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Q102782: Troubleshooting RAS Problems and Using the DEVICE.LOG File

Article: Q102782
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 3.1 3.5 3.51
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbnetwork
Last Modified: 08-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.1 
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.1 
- Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server, version 3.1 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51 
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51 
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For information on Windows NT version 4.0, see the following article in the
Microsoft Knowledge base:

  ARTICLE-ID: Q162694
  TITLE : How to Capture Modem Commands in Windows NT 4.0

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide
problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of
Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

If you experience problems connecting to Remote Access Services (RAS),
try to identify the specific problem by doing the following:

1. If you are receiving error messages, choose Help and follow the suggested
  steps.

2. Check to see if you can access your modem from the Terminal program. If the
  modem works with Terminal, do the following:

  a. Make sure your modem is on the list of modems supported by Windows NT
  Remote Access. (See the Windows NT Hardware Compatibility List.)

  b. Make sure you have the correct cabling required by Remote Access. For more
  information on RAS cabling requirements, check Remote Access Help. (Search
  on: Cabling Requirements.)

3. Enable device logging on Remote Access by doing the following:

  a. Start Registry Editor.

  b. Go to the following subkey:

  hkey_local_machine\system\currentcontrolset \services\rasman\parameters

  c. If the value does not exist, choose Add Value from the Edit menu.

  d. For the following fields, enter these values:

        Value Name: logging<BR/>
        Data Type: REG_DWORD<BR/>
        String: 1

  e. Stop and start Remote Access Service and Phone Book to enable the
  DEVICE.LOG file.

  The RAS DEVICE.LOG file will be created in the SYSTEM32\RAS subdirectory. See
  the next section for information on using DEVICE.LOG.

Using DEVICE.LOG
----------------

The DEVICE.LOG file contains the strings that are sent to and received
from the serial device (either a modem or an X.25 PAD). DEVICE.LOG is
useful for troubleshooting problems with serial devices, and for
testing new entries added to the MODEM.INF or PAD.INF files.

NOTE: You may want to view the DEVICE.LOG file in a text editor that
can display both character and hexadecimal output as some of the
information will not be printable characters. Also, DEVICE.LOG
contains a carriage return (h0D) and line feed (h0A) byte at the end
of each line. These bytes are provided by the program that creates the
DEVICE.LOG file and do not represent information communicated from or
to the device.

The DEVICE.LOG file contains:

- The command string sent to the device.

- The echo of the command.

- The response from the device.

- The connect and carrier bps (bits per second) (modems only).

For each bps pair, there may be several sets of command, echo, and
response data. If the command and echo (on a modem) do not match, a
hardware error message will be generated.

The Connect string from the modem (the last response string from the
modem when a connection is established) will normally contain the
connect bps, the carrier bps, or both. If the Connect string contains
both, the connect bps and the carrier bps lines will give the values
from the Connect string. If the Connect string does not have one of
the bps values, a best estimate of the actual bps value is given. Both
of these values are used by RAS; for this reason, RAS initializes the
modem to include both values in its response.

NOTE: "Connect bps" refers to the DTE (data terminal equipment) speed
of the modem. This information is required by RAS. The "carrier bps"
refers to the DCE (data communication equipment) or modem-to-modem
speed. This value is not used internally by RAS, but is displayed if
available.

If your modem cannot return both the DTE and DCE speeds, configure it
to at least return the DTE speed. Without knowledge of the DTE speed,
RAS cannot reset the port appropriately, thus resulting in
transmission errors.

Additional query words: prodnt

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Keywords          : kbnetwork 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNT351search kbWinNT350search kbWinNTW350 kbWinNTW350search kbWinNTW351search kbWinNTW351 kbWinNTW310 kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS351 kbWinNTS350 kbWinNTS310 kbWinNTAdvSerSearch kbWinNTAdvServ310 kbWinNTS351search kbWinNTS350search kbWinNTS310search kbWinNT310Search kbWinNTW310Search
Version           : 3.1 3.5 3.51

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