Microsoft KB Archive/127002

= PC Ext: Err Msg: A Critical Error Has Occurred... =

Article ID: 127002

Article Last Modified on 10/30/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 3.0a
 * Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 3.2
 * Microsoft Mail for PC Networks 3.2a

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This article was previously published under Q127002



SYMPTOMS
When you run EXTERNAL.EXE, the following error may be displayed and placed in the SESSION.LOG (if logging is enabled):

12-30-94 09:47 A Critical error has occurred M:KEY\xxxxxxxx.KEY

where M: can be any drive letter that a PO is mapped to, and xxxxxxxx.KEY can be any address for an external postoffice.



CAUSE
NOTE: Critical errors may also be due to hardware or network problems. For further information, query on "error code =" and "device =".

Hidden, locked, or corrupt .KEY files may cause the above error. Check the screen or the SESSION.LOG for lines matching the above description. It may be necessary to activate the /LogVerbose (-v) and /LogSession (-l) options to accomplish this.



RESOLUTION
Make sure the specified files are not locked, hidden, or corrupt. If the file is corrupt, either restore the file from backup or reset the .KEY and .MBG files. This can be done with one of the following procedures:

Procedure 1
To RESET the .KEY to 560 bytes, type:

DEBUG .KEY 

At the "-" type F100,32F,0 

At the "-" type RCX 

The following will then be displayed:

  CX 1230 : At the ":" type 230  (this resets the file to 560 bytes)

At the "-" type W  (you should see the message "Writing 00230 bytes")

At the "-" type Q  (to quit DEBUG)

The filesize should be 560 bytes.

To RESET the .MBG to 0 bytes, type:

TYPE NUL > <hex-id>.MBG

The correct filesize should be 0 bytes.

Procedure 2

 * 1) Run Admin, Local-Admin, Create to create a test user.
 * 2) Run LISTUSER.EXE with the -f option against the PO to determine the hex-id of the test user.
 * 3) Copy the test user's <hex-id>.KEY and <hex-id>.MBG to the corrupt <hex-id>.KEY and <hex-id>.MBG.
 * 4) Run Admin, Local-Admin, Delete to delete the test user.

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MORE INFORMATION
For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

117427 MS-DOS External 3.2 and RebootOnCE

116434 EXTERNAL.INI Equivalents to -Qx Command-Line Options

Additional query words: 3.00a 3.20 3.20a external critical error key

Keywords: KB127002

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