Large Zeroing Operations Cause Systems To Appear Hung (129600)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
This article was previously published under Q129600 SYMPTOMS
Large zeroing operations on Windows NT file system (NTFS) formatted drives
may cause Windows NT to appear to hung. The hang only affects the physical
drive on which the zeroing operation occurs. The length of the hang depend
on how much space has to be cleared and the speed of the system.
For example, if you have a 100 MB file, and an application writes one byte
at offset 200 MB. Windows NT initializes the disk space between 100 MB to
200 MB. This ensures that the space is actually available on the disk. In
addition, the space is erased so that old erased data is secure. The
zeroing operation occurs synchronously so that any attempt to access this
disk will be queued up until this action is complete.
NOTE: This information applies only to NTFS drives.
CAUSE
The zeroing operations are being submitted synchronously.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 3.5.
This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for Windows
NT version 3.5. For information on obtaining the Service Pack, query on the
following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):
S E R V P A C K
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 11/4/2003 |
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| Keywords: | KB129600 |
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