Serial Service Won't Stop with Serial Printer Installed

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When a serial printer is installed on Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 workstation or server, the serial service cannot be stopped, even when there are no jobs being printed.

CAUSE

The spooler design assumes that it exclusively holds a port when a printer is connected and a print queue is created. The design does not allow for other applications to do bidirectional communication with devices.

RESOLUTION

A new version of Localmon.dll has been developed that allows the serial service to be stopped, even when a serial printer is attached. Once the serial service is stopped, other applications can access the port. This version of Localmon.dll is not needed in most environments.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 U.S. Service Pack. For information on 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: prodnt

Keywords : kbnetwork kbprint kbbug4.00 ntprint kbfix4.00.sp2 NTSrvWkst
Version : 4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type :