Windows NT and HP LAN Manager/X Version 1.4 Interoperability

• Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

SUMMARY

You may experience difficulty connecting to computers with HP LAN Manager/X version 1.4. Several different issues have been identified and are detailed with workarounds below.

NOTE: The #NOFNR flag does not apply to Windows NT version 3.5 systems, which do not use directed name queries.

MORE INFORMATION

Idle NetBIOS Sessions Become Unusable After Five Minutes

Symptoms:

Idle NetBIOS sessions between Windows NT clients and HP LAN Manager/X servers become unusable after about five minutes.

Cause:

HP LAN Manager/X does not recognize NetBIOS "keep alive" messages.

Workaround:

Disable NetBIOS "keep alive" messages in Windows NT by using the following procedure:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

1. Start Registry Editor.

2. Go to the following key:

         HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
         \Nbt\Parameters
   

3. Choose Add Value from the Edit menu.

4. Add a value using the following information:

         Value Name: NbtKeepAlive
         Data Type:  REG_DWORD
         Data:       0
   
   

5. Exit Registry Editor.

Cannot Connect Using LMHOSTS File

Symptoms:

You cannot connect from a Windows NT computer to an HP LAN Manager/x computer by adding entries to the LMHOSTS file.

Cause:

HP LAN Manager/X computers do not respond to directed name queries.

Workaround:

Add the "#NOFNR" flag to the LMHOSTS entries for these computers. For more information see article Q103765 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

Cannot See Files Under Some Directory Names

Symptoms:

You cannot view files on an HP LAN Manager/X server located in a directory that has a name with more than three characters following the period. If you try to run the DIR command a "file not found" message appears.

Cause:

HP LAN Manager/X version 1.4 negotiates by the SMB Specification Ext 2.0 (or LAN Manager 1.x). This specification does not support long file names.

Status:

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT and Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1. There is a fix for this problem that has not been regression-tested. Contact Microsoft Product Support Services for more information.

Prompted for Password on Connection

Symptoms:

You may be prompted for a password when you connect from a Windows NT computer to a LAN Manager or HP LAN Manager/X version 1.x server.

Cause:

For security reasons Windows NT does not send an un-encrypted password over the network unless you type it in. Since HP LAN Manager/X machines do not support encrypted passwords, Windows NT asks for a password with the following prompt:

   The password is invalid for \\servername\sharename.
   Type the password for \\servername\sharename:

Typing the correct password will allow you to log in.