Get rid of partitions that are not created with windows

If you try to remove partitions on a harddrive that has been partitioned with a non windows tool you are not able to do this with the disk management tool "diskmgmt.msc".
An easy way is to do this is the use of diskpart.exe
Just type the following:

• list disk -to find out the number of the disk
• select disk ### - to select the disk you want to clean
• clean - to delete all partitions (be careful with this command :) )

After the cleaning the easiest way to create a new partition is to use diskmgmt.msc or just type in the following commands:

• create partition primary 
• select partition=1 
• active 
• format fs=fat32 QUICK 
• assign

That's all you have to do to get an active primary partition formated with fat 32 that is assigned to a drive letter.

Data Import Export Framework - Problems with shared working directory

Recently I had issues with access validation of the shared working directory for the data import export framework (alias data migration framework).

If the validation is telling you that the service is not able to access the directory you should check on the SQL Server

• if the data import export service is running
• which account is used to run the service
• is this account able to write into that shared dirctory

If the service is not running AX is alsojust telling you that the service account is not able to access the folder. even though the user has the right credentials.

AX 2012 Setup requires Windows Update service

I just tried to install EP on an AX Server at a customer. But i always got the following error message telling me that AX Installation was not able to start a service. But there is no hint about the service that is required to be started. After a sharp look at the services that has been deactivated I found out that the "Windows update" service was deactivated. Due to the fact that the installer is searching for updates during installation progress it requires this service. If this service is not set to manuel or automatic the setup is not able to continue.

The German message was:
System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x80070422): Der angegebene Dienst kann nicht gestartet werden. Er ist deaktiviert oder nicht mit aktivierten Geräten verbunden. (Ausnahme von HRESULT: 0x80070422)

So if you have an error message that contains the number 0x80070422 or 80070422 better check if the windows update service is running.

Search and Replace new lines in Excel

To search and replace newlines in Excel I just found out that you don't use "\n\r" like in all other Tools I know but instead just press STRG + J. Than the cursor changes a little an it will find new lines in cells. Thank you Microsoft for hiding this feature :)

Data Import Export Framework Installation (DIEF)

If you are installing DIEF for AX 2012 on the AOS and SQL Server you might get an error requesting the GacUtil

To solve this issue I tried to install Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4

But that didn't solve the problem. After the installation I navigated to the folders of the Microsoft SDK where I couldn't find the gacutil. On another machine it was located there. So I just copied itinto the following folders:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0\Bin
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0\Bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools

If you don have the Folder v7.0A instead of v7.0 just use this one. 

For all of you looking for the gacutil it can be downloaded here (without any warranty).

The specified client configuration does not contain valid WCF settings

When you get the error Message: The specified client configuration does not contain valid WCF settings in Dynamics AX 2012

there is an easy way to fix it. Just open Microsoft Dyanmics AX Client Configuration Tool and load the Configuration or the .axc file that results in this error message.
Got to Connections and click configure. In some cases you need to confirm upcoming dialogs in my case it just went through and after thet the error is gone :)

AIF Activation Error

After installing AX 2012 CU6 on an environment I got the following error after trying to reactivate the AIF inbound ports:

Faulted: System.OperationCanceledException: AIF service group not activated.  Service group: AifGDS.  Error: There is already a listener on IP endpoint 0.0.0.0:8201.  Make sure that you are not trying to use this endpoint multiple times in your application and that there are no other applications listening on this endpoint. ---> System.ServiceModel.AddressAlreadyInUseException: There is already a listener on IP endpoint 0.0.0.0:8201.  Make sure that you are not trying to use this endpoint multiple times in your application and that there are no other applications listening on this endpoint. ---> System.Net.Sockets.SocketException: Only one usage of each socket address (protocol/network address/port) is normally permitted

I was confused about the wrong WSDL Port in the error cause the port of the AOS where I was working on was 8103. After some research in the WorldWideWeb I found a solution that solved this issue for me:

1. navigate to server bin folder:
   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics AX\60\Server\DAX2012\bin
2. open Ax32Serv.exe.config file in an editor
3. replace 8101 with your WSDL Port
4. replace 8201 with your servicePort