Debugging WINS Server Service Event ID 4179

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5 and 3.51
• Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5 and 3.51

SYMPTOMS

The WINS Server Service fails to start and the following error message appears in the system event log:

   Event ID 4179

   WINS Could not create the notification socket. Make sure the TCP/IP
   driver is installed and running properly.

CAUSE

During the WINS Server service initialization, the service checks for the port number that the Name service will bind to. The service does this by calling the GetServByName API. This API must locate the Services file under System32\Drivers directory. If the Services file is missing, the GetServByName API will fail. The result is that the WINS Service will raise an exception indicating that the service could not create the notification socket. This exception will be logged in the error log as Event ID 4179.

RESOLUTION

Make sure that the Services file is in the System32\Drivers directory. The Services file provides service-name-to-port-ID resolution for Windows Sockets applications.