Microsoft KB Archive/933396

= FIX: You may receive a NullReferenceException error message when a long-running XLANG orchestration is rehydrated in BizTalk Server 2004 =

Article ID: 933396

Article Last Modified on 10/25/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 Developer Edition

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SYMPTOMS
In Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004, when a long-running XLANG orchestration is rehydrated, you may receive a NullReferenceException error message. Additionally, the following error message may be logged in the event log:

An error has occurred that requires the BizTalk service to terminate. The most common causes are an unexpected out of memory error and an inability to connect or a loss of connectivity to one of the BizTalk databases. The service will shutdown and auto-restart in 1 minute. If the problematic database remains unavailable, this cycle will repeat.

Error message: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Error source: Microsoft.XLANGs.BizTalk.Engine

BizTalk host name: BizTalkServerApplication

Windows service name: BTSSvc{12345678-9012-420F-BA54-67FDC55A63E1}



CAUSE
This problem occurs because changes to internal objects in serialized orchestrations occur after you install hotfix 918758 or BizTalk Server 2004 Service Pack 2 (SP2). When an orchestration is serialized before you install these updates, and then the orchestration is deserialized, the orchestration fails, and a NullReferenceException failure occurs in XLANG.



Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, it is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only 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 BizTalk Server 2004 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Support Services telephone 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 usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites
You must have Microsoft BizTalk server 2004 with SP 2 installed to apply this hotfix.

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.

Note Because of file dependencies, the most recent hotfix that contains these files may also contain additional files.



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

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

