Memory Leak Due to Repeated Logon/Logoff May Lead to Profile Corruption

ID: Q191830

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 SP3
Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 SP3
Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition

SYMPTOMS

Repeated logging on and logging off of a system without shutting down can lead to memory loss. Performance Monitor displays Handle Count and Private Bytes steadily increasing for the Winlogon.exe process. This may cause problems starting applications and can also cause profile corruption (local and roaming).

CAUSE

Memory allocated when logging on is not released when logging off.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 4.

Additional query words: 1009 1450


Keywords          : NT4SP4Fix kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00.sp4 
Version           : WinNT:4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: April 10, 1999