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Microsoft Hotfixes Windows 7 Memory Leak

by - source: Tom's Hardware US

A recent BSoD problem has appeared involving a memory leak associated with Windows 7's Power Manager.

Consumers using Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 may experience a sudden crash of the operating system for no apparent reason. The system failure is accompanied by the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" containing the "STOP: 0x0000000A" error code. Microsoft was alerted to the problem, and has posted an explanation on the Microsoft support website.

According to the company, the actual error reads "STOP: 0x0000000A (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4); IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL." Microsoft added that users will observe that the four parameters in the Stop error message may vary, depending on the configuration of the PC. The Redmond company also stated that not all "STOP: 0x0000000A" error messages are caused by this particular issue.

"This issue occurs because Power Manager opens an Advanced local procedure call (ALPC) port," the company explains. "However, Power Manager closes another port instead of closing the ALPC port. Every time that a power request is made, a memory leak occurs. When the leaked memory usage accumulates to a certain level, the computer crashes."

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 consumers can obtain a hotfix for the problem by heading here.

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Vestin 02/11/2010 12:28 PM
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Little known fact: "0x0000000A" is actually "hammer time" in hex.

matt87_50 02/11/2010 12:32 PM
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omoronovo 02/11/2010 1:28 AM
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matt87_50 :
lol, it closes ANOTHER port?? wouldn't that be a bigger concern?does it close the port on another computer? like "its ok dude, I'll save you from a memory leak, I'll take one for the team."



It's an ALPC port, are you thinking of regular data ports or something? It would take an exceptionally large amount of time (or an insanely high amount of power requests) for this to show up in standard use, since each ALPC port takes approximately 4KB of memory. Assuming the port never closes, and assuming new ones are opened at (the default) of one every 30 minutes, it would take 6 days straight for 1MB of memory to leak, and it would take almost 40 years (straight) for the system to bluescreen because of it, under normal circumstances.

I'm not saying this isn't an issue, but is an extreme edge-case scenario really worth making an entire news posting for? It's just another bug fix that would never have shown up in standard testing - I expect this only even manifests itself if you have software installed that polls power status far often than normal is healthy.

andy5174 02/11/2010 3:10 AM
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Can I get this hotfix using windows update? Or do I have to download it manually?

andy5174 02/11/2010 3:12 AM
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omoronovo 02/11/2010 3:14 AM
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andy5174 :
Do I have to download it manually? Can you get it using windows update?



You can request the hotfix from http://support.microsoft.com/hotfi [...] bln=en-us.

This kind of hotfix, as it does not cover a security threat or affects many people, will not be on Windows update, but will instead be rolled into the next Service pack release. You need to request it using the above link, and you can then install the .msu manually.

andy5174 02/11/2010 3:38 AM
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I see. Thank you!

alextheblue 02/11/2010 4:55 AM
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andy5174 :
Can I get this hotfix using windows update? Or do I have to download it manually?

Are you experiencing this problem? Seems kind of rare...

ossie 02/11/2010 5:13 AM
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omoronovo 02/11/2010 6:15 AM
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ossie :
What about the battery leak? Yeah, that's "a feature, not a bug"...



The explanation for that seems very reasonable, since Microsoft found no link relating Windows 7 to the actual problems - Far more people are upgrading from XP (which did not have battery warning systems built in) to Windows 7, on laptops they did not perform adequately using Vista.

People are assuming that because these warnings are only showing up now (as in, yes, a new feature of Windows 7), and didn't on Windows XP, that Windows 7 is the cause of the problems. Instead, it's simply that Windows 7 has the ability to detect these failures by default, whereas Windows XP cannot (without additional software).

kikireeki 02/11/2010 7:09 AM
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What about a hotfix for x64? because the link shows only the x86 version.

omoronovo 02/11/2010 7:42 AM
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kikireeki :
What about a hotfix for x64? because the link shows only the x86 version.



Click the link that says "show hotfixes for all platforms and languages", and it'll show the x64 and IA64 versions as well. It only shows 32-bit by default because almost everyone will be using 32-bit browsers even on 64-bit systems, and that's what it uses to try to detect the current platform.

hillarymakesmecry 02/11/2010 1:40 PM
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My computer BSOD'd last night. First time I've gotten one since I installed demo win 7 a year ago. It was immediately after I went to change a setting in power manager.

Looks like I'll be needing the hotfix. Thanks so much for the article Toms.

hakkafusion 02/11/2010 1:58 PM
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I got in on average.. everyday, while gaming... great.

zak_mckraken 02/11/2010 3:24 PM
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My mom always said : God never closes a door without opening a Window. I guess that's the same thing here.

Miharu 02/11/2010 4:25 PM
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This remember me a certain XFX 9600GT causing "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" after a maximum of 30 minutes in a game (Direct X)(probably a memory bug on the video card). Support from XFX is so crappy on problem like this (they don't have any applications to test the memory of their own card...)...

I finally just bought a new card (I have no trouble since) but this bug bring me... a little "chill" when I hear about "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" errors.

RicardoK 02/11/2010 4:50 PM
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I've seen this error (exactly this one) on several ACER with Intel hardware (grahics+processor).. I bet it was hardware related issue, not just a memory leak. Why? Cuz all AMD Acer that I've installed Win7 this error wouldn't occur at all. Weird, but it's true. But it's nice to know that MS fixed it.

jd91651 02/11/2010 5:59 PM
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Yep I just saw this error last week. Only had win7 x64 installed for 2 wks now. Walked away from the computer for a few hours and when the system tried to wake up, bsod and reboot. Logs showed the error described and ntoskrnl the offending program. Interestingly, at the time MS had NO information on this BUT google had quite a few hits on it. The suggested fix was to disable hibernation by running a dos window as admin and typing powercfg -h off to shut down hibernation. FYI: you may "think" you don't have hibernation set (as I did) but check for the hibernation file hiberfil.sys in C:\. IF you see it there then it is active in some form or another. When it is truly turned off that file will be removed by the os. (You may have to reboot).

edgar 02/11/2010 7:07 PM
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I get this exact BSOD A few times a day. Trying to install hotfix (Fix302249) from KB Article Number 979444; the installer claims "The update is not applicable to your computer." but it should be as I am running a 64-bit x64 Windows 7.

NewJohnny 02/12/2010 5:15 AM
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omoronovo :
It's an ALPC port, are you thinking of regular data ports or something? It would take an exceptionally large amount of time (or an insanely high amount of power requests) for this to show up in standard use, since each ALPC port takes approximately 4KB of memory. Assuming the port never closes, and assuming new ones are opened at (the default) of one every 30 minutes, it would take 6 days straight for 1MB of memory to leak, and it would take almost 40 years (straight) for the system to bluescreen because of it, under normal circumstances.I'm not saying this isn't an issue, but is an extreme edge-case scenario really worth making an entire news posting for? It's just another bug fix that would never have shown up in standard testing - I expect this only even manifests itself if you have software installed that polls power status far often than normal is healthy.



If it takes so long to crash, explain how Microsoft found this problem. Why would they even be concerned with such a rare event?

omoronovo 02/12/2010 6:02 AM
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NewJohnny :
If it takes so long to crash, explain how Microsoft found this problem. Why would they even be concerned with such a rare event?



Read the last line. If an application is polling power status, say, once a second - the crash will manifest itself within 3 weeks. More if the info is being polled more often. This is how edge cases are found, in the (fairly substantial) amount of windows 7 installs, it only takes a few reports with similar issues for a problem to be found and a fix to be issued if necessary.

That's what the Error Reporting feature is for.

Anonymous 04/17/2010 8:22 PM
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Heys guys it is giving me an error that the class is not registered error? im using windows 7 64 bit 7600 build....

What to do?

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