SAP Agent and NWLNKRIP Services Fail to Start (132523)

SYMPTOMS

When you run Windows NT and log on, the following error message appears:

At least one service or driver failed during system startup. Use Event Viewer to examine the event log for details.

The System Log contains the following two Service Control Manager event 7003 errors:

The Remote Access NWLNKRIP service depends on the following nonexistent service: NWLNKIPX.

The SAP Agent service depends on the following nonexistent service: NWLNKIPX.

CAUSE

This problem occurs after you remove the NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Transport on a computer running Windows NT system that has the RAS server service installed, and at one time had the IPX protocol enabled for RAS dialin.

The NWLNKRIP and SAP Agent services are used by the RAS server service in conjunction with the IPX (or NWLink) protocol. If you remove the NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Transport, the NWLNKRIP and SAP Agent services are not removed. Because these services depend on the NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Transport (NWLNKIPX), you receive the errors noted above after restarting your computer.

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, remove the NWLNKRIP and SAP Agent services:

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.

Run Registry Editor (REGEDT32.EXE).

From the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, remove the following three keys:

      \Software\Microsoft\NWSapAgent
      \Software\Microsoft\NWLNKRIP
      \SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NwSapAgent

Quit Registry Editor.
Shutdown and restart Windows NT.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT versions 3.5 and 3.51. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.