Changing the Home Virtual Root to a New Empty Directory

• Microsoft Commercial Internet System, version 1.0

SYMPTOMS

The following problem occurs if you change the home virtual root on the directories page to a directory that exists but is empty, and start the service. The service starts successfully, but it deletes from the active list any newsgroups that require special handling because they contain Windows NT reserved words (comp.unix.aux, comp.lang.icon, and so forth).

The client will be able to list active, but will be unable to execute a group command against any newsgroup. The user will receive error 502 Access Denied, as follows:

   200 NNTP Service Microsoft Internet Services 5.00.7460 Version:
   5.0.0.7460 Posting Allowed
   list active comp.unix.a*
   215 list of newsgroups follow
   comp.unix.admin 36 1 y
   comp.unix.advocacy 32 1 y
   comp.unix.aix 56 1 y
   comp.unix.amiga 3 1 y
   .
   group comp.unix.aix
   502 Access Denied.

WORKAROUND

Do not change the home virtual root on the directories page.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Commercial Internet System (MCIS) Internet News Server version 1.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.