SharePoint Musings

Problem I recently ran into this snag at a client site while setting up the Search Service Application.  I was able to create the service application without a problem however when I attempted to start the SharePoint Server Search service (Manage services on server page) I kept getting Error Starting . After taking a peak at the logs I found the following: An attempt to start/stop instance of service SharePoint Server Search on server did not succeed. Re-run the action via UI or command line on the specified server. Additional information is below. Access is denied. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070005 (E_ACCESSDENIED)) I double/triple checked the permissions and made sure that my Farm Administrator account was a member of WSS_WPG and WSS_ADMIN_WPG groups, and that those groups had full control permissions to the C:\Windows\Tasks and C:\Windows\Temp folders. Resolution I nearly lost hope when I remembered my old lost friend called STSADM.EXE. Just like in the old days,

Windows PowerShell has proven to be the go-to when it comes to efficient administration of SharePoint platform.  Currently Microsoft is providing a sub-set of the on-premise shell to support the administration of its SharePoint Online counterpart; mainly SharePoint Online 2013. Microsoft has all of the up to date documentation released here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/fp161362.aspx

Whether you're a developer, or an administrator, there can never be a shortage of knowledge and information about managing SharePoint through PowerShell.  Guys over at SharePoint Pro have released a great article composed of 26 handy Windows PowerShell scripts that can help you with various tasks.  These script are mainly centered around retrieving information about lists, libraries, files, and pages. Also, these script will work in your SharePoint 2010, SharePoint 2013, and even SharePoint 2007 environment. So what are you waiting for, go check it out here: Windows PowerShell Scripts for SharePoint: Info on Files, Pages, Web Parts.

I've stumbled upon an interesting issue this past week while working for a client and wanted to share just because I almost pulled my hair out trying to figure it out. I've provisioned a site collection with about a handful of sub-sites, each with their own unique permission structure (Owners, Members, Visitors, etc). I was surprised to find out that users that were part of Owners group could not create sub sites and encountered Access Denied error each time, like the one below. A bit baffling, especially since Owners SharePoint security group has Full Control rights. After studying the ULS log it seemed as if everyone except for the top level Site Owners (and Site Collection Administrators) did not have rights to Device Channels list. A Device Channel basically controls how content is rendered within the Publishing Infrastructure in SharePoint 2013. For more on Device Channels please go here: Intro to Device Channels Solution To remedy this, I added Restricted Rea