Network Down! Strange Problem.

[MartinRouterKing]

At the beginning of the year a member of teaching staff downloaded a file to the network. It was supposed to be a teaching resource. When the teacher tried to open the folder it crashed the whole network. I rebooted the server which was the main domain controller and file server. This solved the problem but as soon as the teacher tried to access the folder again it done the exact same thing and again the network went down due to the main domain controller and file server freezing.

 

This has now happened again with another member of staff and a different folder downloaded from a website and extracted to our shared drive. The only thing I can see is the file name is green which will be encrypted if I'm not mistaking? Why would this cause the server to freeze?

 

Operating system: server 2012 r2

Memory: 12gb

[Nixon77]

What is the website?

 

Did you check the logs to see if anything shows up?

[DJ-1701]

If it is green, then I assume it has been encrypted with EFS after it was downloaded, or placed in a folder with EFS encryption (via the advanced attribute tickbox). It may be worth looking at both the PC and Server event logs, maybe there is an entry with an issue with the original certificate or some other clue in there.

[MartinRouterKing]

I'm waiting for the teacher to get back to me regarding the website. I have checked the server logs but there is nothing. The computer is currently turned off but will be able to check this Monday!

[jtoland]

What i would do is get a copy of the file name and search your whole network to see if there are duplicates of it incase its hiding

[jtoland]

Also does it crash just the servers or every pc on your network

[MartinRouterKing]

It crashes the server but then obviously because it's the main DC and file server it stops all the shares and redirected start menus and desktops!

[MartinRouterKing]

I have just had a look through the Shares the file is no where else as I deleted it. I have just restored the file from a backup to my personal laptop and tried to open it but it just comes up saying unspecified error! I have never seen anything like it other than on these 3 occasions. Would be interesting to see if the websites are the same!

[fairm010]

You've said it is a folder and a file, what is it?

[MartinRouterKing]

Sorry it's a folder with 3 pdf files in but if you click the folder it crashes the server! I also got into the folder and clicked one of the files and again it crashes the server!

[jamesfed]

Similar to - http://www.edugeek.net/forums/windows-server-2012/126721-server-2012-file-server-suddenly-stops-serving-requests-but-otherwise-looks-fine.html perhaps?

[psydii]

That was fixed by KB2928360 which was rolled up into a the April 2014 CU for 2012R2/8.1, and possible some ESXi updates.

 

Assuming the causal chain is being accurately described by the OP, it does seem likely that the bug being triggered exists within the redirector/smb stack.

 

Questions:

1) Are your servers and clients up to date?

2) What clients are you running, and do you get the same problem if you use say a Windows 7 client and a Windows 8.1 Client? (they use different protocols to access shares)

 

I do seem to say this a lot, but given the impact the file seems to be having on your production environment and if you are sure you can replicated it by simply trying to open the files/folders on a client, then you may find senior management amenable to spending the £200 on a support call to Microsoft.

 

(note that all the solutions presented in the thread Jamesfed links to are actually edugeek users reporting what MS or MS Partners have told them via a paid for support call)

[MrFrostmaul]

If you can't delete the folder by click on it, try doing via Command Prompt or PowerShell, they saved me a few times when I've had similar issues.

[MartinRouterKing]

Hi, I have implemented all the fixes as described in the above post. And also checked on the updates. All updates are installed on both the server and the workstations. I have the company name and website they are called planbee website is planbee.com I have contacted them to ask about encryption and if they know of any problems. I am just waiting to hear back. I haven't tried to open the file again since carrying out the above information to see if it still freezes the server but I hope to do this maybe tomorrow evening just to see what happens. Thank you for all your help and will keep you all updated.

[MartinRouterKing]

Hi All,

 

I have found the problem. I still do not no why it crashes the system but the problem is a Windows 7 Bug that has not been fixed as far as i can see.

 

Basically the folder was compressed on a Mac then on a Windows computer when you unzip it, it then adds the encryption to the folder and the files.

 

Why do .zip files from Mac OS show up as green/encrypted? - Saving the world, one bug at a time - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

 

I still do not know why the network crashes but that is the reason for the folders not opening.

[psydii]

try this:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2704299

[MartinRouterKing]

That update actually made thing worse. It now just hangs on copying since installing.

[psydii]

What hangs now? The client or the server? Edited November 11, 2015 by psydii

[psydii]

Maybe a wider problem. This article was updated recently:

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3061415?sd=rss&spid=14134

[Chuckster]

Touchwood my 2 x 2012 R2 file servers have been running smoothly since April of this year. They're running on 3-5 year old hardware; however, for 2012 R2 to install and work correctly I had to update the firmwares on both the servers. I suspect doing this may alleviate the problem you're experiencing(?). Assuming you have a HP server, then download the HP Service Pack and see if that helps in any way.

 

HP® Servers - Service Pack for ProLiant