"STOP: c000021a (Fatal System Error)" Error Occurs (330303)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
This article was previously published under Q330303

SYMPTOMS

When you try to log on to a domain on a Windows 2000-based computer, a Winlogon error dialog box briefly appears and then the following Stop error message occurs:
STOP: c000021a (Fatal System Error)
The Windows Logon Process System process terminated unexpectedly with a status of 0xc0000005 (0x0000000 0x00000000). The system has been shut down.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if the fully qualified domain name ( FQDN) of your computer is exactly 200 bytes long. During logon, one character more than the 200-byte allocation is written and heap corruption occurs.

RESOLUTION

Service Pack Information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Hotfix Information

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. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows 2000 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, 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/contactus/?ws=support

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 typical 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 has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. 
   Date         Time   Version         Size     File name
   ---------------------------------------------------------
   24-Oct-2002  01:33  5.0.2195.6102   46,864   Secur32.dll

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, rename the computer so that it is one character shorter. If you do so, the FQDN is less than 200 characters long and the heap corruption does not occur.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how to obtain a hotfix for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

265173 The Datacenter Program and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Product

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/10/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbQFE kbWin2kSP4fix kbWin2000preSP4Fix kbfix kbbug KB330303 kbAudITPRO
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