You cannot start Interix or other processes at a command prompt if the environment block is larger than 16 kilobytes (841121)

RESOLUTION

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 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.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix replaces the hotfix that is described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 838250. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

828350 FIX: The POSIX subsystem for Interix does not start successfully after Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (S) is installed

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) 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 item in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version            Size    File name
   --------------------------------------------------------------
   23-Apr-2004  22:38  8.0.1969.5        130,048  Posix.exe        
   23-Apr-2004  22:39  8.0.1969.5        104,448  Psxrun.exe       
   23-Apr-2004  22:38  8.0.1969.5        763,904  Psxss.exe

MORE INFORMATION

If you want to start the Interix program at the command prompt, first determine the size of the environment block. To do this, run the following command:

set > set.tmp && dir set.tmp && del set.tmp

The value of the set.tmp option is approximately the size of the environment block for the command prompt. Before you apply this hotfix, you cannot start Interix processes if the value of the set.tmp option is larger than 16 kilobytes (KB).

After you apply this hotfix, you can start Interix processes at a command prompt if the environment block of the calling process is smaller than 1 megabyte (MB).