Error Message: User Interface Failure: The Logon User Interface DLL Msgina.dll Failed to Load (329316)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP3
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP3
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP3
This article was previously published under Q329316

SYMPTOMS

After you install Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3), you may receive the following error message when you start your computer:
User Interface Failure:
The Logon User Interface DLL msgina.dll failed to load.
Contact your system administrator to replace the DLL, or restore the original DLL.
The Windows logon screen does not appear and you cannot open Windows 2000.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if Winlogon.exe queries the Mpr.dll registry key before Services.exe has created this registry key. In Windows 2000 SP3 , Msgina.dll is dependant on Mpr.dll. Mpr.dll requires that the following registry key is present to be able to initialize:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\NetworkProvider\HwOrder

This key is created when Services.exe starts. Because Winlogon.exe starts at the same time as Services.exe, Winlogon may query the Mpr.dll registry key before is has been created by Services.exe. When this occurs, Msgina.dll does not load and you receive the error message that is described in the "Symptoms" section of this article. This dependency does not exist in Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2).

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 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. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows 2000 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, 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/contactus/?ws=support

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 typical 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 fix 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
   ------------------------------------------------------
   15-Oct-2002  18:53  5.0.2195.6090  332,560  Msgina.dll


To apply this hot fix, you must be able to start your computer and open Windows 2000. You will require access to another Windows 2000 SP2-based computer, and a blank, formatted 3 1/2 inch disk.

To resolve the problem, open Windows 2000, and then apply the hotfix:
  1. On a second Windows 2000 SP2-based computer, insert a blank formatted 3 1/2-inch disk in to the disk drive.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  3. At the command prompt, type the following commands, and then press ENTER after each command:

    C:
    CD \
    CD \WINNT\system32\dllcache
    COPY msgina.dll A:

  4. Remove the 3 1/2-inch disk from the disk drive.
  5. Start the computer that has the problem described in the "Symptoms" section, and then start Recovery Console. If you do not have Recovery Console installed as a start-up option, follow these steps:
    1. Insert the Windows 2000 Server Setup Disk 1 disk into your disk drive, or if you have a bootable CD-ROM drive, you can insert the Windows 2000 Server CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
    2. Restart your computer.
    3. Follow the directions that appear on the screen. If you are using the Setup disks, you are prompted to insert the other Setup disks into the disk drive. It may take several minutes to load files.
    4. Select the appropriate options to repair your Windows 2000 installation and to start the Recovery Console.
  6. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following commands, and then press ENTER after each command:

    CD system32
    REN msgina.dll mdgina.old
    CD dllcache
    REN msgina.dll msgina.old

    NOTE: If Msgina.dll does not exist in the System32 folder or in the Dllcache folder, go to step 7.
  7. Insert the 3 1/2 inch disk that contains the Msgina.dll file copied from the second Windows 2000 SP2-based computer into the disk drive of the computer that has the problem described in the "Symptoms" section.
  8. At the Recovery Console command prompt, type the following commands, and press ENTER after each command:
    COPY a:\msgina.dll
    CD ..
    COPY a:\msgina.dll
    exit
  9. Restart your computer and apply the hotfix.

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 Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.

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 using Recovery Console, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

301645 HOW TO: Use Recovery Console on a Computer That Does Not Start in Windows 2000

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/11/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbSecurity kbWin2kSP4fix kbbug kbfix kbWin2000preSP4Fix KB329316
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