On the View menu, click Show hidden devices.

The WAN Miniport (Network monitor) device should now be started and no longer have a yellow exclamation mark next to it.

Of course, you can also select the Fixit button for Microsoft Fix it 20114 and let it do all the work.

Posted in Computer Repair, Networking | Leave a Comment »

So You Want to Remotely Manage a Computer From Another on Different Workgroups/Domains?

Posted by Russell Wright on November 4, 2013

Let’s say you have a Windows 7 computer, A, which is not in a domain, but simply in a workgroup at home.

Let’s say you have a Windows server, B, which is a VM host but not in a domain.

Let’s also say you have network connectivity between the two.

If you want to run the compmgmt.msc mmc snap-in and manage computer B from computer A try this:

Open an administrative command prompt on computer A (shift right-click, Run As Administrator)
Type the following Runas command: runas /noprofile /netonly /user:ComputerB\administrator “mmc comp
mgmt.msc”
You should be prompted for your administrative password on computer B.
When computer management opens, select Action | Connect to another computer from the menu.

Now you can also turn this into a desktop shortcut and automatically connect to the remote computer using this adjustment to the command line:

runas /noprofile /netonly /user:ComputerB\administrator “mmc comp mgmt.msc /computer:\\ComputerB”

You should be good to go…at least I was.

Posted in Computer Software, Networking | Leave a Comment »

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Archive for November, 2013

Argument "SMTP" for option "connection" is not valid. The command line parameters are invalid.

WAN Miniport (IP) Driver Error Lenovo Yoga Windows 8.1 (Code 31)

So You Want to Remotely Manage a Computer From Another on Different Workgroups/Domains?