Disconnected WinStation Sessions that Generate a "Hard Error" Dialog Boxes Cannot be Reset

ID: Q229012

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0, 4.0 SP4, Terminal Server Edition

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 about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

Terminal Server clients go into a "down" state and cannot be reset.

CAUSE

If a disconnected session has an active "Hard Error" dialog box that is generated by a DOS or 16-bit program, it cannot be reset. If a reset is attempted on the workstation, it stays in a "down" state until the computer is restarted.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, you can disable dialog boxes from ever being displayed. This is done with a registry setting. For additional information, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q124873 Disabling System Hard Error Message Dialog Boxes

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" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).

Go to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows\ErrorMode

Change the default value of 0 to 2. The following table defines the three possible values for ErrorMode:


   Value   Result
   -----   ----------------------------------------------------------------
     0     Errors are serialized and wait for a response.
 
     1     If the error does not come from the system, then the system
           continues in normal operating mode. If the error comes from the
           system, then it is written to the system log; no user
           intervention is required and dialog boxes are not displayed.
 
     2     The error is written to the system log; the dialog box is not
           displayed.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5.

Additional query words:

Keywords : nt4sp5fix
Version : winnt:4.0,4.0 SP4
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug