WinNT Err: "The system cannot find the file specified" with Remote Access Service

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
• Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server versions 4.0, 4.0a, 4.5

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to connect a Remote Access Service (RAS) client to a Windows NT RAS Server computer, the connection attempt fails and you may receive any of the following error messages:

Checking network protocol connections
TCP/IP cp reported error 2.
The system cannot find the file specified

Event ID 4106
The Dial-up connection 'SpryNet or whom ever using' could not be made.
The error reported was: [2]
The system could not find the file specified.

CAUSE

An incorrect registry entry refers to another registry entry that does not exist.

RESOLUTION

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).


On the RAS client, there are numbered entries for each installed network adapter under the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT
\CurrentVersion\NetworkCards

NOTE: The above registry key is one path; it has been wrapped for readability.

Under normal circumstances, each entry will have a ServiceName value that refers to a registry key under the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).



2. Check each NetworkCards entry and confirm that there is a corresponding Services entry. If a NetworkCards entry refers to a service that does not have a corresponding Services key, delete the entire numbered key (Do not delete any other NetworkCards entries, and do not delete the entire NetworkCards key).



3. Quit Registry Editor and retry the RAS connection.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about troubleshooting TCP/IP error 2 messages, refer to the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q169116 Troubleshooting TCP/IP CP Error 2 ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND

Additional query words:

Keywords : ntras nttcp
Version : winnt:4.0,4.0a,4.5
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbprb