FIX: COM Applications May Cause a Kernel-Mode Memory Leak (821457)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000, when used with:
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000 SP1
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000 SP2
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000 SP3
    • the operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4

SYMPTOMS

Some COM applications may cause a leak in the kernel-mode memory. When the leak occurs, Performance Monitor verifies that the value of the Pool Nonpaged Bytes counter increases over time.

CAUSE

A bug in the COM runtime may cause registry notifications to build up.

MORE INFORMATION

This bug does not affect the majority of COM applications. It affects only applications that repeatedly initialize and then uninitialize COM runtime. For example, this bug affects applications that call the CoInitialize function and the CoUninitialize function in a loop. To determine whether an application is affected by this bug, run REGEDIT.EXE, and then quit REGEDIT.EXE without making any changes. When you run and then quit REGEDIT.EXE without making changes, all the registry notifications are cleaned up.

Note If your application is affected by this bug, you notice a decrease in the use of nonpooled page memory.

How to Obtain the Hotfix

This issue is fixed in the Windows 2000 Pre-Service Pack 5 COM+ Hotfix Package . For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

822618 INFO: Availability of Windows 2000 Post-Service Pack 4 COM+ Hotfix Rollup Package 27

RESOLUTION

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 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.

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:10/5/2005
Keywords:kbBug kbfix kbQFE KB821457 kbAudDeveloper
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