Microsoft KB Archive/323145

= GlobalAlloc in Ntvdm.exe May Return A Memory Handle That Is Not Valid =

Article ID: 323145

Article Last Modified on 2/1/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 2
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 2
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

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This article was previously published under Q323145



SYMPTOMS
The 16-bit GlobalAlloc function may return a handle that is not valid (such as 4F7:0 instead of NULL). This problem may occur if you are running a 16-bit program that has created a Dr. Watson log (if Dr. Watson logging is enabled), and an access violation occurs in Ntvdm.exe when the 16-bit program exhausts memory. If the 16-bit GlobalAlloc function is called approximately 8,000 times, it returns a handle that is not valid.



CAUSE
The 16-bit Windows kernel (Krnl386.exe) des not test for a correct return condition when 16-bit DPMI memory management runs out of memory.



Service Pack Information
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Hotfix Information
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. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows 2000 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, 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/contactus/?ws=support

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 typical 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 has the file attributes (or later) 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.

  Date         Time   Version        Size     File name -  26-Aug-2002  05:54  5.0.2195.6029  396,560  Ntvdm.exe



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.



MORE INFORMATION
For additional information about how to obtain a hotfix for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

265173 The Datacenter Program and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Product

Keywords: kbbug kbfix kbappcompatibility kbwin2000presp4fix kbqfe kbwin2ksp4fix kbhotfixserver KB323145

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