FIX: Error Message: "The process can not add message to message queue. The step failed" (290055)

SYMPTOMS

If the Log Reader or the SQLAgent is shut down while the Log Reader is in the process of updating the Mslogreader_history system table, the following error message may appear in the Log Reader Agent history:

The process can not add message to message queue. The step failed.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

290211 INF: How to Obtain the Latest SQL Server 2000 Service Pack

With the fix, if there is a clean shut down of the Log Reader Agent, the message is suppressed.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 1.

MORE INFORMATION

The MSlogreader_history system table contains history rows for the Log Reader Agents associated with the local Distributor. The logging to this table is not done directly but is done by placing the messages on a internal queue. A separate thread reads from the queue and writes the entry to the MSLogReader_history table. If the queue to write to the Mslogreader_history table gets filled up, the main thread needs to wait in order to write to the queue. During this wait period, if the SQLAgent or the Log Reader Agent is shutdown or if there is a failure in the Log Reader threads, this message is added to the history entry:

The process can not add message to message queue. The step failed.

This message is a informational message, which states that the Log Reader Agent is shutting down while the main thread is waiting to add a message to the asynchronous logging queue.