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Q161038: Winsock Apps Fail on First Attempt at NetBIOS Name Resolution

Article: Q161038
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): winnt:4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbnetwork kbAPI kbSDKPlatform kbWinsock kbGrpDSNetkbbuglist kbfixlist
Last Modified: 09-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 
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SYMPTOMS
========

After applying Service Pack 2 to Windows NT 4.0, socket applications fail to
complete connections on the first attempt. Simply retrying the connection works.
This problem has been seen with Internet Explorer, as well as with FTP
applications.

CAUSE
=====

When an attempt is made to resolve a NetBIOS name, the request goes out on all
interfaces, including RAS. RAS completes right away, indicating timeout, and
Registration and Name Resolution (RNR) cancels all outstanding requests.
Instead, RNR needs to wait for all outstanding requests to complete.


The only time you will see this problem is when you are using a winsock app on a
computer attempting to connect to a server on a remote network, with no DNS
servers configured, RAS installed, and NETBT node type set as M- node. You will
see the problem only on the first try, and subsequent attempts to resolve the
name will work.

WORKAROUND
==========

The following are workarounds for this problem:

- Configure a Domain Name Service (DNS) server.

  -or-

- Change the NetBT node type to anything other than M-Node.

  -or-

- Remove RAS.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. This
problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 U.S. Service Pack.
For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

  S E R V P A C K


Additional query words: prodnt SP2

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Keywords          : kbnetwork kbAPI kbSDKPlatform kbWinsock kbGrpDSNet kbbuglist kbfixlist
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : winnt:4.0
Issue type        : kbbug

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