Article ID: 296885
Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
This article was previously published under Q296885
SYMPTOMS
When you start a console program that immediately creates another console program, both programs may stop responding (hang).
NOTE: Console programs run from the operating system's command line, in character-mode, not from a graphical user interface.
CAUSE
When the first console process is created, the Client Server Runtime System (CSRSS) creates a new thread for playing sound by using the Media Control Interface (MCI) API DLL (Winmm.dll). If another console process is created at this point, these two threads may deadlock each other.
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:
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 Version Size File name Platform
------------------------------------------------------------------
22-May-2001 17:05 4.0.1381.298 166,160 Gdi32.dll Intel
22-May-2001 17:05 4.0.1381.7092 327,440 User32.dll Intel
26-Mar-2001 18:41 4.0.1381.7095 1,254,512 Win32k.sys Intel
24-May-2001 15:43 4.0.1381.7095 175,376 Winsrv.dll Intel
22-May-2001 17:01 4.0.1381.7092 305,424 Gdi32.dll Alpha
22-May-2001 17:01 4.0.1381.7092 575,760 User32.dll Alpha
26-Mar-2001 18:37 4.0.1381.7095 2,053,552 Win32k.sys Alpha
24-May-2001 15:39 4.0.1381.7095 313,616 Winsrv.dll Alpha
NOTE: Due to file dependencies, this hotfix requires Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
MORE INFORMATION
Csrss.exe is the user-mode portion of the Win32 subsystem, and Win32k.sys is the kernel-mode portion. CSRSS is an essential subsystem that must be running at all times. CSRSS is responsible for console windows, creating and/or deleting threads, and some parts of the 16-bit virtual MS-DOS environment.
This would typically require the CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE flag to be set in the dwCreationFlags parameter that is sent to the CreateProcess, CreateProcessAsUser, or CreateProcessWithLogonW Platform SDK functions.
Keywords: kbbug kbenv kbfix kbqfe KB296885
