Having issues with Windows 2000 SP3? 1

[CitrixEngineer]

This item was sent to me in one of my regular ThinNet digests. From the number of "me too" responses in that digest, it looks like some of the symptoms are common. Note that this is a Q article in the making; it is a response by Microsoft to a customer issue - if it does not exist today, try again later.

If some of this looks familiar, then this fix is probably for you. If you need the dskcache tool (referenced below) and have difficulty locating it, either leave a note here or e-mail me.

I Hope this helps;



This article will be Q324446 - Terminal Server Post SP3 Roll-up
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===
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
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SYMPTOMS
========
A Windows 2000 Terminal Server may stop responding or pause for a few seconds with the follow symptoms:
1) While typing a Word document, characters are not displayed until after the pause is over.
2) Keyboard and mouse inputs are queued but not processed until after the pause is over.
3) Live Perfmon graphs have missing data points during the pause.
4) All applications system-wide appear to hang during the pause.
5) High CPU usage in spooler when large number of users connected
CAUSE
=====
The unresponsiveness is a delay in processing due to contention. By minimizing the cause of contention, the delays are reduced. WORKAROUND
==========
The Terminal Server needs to be running at Service Pack 3 prior to installing the hotfix mentioned in this article.
After you install this Windows 2000 hotfix and restart your computer, you must also turn on the Power Protected write cache option for each disk that has write caching enabled and has its write cache protected against accidental loss of power. To configure the Power Protected write cache option on the selected disks, use the Dskcache.exe tool. Dskcache.exe is available separately. For additional information about the Dskcache.exe tool and how to enable the "power protected" write cache option, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
KBLink:811392.KB.EN-US: Obtain the Dskcache.exe Tool to Configure the "Power Protected" Write Cache Option
If you run Dskcache.exe without any parameters, the current write cache settings for all hard disks are displayed. For each hard disk currently present on your computer, the following information is displayed: Disk device:

Volume name of the form:
\\?\\<SCSI <file://\\?\\<SCSI> DEVICE ID>

Current Settings:
Write Cache is [ enabled | disabled ]
Power Protect is [ enabled | disabled ]
To enable &quot;Power Protected&quot; write cache on a disk drive, use the 'p' switch. For example, the following command would enable &quot;power protected&quot; write cache on the C drive: dskcache +p c:
The output will look like this:

Disk device:
\\?\\<SCSI <file://\\?\\<SCSI> DEVICE ID>
Current settings:
Write Cache is enabled
Power Protect is disabled
New settings:
Write Cache is enabled
Power Protect is enabled
Note: The Power Protected write cache option can only be enabled for disks that are currently present. By default, the Power Protected write cache option is disabled. As a result, this option is disabled for any disks that may be added after you apply this setting. If additional disks are added, enable the Power Protected write cache option for those added disks for the setting to take effect. Finally apply the registry settings under the &quot;Terminal Server's Registry Settings&quot; section to the Terminal Server. If you are using a file server to share data, roaming profiles or redirected home folders for Terminal Server users, apply the registry setting under the &quot;File Server's Registry Settings&quot; section to all file servers. Terminal Server's Registry Settings
***********************************
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters

Value Name: MaxWorkItems
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 16384 (decimal)
Value Name: MaxMpxCt
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 2048 (decimal)
Value Name: MaxRawWorkItems
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 512 (decimal)
Value Name: MaxFreeConnections
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 100 (decimal)
Value Name: MinFreeConnections
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 32 (decimal)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanworkstation\param
eters
Value Name: MaxCmds
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 2048 (decimal)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Configuration Manager
Value Name: RegistryLazyFlushInterval
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 60 (decimal)
***********************************
File Server's Registry Settings
*******************************
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters

Value Name: MaxWorkItems
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 16384 (decimal)
Value Name: MaxMpxCt
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 2048 (decimal)
Value Name: MaxRawWorkItems
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 512 (decimal)
Value Name: MaxFreeConnections
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 100 (decimal)
Value Name: MinFreeConnections
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 32 (decimal)
*******************************
STATUS
======
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
MORE INFORMATION
================
This hotfix does not address Terminal Server pauses caused by registry contention from applications or slow Citrix clients using drive redirection.


CitrixEngineer@yahoo.co.uk

 

[MattWray]

CitrixEngineer,
I have followed all the links thur MS, but cannot find where to actually obtain the dskcache tool. If you could point me in the right direction, I would surely appreciate it!

Thanks,

Matt Wray
MCSE, MCSA, MCP, CCNA

http://www.sss-steel.com

http://www.total-tec.com

 

[CitrixEngineer]

I've had quite a few e-mails for this, but the bottom line, for now, is to get it through MS Support.

There's an article here

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811392,

that links to an article here

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;332023,

which tells you to contact Microsoft Support for it, and only use it if the product affects you &quot;severely&quot;, since Microsoft still want to do some testing on it.

I think that if enough people see this issue and contact MS support for this tool, then they might get round to testing it...



CitrixEngineer@yahoo.co.uk

 

[MattWray]

Update:

I have installed the Hotfix and it worked. No more pauses and hangs! The Q324446 is right, but they changed the name to Teminal Servers and clients Pause, etc.

Three cheers for the CitrixEngineer!


Thanks,

Matt Wray
MCSE, MCSA, MCP, CCNA

http://www.sss-steel.com