DOCUMENT:Q197569  11-JAN-2001  [vbwin]
TITLE   :BUG: CRITICAL_SECTION is Defined Incorrectly in API Text Viewer
PRODUCT :Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
PROD/VER:WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,6.0
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:kbKernBase kbThread kbVBp400bug kbVBp500bug kbVBp600bug kbGrpDSVB

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Control Creation Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition, 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition, 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
 - Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition, 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

The API Text Viewer definition for CRITICAL_SECTION is incorrect and will cause
an access violation or corrupt the memory directly following any variables of
this type.

CAUSE
=====

The API Text Viewer defines CRITICAL_SECTION as follows:

      Type CRITICAL_SECTION
         dummy As Long
      End Type

If you use this definition, you may receive access violations or you may notice
that the variables declared directly after a critical section are overwritten or
corrupted when you call any of the critical section APIs.

RESOLUTION
==========

The following is a proper definition for CRITICAL_SECTION:

      Type CRITICAL_SECTION
         Reserved1 As Long
         Reserved2 As Long
         Reserved3 As Long
         Reserved4 As Long
         Reserved5 As Long
         Reserved6 As Long
      End Type

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the
beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION
================

You should never access the members of the CRITICAL_SECTION structure directly.
An object of this type is designed to be manipulated through the following Win32
APIs:

      InitializeCriticalSection()
      EnterCriticalSection()
      LeaveCriticalSection()
      DeleteCriticalSection()

For more information, refer to the MSDN documentation for critical sections.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbKernBase kbThread kbVBp400bug kbVBp500bug kbVBp600bug kbGrpDSVB 
Technology        : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2 kbVB500Search kbVB600Search kbVBA500Search kbVBA500 kbVBA600 kbVB500 kbVB600 kbVB400Search kbVB400 kbZNotKeyword3
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,6.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbpending

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