Restore of WINS Database to a Different Server Fails

- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Restore Database option in WINS Manager to restore the WINS database from one WINS server to a different WINS server, you may notice that you receive the following message:

   WINS Manager
   Restore succesfully completed.

   NOTE: 'Successfully' is misspelled in the actual error message.

The location of the WINS directory path is contained in the WINS backup set. If you copy Wins.mdb from the backup set location to the new WINS folder, when you start the WINS service you may receive the following error message:

   WINS could not come up due to missing/corrupt database.
   Restore the database using WINS Manager or winscl.exe and then restart.
   If WINS still does not come up, start with a fresh copy of the database.

CAUSE

You are attempting to restore the WINS database to a location that is different from where the original database was stored.

For example, if the original database was stored in the following location:

   C:\Winnt\System32\Wins

NOTE: This occurs even when using the new Winsrpc.dll mentioned in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q162563
   TITLE     : WINS Restore Fails on Windows NT Server 4.0

RESOLUTION

To successfully transfer the WINS files from one WINS server to another, you will need to use one of the following workarounds:

• The new Windows NT Server will need to be installed to the same path (drive letter and folder name) as the original WINS server.

  -or-

• Instead of using the backup and restore functions of the WINS Manager, manually copy the contents of the WINS folder from the original WINS server to the new WINS server.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.