MTG: Service Pack 5 Breaks Microsoft Mail Shared Using FPNW

ID: Q170374

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.51
Microsoft File and Print Services for NetWare version 3.51

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.

SYMPTOMS

After applying Service Pack 5 for Windows NT 3.51, any Microsoft Mail postoffices that are shared using File and Print Services for NetWare (FPNW) may experience errors. External.exe may log an error [012] when delivering mail to the postoffice. Dirsync.exe may not run automatically, and may generate a warning [154]. When you perform a manual DirSync, the postoffice will receive updates but will not send any updates to other postoffices.

CAUSE

A problem was introduced while attempting to improve an OS/2 file-date issue.

WORKAROUND

Two workarounds are available.

Method One

One is to edit the registry to disable the file caching for FPNW. This should have only a minor effect on performance.

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.

Run Regedt32.exe.

Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\FPNW\Parameters

Choose EDIT and select ADD VALUE.

Type the name of the value as:
MaxCachedOpenFiles

Set the type to REG_DWORD and enter 0 (zero) for the value.

Method Two

The second possible alternative is to replace two files from Service Pack 5 with two files from Service Pack 4 or the original File and Print Services for NetWare disks.

Locate the following two files on the affected server:
Fpnwsrv.sys (System32\Drivers)
Fpnw.dll (System32)

Rename the files to something like Fpnwsrv.sp5 and Fpnw.sp5.

Copy the same files from Service Pack 4 or the FPNW disks to the appropriate directories.

Restart the server.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 3.51. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

Additional query words:

Keywords :
Version : winnt:3.51
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug