COM Server May Not Be Started from the Login Script When the Password Expiration Dialog Box Is Displayed (297722)

SYMPTOMS

If you start COM servers with a login script, a user's password is about to expire, and the user receives a dialog box that prompts them to change their password, an error message that is similar to the following error message may be logged in the Application event log:

Unable to start a DCOM Server: {000209FF-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}. The error:

"No process is on the other end of the pipe."

In the login script was the following command.

C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~1\Office\Winword.exe /Automation -Embedding

The script or program that starts the server may also display an error message.

Note that the "No process is on the other end of the pipe" error message is an example of an error message that may be logged. Other error codes may also be logged.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because the COM server is started in the user session. The server is started by the instance of Winlogon for that session in a separate thread that starts during initialization.

To start a COM server, the thread needs information collected when the user logs on by the main thread. When the user received the password expiration dialog box, the main thread is stalled and cannot provide this information. When this occurs, the information is not available and the COM server is not started.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English-language version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date     Time  Size     File name   Platform
   --------------------------------------------
   6/19/01  2:41  207,120  Msgina.dll  Intel

NOTE: Due to file dependencies, this hotfix requires Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a.

COM Server May Not Be Started from the Login Script When the Password Expiration Dialog Box Is Displayed (297722)

SYMPTOMS

CAUSE

RESOLUTION

STATUS