You receive an "An error occurred while sending a message to <ComputerName>" error message when you run the net send command to send a message to a Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer or to a Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005-based Tablet PC (878468)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (SP2)
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (SP2)
  • Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
  • Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition Service Pack 2 (SP2)

SYMPTOMS

When you open a command prompt on a Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)-based computer or on a Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005-based Tablet PC, and then you run the net send command to send a message to your computer or your Tablet PC, you may receive the following error message:
An error occurred while sending a message to ComputerName
When you run the nbtstat -n command to display the NetBIOS local name table of your computer, the following entry may be present in the table: 
Name               Type     Status
----------------------------------------
ComputerName  <03> UNIQUE   Unregistered

Note Windows XP SP2 features and components are included in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.

CAUSE

This issue occurs if the NetBIOS name of the computer or the Tablet PC is not registered and you complete the following steps:
  1. You make the network adapter on the computer unavailable.
  2. You make the network adapter on the computer available again.
  3. You run the net send ComputerName Message command line.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, stop and then restart the Messenger service. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type control admintools in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. Double-click Services.
  3. Stop the Messenger service. To do this, right-click Messenger in the list of services, and then click Stop.
  4. After you stop the Messenger service, restart it. To do this, right-click Messenger in the list of services, and then click Start.
  5. On the File menu, click Exit.

MORE INFORMATION

To display Help for the net send command, type net help send at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

REFERENCES

For more information about the net send command, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/net_send.mspx

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/13/2004
Keywords:kbtshoot kbprb KB878468 kbAudITPRO kbAudEndUser
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