How to Configure Administrative Alerts in Windows 2000

Windows 2000 does not seem to include a way for adding recipients to receive Administrative alerts. There is no obvious Windows 2000 administrative tool or Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in to configure Alerter service recipients.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Although there is no new method of managing recipients for alerts, Windows 2000 Server products contain a new version of the Server Manager tool to administer Windows NT domains and computers. The program file is named Srvmgr.exe; you can use it to add Administrative alert recipients to and remove Administrative alert recipients from the local Windows 2000-based computer's Alerter service.

Note that Windows 2000 Professional does not include the Srvmgr.exe utility. To add Alerter service recipients for Windows 2000 Professional-based computers, you must add them manually using Registry Editor.

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and locate the following key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Alerter\Parameters
2. Double-click the AlertNames:REG_MULTI_SZ value.
3. Add the computers or users you want to receive Administrative alerts. Each recipient should be on a separate line in the Data dialog box.
4. Click OK when you are finished adding entries.
5. Quit Regedt32.exe.

NOTE: Administrative alerts rely on both the Alerter and Messenger services. Make sure that the Alerter service is running on the source computer and that the Messenger service is running on the recipient computer. You can use the net start command to view and start these services.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.