WINSADMIN Writes Invalid SP Time to Registry

ID: Q192547

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition

SYMPTOMS

After you apply the hotfix described in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base

Q187555 WINS Incorrect Version ID Assigned During Scavenging

you encounter the following event in the event log when the WINS service starts:


   4183 - WINS_EVT_WRONG_TIME_FORMAT
   ---------------------------------
   The format of time should be hh:mm:ss. Check value of "SpTime" in the
   Registry.

CAUSE

You only see this event if you have the Log Detailed Events option selected in the Advanced Configuration dialog box via WinsAdmin UI.

When the SpTime is 0 (the empty string), the internal time class writes out the string as "--". The old code never wrote out the string if the time was 0, so this wouldn't happen. The fix is to delete the value if it is 0.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or 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

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 4.

MORE INFORMATION

SpTime


   Data Type: REG_SZ
   Default: None
   Path: ..\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Wins\Partners\Pull
          \<Ip Address>

Specifies the start time for replication. For SpTime, WINS replicates at the set time if it is in the future for that day. After that, it replicates every number of seconds specified by TimeInterval. If SpTime is in the past for that day, WINS replicates every number of seconds specified by TimeInterval, starting from the current time (if InitTimeReplication is set to 1).

Keywords : NT4SP4Fix kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00.sp4
Version : WinNT:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug