Microsoft KB Archive/886800

= A disk signature changes unexpectedly on a Windows Server 2003 clustered physical disk resource =

Article ID: 886800

Article Last Modified on 8/8/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems

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SYMPTOMS
On a Windows Server 2003-based computer that has redundant Host Bus Adapters (HBA) configured for a common external disk, the disk signature and the GUID of a volume may change unexpectedly. When this problem occurs, the following kinds of programs may fail:
 * Programs that depend on this disk signature in the master boot record (MBR)
 * Programs that look for a specific volume GUID

Windows Server 2003 clustering uses the disk signature to bring the disk online. In a mount operation, clustering points to the volume GUID to mount the disk. If the disk signature changes, the disk remains offline, and Cluster Administrator indicates that the disk has failed. When this problem occurs, the following error message may be logged in the System log: Event ID: 1034

Source: ClusDisk

Description: The disk associated with cluster disk resource DriveLetter could not be found. The expected signature of the disk was DiskSignature.

Additionally, if the disk signature changes unexpectedly, drive letters may be reassigned or reordered after you restart the computer.

You may also experience this problem after you remove the HP Secure Path program from a cluster node that is running Microsoft Windows Server 2003. When you restart the cluster node, the following Stop error occurs in the FTDisk.sys driver:

Stop 0x000000CA (PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR)



CAUSE
This problem may occur if two nodes in a cluster run detection logic at the same time, and if one of the cluster nodes changes the disk signature. After you apply the following hotfix, disk signatures and disk GUIDs will not change if the two nodes in a cluster run detection logic at the same time.



RESOLUTION
For more information about how to recover from an Event ID 1034 error, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

280425 Recovering from an event ID 1034 on a server cluster

Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem, submit a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain the hotfix. To submit an online request to obtain the hotfix, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6294451

Note If additional issues occur or any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. To create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement
You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information
This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) 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 item in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003, 64-bit Itanium-based versions
  Date         Time   Version         Size  File name    Platform ---  04-Oct-2004  18:42  5.2.3790.220  69,632  Partmgr.sys  IA-64

Windows Server 2003, 32-bit versions
  Date         Time   Version         Size  File name    Platform ---  04-Oct-2004  19:51  5.2.3790.220  36,352  Partmgr.sys  x86



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section.



MORE INFORMATION
For more information about how hotfix packages are named, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

816915 New file naming schema for Microsoft Windows software update packages

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Additional query words: MSCS

Keywords: kbqfe kbhotfixserver kbclustering kbbug kbfix kbwinserv2003presp1fix KB886800

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