Developer Support Team Foundation Server

CSS TFS HOTFIX Report: September 2009

2009-10-05T23:38:00Z

Between Sep 1, 2009 and Sep 30, 2009 we published the following HOTIFX articles\files and knowledge base articles: Knowledge Base Articles 976184 - Empty groups still appear as available selections in work item fields in Microsoft Team Foundation Server HOTFIX 975001 - TFS: Duplicate items created in Project Plans causing slow responses 974804 - Excel integration crashes when trying to 'get' new list of items At time of writing these two HOTFIX articles have yet to be published and the fixes themselves...(read more)

ACL and Group Membership change logging in TFS – what are your options?

2009-09-29T23:51:23Z

As you may know, current versions of TFS do not offer any native method to log security changes (this story is not changing much in TFS 2010, either). So what are your options for tracking TFS security changes now? Well, I’d like to present a few ideas based on some discussions I’ve seen internally this week… Manage your TFS security in Active Directory I have not researched it but I am fairly certain there have to be at least two AD monitoring tools out there that allow admins to track changes...(read more)

A Five Part Series: Troubleshooting TFS and SQL Reporting \ Analysis Services

2009-09-19T00:02:57Z

Brett Keown brings us this series. We hope you find it helpful and contribute some suggestions for part 5. -Trev ------------------------------------------------------ There are lots of moving parts to Team Foundation Server. With depth knowledge necessary in Active Directory, SharePoint, Analysis Services, SQL Server, SQL Server Reporting Services, Visual Studio, Networking, IIS, etc… no one person can understand every aspect of the product or the implications of how making changes in one...(read more)

Getting TFS support faster from Microsoft: CSS structure revealed

2009-09-09T23:52:00Z

Wendell brings us a post today about the way we are arranged in Microsoft TFS support in the hopes that it will help you route to the proper team and get answers faster. Enjoy! -Trev ++++++++++++++++++++++++ I was looking through some of our support cases a couple of days ago. It struck me that sometimes a solution can be delayed because the description of the issue was inaccurate or incomplete and the resulting support case was routed to the wrong team. I hope the following information...(read more)

CSS TFS HOTFIX Report: Jan – Aug 2009

2009-09-08T19:19:00Z

Between Jan 1, 2009 and Aug 31, 2009 we published the following HOTIFX articles\files. I am basing this list on the criteria that the fix was uploaded to our HOTFIX server between those dates: 959168 - FIX: The destination file may change if you use the "tf merge" command together with the /baseless and /discard options on a computer that has Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server SP1 installed 960965 - FIX: Error message when you run VSSConverter.exe to migrate a Visual SourceSafe database...(read more)

Interesting support case – Visual Studio solution prompts for entire SCC check-out on open

2009-08-28T21:51:00Z

Today we hear from Brett Keown about an interesting support case he had recently, with some great details about CSPROJ file structures, etc. Enjoy! Trevor +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I had some questions yesterday from a customer about an issue in which every time they opened a solution file locally or from their TFS Server, they were prompted to check-out the entire code tree. It turns out that the resolution is fairly straight forward though finding it was a bit tough (thank you JH! ...(read more)

TfsDeleteProject.exe thwarted by Windows SharePoint Services permissions

2009-08-21T23:18:00Z

The other day I was cleaning up one of my Hyper-V machines. I had let Jim use it for a project creation test and since he was done, I wanted to whack that TF project to regain some space. So, I fired off this command, like you would… TfsDeleteProject /server: https://TREVORH-WSTFS08:8081 "JimSau Project" Failure… TF30063: You are not authorized to access trevorh-wstfs08.8081 Interesting, considering I am a machine admin, TFS admin, and more on the machine. My assumption was I had deity-like...(read more)

Hyper-V Backup / Restore when upgrading to Windows Server 2008 R2

2009-08-21T19:19:00Z

I use Hyper-V and Windows Server 2008 R2 RC right now to host all my TFS reproduction machines, on which I work customer issues. It’s time to move that Hyper-V box to RTM, since it is available to us internally. My Hyper-V server is set up thusly (three physical HDDs): C Drive: OS D Drive: Page file E Drive: Hyper-V files (VHDs, ISOs, snap shots, etc.) Since I store nothing on C, this makes for a simple FFR (FDisk, Format, Reinstall). I don’t need to remember any settings or copy off any files or...(read more)

Hyper-V Remote Administration from Windows 7?

2009-08-12T17:36:00Z

As you may know from this earlier post, I admin my multiple TFS Virtual PCs (which run on Hyper-V) from a Vista PC. Well last week I replaced that Vista PC with a Windows 7 Enterprise one. I tried to install the Hyper-V Remote Management Update for Windows Vista on my new Windows 7 PC and was denied (“this update does not apply to your system”, or the like). I thought I was done, but turns out there is an option for this in Windows 7 as well. This may be old news to you, but if not you can admin your Hyper-V PC remotely from Windows 7 by doing this:

1. Download the Windows 7 RSAT from here and install it (link updated Aug 12, 2009 to point to RTM version).

2. Open Programs and Features, select “Turn Windows Features on or off” and then drill down to…

   Remote Server Administration Tools
    \- Role Administration Tools
       \- Hyper-V Tools

2. Check off the Hyper-V Tools, let it do it’s thing. When complete you’ll have the Hyper-V Manager available in your Administrator Tools.

BTW, RSAT for Windows 7 doesn’t just give you remote Hyper-V management, but a whole host of other options as well.

HTH,
- Trev

Troubleshooting Team Foundation Server connection problems with Fiddler

2009-08-04T19:34:00Z

Chris Cooper comes to us today with the story of a TF server, a client, and the Fiddler who saved the day…. --Trev ----------------------------------------------------------- The other day I had a customer that had the dreaded Red-X on his documents node for one of his Team Projects in Team Explorer. The rest of the Team Projects did not have the Red-X and were fully accessible through Team Explorer. So the first thing I checked were the SharePoint permissions granted to the users for that particular...(read more)

Determining the number of Team System Web Access Users

2009-07-03T01:41:00Z

We have documented some scalability limitations for Team System Web Access in a white paper called Team System Web Access 2008 Scalability Limits . The white paper contains some configuration recommendations and limitations for TSWA. One of the recommendations is to limit the number of concurrent users to a number below 100. Unfortunately, TFS and TSWA do not provide an easy way to measure TSWA user load. With this in mind, I have created a report that will provide this information. This report retrieves...(read more)

SSL on TFS 2008 + Windows Server 2008 + IIS 7

2009-07-01T19:35:00Z

MSDN has long had a document on Setting up Team Foundation Server to Require HTTPS and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) . It is geared specifically to Windows Server 2003 and IIS 6 though, as the OS and IIS platforms. Ruidong Li (a senior support engineer on our TFS config support team) went through that document recently and updated it with Windows Server 2008 / IIS 7 in mind. It is attached here for your reference. Please let us know if you find it useful or have any comments\corrections....(read more)

Windows 7: Be first. Save half.

2009-06-25T23:09:00Z

You know I love me some Windows 7, and if you’re like me, you’re going to love this too… Pre-order Windows 7 today at Microsoft Store . You'll get it for at least half off and be one of the first to get it. Hurry, quantities are limited.* It's pretty simple Windows 7 is coming on October 22, 2009. Here's an easy way to get it fast and save a bundle: Pre-order a Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade for $49 or a Windows 7 Professional Upgrade for $99 at Microsoft Store. That's about half off the estimated...(read more)

Mounting .VHDs in Windows 7 \ Windows Server 2008 R2 with a simple mouse-click

2009-06-25T19:11:00Z

One of the coolest features in Windows 7 (all my personal machines at work & home are now Win7 or WS2K8R2, BTW <g>) is the native ability to mount .VHD files (virtual hard drives). As you know if you are a loyal reader (PLUG: if you’re not, why not subscribe to our feed now? RSS2 | ATOM1 ), we use virtualization and .VHD files extensively here in support. Needless to say, this native .VHD ability proved a welcome boon. In my opinion though, it is just a wee bit too involved to get a .VHD...(read more)

Adding external build data to TFS

2009-06-24T23:11:00Z

Wendell Phillips brings us today’s post about adding external build data to TFS. -Trev I recently found a need to add build data to Team Foundation Server 2008 from an external build process. TFS ordinarily only maintains and processes build information from Team Build processes linked to the TF Server. If you use any build process that does not use Team Build and you want to use TFS to track your software lifecycle you might need to know and report on the builds where issues were found...(read more)