Microsoft KB Archive/909360

= File corruption may occur when extensive stress tests are run on NTFS volumes on a Windows Server 2003-based computer =

Article ID: 909360

Article Last Modified on 10/11/2007

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APPLIES TO

 Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86) Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86) Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP1, when used with:  Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition</li></ul>

<ul> Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)</li></ul>

<ul> Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)</li></ul>

<ul> Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition</li></ul>

<ul> Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems</li></ul>

<ul> Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems</li></ul> </li> Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition</li> Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition</li> Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter x64 Edition</li></ul>

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<div class="notice_section">

<div class="symptoms_section">

SYMPTOMS
When extensive stress test scenarios are run on NTFS file system volumes on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer, file corruption may occur. This problem may only occur if the following extreme conditions are true at the same time during a stress test that is run for several hours:
 * The computer contains small NTFS volumes.
 * An NTFS volume on the computer is full or almost full.
 * Approximately 1,000 extend, create, or delete file operations are run at the same time.
 * The computer has multiple processors.

Note The problem that is described in this section is very unlikely to occur if the following conditions are true:
 * The computer has very large NTFS volumes. The problem that is described in this section has been reproduced on small NTFS volumes that range from 1 to 24 gigabytes (GB). As volumes become larger, the chance that this problem will occur significantly decreases.
 * Few delete, create, or extend operations occur.
 * Database reads and writes are limited to files that have already been allocated space on an NTFS volume.

<div class="resolution_section">

Service pack information
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

889100 How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003

Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement
You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information
This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003, 32-bit x86-based versions
<pre class="fixed_text">  Date         Time   Version          Size  File name 09-Nov-2005 01:02  5.2.3790.441  572,416  Ntfs.sys

Windows Server 2003, 64-bit Itanium-based versions
<pre class="fixed_text">  Date         Time   Version            Size  File name --  09-Nov-2005  03:38  5.2.3790.441  1,696,256  Ntfs.sys

Windows Server 2003, 32-bit x86-based versions with Service Pack 1
<pre class="fixed_text">  Date         Time   Version           Size  File name -  09-Nov-2005  02:10  5.2.3790.2566  589,824  Ntfs.sys

Windows Server 2003, 64-bit Itanium-based versions with Service Pack 1
<pre class="fixed_text">  Date         Time   Version             Size  File name ---  09-Nov-2005  03:38  5.2.3790.2566  1,874,432  Ntfs.sys

Windows Server 2003, 64-bit x64-based versions
<pre class="fixed_text">  Date         Time   Version             Size  File name ---  09-Nov-2005  03:38  5.2.3790.2566  1,121,280  Ntfs.sys Note Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 is included in x64-based versions of Windows Server 2003.

<div class="status_section">

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

<div class="moreinformation_section">

MORE INFORMATION
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Microsoft knows about the potential for file corruption on NTFS file system volumes in Windows Server 2003 during extensive stress test scenarios on the storage stack. Microsoft regularly runs stress tests on the NTFS storage stack. These stress tests include scenarios that are very far outside the bounds of what is likely to occur in real-world usage.

Keywords: kbbug kbfix kbsystemdata kbqfe kbprb kbpubtypekc kbwinserv2003presp1fix kbhotfixserver kbwinserv2003sp2fix KB909360

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