Memory Leak in Spoolss.exe Causes Performance Degradation (183419)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0

This article was previously published under Q183419

SYMPTOMS

Over time, the Windows NT system responsiveness appears sluggish, and clients may report a gradual decrease in system performance.

By tracking the amount of Private Bytes for Spoolss.exe, it can be observed that, over time, it increases without decreasing. This is viewable using Windows NT Performance Monitor by choosing the following counter to monitor:

   Object: Process
   Instance: Spoolss.exe
   Counter: Private Bytes

CAUSE

The spooler leaks memory from the heap until all system memory is exhausted.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 4.

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	9/23/2005
Keywords:	kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbbug kbfix KB183419