Resetting Hung Winstations

OK Here we go. One hung workstation can prevent all users from logging on. That said this procedure needs to be, maybe, taught to your operators.

Connect to the server causing the problems if you are at a remote site, it is best to try and use the system console in the computer room if you are at admin.

Go to Winstation Administration in the administrative tools folder. Highlight the Winstation that is hanging up and press the red reset button.

That probably didnt work.

First disable anymore logins so no more stations hang and the hung station doesnt keep trying to come back in Click on MS Dos Prompt icon in administrative tools or main folder and type in the command:

Change winstation /disable

(NOTE:Remember to re-enable logins when you are through!)

Next type in the command....

QWINSTA |more 

If a hung winstation is the real cause of the problem the command will not complete and you will have to hit Ctrl+C to get back to the dos prompt.

Next run

QWINSTA /debug |more

The last winstation displayed should show as being disconnected. Note the ID for this Winstation and press Ctrl+C to return to the dos prompt

Reset the Winstation with the following command:

reset winsta /v ID 

Where ID is the id of the last winstation displayed from the qwinsta /debug command.

Give this command some time to complete, it does work and prevents you from having to reboot the server.

If it doesnt work here is something else I have found that does. Go back into Winstation Administration in the administrative tools folder and click on the hung workstation. Write down the 3 digit PID(process ID) of the all of the running processes on the winstation.

Go back to the dos prompt and type the following for each one of the PID's. A couple will not let you kill them just keep going.

kill PID

Where PID is the process ID number. There are usually only about 4 processes running on a really hung station. I have also found that some have been hanging from full print queues so check the printer in print manager and purge the printer if that seems to be the problem.

After you have killed all possible processes re-enable logins by typing:

Change winstation /enable

Then call the branch and have them turn the terminal off and then on again. It should come up.

If all else fails reboot the server and run!

Disclaimer: This information is supplied as is and is intended for information purposes only. Use this information at your own risk. The internet can often contain false or misleading information. While this is generally not the case with my personal documents I have to put this text here for legal purposes.