We very recently discovered a bug in classic ASP (asp.dll) you get installing the Service Pack 2 for Windows 2003; removing the SP2 makes it work again as expected, so this is a regression bug introduced by the service pack itself. Basically with SP2 installed, the Session_OnEnd() method in classic ASP is not fired anymore, thus breaking all applications which rely on that event to run cleanup code.
We already have some reports from customers, either directly to CSS or in Newsgroups. I know my colleagues are already well on this, a private fix has been produced and is being tested internally (as far as I know it works) and we are writing a KB article to document this.
The process is still ongoing so I don't have (and can't give you) further details on this, but I guess it's a matter of days before this will be publicly available; of course I'll update this post when we'll have the KB available.
Update (03/04/2007)The KB article is still a draft and not public yet (should be released soon, anyway) but the fix is ready; you can get it calling CSS and ask for the hotfix #934903.
Update (17/04/2007)The KB article has been published: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;934903
Cheers
Unfortunately I don't have this information, I already tried to have something official a few months ago but at that time this fix was not scheduled to be released publicly because of the very low volume of requests we got... anyway I just pinged again the people in charge to make this decision, I'll update the post as soon as I'll get some news
Rich, the article has been corrected
I just called support for the hot fix. Had to be transferred a quite a bit. Make sure you call for IIS support and not Win 2K3. Call is indeed free for a hot fix. However I was charged due to being transferred around. Guess it wasn't noted with the different departments I was talking to, so double check at the end of your call. I was able to get it refunded.
I'm still waiting for the hot fix to be sent. Basically they tell you to fill out a form and will send you the file through email.
Weird you were charged for the call, *all* departments and teams in CSS know that hotfix/bug calls must be closed as "Non decrement", that's Microsoft policy not just a rule some teams have and some don't... :o)
Depending on the workload on the team it might take some time (maybe the day after, if you open the call towards the end of the day) for someone to pick the case and send the fix.
Hi. I need your help. I have a problem with an ASP application that works with components (COM+). I receive the next error: " method ~ of 'object ~ 'failed", but this error occurs when a component calls another component, and this one calls one more. If the second component don't call another, there isn't error. Can you help me? This error appears when I installed Win2003SP2, if SP2 is uninstalled, the error disappear.
Thank you.
Hi Marce, usually that error appears when a COM component is not registered (regsvr32 <name.dll>): I guess you already tried with it?
Let me know; if we don't find anything quickly you may consider to create a support call to better and "officially" troubleshoot the problem.
HTH
I'm having the same problem. The Session_OnEnd event was firing perfectly before Windows 2003 Service Pack 2.
I've applied hotfix #934903 and rebooted the server. No difference, the event still isn't firing.
Any ideas?
Hi Surinder, please check of the file you have in your server matches the version installed with the fix:
Asp.dll 6.0.3790.4050
If it does and the event still does not fire then I suggest you to open a support call because you're very likely facing a different problem which just appears with the same symptoms of this bug. Let me know.
THT
Hi Carloc, I was mistaken. It is now firing. The example I was using to debug contained Request.ServerVariables("REMOTE_ADDR") in the Session_OnEnd routine which was causing it to fail.
Thanks, Surinder
Hi,
I just discovered this bug. It is a 10 month old one and still MS did not provided an official HotFix. I submitted a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services, ad requested in the KB page (KB934903), but got no reply.
Any idea of how can I get the hotfix ? Why they weren't able to fix it after 10 months ? Are they simply trying to remove .asp from IIS ?
Many Thanks,
Nick.
Hi Nicola, the fix has been made available a few days after the bug has been discovered, and if you look at previous comments in this post you'll see that other people got the fix pretty quickly and fixed the problem quite easily.
If you have not heard anything back from the online support I can only think of a specific issue with your request, not that the fix is not available...
So please open a "standard" support call through http://support.microsoft.com (choose the page for your country) and you'll be contacted by a Support Engineer (possibly me, if you're based in EMEA) and we'll immediately send you the fix, of course free of charge.
Feel free to contact me throw the "email" link at the top of this page if something is still not clear or does not work as you expected
carloc,
Thank you! Microsoft should give you a raise as your answers are very well presented despite the large volume of idiotic requests on this blog. I have spent many hours trying to figure out why Session_OnEnd would no longer fire when we knew that it was working in the past. I finally came accross the KB article that described the issue and when I followed the link to request the hotfix I got the following response:
-------------------------------
I am unable to locate the hotfix mentioned in KB article 934903 for the product you have specified.
I recommend contacting Microsoft Support Professional at (800) 936-5700 for further assistance. The working hours are Monday - Friday 5:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M. Pacific time, Saturday - Sunday 6:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. Pacific time.
I hope the issue is resolved soon and appreciate your patience in this regard.
Thank you for using Microsoft products and services.
Nandini
Microsoft Customer Service Representative
I was very disapointed by this response, however when I called CSS, the rep I talked to was very friendly and helpful and was kind enough to send me the hotfix right away (and free of charge as you mentioned).
To all the people with this issue: TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS ENTIRE BLOG before you post a request for someone to send you the file. Microsoft will fix the issue for free, why is this so hard to understand?
Hotfix received from Microsoft -fixed our issue.
Thanks for the advice, but can i ask why you guys distribute hotfixes like this?
if it has been confirmed that the dll has a bug in it, and that this has proven consequences... surely you should either have a windows update for it, or (presumably because you don't want to bump up the numbers for that one) have a download link on the KB page.
bearing in mind that a lot of the time, devs work through the night trying to fix bugs etc....and our local office could well be out of hours by the time we EVENTUALLY find a page like this one telling us what's going on.
you've had a fix available ... on a SERVER os (ie, possibly business critical) for over a YEAR now and I STILL cant get it without making a PHONECALL? what year is this?
Jim, thanks for your feedback and I understand your concern; if you have a look at my other post (http://blogs.msdn.com/carloc/archive/2007/05/08/the-public-private-hotfix-debate.aspx) you can see that this is an ongoing discussion I've been into almost since I joined Microsoft. The reasons for this choice are complex but I tried to discuss at least some of the (the most important in my opinion) in that post.
Anyway things are moving as you can imagine, and for example some time ago (do not remember exactly when, but are quite a few months now) at least some of those hotfixes (for sure the ones for Visual Studio and the .NET Framework) are made available directly to you through the Connect site (see http://connect.microsoft.com/content/content.aspx?ContentID=3705&siteid=210); to be honest I don't know now how long it will take to have *every* hotfix available that way but at least you have a place where you can have a look if you find in the need to, before calling Microsoft Support.
As a side note let me state that since the fix has been made available over one year ago that's not enough to tell "Ok, now you can get it without calling CSS"... for the reasons exaplined in my other post (less testing, potential impact on the system etc...) those hotfixes will always be private and you'll always have to call CSS to get them. Unless those are eventually included in a Service Pack (and most of them actually are) or will be made available through the Connect site (or whatever other form the people responsible to make this decision will choose).