Problem starting Server and Workstation services after installing Great Plains

Edit : August 2011 - This post is over 6 years old and it's the most popular post I've ever made. Still going strong! It's one of the top Google results for this type of error.   Still getting dozens of hits per day. Nearly 100 comments! I'm glad I could give something back to my fellow IT pros. I know I spend most of MY day researching errors on Google as well.   (PS - why not throw me a bone and click an ad on my site, like one of the banners up top? I might earn a penny or two. hehe  Thanks!!)
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I've stumbled across a rather odd issue the past few weeks. At first I just thought it was a typical Windows problem but when it started turning up on more than one machine, i figured there had to be a common thread.

Here is the problem. Your XP machine can't browse the network. You can get the internet just fine but can't connect to any servers. As you are troubleshooting the problem, you discover that several Windows services are not running - Server, Workstation, Computer Browser, Net Logon, among others. These services not running will definitely prevent you from browsing your network and connecting to other machines.

So you try to start Computer Browser manually - it tells you it can't start the service because it has a dependency on another service - which turns out to be Server and/or Workstation service.

So now you try to start Server or Workstation service and you get the same error message on both of them - "The system cannot find the file specified". It also registers an Event 7023 in the event log and says "The system cannot find the file specified." This was happening on my laptop for a few days and i wasn't having much luck finding a solution. In fact, i was getting ready to re-install Windows XP.

But then i ran into the exact same problem on a few workstations at a clients site that i was just working on. They were going thru an upgrade to Great Plains 8.0. So i decided to look a little bit on PartnerSource, which i hadn't checked before since i didn't think it was a GP related issue. I did find an article that talks about this problem. Here is the link for CustomerSource or ParterSource users.

The title is - Error 1068 "The specified file cannot be found" and the Workstation Service Does Not Start After Installing or Updating Great Plains (869971).

What seems to be happening is the installation, update or maybe uninstall of Great Plains is wiping out some registry entries that point to the location of the .dll files that run the Server and Workstation services. So you need to edit the registry and put these keys back in place.

Here are the steps from the TK article:

WARNING If a mistake is made on any of the instructions listed below, you may not be able to restart your system. If you are not familiar with the Registry, please seek assistance from Microsoft or your local Microsoft support representative. Microsoft can be reached at 1-800-426-9400.

1. IMPORTANT - Back up your system before making these changes. It is also important to create a new Emergency Repair Disk.

2. Verify that ServiceDll is stored in the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM CurrentControlSet Services lanmanworkstation Parameters

3. You should see an entry with the Name of ServiceDll, Type REG_EXPAND_SZ and Data value of %systemroot%\system32\wkssvc.dll.

4. If this entry does not exist, you can add it with the following steps: a. Choose Edit-New-Expandable String Value. b. Name the new value ServiceDll (it is case sensitive). c. Double-click on this new value and specify Value data: %systemroot%\system32\wkssvc.dll. You could also copy the reg key from a working workstation.

5. After the entry is added to the registry you should be able to start the Workstation Service. NOTE - The uninstall/install of Great Plains does not remove this registry entry.

Ok, so those steps tell you how to get the location of the Workstation service dll back into the registry. You may find that the last key "Parameters" is missing all together. If that is the case, then right click on LanManWorkstation and select New->Key and name this Parameters. Then continue with step 3.

But in my experience, i was missing both Workstation and Server dlls and all of the machines that had the problem. So here are my additional notes on how to get the Server service running again.

The Registry location is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM - CurrentControlSet - Services - LanManServer - Parameters. Again, i was missing "Parameters" key all together so right-click on LanManServer and select New->Key and name it "Parameters". Then in this folder, create a new entry named ServiceDll, of type Reg_Expand_SZ (Expandable String Value) and a data value of %systemroot%\system32\srvsvc.dll. This is the dll for Server service. With this new entry in place, you should now be able to start the Service service as well.

With Server and Workstation service both running, you should now be able to start Computer Browser and any other services that were dependent on them. This should get you properly connected back to the network.

So i've seen this happen on 3-4 different machines now. The one thing in common would be that they previously had Great Plains Dynamics 6.0 un-installed and then Great Plains 8.0 installed. Must be something to do with the Great Plains 8.0 installation since i've un-installed Dynamics 6.0 a million times and have never seen this problem. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this situation with my other upcoming Great Plains upgrades. I hope this can help someone else and save you from re-installing Windows like I was about to do.

Update : I seem to be getting lots of hits from Google searches concerning this problem. If you've run into this situation and my article helped you, please click down below on the comments link and leave a note, or shoot me an email - TechRoundup@jasonhartman.net. If this looks like a wide spread issue, i can pass the info along to my contacts at Microsoft and see how we can get this taken care of or at least publish some better TechKnowledge articles about it. Thanks for your help!

Jason Hartman selected as Microsoft MVP for Great Plains!

Just wanted to pat myself on the back and let you know that i've been named a "Microsoft MVP" for the Microsoft Business Solutions - Great Plains product line. This is the first year anyone has received the award for Great Plains so i'm very honored to be among the first 3 recipients.

The Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award is given out to customers and partners that are active in the various technical communities - websites, forums, blogs, newsgroups, etc. They demonstrate a high level of expertise in their subject area and have a willingness to share this expertise with the Microsoft community. You can read more about the program here.

Here is the breakdown for all of the MBS MVP's for 2005.

• Habib Salim - Great Plains
• Jason Hartman - Great Plains
• Victoria Yudin - Great Plains
• Glenn Adams - Retail Mgmt System
• Scott Colson - Microsoft CRM
• John O'Donnell - Microsoft CRM
• Matt Parks - Microsoft CRM
• Erik P. Ernst - Navision
• Luc Van Dyck - Navision

Congrats to all of my fellow recipients. I'm looking forward to the coming year as an MVP and hope to continue providing valuable info to the MBS Community.

MBS Community Chats this week

The MBS Community is running two chat sessions this week...

Title: What's New in Microsoft Navision 4.0

Description: Have questions about using the new release of Microsoft Navision? Experts from the product management and product support teams answer your questions on features, configuration, compatibility, and more.

Date: 1/11/2005
Time: 8:30 AM PDT

URL: Click here

Title: Microsoft Solomon 6.0 and Business Portal 2.5

Description: Have questions about the recent Microsoft Solomon and Microsoft Business Portal releases? Jim Rowney and Scott Tucker of the Microsoft Solomon product development team tackle your questions about the new features and functionality--as well as best practices for the daily management of your organization's data. Whether you're curious about using the new Favorites feature, assigning resources to tasks, or configuring a new role in Business Portal 2.5, Jim and Scott are here to help.

Date: 1/12/2005
Time: 11:00 AM PDT

URL: Click here

The Ultimate Gadget

First of all, just wanted to wish everyone a happy and successful 2005.

For Christmas, i bought myself "The Ultimate Gadget". It's a Pocket PC - specifically the Dell Axim x50v. Being the big nerd that i am, i can't believe i've gone all of these years without ever owning a PDA of any sorts. Now seemed to be the right time to do it - this Dell Axim is more powerful than some of the PC's in my office!

Lets take a quick look at the specs and features...

Intel 624mhz X-scale processor
64MB of RAM / 128MR of ROM
Slots for both an SD memory card and a Compact Flash card
Runs Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition with Windows Media Player 10
A beautiful 3.7" VGA display, capable of 640x480 resolution!
Integrated Intel 2700g graphics processor with 16MB of RAM
Integrated 802.11b Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity

With such incredible graphics processing power, many people are ripping their DVD's down to fit on the SD or CF cards and playing movies on them! I've played a few smaller movie trailers so far - still working on getting a full length movie on there. Video games are also top notch. Can't wait to take this on the plane with me next time!

It's very cool to be able to wander around the house with your PDA and surf the net and check email at the same time with its built-in wifi card. Another cool trick, is to use a wireless Bluetooth keyboard such as the Dell Executive Bluetooth Keyboard. This makes it MUCH easier to type an email or jot down some notes, rather than trying to tap on the tiny on-screen keyboard or use the hand writing recognizer.

I've also found an excellent source for information on my Dell Axim over at www.AximSite.com, especially on their message boards.

For my next trick, i'd like to get a new Bluetooth enabled cell phone and allow my Axim to connect to it wirelessly and use the phone as a modem to get me out to the Internet from just about anywhere.