Environment
Novell Client 2 SP1 IR5 for Windows 7
Avast Pro
Windows 7
Avast Pro
Windows 7
Situation
After installing the Novell Client 2 SP1 IR5 on a Windows 7 PC and logging in, many broadcast pop up messages are presented eventually causing NWTRAY to crash.
Resolution
This issue is currently under investigation and has not yet been duplicated by Novell. One possibility is a conflict between Avast Pro and the Novell Client. Currently, removing Avast Pro appears to resolve the issue. If removing Avast Pro is not an option, the only other known workaround is to turn off the option to receive broadcast messages in the Novell client. To turn off the option to receive broadcast messages:
1) Right click the red N in the systray and select Novell Client Properties
2) Select the Advanced Settings tab and find the option for Receive Broadcast Message
3) Change the default from All to None click OK
4) The change will require a reboot
If the red N is inaccessible:
1) Open the Control Panel and go to "Network and Sharing Center"
2) Select "Change adapter settings"
3) Highlight a network adapter and select Properties
4) Highlight the installed Novell Client component bound to the adapter and press "Properties" to access the Novell Client Properties
5) Click on the Advanced Settings tab and locate the Receive Broadcast Messages setting
6) Change the setting from All to None
7) Click OK and Close. You will be prompted to restart the PC which you will need to do in order for this setting to take effect.
1) Right click the red N in the systray and select Novell Client Properties
2) Select the Advanced Settings tab and find the option for Receive Broadcast Message
3) Change the default from All to None click OK
4) The change will require a reboot
If the red N is inaccessible:
1) Open the Control Panel and go to "Network and Sharing Center"
2) Select "Change adapter settings"
3) Highlight a network adapter and select Properties
4) Highlight the installed Novell Client component bound to the adapter and press "Properties" to access the Novell Client Properties
5) Click on the Advanced Settings tab and locate the Receive Broadcast Messages setting
6) Change the setting from All to None
7) Click OK and Close. You will be prompted to restart the PC which you will need to do in order for this setting to take effect.
Additional Information
As mentioned, we have been unable to duplicate this issue in our Novell lab. We suspect there is something installed or configured locally on the workstation, such as a firewall or anti-malware product that is somehow interfering with NWTRAY.EXE being able to call down to Novell Client to wait for a new message.
The observation of getting many "empty messages" is because NWTRAY.EXE keeps trying to call down and wait for a new message, but keeps getting immediately satisfied with "success" but no actual message data.
If you are a customer experiencing this issue and have a specific set of instructions for duplicating this issue, please e-mail patchfeedback@novell.com with the subject of "Broadcast messages cause NWTRAY to crash". Please include the configuration details and steps to duplicate.
The observation of getting many "empty messages" is because NWTRAY.EXE keeps trying to call down and wait for a new message, but keeps getting immediately satisfied with "success" but no actual message data.
If you are a customer experiencing this issue and have a specific set of instructions for duplicating this issue, please e-mail patchfeedback@novell.com with the subject of "Broadcast messages cause NWTRAY to crash". Please include the configuration details and steps to duplicate.