Dr. Watson May Cause CPU Usage to Spike

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

SYMPTOMS

When Dr. Watson is invoked because of an exception in a user mode application, CPU usage spikes, and may reach 100 percent. If this occurs on a multiprocessor system, one or all of the CPUs may exhibit this behavior. The results can vary depending on the application and its interaction with Windows NT.

RESOLUTION

There are other possible causes of this problem. If the fix mentioned below does not work, then something else is causing this problem.

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

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.

MORE INFORMATION

Dr. Watson (Drwtsn32.exe) is the default debugger for Microsoft Windows NT. It is used to generate user-mode diagnostic files for purposes of troubleshooting application exceptions and access violations. Please see the online help for Drwtsn32.exe for more details.

Additional query words: access violation slow performance drwatson drwtsn32

Keywords : NT4SP4Fix kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00.sp4
Version : WinNT:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug