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Q240301: HOWTO: Use the MSDN Library Successfully with Terminal Server

Article: Q240301
Product(s): Microsoft Developer Network
Version(s): 
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbHTMLHelp kbMSDN kbDSupport kbGrpDSTools
Last Modified: 08-MAY-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) 
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SUMMARY
=======

Terminal Services can be used with Windows NT 4.0 Server Terminal Server Edition
as well as Windows 2000 Server. This article describes the best way to install
and use the MSDN Library with Terminal Server. It also covers some known issues
of MSDN installation on Terminal server.

MORE INFORMATION
================

On Windows 2000 Server, you have the option of installing the Terminal Services
feature at a later time. Before doing this uninstall all MSDN Libraries on the
system so that you can reinstall them properly after Terminal Services have been
enabled.

Installation
------------

You must place Terminal Server into Install mode before installing the MSDN
Library. This can be done by using the Add/Remove Programs application from the
Control Panel. Please see the following Knowledge Base article for more detailed
information on this step:

  Q240302 PRB: MSDN Library Setup fails on Terminal Server in Execute mode

There are different considerations for how the MSDN Library is installed when
multiple users are remotely accessing it. With the standard setup, the content
is located on the CDs. A remote user cannot replace disc 2 on the server with
disc 3. Also, the disc must be present in the server's CD-ROM drive at all
times.

Copy the MSDN CDs to the server's hard drive or to a network location. When
installing off of the server's hard drive or a network location, all MSDN
Library information points to the server rather than to a disc. Use the
following steps to do this:

1. Create a shared folder and give read permission to the users.

2. Copy all files and subfolders from the MSDN Library Disc 1 to the target
  folder.

3. Copy Msdn332.inf from the root of Disc 2 to the root of the target folder.

4. Copy all files from the \MSDN subdirectory on Disc 2 into the \MSDN directory
  of the target folder.

5. Copy Msdn333.inf from the root of Disc 3 to the root of the target folder.
  Note that the MSDN Library that ships with Visual Studio 6.0 does not have a
  third disk, so this step and the next step can be skipped.

6. Copy all files from the \MSDN folder on Disc 3 into the \MSDN directory of
  the target folder.

7. Run Setup on the server computer using the Typical setup option. An
  Administrator, who is logged onto the server locally, needs to do this step.
  You must use the Add/Remove Programs application in the Control Panel to
  launch the setup. If AutoRun starts the setup when the CD is inserted, exit
  setup and allow the Add/Remove Programs application to find Setup.exe and
  launch it.

8. At this point, all files will have the read-only attribute set, which is
  inconvenient for the sample files. To alleviate this problem, run the
  following command from a prompt on the target folder and all contained
  subfolders (this may take a while, given the large number of files
  involved):

  attrib -r *.* /s

  NOTE: After running this command, the folders will still have the read-only
  attribute set.

9. On Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, additional steps are needed for
  the MSDN Library to work correctly for each user. See the following Knowledge
  Base article for more details:

  Q195878 PRB: MSDN Help Cannot Find msdn*.col File on Terminal Server

10. Verify that the MSDN Library installation succeeded by logging on remotely
  using the Terminal Services Client.

Other Installation Strategies
-----------------------------

You can perform a full install of the MSDN Library using the Add/Remove Programs
application. This eliminates most of the CD problems, except many of the samples
remain on the CD even after a full install.

Another strategy would be to have multiple local CD-ROM drives on the server that
would hold each MSDN Library CD. Along the same lines, one DVD drive that holds
the DVD version of the MSDN Library would work as well.

Optimizing the Terminal Services Client
---------------------------------------

The MSDN Library performs best if the Terminal Services Client is set to Enable
Data Compression and to Cache Bitmaps. Older versions of the Terminal Services
Client list this option as Low Speed Connection.

Additional Considerations
-------------------------

Following are some additional things you should consider when using the MSDN
Library on Terminal Server:

- Make sure that sufficient licenses have been purchased to cover the number of
  users connected to the server. See the End User License agreement for more
  details.

- The network computer should be able to handle the required number of
  concurrent client connections.

- The server should have enough bandwidth to handle the anticipated load.

- The network computer should not use a compressed file system, unless this is
  commensurate with the hardware and the anticipated load.

Limitations
-----------

The following are some limitations of using the MSDN Library on Terminal Server:

- Setup only places the MSDN Library icon on the desktop of the user who
  installed the MSDN Library on the server.

- Multiple language versions of the MSDN Library on Terminal Server are not
  supported, which can result in corrupt subset information.

- Problems can occur if one user has multiple client sessions open on the
  server with the same version of the MSDN Library open on each. If changes are
  made to media locations or subset information, only the changes of the MSDN
  Library that is closed last are saved.

REFERENCES
==========

For more information, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:

  Q195878 PRB: MSDN Help Cannot Find msdn*.col File on Terminal Server

  Q240302 PRB: MSDN Library Setup fails on Terminal Server in Execute mode

  Q216109 HOWTO: Troubleshoot MSDN Library Run-Time/Install/Uninstall Problems

Additional query words:

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Keywords          : kbHTMLHelp kbMSDN kbDSupport kbGrpDSTools 
Technology        : kbMSDNSearch kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : :
Issue type        : kbhowto

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