"Error 27650. Error '0x8000ffff'" error message appears when an administrator tries to install Live Communications Server 2003 (834468)

SYMPTOMS

When an administrator tries to install Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003, he or she may receive the following error message:

Error 27650. Error '0x8000ffff' creating Server Settings under Microsoft container in Active Directory during 'InstallADEntry'.

Note This problem occurs after you configure the Active Directory directory service to permit an administrator who is not a member of the Domain Admins security group to install Live Communications Server.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the administrator who tries to install Live Communications Server does not have sufficient permissions to the computer object in Active Directory. When you configure permissions for an administrator by using the instructions in the "Installing Live Communications Server by Non-domain Administrators" section of the Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003 Reference Guide, you may experience this problem if you click This object only in the Apply onto list of the Permission Entry for Computers dialog box.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, assign sufficient permissions to the computer object for the administrator who will install Live Communications Server. To do this, follow these steps.Warning If you use the ADSI Edit snap-in, the LDP utility, or any other LDAP version 3 client, and you incorrectly modify the attributes of Active Directory objects, you can cause serious problems. These problems may require you to reinstall Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, or both Windows and Exchange. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems that occur if you incorrectly modify Active Directory object attributes can be solved. Modify these attributes at your own risk.

Start the ADSI Edit tool. To do this, click Start, click Run, type adsiedit.msc in the Open box, and then click OK.

Note ADSI Edit is included with the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Support Tools. To install the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools, double-click Suptools.msi in the Support\Tools folder on the Windows Server 2003 CD.
Connect to a domain controller if you are not already connected to one.
Expand Domain [servername.example.com], expand DC=example,DC=com, and then expand CN=Computers.
Right-click CN=LiveCommunicationsServerName, and then click Properties.

Note Replace LiveCommunicationsServerName with the name of the computer where you want the administrator to install Live Communications Server.
Click the Security tab, and then click Advanced.
Click the user account of the administrator whose permissions you want to modify, and then click Edit.
Verify that the following check boxes are selected in the Allow column of the Permissions list:
- List Contents
- Read All Properties
- Write All Properties
- Create All Child Objects
In the Apply onto list, click This object and all child objects, and then click OK.
Click OK two times, and then quit ADSI Edit.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how to configure Active Directory to permit the installation of Live Communications Server by administrators who are not members of the Domain Admins security group, see the "Installing Live Communications Server by Non-domain Administrators" section of the Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003 Reference Guide. This guide is located in the Documentation folder on the Live Communications Server CD.