Reference Counter Overflow in Security Descriptor May Cause Blue Screen Error

ID: Q155495

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

After several weeks of operation, a very busy Windows NT computer may experience a blue screen error message. This behavior has been observed on some Microsoft Exchange servers and SAP R/3 servers.


CAUSE

This problem occurs when the reference counter overflows due to the intense use of security descriptors within an application (for example, for RPC impersonation).


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: 4.00 


Keywords          : NT4SP4Fix ntstop kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00.sp4 kbbug3.51 kbfix3.51 NTSrvWkst 
Version           : WinNT:3.51,4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: April 10, 1999