XADM: Oldest Message Queued Performance Counter Displays a Very Large Value When the Queue is Empty (822625)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5

SYMPTOMS

When you log instances from the Oldest Message Queued performance counter for the MSExchangeMTA Connections performance object, you experience one or both of the following symptoms:
  • If you use the Windows Performance tool in Microsoft Windows 2000 to log these instances, the Windows Performance tool reports very high values. Sometimes, these values may appear as several years.
  • If you create a program to access the Performance Data Helper API of the Pdh.dll version 5.x redistributable DLL to log these instances, you receive error code 800007d6.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if the Message Transfer Agent (MTA) queue does not contain any messages. When an MTA queue contains a message, the MTA updates a counter with the current date and time stamp. A performance counter that you configure to be the Oldest Message Queued counter then shows that this message continues to age in the queue. You can determine how many seconds the message has been present in the queue. If the queue is empty, the performance counter still exists, but the MTA sets its value to zero. The Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Performance Monitor tool correctly displayed this value as zero. However, the Windows Performance tool and Pdh.dll incorrectly display this value as the decimal value of the current sampling time stamp.

RESOLUTION

Hotfix Information

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, 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/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

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 usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

You must be running Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 4 (SP4) to install this hotfix. For additional information about how to obtain the latest Exchange Server 5.5 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

191014 XGEN: How to Obtain the Latest Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack

Restart Requirement

You must restart your computer after you install this hotfix.

Hotfix Replacement Information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File Information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. 

Date         Time   Version            Size    File name
--------------------------------------------------------------
18-Aug-2003  21:33  5.5.2657.61     1,941,776  Emsmta.exe       
18-Aug-2003  21:23  5.5.2657.61        69,904  Ems_rid.dll      
18-Aug-2003  21:23  5.5.2657.61        19,728  Maxapia.dll      
18-Aug-2003  21:23  5.5.2657.61        12,048  Maxapiv1.dll     
18-Aug-2003  21:35  5.5.2657.61       167,184  Mtacheck.exe     
18-Aug-2003  21:23  5.5.2657.61       743,696  Mtamsg.dll       
18-Aug-2003  21:23  5.5.2657.61        16,656  Mtaperf.dll      
18-Aug-2003  21:23  5.5.2657.61        16,656  Mtxapia.dll      
18-Aug-2003  21:23  5.5.2657.61        11,536  Mtxapiv1.dll       
18-Aug-2003  21:23  5.5.2657.61       322,320  X400om.dll       
18-Aug-2003  21:23  5.5.2657.61        40,208  X400omv1.dll

Hotfix Installation Instructions

To install this hotfix, follow these steps:
  1. Stop the Microsoft Exchange Message Transfer Agent service. To do this, run the following command from a command prompt:

    net stop msexchangemta

  2. Install the Exchange5.5-KB822865-x86-ENU.exe file.
  3. Unload the current MTA performance counters. To do this, run the following command from a command prompt:

    unlodctr msexchangemta

  4. Load the new MTA performance counter information. To do this, run the following commands from a command prompt, and then press ENTER after each command:

    cd\exchsrvr\bin
    lodctr mtaperf.ini

  5. Exit the command prompt, and then restart the computer.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how hotfix packages are named, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

817903 XADM: New Naming Schema for Exchange Server Hotfix Packages

For additional information about the terminology that is used to describe Microsoft product updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the Standard Terminology That Is Used to Describe Microsoft Software Updates

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/3/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbExchange550preSP5fix kbBug kbfix kbQFE KB822625 kbAudITPRO
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