STOP 0XA Caused by Race Condition in VDM and Process Delete

ID: Q178471

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition

SYMPTOMS

When running 16-bit programs that require the Virtual DOS Machine (VDM). the following STOP error may occur:

Stop 0x0000000A (0x00000084, 0x00000002, 0x00000001, 0x80003D4A)
Hal.dll.

This problem is most likely to occur on systems with more than one processor.

CAUSE

A race condition exists between process delete and delayed virtual interrupt processing. This causes a NULL parameter to be passed to the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) acquire spin lock routine.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q152734 How to Obtain the Latest Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack

Apply Ntoskrnl.exe if the target computer has only one processor.

Apply Ntoskrnlmp.exe if the target computer is a multiprocessor system.

NOTE: After copying Ntkrnlmp.exe to the target computer, rename it to Ntoskrnl.exe.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition. This problem was first corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4.0 and Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 4.

Additional query words: 4.00 patch prodnt multi uni uniprocessor

Keywords : NT4SP4Fix ntstop kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00.sp4
Version :
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug