Availability of hardware-based Data Execution Prevention on multiprocessor systems that are running Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1

This article discusses how Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 determines the availability of hardware-based Data Execution Prevention (DEP) on multiprocessor systems.

On a multiprocessor system, Windows Server 2003 with SP1 determines the availability of hardware-based DEP by using the capabilities of the bootstrap processor. Hardware-based DEP is available in Windows if the bootstrap processor reports that the bootstrap processor supports the no-execute page-protection (NX) feature or the Execute Disable Bit (XD) feature.

Important If a multiprocessor system contains processors that have different capabilities, the system must use the processor that has the lowest feature set as the bootstrap processor. If the system does not use the lowest featured processor as the bootstrap processor, you may experience system instability. Contact the system manufacturer to determine how to configure the system to use the processor that has the lowest feature set as the bootstrap processor.

To determine whether hardware-based DEP is available on the computer, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under Performance.
3. Click the Data Execution Prevention tab. On a computer where the following conditions are true, you receive an informational message:
   • The computer does not support hardware-based DEP.
   • The computer uses software DEP.
   The following informational message appears on the Data Execution Prevention tab:
   Your computer’s processor does not support hardware-based DEP. However, Windows can use DEP software to help prevent some types of attacks.

For more information about DEP, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.