I’ve been fielding a number of questions from our customers about this SharePoint SP2 bug because it can affect Project Server users, but hasn’t been completely explained in the postings to date.
I have had good news for Project Hosts customers …
Because we do not deploy either Service Packs OR hot fixes without thorough testing, we normally know about any bug like this well before it comes anywhere near production. If necessary, we implement workarounds that mask the problem from our users (such as the one mentioned in this Project support blog). As I write this, we’re monitoring the issue while testing SP2 and the workaround, but we don’t expect any disruption for our users.
Below is the statement from the blog of SharePoint Corporate VP Jeff Teper:
During the installation of SP2, a product expiration date is improperly activated. This means SharePoint will expire as though it was a trial installation 180 days after SP2 is deployed. The activation of the expiration date will not affect the normal function of SharePoint up until the expiration date passes. Furthermore, product expiration 180 days after SP2 installation will not affect customer’s data, configuration or application code but will render SharePoint inaccessible for end-users.
We are working to release a hotfix to automatically fix this issue. A manual work-around is currently available and involves customers re-entering their Product ID number (PID) on the Convert License Type page in Central Administration. For more information and detailed steps please read the KB article [that will be published by Sunday, May 24] at KB Article.
