Access Violation in Perfmon When Using Long Extensible Counter DLL Path in the Registry (242472)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 SP4
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 SP5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0 SP4
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition 4.0 SP5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP4
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SP5

This article was previously published under Q242472

SYMPTOMS

If the Performance Monitor extensible counter dynamic-link library (DLL) path in the registry contains more than 62 characters, you receive an "Access violation" error message in Performance Monitor (Perfmon.exe) when you click Add Counters in any chart, log, or report.

CAUSE

This problem can occur if the Performance Monitor extensible counter DLL path in the registry, which is a long string of more than 62 characters, gets concatenated in the small size buffer. This causes a buffer overflow.

RESOLUTION

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.

To resolve this problem, 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: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-language of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:
   Date      Time                 Size    File name     Platform
   -------------------------------------------------------------
   09/24/99  05:59 PM             247,056 Advapi32.dll	Intel
   09/24/99  05:58 PM             404,240 Advapi32.dll	Alpha
				

STATUS

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

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:9/23/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbfix kbprb KB242472