Denial of Service Generates Error Message When Using Windows Terminal Server Lsass.exe

ID: Q241731

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 SP4, Terminal Server Edition

SYMPTOMS

When you use a function (such as logging on to a domain) that is performed by Lsass.exe, you may receive the following error message:

A controller for this domain could not be found.

Note that this behavior may be more noticeable with programs (such as Cybercop version 2.5) that perform large amounts of RPC calls.

CAUSE

This problem can occur if Lsass.exe is no longer working properly or at all. This can occur if Lsass.exe receives a "denial of service" by RPC, which makes a call to SamEnumerateUsersInDomain with a NULL value for Domain Handle. This stops LSA and then prevents anyone from logging on.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT Terminal Server 4.0. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for Windows NT Terminal Server 4.0. For information about obtaining the Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv kberrmsg kbnetwork kbtool
Version : winnt:4.0 SP4
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb