Microsoft KB Archive/277222

= System may not start when creating a large number of logical units and volumes =

Article ID: 277222

Article Last Modified on 10/11/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

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This article was previously published under Q277222



Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry



SYMPTOMS
If your system has a large number of logical unit numbers (LUNs) and volumes (over 700), when you restart Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003, you may receive one of the following error messages:

Windows 2000 could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM.ced startup options for Windows 2000, Press F8.

You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows 2000 Serveror Windows Server 2003 Setup using the original Setup floppy disk or CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.

Windows 2000 could not start because of an error in the software. Please report this problem as Loader Error 3.

You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows 2000 Serveror Windows Server 2003 Setup using the original Setup floppy disk or CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.

You may receive one of these error messages if you reconfigured your system by deleting or removing existing LUNs and volumes, and then re-created or redetected the new LUNs and volumes.



CAUSE
Windows 2000 server and Windows Server 2003 store information about LUNs and volumes that have been installed and configured in a computer in the SYSTEM hive of the registry. When a device (including a drive) is removed from a system, Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 retain the registry entries in case the device returns to the system; this is part of Plug and Play. This issue can occur after an array or set of drives is reconfigured, if they are detected as new devices and therefore create duplicate entries. If there are a large number of drives (over 700), this issue can cause the SYSTEM hive to grow large.

The SYSTEM hive is limited to approximately 10.3 megabytes (MB) in size in Windows 2000 Server. This is because the SYSTEM hive and the Windows kernel files must fit below 16 MB when Windows starts.

Because of design changes, Windows Server 2003 will usually not have this problem unless the /3GB switch is being used. For more information about the SYSTEM hive and Windows Server 2003, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

302594 The system hive memory limitation is improved in Windows Server 2003



MORE INFORMATION
If you want to be proactive because you believe that your server is at risk, use the procedure below to remove the registry entries for drives that have been physically removed.

A supported utility (the Scrubber utility) is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem described in this article and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the utility. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

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

The following instructions describe how to incorporate the Scrubber utility in a Windows 2000 environment by creating a shutdown script that checks the size of the  hive. If the  hive is over 8 megabytes (MB), the Scrubber utility deletes the removed drives and attempts to clean up the Dynamic disk database and compress any white space. The script does not remove any drives from the Dynamic disk database that were part of any type of RAID volume, including spanned volumes and striped volumes.

In addition, read the Readme.txt file that is contained in the utility package for a description of all of the files in the package. To create a shutdown script that checks the size of the  hive:  Download the package and extract the contents to the SYSTEM partition in a folder named C:\Scrubber. Click Start, and then click Run. Type MMC, and then click OK. On the Console menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in. Click Add. Click Group Policy in the snap-in list, and then click Add.</li> The Group Policy object defaults to &quot;Local Computer;&quot; click Finish.</li> Click Close, and then click OK.</li> Click the plus sign (+) in the left pane to expand the Local Computer Policy branch, and then expand the Windows Settings branch.</li> In the right pane, double-click the Shutdown policy</li> Click Add, and then click Browse.</li> Locate the C:\Scrubber folder, click the Cleanup.vbs file, and then click OK.</li> Click OK until you close the Shutdown Policy and close the MMC snap-in. You do not need to save the console settings for the script to run.</li> In Control Panel, double-click the System icon.</li> Click the Advanced tab, and then click Environment Variables.</li> Under System Variables, click the Path variable, and then click Edit.</li> Append the following text to the end of the variable:

;C:\SCRUBBER

</li> Click OK for variables, and then click OK in System Properties.</li></ol>

With the shutdown script in place (Cleanup.vbs), if several drives fail and they are Dynamic disks, they are displayed in Disk Management as FAILED. You may need to right-click Disk Management, and then click Rescan Disks if the host bus adapter (HBA) does not use Plug and Play events if the drives are not reported immediately as FAILED. For more information about similar issues, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

216369 Unable to create a large number of Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) scopes

244135 Too Many Printers Can Cause Unsuccessful Boot

259930 Cannot start Windows 2000 with a large number of DNS zones

269075 Error message: Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \Winnt\System32\Config\Systemced

270028 Windows NT may not start with Many DFS shares

Windows Server 2003 increases the memory that is available at boot time so that the size of the System hive is not as relevant. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

302594 The system hive memory limitation is improved in Windows Server 2003

If you are using the /3GB switch in Windows Server 2003, the 16-MB limit still applies until Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is available. Microsoft recommends that you create a second entry in the Boot.ini file that does not have the /3GB switch so that more memory is available.

<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, x86-based versions
<div class="resolution_section">

Windows 2000 hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. 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;[LN;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.

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.

<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 Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

Additional query words: emc hitachi ncr scrubber.exe powerpath securepath power secure path PnP LUN SQL

Keywords: kberrmsg kbbug kbfix kbwin2000fixnosp kbqfe kbhardware kbenv kbprb kbpending kbpubtypekc kbwin2000presp5fix kbhotfixserver kbwinserv2003sp2fix KB277222

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