System Policy Editor May Not Disable Slow Link Detection

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When you disable the "Automatically detect slow connections" policy with the System Policy Editor tool, the Windows NT-based computer on which the policy is applied may continue to detect slow connections.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur because of an error in the Winnt.adm file that is used by System Policy Editor.

RESOLUTION

To work around this issue, follow these steps:

1. Use any text editor (such as Notepad) to open the Winnt.adm file that is used by System Policy Editor. This file is typically located in the %SystemRoot%\inf folder.

2. Locate the following section in the Winnt.adm file:

         POLICY !!SlowLinkDetectEnabled
         VALUENAME "SlowLinkDetectEnabled"
         END POLICY
   

3. Modify this section to contain the following lines:

         POLICY !!SlowLinkDetectEnabled
         VALUENAME "SlowLinkDetectEnabled"
         VALUEON NUMERIC 1 VALUEOFF NUMERIC 0
         END POLICY
   

4. Save the Winnt.adm file, quit the text editor, and then restart System Policy Editor.

5. Configure the policy, and then reapply the policy.

STATUS

Microsoft is researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

The following registry value determines the status of slow link detection:

   Hkey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\
      CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SlowLinkDetectEnabled

When you enable the "Automatically detect slow connections" policy using System Policy Editor, the SlowLinkDetectEnabled value is added to the registry and the value data is set to 1 (enabled). When you disable this entry in System Policy Editor, the SlowLinkDetectEnabled value is removed from the registry. This causes the value data to return to the default value of 1 (enabled).

You can use the modified Winnt.adm file to disable the "Automatically detect slow connections" policy with System Policy Editor. When you apply this policy, the SlowLinkDetectEnabled value is placed in the registry and the value data is set to 0 (disabled).