Services Using UNC Names May Fail

Last reviewed: December 19, 1997
Article ID: Q177681

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.51 and 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.51 and 4.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information on how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" online Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" online Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

A service uses UNC names to connect to remote resources. The service may fail to start when set to automatic.

CAUSE

The reason for this behavior is that the name of the remote server cannot be resolved through DNS because not all network services are initialized when the service is started.

MORE INFORMATION

When a connection request comes in and the name would resolve over DNS, the "TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper" passes this request to the sockets interface. However, this service is one of the last services started in the startup sequence so this link may not be available.

For additional information on a related issue regarding the Netlogon service in Windows NT 3.51, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q155886
   TITLE     : Domain Controller Not Found When Using DNS

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" online Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To resolve this issue, you need to make LAN Manager workstation dependent on LMHOSTS. Follow these steps:

Start Regedt32.exe.
Expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry key to the following subkey:
```
      SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManWorkstation
```
In this key, double-click the existing DependOnService entry in the right pane.
In the Multi-String Editor, add a line containing the string "LMHOSTS" (without the quotes) and click the OK button.
Restart the computer.

Keywords          : ntdomain ntregistry NTSrvWkst
Version           : WinNT:3.51,4.0
Platform          : winnt
Hardware          : x86
Issue type        : kbprb

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Last reviewed: December 19, 1997
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