How to Troubleshoot Windows Internal Stack Overflow Errors

ID: Q145799

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

This article lists steps to help you troubleshoot problems with stack overflow errors in Windows.


MORE INFORMATION

Stacks are reserved memory that programs use for processing hardware events. A stack overflow occurs when there is not enough space in memory to run the hardware interrupt routines. Changing the "STACKS=" line in the Config.sys file, eliminating terminate-and-stay-resident program (TSRs), and eliminating hardware conflicts are all possible corrections for this problem.

When Windows delivers an error message related to an internal stack overflow, it is because there is not enough space in memory either set aside or available to handle the calls being made to the system hardware. There are several things to consider when troubleshooting this problem:

  1. The startup file Config.sys may not be properly configured for the Windows installation. Try the following values: STACKS=64,512 ;(this is the maximum allowed) FILES=60 BUFFERS=40 If you are using the dual-boot capabilities of Windows, the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files may not contain the correct configuration to run Windows. When you are dual-booting between Windows 3.x and Windows, these files may not have been renamed back to Config.dos and Autoexec.dos. Examine the Config.sys file to determine if files such as Himem.sys or Emm386.exe are being loaded from a folder other than the Windows folder. If so, boot Windows using the Safe Mode Command Prompt Only option. Rename the Config.sys file to Config.dos and the Autoexec.bat file to Autoexec.dos and the restart the computer.


  2. Some TSRs may be interfering with Windows. Disable any non-boot device drivers in the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files. If you are installing from Windows 3.x and getting a stack overflow error, check the Win.ini and System.ini files for non-Windows-based programs or drivers loading.


  3. There may be an incompatible hardware configuration. Check the port and IRQ settings of the network card, sound card, and modem. Make sure that there are no COM2/COM4 or COM1/COM3 conflicts and that no devices are sharing IRQs. Disable or remove conflicting devices.


  4. The computer may need a BIOS upgrade. Check the BIOS version and contact the manufacturer of your computer for information about a BIOS upgrade.


For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q82318 Q82318
TITLE : Stack Overflow Can Cause Windows to Hang 


Keywords          : kbenv kberrmsg kbtshoot win95 winmem win98 
Version           : 95
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: January 27, 1999