Windows Server 2003 does not restart

Has anyone had any problems with Windows Server 2003 not restarting
when given a restart command, after Windows updates have been applied?

I have numerous Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 servers, all set to
manually update with Windows updates. I log on to them remotely from
my home, either with a VPN connection and remote desktop protocol to my
desk, then remote desktop from my desk to the servers, or through a
terminal services server, then terminal services to each server. I've
had the same problem with each type of connection.

After the updates are complete, I tell the server to shutdown/restart.
I designate that this is a planned restart. The server shows in the
event log that the shutdown process has been initiated by me. There
are no other event logs that indicate any trouble or action on the
server's part. However, the server simply does not shut down, and
continues to work normally. The only change is that I can no longer
attach to the server remotely. I can only attach locally, that is,
through a directly-attached monitor, keyboard, etc., or through KVM.
Once I am able to reboot the server, from my direct attachment, remote
connectivity is restored.

This has happened ONLY on Windows 2003 servers. My 20+ Windows 2000
servers all restart correctly when I'm remotely connected. The 2003
servers have a variety of roles: DC, Exchange, file servers, SQL
servers, but all have refused to restart on occasion. Some servers are
more errant than others, and will never restart. Others restart
sometimes and not others.

I've talked with Microsoft about this and their support engineer had me
copy a video registry key from another server - after reboot, the
remote display worked. However, after reboot it works anyway, even
without the new key, so I'm pretty sure that didn't solve anything.

I'd love to hear from anyone else with the same issue with Windows
Server 2003.

"SysAdminColo" <> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
> Has anyone had any problems with Windows Server 2003 not restarting
> when given a restart command, after Windows updates have been applied?
>
> I have numerous Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 servers, all set to
> manually update with Windows updates. I log on to them remotely from
> my home, either with a VPN connection and remote desktop protocol to my
> desk, then remote desktop from my desk to the servers, or through a
> terminal services server, then terminal services to each server. I've
> had the same problem with each type of connection.
>
> After the updates are complete, I tell the server to shutdown/restart.
> I designate that this is a planned restart. The server shows in the
> event log that the shutdown process has been initiated by me. There
> are no other event logs that indicate any trouble or action on the
> server's part. However, the server simply does not shut down, and
> continues to work normally. The only change is that I can no longer
> attach to the server remotely. I can only attach locally, that is,
> through a directly-attached monitor, keyboard, etc., or through KVM.
> Once I am able to reboot the server, from my direct attachment, remote
> connectivity is restored.
>
> This has happened ONLY on Windows 2003 servers. My 20+ Windows 2000
> servers all restart correctly when I'm remotely connected. The 2003
> servers have a variety of roles: DC, Exchange, file servers, SQL
> servers, but all have refused to restart on occasion. Some servers are
> more errant than others, and will never restart. Others restart
> sometimes and not others.
>
> I've talked with Microsoft about this and their support engineer had me
> copy a video registry key from another server - after reboot, the
> remote display worked. However, after reboot it works anyway, even
> without the new key, so I'm pretty sure that didn't solve anything.
>
> I'd love to hear from anyone else with the same issue with Windows
> Server 2003.
>

Yes, my Win2k3 x64 and all 3 Win2k3 x86's running in VSR2 all did the same -
after a hard restart (power-off/on) they all work normally again.

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