Find Objects in Active Directory Returns Incorrect Results (321826)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP2

This article was previously published under Q321826

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Find objects in Active Directory feature in the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in, the results of the query may not be accurate.

CAUSE

This problem may occur when your query contains one or more of the following characters:
  • *
  • (
  • )
  • \
  • NULL
"RFC 2254 - The String Representation of LDAP Search Filters" identifies these characters as special characters.

RESOLUTION

Service Pack Information

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

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Hotfix Information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Microsoft Windows 2000 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site: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 version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Date         Time   Version           Size     File name
--------------------------------------------------------------
02-May-2002  21:17  5.0.2195.5201     156,944  Dsquery.dll


WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, type a backslash ( \) followed by the two hexadecimal digits that represent the ASCII value of the special character.
CharacterASCII value
*0x2a
(0x28
)0x29
\0x5c
NULL0x00
For example, if you want to type \\ABC in the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in Find Users and Groups box, you may experience the symptom that is described in this article because the backslash is a special character. Instead of typing a backslash, you must type \5C\5CABC. The backslash that you type signals a special character and is followed by the 5C hexadecimal value that represents the backslash character.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how to obtain a hotfix for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

265173 The Datacenter Program and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Product

For additional information about how to install multiple hotfixes, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

296861 How to Install Multiple Windows Updates or Hotfixes with Only One Reboot


Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/10/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbbug kbDirServices kbfix kbWin2000PreSP3Fix kbWin2000sp3fix KB321826