Knowledge Base

Spooler Failure Causes High CPU Usage in the Winlogon.exe and Spoolsv.exe Processes on a Windows 2000 Terminal Server

Article ID: 822834

Article Last Modified on 10/26/2006

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

SYMPTOMS

When you monitor the CPU usage of a Windows 2000-based Terminal server (a server that has Terminal Server enabled) that supports users who print from Terminal Services sessions, you notice that the server is experiencing high CPU load in the Winlogon.exe and Spoolsv.exe processes.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the print spooler stops responding on the Terminal server. A spooler failure can be identified by information in the application event log or in the Drwtsn32.log on the Terminal server. The log indicates that the Spoolsv.exe process has terminated unexpectedly.

Note The Drwtsn32.log file path is drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\DrWatson\Drwtsn32.log.

RESOLUTION

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 telephone 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 usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

File Information

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
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6748    124,688   Adsldp.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6748    132,368   Adsldpc.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6748     63,760   Adsmsext.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6743    381,200   Advapi32.dll
   06-Jun-2003  17:53   5.0.2195.6753     69,392   Browser.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6680    134,928   Dnsapi.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6663     92,432   Dnsrslvr.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6753     47,376   Eventlog.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6747    148,240   Kdcsvc.dll
   20-May-2003  16:49   5.0.2195.6747    205,072   Kerberos.dll
   26-Mar-2003  19:37   5.0.2195.6695     71,888   Ksecdd.sys
   28-May-2003  18:39   5.0.2195.6749    509,712   Lsasrv.dll
   28-May-2003  18:39   5.0.2195.6749     33,552   Lsass.exe
   04-Apr-2003  22:12   5.0.2195.6680    117,520   Msv1_0.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6601    311,568   Netapi32.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6695    371,984   Netlogon.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6697  1,040,144   Ntdsa.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6745     66,320   Ntprint.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6692    994,064   Ole32.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6745    381,712   Printui.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6753    432,400   Rpcrt4.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6702    187,664   Rpcss.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6742    392,464   Samsrv.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6737    131,344   Scecli.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6737    306,448   Scesrv.dll
   29-May-2003  21:22   5.0.2195.6748  4,576,256   Sp3res.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6601     51,472   W32time.dll
   16-Aug-2002  11:32   5.0.2195.6601     57,104   W32tm.exe
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6741    126,224   Wldap32.dll
   11-Jun-2003  18:16   5.0.2195.6754     57,104   Wlnotify.dll

Note Because of file dependencies, this update requires Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4).

For additional information about how to obtain Windows 2000 SP4, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

WORKAROUND

This problem can be prevented if you determine the cause of the spooler instability and eliminate it. To do this, use the process of elimination: Remove third-party printer drivers, remove port monitors, or investigate the contents of the User.dmp file that is produced at the time of the spooler failure.

Note The default User.dmp file path is drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\DrWatson.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how hotfix packages are named, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

816915 New Naming Schema for Microsoft Windows Hotfix Packages

Keywords: kbhotfixserver kbqfe kbbug kbfix kbqfe kbwin2000presp5fix KB822834

Microsoft KB Archive/822834

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