5250 or 3270 Applet Will Hang When Started

ID: Q182264

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft SNA Server, versions 3.0, 3.0SP1, 3.0SP2, 4.0

SYMPTOMS

The 5250 or 3270 applet will hang when started. The Windows NT Task Manager's Application tab will not show the applet; however, the Process tab will show it.

CAUSE

The applet is trying to add a font to the system using the following call:


   ::SendMessage(HWND_BROADCAST, WM_FONTCHANGE, 0, 0L);

For the font to be recognized, this call needs to be processed by all windows on the system, visible or not. The applet will continue to wait until a response is received from each window. If an application is too busy to respond, the applet will hang indefinitely.

RESOLUTION

SNA Server 3.0

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for SNA Server version 3.0. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q184307 How to Obtain the Latest SNA Server Version 3.0 Service Pack

SNA Server 4.0

This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft SNA Server version 4.0 U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining this Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, start the 3270 or 5250 applet before the non- responsive application becomes too busy.

Note: This behavior was observed with a large SQL query.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SNA Server versions 3.0 SP2 and SNA Server version 4.0 SP1. This problem was first corrected in SNA Server 3.0 Service Pack 4.

Additional query words:

Keywords : prodsna sna5250 sna3270
Version : WINDOWS:3.0,3.0SP1,3.0SP2,4.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug