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Q137565: System Error 53 When Connecting to a FQDN

Article: Q137565
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbnetwork kbWinNT400sp4fix
Last Modified: 08-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you attempt to connect to a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) from a
Windows NT computer, you may receive the following error message:

  System error 53 has occurred. The network path was not found.

NOTE: You may also receive this error if you misspell the name of the remote
computer.

CAUSE
=====

When you attempt to establish a NetBIOS over TCP/IP connection (such as a file
share or print share) to a remote computer, your computer must:

- Locate the IP address for the remote computer.

- Establish a TCP/IP connection to the remote computer.

- Establish a NetBIOS session to one of the NetBIOS names registered on the
  remote computer.

Windows NT 4.0 computers use the following logic when using a FQDN for this
process: (for example, when you type "net use \\host1.domain2.com\public")

- Use a DNS or hosts file to locate the IP address for host1.domain2.com.

- Establish a TCP/IP connection to that IP address.

- Try to establish a NetBIOS session to the NetBIOS name "host1".

- If that fails, send an Adapter Status Query to the IP address, and parse the
  returned NetBIOS name table for the server name.

- Establish a NetBIOS session to the server name.

For cases when the hostname does not match the NetBIOS (server) name, this
process relies upon the Adapter Status Query, which is a UDP datagram sent to
UDP port 137. In some cases, such as certain firewall environments, the Adapter
Status Query may fail.

RESOLUTION
==========

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or
Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information,
please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack


An updated version of Rdr.sys offers a new registry parameter to slightly change
the above logic:

- Use a DNS or hosts file to locate the IP address for host1.domain2.com.

- Establish a TCP/IP connection to that IP address.

- Try to establish a NetBIOS session to the NetBIOS name "host1".

- If that fails, try to establish a NetBIOS session to the NetBIOS name
  "*SMBSERVER ".

Please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more
information on the *SMBSERVER name and why it is registered on Windows NT
servers:

  ARTICLE-ID: Q161431
  TITLE : Connecting to NetBIOS Resources Using DNS Names or IP Addresses

The new registry parameter that allows control of this behavior is:

  Value: FqdnUsesSmbServerName
  Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Rdr\Parameters
  Value Type: REG_DWORD - Boolean
  Valid Range: 0,1 (False,True)
  Default: 0 (False)
  Description: Setting this parameter to "1" causes your computer to try a
               NetBIOS session to the name "*SMBSERVER      " instead of
               using an Adapter Status Query when the hostname part of a
               FQDN does not match the NetBIOS computername on the target
               system.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT
Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows
NT 4.0 Service Pack 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
Service Pack 4.



Additional query words: 4.00

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbnetwork kbWinNT400sp4fix 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400 kbNTTermServ400 kbNTTermServSearch
Version           : winnt:4.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

=============================================================================

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