The workflow upgrade process takes a long time when you upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0

When you upgrade Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, the upgrade process takes a long time to be completed.

This problem occurs when the WFProcessInstance table contains many workflow instances.

A setup update is available from Microsoft. When you install Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, or when you upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, you can check for setup updates. If you select the option to check for setup updates, the application downloads any new setup updates and applies the setup updates to the installation while the setup process is running.

Installation information

To obtain this fix, use the Update Installation Files option during Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 setup. For more information about how to use the Update Installation Files option or how to manually download the setup update, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Removal information

The setup update cannot be removed.

To work around this issue, update the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 installation by using the self-healing setup functionality. Before you run the upgrading application, change the following registry keys in the registry of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 server.

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSCRM\WorkflowUpgradeThreadCount
  
  Set the REG_DWORD value to 1.
  
  Notes
  • You can enter any decimal number greater than or equal to 1 on this registry entry.
  • The suggested maximum number of threads should be calculated based on the number of processors on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 server times 2. For example, if the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server has two processors, then the maximum number of threads should be 4.
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSCRM\WorkflowUpgradeTimeout
  
  Set the REG_DWORD value to 15.
  
  Notes
  • The value on this registry entry represents the time interval in minutes that a thread will wait before upgrading the workflow.
  • If the workflow takes longer to upgrade than the value specified in this registry entry, the workflow will fail and the next workflow will be processed.
  • If the time interval that you set in this registry entry is too short, many workflows may not be upgraded.
  • If the value in the WorkflowUpgradeTimeout field is too long, time-outs will occur more frequently. The number of time-outs may vary based on the resources that are available on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server. These resources can be RAM cycles or CPU cycles.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about Microsoft Business Solutions CRM software hotfix and update package terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: