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Q261317: Deadlock in Ntdll.dll Causes Program to Hang

Article: Q261317
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbWinNT400PreSP7Fix
Last Modified: 09-MAY-2002

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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, Enterprise Edition version 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

Under certain conditions, a process may stop responding (hang). This is most
prevalent on multiple-processor computers.

CAUSE
=====

There is a problem with heap and critical section management that can cause the
code in Ntdll to deadlock.

RESOLUTION
==========

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to
correct the problem described in this article and should be applied only to
systems experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the
fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and
information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World
Wide Web:

  http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are normally incurred for support calls may
be canceled, if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific
update will resolve your problem. Normal support costs will apply to additional
support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in
question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or
later:

  Date     Time    Size     File name  Platform
  ---------------------------------------------
  05/03/02  1:16p  367,376  Ntdll.dll  Intel



STATUS
======

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


Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbWinNT400PreSP7Fix 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTSEntSearch kbWinNTSEnt400 kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : :4.0
Hardware          : ALPHA x86
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

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