Fix event ID 13559 problem on a Windows server

After migrating a standalone Windows domain controller to a VMWare environment, I noticed that some group policy objects weren't being enforced. It turned out some of the GPOs were missing from the SYSVOL share because it wasn't replicating on the newly virtualized DC. After checking the directory service event logs I found repeated entries for event ID 13359, stating

"The File Replication Service has detected that the replica root path has changed from "c:\windows\sysvol\domain" to "c:\windows\sysvol\domain". If this is an intentional move then file with the name NTFRS_CMD_FILE_MOVE_ROOT needs to be created under the new root path."

I didn't change the location of sysvol, and according to the event the sysvol location was changed to the same location. I did a little research and found that all I needed to do was listen to the event description and create the file requested. There's also KB 819268, but I didn't really find it useful. To fix the problem here's what you should do, assuming you have another domain controller that you can pull a new set of SYSVOL data from

1. Create a file named NTFRS_CMD_FILE_MOVE_ROOT in the directory listed in the event description where the replica root path has been moved to. In my situation I created a text file with that name in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSVOL\domain directory on the domain controller.

2. Restart the File Replication Service, either through services.msc, or with "net stop ntfrs" then "net start ntfrs" through the command prompt.

Now if you check your event log you'll find a warning that you're DC is going to be removed from the SYSVOL replica group, which is good. It'll automatically add it back to the group and start replicating the SYSVOL contents from another DC. Be patient and don't try to force a replication with replmon though as you'll want to wait until your server has been added back to the SYSVOL replication group first.

Deploy Google Chrome using .msi file and Group Policy

To get started you can download an .msi installer file directly from Google at http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html?msi=true. That's really about it. Then deploy like normal and you can either publish or assign Google Chrome.

If you want to deploy Firefox using an msi, check out my previous post.

Create subgroups of contacts in Outlook

If you have a lot of contacts in your Outlook Contacts, you may wonder what you could do to try to organize those entries. One suggestion would be to create subfolders of contacts so you can group them together so you have multiple smaller groups, which should make it easier to locate a contact. You could always just use the search feature as well, but if you're looking to organize your contacts here is a way to do it.

1. Open Outlook and go into Contacts

2. Click on File->New->Folder...

3. Choose "Contact Items" in the Folder Contains drop-down (it should be there by default), give the subgroup a name, then pick where to store it in your mailbox. I would suggest creating it as a subfolder of your Contacts folder.

4. You'll see the new contact group in the My Contacts section, and you can add contacts to your new subgroup by either creating new within the group or dragging existing contacts into it.

Now you can click on the Group to quickly find the contacts you placed in it. If you'd like to use this group to find contacts while composing an email, there is another step you must take to make it available as an address book list.

1. Right-click your newly created subgroup and go to Properties

2. Click on the "Outlook Address Book" tab and check the box that says "Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book", then click OK

3. Now your subgroup will show up as a selectable Address Book for you to use when adding recipients to an email or calendar invitation

If you noticed the different icons on the contact groups within Contacts, you're in luck because I have the answer for you. This distinguishes where the group exists. If it has the hand holding a contact card, that means it is synchronized with the Exchange server, such as Contacts and ContactsSubgroup in the screenshot above. The ones with blue arrows are contact lists I have open from another Exchange account, and in the screenshot they are from the Administrator mailbox. If the icon is just a contact card, this means it is locally stored within a .pst file. If you're looking to use the subgroup from Outlook, webmail, a mobile device, etc, you will have to make sure to create your subgroup in your Exchange account so you get the hand holding a contact card icon. Otherwise you won't be able to use the group within webmail or your mobile device, but they will be available on the computer running Outlook where you created the group.