Microsoft KB Archive/309298

= Random Blue Screens Appear or SNA Print Service &quot;Hangs&quot; =

Article ID: 309298

Article Last Modified on 2/22/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 4
 * Microsoft Host Integration Server 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q309298



SYMPTOMS
When you are using third-party monolithic print drivers that are not built to use Unidrv.dll or Pscript.dll, the SNA Print Service may experience various problems that can include any of the following:
 * Blue screens appear.
 * Print Sessions appear to be frozen (&quot;hang&quot;) in-session or spooling.
 * The SNA Print service experiences access violations with no warnings (disappears out of memory).



CAUSE
Some third-party print drivers expect a DEVMODE structure to be a certain size. Specifically, such drivers expect dmDriverExtra to be set properly. They do not do any error checking. The SNA Print Service is not setting this field and is creating a structure smaller than the print driver is expecting. Because the third-party driver is not doing error checking, it writes beyond the size of the structure, which causes the problems.



SNA Server 4.0
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 Microsoft SNA Server version 4.0 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/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

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 hotfix 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.

NOTE: Because of file dependencies, the most recent fix that contains the preceding files may also contain additional files.

Microsoft Host Integration Server 2000
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Host Integration Server 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

328152 How to Obtain the Latest Host Integration Server 2000 Service Pack

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

NOTE: Because of file dependencies, the most recent fix that contains the preceding files may also contain additional files.



WORKAROUND
The only way to work around this problem is to use print drivers that come with the Microsoft operating system.



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 Host Integration Server 2000 Service Pack 1.



MORE INFORMATION
The problem may be corrected by querying the third-party print driver for the proper size it is expecting and setting all fields accordingly.

Additional query words: snaprint, blue screen, hang, in-session HIS 2000

Keywords: kbbug kbfix kbhostintegserv2000presp1fix kbhostintegserv2000sp1fix KB309298

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