Error: "Logon User Interface DLL msgina.dll failed to load"

A Windows 2000 guest operating system with Service Pack 3 installed may fail to boot with the following error: The Logon User Interface DLL msgina.dll failed to load.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in these Microsoft products.

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server Service Pack 3
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 3
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 3

Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 solves this problem, and VMware recommends that you upgrade your Windows 2000 guest operating systems to Service Pack 4.

If you cannot upgrade your guest operating system, a supported fix is available from Microsoft. Please refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 329316.

If your guest operating system does not boot, try the following workaround to allow you to boot. This workaround replaces the Service Pack 3 msgina.dll with the originally supplied msgina.dll on the Windows 2000 installation CD.

Perform the following steps to extract and replace msgina.dll:

1. Insert the Windows 2000 installation CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.
2. Boot into setup using the CD-ROM.
3. Select emergency recovery console.
4. Change to the CD-ROM drive.
5. Change to the i386 directory in CD-ROM drive.
6. In a command prompt, type the following command:
   expand msgina.dl_ C:\WINNT\system32\msgina.dll
   (Change the destination drive letter if \WINNT is not in the default location.)
7. Reboot the virtual machine.