Negative Hard Disk Free Size Reported on Virtual Memory Tab in System Properties (272620)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 98
This article was previously published under Q272620

SYMPTOMS

When you view the Virtual Memory tab in System properties, the hard disk free size is reported as a negative number if your hard disk has more than 32 gigabytes (GB) of free space. If you use the arrows (the spinner controls) to change the values in the Minimum and Maximum size boxes for the paging file, negative numbers are also displayed.

CAUSE

The boxes display incorrect numbers for values that are larger than 32 GB.

RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone 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 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  Operating system
  -------------------------------------------------------------------
  09/12/2000  02:31p  4.10.2224  384,144  Sysdm.cpl  Windows 98 
                                                     Second Edition
  09/15/2000  08:03p  4.90.3001  389,920  Sysdm.cpl  Windows Me

WORKAROUND

You can ignore the incorrectly listed free space because Windows internally interprets the numbers correctly as large positive numbers.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

This fix also limits the spinner control to 4,096 megabytes (MB) because that is the upper boundary for a paging file.

For additional information about Windows Me hotfixes, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

295413 General Information About Windows Millennium Edition Hotfixes

For additional information about Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition hotfixes, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

206071 General Information on Windows 98 and SE Hotfixes

A hardware BIOS upgrade may also be required if it does not support large hard drives properly.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/18/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbenv kbprb kbQFE kbui KB272620
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