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Q245221: Setting IdleWinStationPoolCount to zero prevents client session

Article: Q245221
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): winnt:4.0 SP4
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbenv
Last Modified: 11-JUN-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 SP4, Terminal Server Edition 
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IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS
========

When you configure Terminal Servers as user workstations that have the
IdleWinStationPoolCount registry value set to 0 (zero), you may receive the
following error message any time you attempt to connect to the Terminal Server
using Terminal Server Client:

  The Terminal Server has ended your connection.

CAUSE
=====

This issue occurs in Service Pack 4.

NOTE: This issue is corrected in Service Pack 5.

RESOLUTION
==========

To resolve this issue use one of the following methods:

Manually Reset the IdleWinStationPoolCount Value
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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.
Manually reset the IdleWinStationPoolCount value if you want client connections.

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).

2. Locate the IdleWinStationPoolCount value in the following registry key:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server

3. On the Edit menu, click DWORD, type "0x1" (without the quotation marks), and
  then click OK.

4. Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the server.

Install Windows NT Server, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 5
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Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT Server, Terminal
Server Edition version 4.0. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S.
service pack for Windows NT Server, Terminal Server Edition version 4.0. 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

MORE INFORMATION
================

Th IdleWinStationPoolCount value controls the number of idle sessions created by
the server during startup. Each idle session loads an additional instance of
Winlogon.exe and Csrss.exe in memory. This can consume more than 2 megabytes
(MB) of memory per session. Some users or administrators may configure this
registry value to 0 as a method of preserving resources. For additional
information about using Terminal Server, click the article number below to view
the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q190164 Using Terminal Server as a User Workstation

Additional query words: session terminalsvr

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Keywords          : kbenv 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbNTTermServ400sp4 kbNTTermServSearch
Version           : winnt:4.0 SP4
Issue type        : kbprb

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