Error message when you try to back up or to export configuration information for ISA Server 2006: "The task is not activated. There is not enough memory to complete the operation."

When you try to back up or to export configuration information for Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006, you receive the following error message:You experience this problem whether you try to perform this operation at the array level or at the enterprise level.

This problem occurs if memory allocation for Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) is unsuccessful during the reformatting stage of the ISA Server export process. For more information about this process, see the "More Information" section.

A hotfix is available for computers that are running ISA Server 2006. To resolve this problem, install the hotfix that is described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Hotfix installation information

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.

By default, the behavior that this hotfix provides is not enabled. To enable this hotfix, follow these steps.

Note After you enable this hotfix, the exported XML data is not formatted. However, tools such as ISAInfo.hta can read the XML data without a problem. Also, ISA Server import operations can read the unformatted XML data.

1. Exit the ISA Server Management console if it is running.
2. Add the following registry entry:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\RAT\Stingray\Debug\COM\
   
   Name: DO_NOT_BEAUTIFY
   Value type: REG_DWORD
   Value data: 1
3. Exit Registry Editor.

You can also set the registry entry by using a .reg file. To do this, paste the following code into a text file that has a .reg file name extension.Note After this update is installed, you can use this registry entry to change the behavior of the ISA export process. Because ISA Server only reads this registry entry during the export process, you do not have to restart ISA Server-related services when you do this.

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

In ISA Server, the export process and the import process use MSXML to translate ISA configuration information to an XML document. By default, XML documents are not formatted. To make the exported XML more readable, ISA Server uses MSXML to reformat the XML data after the export operation is complete. Because ISA Server holds the original XML document in memory until the reformatting operation succeeds, the reformatting operation causes MSXML to use at least the same amount of memory for the reformatted XML document as for the original XML document. This behavior may exceed available user memory on the computer.

After you apply the hotfix that is mentioned in this article and then set the appropriate registry entry, ISA Server skips the reformat process during the export operation.

For more information about a similar error message, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: