The Windows NT registry rapidly becomes filled with useless registry entries.
Specifically, numerous Windows registry entries of the following form may be created:
LEGACY_WS_HELPER_2473AD60.CB0D11D0.8A4B.00:60:97:97:F1:56
They are located under the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root
In the extreme case, enough entries may be created to fill the Windows NT registry file so that the OS installation is unusable.
New behavior introduced by MicroSoft in Windows NT 4.0 causes the operating system to create an entry with the prefix "LEGACY_" for each unique service name created on a host system. These entries are never removed, even after the service is removed from the system. Because the Attache helper creates a temporary service for each client logon attempt performed, Windows NT 4.0 creates one for each Attache logon attempt. As a result, numerous registry entries are built.
We have fixed this problem ClearCase 3.1.1.
The helper now generates simpler service names that it reuses whenever possible. The number of registry entries created by Windows NT 4.0 will therefore be limited to the maximum number of Attache helper processes that have ever executed concurrently on the host. The new entries have the form "LEGACY_WS_HELPER_1", "LEGACY_WS_HELPER_2", ... "LEGACY_WS_HELPER_N".
In the meantime, to remove existing helper registry entries, you can obtain a small application, regwsfixup.exe, from Rational Support. The person who runs the program must have local Administrator privileges on the helper host.
If you have any questions regarding the situations discussed in this Technical Bulletin, please contact Customer Support at support@rational.com or (781) 676-2450 in Massachusetts or 31-23-569-4310 in the Netherlands.