How To Change the Transaction Time-Out Value for MTS or COM+

This article explains how to change the time-out value for Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) transactions that are controlled by Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) or COM+.

When a method call is made on a transactional component that is configured in either MTS or COM+, an MS DTC transaction is started for that component. When the method call completes, the transaction is either committed or canceled, depending on whether any errors were encountered. If the method call runs for longer than the transaction time-out value, the transaction is automatically canceled. The following steps explain how to increase the time-out value. You can also set the time-out to a value of 0 (zero), which means that transaction never times out. However, when you set the time-out value to 0, your application may stop responding (hang).

Steps to Set the Transaction Time-Out Value in MTS on Windows NT 4.0

1. On the Start menu, open MTS Explorer.
2. Click to expand the Microsoft Transaction Server and Computers nodes.
3. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
4. On the Options tab, type the necessary value in the Transaction Timeout text box.

Steps to Set the Global Transaction Time-Out in COM+

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Component Services.
2. Click to expand the Component Services and Computers nodes.
3. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
4. On the Options tab, type the necessary value in the Transaction Timeout text box.

In addition, COM+ allows you to set a time-out value on any component whose transaction level is set to either "Requires" or "Requires New". This component-level time-out value overrides the global time-out value.

Steps to Set a Component's Transaction Time-Out Value in COM+

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Component Services.
2. Click to expand the Component Services, Computers, My Computer, and COM+ Applications nodes.
3. Click to expand the desired application and Components nodes.
4. Right-click the component, and then click Properties.
5. On the Transactions tab, select the Override global transaction timeout value check box, and type the necessary value in the Transaction Timeout text box. Click OK.
6. Quit the application so that this change can take effect.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: