Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 (IR3)

abstract

This is an interim release of Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 (formerly "Novell Client 2 SP4 for Windows"). It includes fixes for problems found after Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 was released. It also includes support for Microsoft Windows 10. This is a full client package, not just a subset of files.

details

System Requirements:

Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 (IR3) is appropriate only for the platforms listed below. This client will not run on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or earlier Windows platforms.

Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 (IR3) is supported on the following platforms:

Windows 10 (x86 or x64)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (x64)
Windows Server 2012 (x64)
Windows 8.1 (x86 or x64) excluding Windows 8.1 RT
Windows 8 (x86 or x64) excluding Windows 8 RT
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 R2 (x64)
Windows 7 SP1 (x86 or x64)
Windows 7 (x86 or x64)

(Ultimate Edition, Enterprise Edition, Professional Edition, or Education Edition)

Installation:

If necessary, rename the downloaded file to "Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 IR3.exe". Execute "Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 IR3.exe" and unzip the files, then continue with the installation as prompted. Finally, click on the "Restart Now" button to complete the process. Before restarting, save any open files and close all programs.

Windows 10 Installation Notes:

1. Either before or after installing Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 (IR3) on Windows 10, ensure that you are running the released version of Windows 10, and that Windows Update is allowed to deliver the current updates from Microsoft for the Windows 10 platform.  There are Windows 10 behaviors relevant to Client for OES operation which were not addressed until the released version of Windows 10, or in some cases not until the August 2015 updates Microsoft delivers to Windows 10 platforms.  Ensuring that the August 2015 or later updates for Windows 10 are installed will help ensure the correct Client for OES experience.

2. When performing a Windows 10 upgrade on a machine where Client for OES is already installed, note that the Windows upgrade process can in fact de-register critical components of the Client for OES installation, even though the Client for OES itself will still be shown as installed.  After completing the Windows 10 upgrade, it is recommended to then run the Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 (IR3) SETUP.EXE to re-install and re-register the Client for OES, even if Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 (IR3) was the version of OES Client that was already installed prior to the Windows upgrade.  Note in some cases it may not be possible to successfully uninstall the Client for OES after the Windows upgrade, but you can still proceed with running SETUP.EXE to re-install and re-register the Client for OES.

Windows 7 Installation Notes:

1. Client for Open Enterprise Server is signed with an SHA-2 certificate and will fail to install on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 if the Microsoft Security Update KB3033929 has not been installed. See TID 7017718, "Error: "Unsupported Operating System" when installing Client for OES 2 SP4 (IR3).

2. The “Always trust software from Micro Focus” checkbox on the Microsoft Publisher Verification prompt may not work when installing on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. To correct this problem, apply Microsoft HotFix KB2921916 on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms. See TID 7017719, "The “Always trust software from Micro Focus” checkbox on the Microsoft Publisher Verification prompt does not work"

This interim release fixes the following issues seen with the Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4:

New fixes included in the Client for Open Enterprise Server 2 SP4 (IR3):

1. Re-branded "Novell Client for Windows" by Novell to "Client for Open Enterprise Server" by Microfocus. (Bug 972327)
2. Sending a broadcast message to multiple users would potentially crash while showing the results window. (Bug 918222)
3. Using an equal "=" sign or other delimiters in the username field could cause login to fail. (Bug 905616)
4. Unused portions of the application's read buffer could still be written to when reading less than 64KB. (Bug 956734)
5. Directory space restriction drop-down selection of KB/MB/GB/TB is not always visible in Windows 10. (Bug 977217)
6. On 64-bit versions of Windows, 64-bit NICI is always being installed even when not selected for installation. (Bug 979875)
7. On 64-bit versions of Windows, a 32-bit application accessing a DFS-involved path or eDirectory-based UNC can potentially blue screen. (Bug 960769)
8. When other products wrap our Credential Provider (such as ZENworks FDE), the "Novell Logon" could be shown even when set to "Off". (Bug 963238)
9. Possible deadlock when handling an NCP oplock break notification while an application operation for the same file is in progress. (Bug 968514)
10. "Sharing violation" and "insufficient rights" conditions were not always correctly handled in file Delete and File Caching scenarios. (Bug 966923)
11. Cryptic error messages could be shown when a password change failed to meet complexity requirements. (Bug 968494)
12. The login profile field and drop-down list can be empty after applying the Windows 10 KB3147458 update. (Bug 975344)
13. Login scripts may fail to run when another network provider (such as non-Windows 10-compatible versions of iPrint) crashes. (Bug 950183)
14. Messages related to password expiration were not correctly worded in French. (Bug 954638)
15. NCIMAN may fail to read or write all settings depending on which Windows user is running NCIMAN. (Bug 875991)
16. Ampersand "&" character in eDirectory object names could fail to display properly in system tray menu and shell extension displays. (Bug 861787)
17. Added optional support for synchronizing the Windows and eDirectory passwords during "Login with non-Novell Credential Provider". (Bug 934385)
18. "Computer Only Logon If Not Connected" presented unexpected eDirectory logon when Windows failed to identify the connected network. (Bug 947790)

Previous fixes included in the Novell Client 2 SP4 for Windows (IR2):

1. "Novell Password Administration" menu now shows Universal Password policy instead of only eDirectory policy. (Bug 954310)
2. "Administrator's Message" as part of Universal Password policy display now uses more room to display when necessary. See TID 7017014. (Bug 954305)
3. Potential delay during MAP commands due to applications not processing the WM_DEVICECHANGE notification. (Bug 953384)
4. Ensure Novell Client installation displays "unsupported operating system" warning for Windows Server 2016 technical previews. (Bug 952864)
5. Added optional client-side work-around for OES NCP 87,72 issue if server-side fix cannot be applied. See TID 7016978. (Bug 950726)
6. Novell Client credential provider may comes up showing "Error Recovery Mode" after Windows upgrade. (Bug 948251)
7. Failure to load custom credential provider bitmap could prevent successful login. (Bug 942037)
8. NWParsePath API could return error 0x8866 due to buffer validation. (Bug 939468)
9. Application could hang due to byte range lock request returning STATUS_CANCELLED after lock is denied by server. (Bug 934597)
10. Unable to set "last access time" or "last modification time" on a directory using Windows APIs. (Bug 913127)
11. Using an equal "=" sign or other delimiters in the username field could cause login to fail. (Bug 905616)
12. Login dialog that appears in response to UNC path access could hang before being displayed. See TID 7015828. (Bug 901052)
13. Some NCP connections would not be marked as unauthenticated, leading to failed file system access attempts. (Bug 893161)
14. Setting "Last Logged On User" to "Off" did not hide logged-on users during "Switch User". (Bug 836473)
15. Windows logon can hang for VDI-based login when UNC Path Filter is enabled. See TID 7012982. (Bug 821037)
16. Improve "Computer Only Logon if Not Connected" behavior when user mis-types password. (Bug 813556)
17. Attempting to Remote Control a Windows terminal session failed when UNC Path Filter is enabled. (Bug 803319)
18. Password change attempt can incorrectly measure password length when Unicode characters are present. (Bug 738038).

Previous fixes included in the Novell Client 2 SP4 for Windows (IR1):

1. Application can hang when a DFS junction target is to a folder that the current user does not have sufficient permissions to access. (Bug 940022)
2. Using the "Context:" field drop-down history selection during login could fail to override the use of "<DHCP>" in that field. (Bug 939137)
3. Whenever data has been manually entered into a DHCP-enabled field on the login dialog, DHCP will become diabled for that field if the login attempt is successful. (Bug 938947)
4. Invoking "Uninstall" for Novell Client from the new Windows 10 "Settings" apps list could fail, even though legacy Add/Remove Programs control panel still works. (Bug 937927)
5. "Novell DFS Junction Information" tab does not show in the Windows Explorer properties if DFS junction target is a folder rather than volume root. (Bug 937160)
6. Registeration of Novell Client shell extensions could fail during installation on Windows 10. (Bug 936791)
7. Installation of a network client on Windows 10 may not automatically add the new network provider to the Windows network provider order. (Bug 936329)
8. Windows 10 no longer presents the "Connecting..." status page during credential provider logon. (Bug 936328)
9. Potential deadlock when concurrent NET USE / WNetAddConnection operations were being performed. (Bug 934436)
10. Desktop task bar may become unresponsive when using a Windows Explorer tool bar shortcut to a Novell Client-based network location. (Bug 932854)
11. If the crypto key container becomes corrupt for any reason, NCCredProvider initialization fails and never recovers. (Bug 930481)
12. Potential kernel-mode bugcheck due to deferred special kernel mode APCs when co-existing with additional filter drivers. (Bug 928227)
13. Potential deadlock in NCP oplock break processing which allows a workstation to become unresponsive to future oplock break notifications. (Bug 924017)
14. IP Address Costing can now be enabled in Novell Client Properties ("IP Address Costing" under the "Advanced Settings" tab) to provide TCP-based costing. Subnet matching and ICMP Echo-based costing are not yet implemented. (Bug 615005)