Returning Username Rather than Computername in Terminal Server (190159)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
This article was previously published under Q190159
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

Some applications use the computer's name as a unique identifier, rather than using the user name. In a single-user-per-computer environment, this strategy works well. However, in a Terminal Server environment, all connected users report the same computername. If the application relies on unique computernames to handle tasks such as file and record locking, then the application will fail.

MORE INFORMATION

An example of an application that uses the computer's name as a unique identifier is Informix 4.01 for MS-DOS. When multiple Terminal Server users try to use the application, they get file sharing errors. The application is designed to allow the Terminal Server computername access to the files just one time.

To resolve this problem, you can set an application-compatibility flag with a value of 0x10 for the application in the Terminal Server registry. The 0x10 value tells the system to return the username rather than the computername to the application.

NOTE: There may be several executables associated with an application. All of them may need to be "flagged" for the application to run correctly.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To add the application compatibility flag:

  1. Run REGEDT32.
  2. Locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT \CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\Compatibility\Applications.
  3. Under Applications, add a key with the name of the application executable. Create a separate key for each executable.
  4. Under the new key, add a DWORD value called FLAGS.
  5. Give FLAGS a value of 0x10 plus the correct value for the application type (0x01 for MS-DOS, 0x04 for 16-bit Windows, 0x08 for 32-bit Windows). In the Informix example, since this is a DOS application, the correct value for FLAGS is 0x11.
  6. Exit REGEDT32.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/24/2004
Keywords:kbinfo KB190159
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