Winlogon Leaks Because of SMTPSVC Performance Counters

• 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

Over time, the Windows NT system responsiveness appears sluggish, and clients may report a gradual decrease in system performance. Users connecting to the server over the network may receive RPC Server Busy errors.

Side effects of the memory leak may include "Out of Virtual Memory" messages or the system stops responding completely when memory is totally exhausted.

By tracking the handle count and the amount of Private Bytes for Winlogon.exe, it can be observed that, over time, the values continue to increase.

CAUSE

When running the resource kit utility Srvinfo.exe against a server remotely handles to the registry are not closed if the server has the SMTP service installed.

The following key was being repeatedly opened and not closed:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\SMTPSVC\Performance

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

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:

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