Windows NT or Win95 Client Sponsor Connection Returns Error Message (180230)

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

The timeout for a Microsoft SNA Windows NT and Microsoft SNA Windows 95 client sponsor connection is coded to 30 seconds. After opening a sponsor connection, the client waits 30 seconds for the server to respond with either Open(OK) or Open(Error) message. If the response does not arrive in this time, the SnaBase assumes the server is not available. During this 30 seconds, the server must be able to validate the client's userid or password. On slow networks, this may not be enough time and will cause the client to return an error message, indicating lack of sponsor connection or an inability to find a sponsor SNA Server computer.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the following Microsoft SNA Server clients:
Microsoft SNA Server Windows NT client version 2.11
Microsoft SNA Server Windows NT client versions 3.0, 3.0 SP1, 3.0 SP2
Microsoft SNA Server Windows 95 client versions 3.0, 3.0 SP1, 3.0 SP2

This problem was corrected in SNA Server 4.0 and 4.0 SP1.

This problem was corrected in the latest SNA Server version 3.0 U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining this Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

A supported fix for SNA Server versions 2.11 is now available, but has not been fully regression-tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Service Pack that contains this fix. Contact Microsoft Technical Support for more information.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Two steps are necessary in order to modify the 30-second timeout:

In a Windows NT environment, modify the following registry entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\SnaBase\ 
      Parameters\SponsorTimeout:REG_DWORD:<timeout in seconds>.

In a Windows 95 environment, modify the following registry entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\SnaBase\Parameters\ 
      SponsorTimeout:REG_DWORD:<timeout in seconds>

The default value is 30.

Obtain the updated <snaroot>\system\snabase.exe and <ntroot>\symbols\exe\snabase.dbg modules from Microsoft. To apply the update, stop all SNA Server applications, and run hotfix /i to install the hotfix. This update procedure replaces both the DLL file and the debug symbol file. Note: These updates are included in SNA Server 4.0 and 4.0 SP1.