You Receive a "STOP 0x00000050" Error Message in Win32k.sys (317372)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition SP6
This article was previously published under Q317372

SYMPTOMS

You may receive the following error message on a blue screen in Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition:
STOP 0x00000050 (0xa4032000, 0x00000001, 0x00000000, 0xc02900c8)

CAUSE

This error message occurs if the data value for the AppInit_Dlls value in the following registry key contains more than 32 characters:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows

This situation is not handled by Win32k.sys properly and causes the pool to become corrupted.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later: 
   Date         Time   Version         Size       File name
   ---------------------------------------------------------
   20-Feb-2002  16:12  4.0.1381.33529    170,256  Gdi32.dll
   20-Feb-2002  16:12  4.0.1381.33529    332,048  User32.dll
   04-Mar-2002  18:27  4.0.1381.33532  1,279,856  Win32k.sys
   20-Feb-2002  16:14  4.0.1381.33529    196,368  Winsrv.dll

WORKAROUND

You can apply the hotfix, or you can use the Ln.exe tool from the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit to create "hard" links with shorter names to the DLLs that are listed in the AppInit_Dlls value. Place the "hard" links in the same folder as the original DLLs. Then, change the AppInit_Dlls value to use your new "hard" links with short names. You can leave the file extension off when you change the AppInit_Dlls value.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:9/30/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbbug kbfix kbQFE kbWinNT400nospFix KB317372
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.