Microsoft KB Archive/258839

= Space at End of Batch File Name Causes Server to Hang with Large Number of Instances of Cmd.exe =

Article ID: 258839

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition

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This article was previously published under Q258839



SYMPTOMS
When you start Cmd.exe from other programs or batch files with another batch file as a parameter, the script does not run but appears to be busy if the file name is padded with space character.

When you check in Task Manager, you find a large number of instances of Cmd.exe. Eventually, you receive error messages caused by insufficient memory, C run-time error messages, or DLL initialization error messages.

A sample command line is:

cmd /c &quot;test.bat &quot;

Note the extra space character before the second quotation mark. The contents of Test.bat do not matter.



CAUSE
Cmd.exe contains a parsing error that results in the behavior described in the &quot;Symptoms&quot; section.



RESOLUTION
A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

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.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:   Date         Time     Size      File name   Platform 04/03/2000  04:45p   357,648   Cmd.exe     Alpha 04/03/2000  04:46p   208,144   Cmd.exe     Intel



WORKAROUND
To avoid the problem, remove the extra space at the end of the file name.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

Keywords: kbhotfixserver kbqfe kbbug kbfix KB258839

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