BUG: CRITICAL_SECTION is Defined Incorrectly in API Text Viewer (197569)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows 6.0
Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows 6.0
Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows 6.0
Microsoft Visual Basic Control Creation Edition for Windows 5.0
Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows 5.0
Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows 5.0
Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows 5.0
Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition, 32-bit, for Windows 4.0
Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition, 32-bit, for Windows 4.0
Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition, 32-bit, for Windows 4.0

This article was previously published under Q197569

SYMPTOMS

The API Text Viewer definition for CRITICAL_SECTION is incorrect and will cause an access violation or corrupt the memory directly following any variables of this type.

CAUSE

The API Text Viewer defines CRITICAL_SECTION as follows:

   Type CRITICAL_SECTION
      dummy As Long
   End Type

If you use this definition, you may receive access violations or you may notice that the variables declared directly after a critical section are overwritten or corrupted when you call any of the critical section APIs.

RESOLUTION

The following is a proper definition for CRITICAL_SECTION:

   Type CRITICAL_SECTION
      Reserved1 As Long
      Reserved2 As Long
      Reserved3 As Long
      Reserved4 As Long
      Reserved5 As Long
      Reserved6 As Long
   End Type

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

You should never access the members of the CRITICAL_SECTION structure directly. An object of this type is designed to be manipulated through the following Win32 APIs:

   InitializeCriticalSection()
   EnterCriticalSection()
   LeaveCriticalSection()
   DeleteCriticalSection()

For more information, refer to the MSDN documentation for critical sections.

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	7/15/2004
Keywords:	kbBug kbKernBase kbpending kbThread KB197569