Replicated Registry Entry Missing Terminating Bytes (305468)

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256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

CAUSE

Application Center 2000 registry replication does not properly calculate the size of data when an empty string is replicated. The data size is always calculated as "0" for an empty string, which is incorrect because there are actually NULL terminator bytes that have to be written.

RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Application Center 2000 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The typical support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date           Time    Size       File name     
   ---------------------------------------------
   08/09/2001     09:35p  130,272    Q305468.exe

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

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.

Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and create a new REG_SZ value under registry key HKLM\Software\Regtest\Test with a value of " xxx" (any suitable value).
Create a new REG_SZ value HKLM\Software\Regtest\Empty and leave it as an empty string.
Set up a registry replication application and set it to watch the registry key HKLM\Software\Regtest.
Synchronize the application.
Start Regedt32.exe and view the binary data on the target computer of registry key HKLM\Software\Regtest\Empty.Result: no binary data present

Expected result: binary data as 00 00