Microsoft KB Archive/327840

= Preventing Users from Putting Compressed Files on a File Server =

PSS ID Number: 327840

Article Last Modified on 11/7/2003

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP1
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP2
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP3
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP1
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP3
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP2
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP2
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP3

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This article was previously published under Q327840



SYMPTOMS
You may want to prevent users from putting compressed files on a file server. You might want to do this to reduce the CPU usage that is used to compress and uncompress files, or to have predictable backup space requirements. One method to do this is to disable compression on the file server itself. However, this may cause problems with programs that expect compression to be available on a volume that uses the NTFS file system. As a result, this functionality has not been implemented.

The hotfix that is described in this article disables compression on a per-program basis on the client computer. The support for this method is built into the Application Compatibility layer. You can deploy this method by using computer Group Policy objects (GPOs).



Service Pack Information
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Hotfix Information
A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows 2000 service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The typical support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.   Date         Time   Version        Size       File name --  02-Oct-2002  23:38  5.0.2195.6077    114,448  Acgenral.dll 02-Oct-2002 23:42  5.0.3502.6077  2,353,424  Shell32.dll



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.



MORE INFORMATION
Note You must configure this hotfix on a per-program basis. Explorer.exe is only an example.

Programs such as Explorer.exe call the GetVolumeInformation function to retrieve information about a volume's capabilities. The Application Compatibility layer now permits some of these options (FS_FILE_COMPRESSION or FILE_SUPPORTS_ENCRYPTION) to be hidden.

After you install this hotfix, you can apply Security Database (SDB) files that contain instructions to use the layer. You must use the Qfixapp.exe and Sdbinst.exe tools that are included with the Application Compatibility Later Toolkit. To download the toolkit, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=42071&area=search&ordinal=2

To create an SDB file to disable compression in Explorer.exe:
 * 1) Run Qfixapp from the Applications folder in the toolkit installation folder.
 * 2) Click Browse, and then click Explorer.exe in the Windows folder.
 * 3) Switch to the Fixes pane, and then click Clear.
 * 4) In the list of fixes, select and enable GetVolumeInformationLie.
 * 5) Double-click the line, type * as the module name, and then click Add.
 * 6) For the command line, type 16 to disable compression. If you want to disable encryption, type 131072 . If you want to disable both, type 131088 (add both flags).
 * 7) Click OK.
 * 8) Click Advanced, and then click Create fix support.
 * 9) After you receive notification that the SDB file is saved, click Yes if you want to test the layer.
 * 10) Log off and then log back on to apply the setting.

Repeat these steps for all programs that use compression, or for programs that you use that use common file dialog boxes (such as the Open and Save As dialog boxes) because users can access file properties from these locations.

To deploy the SDB files:
 * 1) On the computer on which the toolkit is installed, locate Sdbinst.exe in the  \System32 folder.
 * 2) Distribute the Sdbinst.exe file and any SDB files that you created in the  \Apppatch folder to all computers that require the setting. Copy the SDB files to the  \Apppatch folder on the client computers. Copy the Sdbinst.exe file to the  \System32 folder.
 * 3) Run the sdbinst  \apppatch\explorer.sdb command to install the setting. Repeat the command for each SDB file.

NOTE: If Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) is not installed on a client computer, you must install Actpkg.exe on the client computer. This file is located in the Redist folder in the folder in which the toolkit is installed.

For additional information about how to obtain a hotfix for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

265173 The Datacenter Program and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Product

Keywords: kbshell kbWin2kSP4fix kbbug kbfix kbWin2000preSP4Fix KB327840

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