The DisablePagingExecutive Setting May Cause Windows 2000 to Hang (323608)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP2
This article was previously published under Q323608

SYMPTOMS

Your computer may stop responding (hang) if you run Windows 2000 with the DisablePagingExecutive setting turned on.

CAUSE

The problem occurs because memory management does not return the resident available pages that are used by a driver when the driver is unloaded from the session space. This causes Windows to act as if it has no available physical memory.

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 hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend 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
   ----------------------------------------------------------
   31-May-2002  10:48  5.0.2195.5265     42,256  Basesrv.dll
   31-May-2002  10:48  5.0.2195.4928    708,880  Kernel32.dll
   31-May-2002  10:45  5.0.2195.5843  1,687,488  Ntkrnlmp.exe
   31-May-2002  10:46  5.0.2195.5843  1,687,296  Ntkrnlpa.exe
   31-May-2002  10:46  5.0.2195.5843  1,707,776  Ntkrpamp.exe
   31-May-2002  10:45  5.0.2195.5843  1,665,216  Ntoskrnl.exe
   19-Apr-2002  17:45  5.2.2.2            3,584  Spmsg.dll
   19-Apr-2002  17:46  5.2.2.2           44,032  Spuninst.exe
   12-Jun-2001  22:05  5.0.2195.3727      3,856  Svcpack1.dll

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 turning off Paging Executive, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

184419 How to Stop the NTExecutive from Paging to Disk

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

For additional information about how to install multiple hotfixes with only one reboot, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

296861 Use QChain.exe to Install Multiple Hotfixes with One Reboot

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/11/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbOSWin2000fix kbWin2kSP4fix kbbug kbfix kbWin2000preSP4Fix KB323608
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