You Receive a "User32.dll Failed" Initialization Error Message, or the User Interface Does Not Update Correctly (826518)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

SYMPTOMS

If a program (for example, Microsoft Word) uses a Graphics Device Interface (GDI) API function that creates a brush, such as CreateSolidBrush, and if the program removes a window before it removes the brush, GDI resources may become low, and you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
  • You receive an error message that is similar to the following:
    Service_Name - DLL initialization failure Initialization of the dynamic link library c:\windows\system32\user32.dll failed. The process is terminating abnormally.
  • The user interface may not update correctly. For example, menus do not display correctly, button text is lost, or icon images do not repaint.

CAUSE

This issue occurs because the operating system can leak a handle to a GDI brush object if a window is removed before the brush is removed.

For more information about how to troubleshoot this leak, see the "More Information" section of this article.

RESOLUTION

Windows Server 2003

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, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows Server 2003 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. 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 usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.PrerequisitesNo prerequisites are required.Restart RequirementYou must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.Hotfix Replacement InformationThis hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.File InformationThe English version of this hotfix 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 
  -------------------------------------------------------
  08-Dec-2003  06:11  5.2.3790.110  1,811,456  Win32k.sys

Windows 2000

Hotfix Information

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 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 usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.PrerequisitesTo apply this hotfix, you must have Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4) installed on your computer. For additional information about how to obtain the latest service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Restart RequirementYou must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.Hotfix Replacement InformationThis hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.File InformationThe English version of this hotfix 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
   --------------------------------------------------------------
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6738      42,256  Basesrv.dll      
   17-Jan-2003  16:06  5.0.2195.6656     236,304  Cmd.exe          
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6762     222,992  Gdi32.dll        
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6816     711,440  Kernel32.dll     
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6807     333,584  Msgina.dll       
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6701      90,232  Rdpwd.sys
   04-Sep-2003  17:06  5.0.2195.6801   5,232,128  Sp3res.dll       
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6799     380,176  User32.dll       
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6794     385,808  Userenv.dll      
   08-Sep-2003  17:21  5.0.2195.6817   1,628,464  Win32k.sys
   03-Sep-2003  22:13  5.0.2195.6815     182,032  Winlogon.exe     
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6775     243,984  Winsrv.dll       
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6816     711,440  Kernel32.dll     
   08-Sep-2003  17:21  5.0.2195.6817   1,628,464  Win32k.sys
   10-Sep-2003  18:52  5.0.2195.6775     243,984  Winsrv.dll

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

To troubleshoot this problem, use the Gdiobj.exe tool to monitor the Brush column for PID 0. PID 0 represents GDI objects that are not private. If the Brush column continuously increases but does not decrease, you may be experiencing the leak that is described in this article. In this case, you can see the leak when you start and stop Microsoft Word; the Brush column increases by 2, but when you exit the program, it does not decrease.

To download the Gdiobj.exe tool, visit the following Feng Yuan Web site:

http://www.fengyuan.com/download.html

For addition information about GDI objects, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/sysinfo/base/gdi_objects.asp

For additional information about how hotfix packages are named , click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

816915 New Naming Schema for Microsoft Windows Hotfix Packages

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/28/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbBug kbfix kbQFE kbWin2000preSP5fix KB826518
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