Knowledge Base

You receive a "Not enough server storage is available to process this command" error message in Windows NT

Article ID: 126401

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1
Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q126401

SYMPTOMS

While running Windows NT, the following error message appears:

Not enough server storage is available to process this command.

CAUSE

This indicates that Windows NT does not have enough paged pool memory available to process a command. This can happen when the PagedPoolSize is either set too small or when an application does not re-allocate memory correctly.

Insufficient PagedPoolSize may be due to the fact that the INITIAL.INF file that shipped with Windows NT contains the following lines:

Ifstr(i) $(STF_PRODUCT) == "LanmanNT"
Ifstr(i) $(!STF_DOMAIN_ROLE) == "DC"

Debug-Output "SETUP.INF: AddPdcMachineAccount for PDC of new domain..."
LibraryProcedure STATUS, $(!LIBHANDLE),
AddPdcMachineAccount $(!STF_COMPUTERNAME)
Debug-Output "SETUP.INF: AddPdcMachineAccount returned: "$(STATUS)

Endif
shell "REGISTRY.INF" MakeQuotaEntries 48 24 Endif

The call to REGISTRY.INF only happens for Windows NT servers, not workstations. The parameters passed to REGISTRY.INF are PagedPoolSize (48) and RegistrySizeLimit (24). The PagedPoolSize value over-rides the value calculated at bootup based on physical memory. The algorithm for calculating PagedPoolSize at bootup produces values approximating the physical memory size of the computer up to a maximum of 192 megabytes.

WORKAROUND

This problem can be worked around by using the registry editor to zero out the PagedPoolSize parameter.

WARNING: Using the Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system- wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of the Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

The page pooled memory management parameters are located in:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
     \SYSTEM
       \CurrentControlSet
         \Control
           \Session Manager
             \Memory Management

If the error is due to an application not re-allocating memory correctly, normal troubleshooting using tools such as Performance Monitor, or PMON.EXE (from the Windows NT Resource Kit) should be employed to isolate the problem component.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1 and Windows NT Server version 3.5. This problem was corrected in Windows NT version 3.51.

Additional query words: prodnt 3.10 poolcalc

Keywords: KB126401

Microsoft KB Archive/126401

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