Service Pack 2 May Cause Loss of Connectivity in Remote Access

• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 Service Pack 2
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 Service Pack 2

SYMPTOMS

After you install Service Pack 2 for Windows NT 4.0, you may not be able to ping or otherwise make use of the connection you have established with an ISP when using RAS to dial out.

Additionally, the route table may not have a route for the remote connection.

CAUSE

The Multilinking Protocol (MP) option is always negotiated during the Link Control Protocol (LCP)-phase of negotiation in Service Pack 2 for Windows NT 4.0. This occurs if the Enable PPP LCP Extensions check box on the Server tab of the Edit Phonebook Entry dialog box is enabled or disabled.

Although MP is an extension of LCP, it is not part of RFC 1570 -- LCP Extensions. In Service Pack 2 for Windows NT 4.0, it is no longer necessary to enable this check box to attempt MP negotiation.

NOTE: Some Internet service providers (ISP) cannot deal with the MP options correctly. This problem is resolved by changing the conditions in which RAS sends multilink information to the remote server.

RESOLUTION

The binaries below resolve this issue by making an attempt at MP negotiation only if there is more than one link in the phonebook entry.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

   S E R V P A C K

This hotfix has been posted to the following Internet location:

   ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/fixes/usa/NT40/
   hotfixes-postsp2/ras-fix

MORE INFORMATION

   ARTICLE-ID: Q166090
   TITLE     : MSN Support in Windows NT