Symptoms

On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, a sparse file undergoes random write stress, and the data in the sparse file is overwritten with 64 kilobytes (KB) of zeros. For example, there are two threads that perform a write operation to the sparse file. When the two threads write to the same 64-KB block, the data in one write operation becomes zero.

Cause

This issue occurs because of a race condition in the NTFS file system driver. This behavior causes data corruption under heavy write stress for sparse files. The scenario is limited only to sparse files.

Resolution

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix. Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft website:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=supportNote The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running one of the following operating systems:

  • Windows 7

  • Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

  • Windows Server 2008 R2

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

For more information about how to obtain a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

976932 Information about Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2

Registry information

To use the hotfix in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 file information notes

Important Windows 7 hotfixes and Windows Server 2008 R2 hotfixes are included in the same packages. However, hotfixes on the Hotfix Request page are listed under both operating systems. To request the hotfix package that applies to one or both operating systems, select the hotfix that is listed under "Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2" on the page. Always refer to the "Applies To" section in articles to determine the actual operating system that each hotfix applies to.

  • The files that apply to a specific product, milestone (RTM, SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table:

    Version

    Product

    Milestone

    Service branch

    6.1.760 0.17xxx

    Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

    RTM

    GDR

    6.1.760 0.21xxx

    Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

    RTM

    LDR

    6.1.760 1.17xxx

    Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

    SP1

    GDR

    6.1.760 1.21xxx

    Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

    SP1

    LDR

  • GDR service branches contain only those fixes that are widely released to address widespread, critical issues. LDR service branches contain hotfixes in addition to widely released fixes.

  • The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2" section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are critical to maintaining the state of the updated component. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7

File name

File version

File size

Date

Time

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7600.17025

1,210,224

17-May-2012

04:47

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7600.21210

1,210,736

09-May-2012

04:50

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7601.17843

1,211,760

17-May-2012

04:49

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7601.21990

1,212,272

09-May-2012

04:40

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2

File name

File version

File size

Date

Time

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7600.17025

1,656,688

17-May-2012

05:23

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7600.21210

1,680,240

09-May-2012

05:42

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7601.17843

1,659,760

17-May-2012

05:40

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7601.21990

1,687,408

09-May-2012

05:42

For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2

File name

File version

File size

Date

Time

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7600.17025

3,553,136

17-May-2012

04:24

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7600.21210

3,553,136

09-May-2012

04:34

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7601.17843

3,555,696

17-May-2012

04:19

Ntfs.sys

6.1.7601.21990

3,556,208

09-May-2012

04:35

Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

More Information

For more information about sparse files, visit the following Microsoft website:

General information about sparse filesFor more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Additional file information

Additional file information for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2

Additional files for all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7

File name

X86_1c43c69a50b0ceac06a24803e8318475_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.17025_none_b5b5a2e9fa110690.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

692

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

X86_4f286ccead527833d4a7f8b75cd6575b_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.17843_none_45d44fe9050da9b7.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

692

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

X86_96630e511b5bdfd1d3726a35007ed507_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.21210_none_f3d4f9585038aa9c.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

692

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

X86_dfb3886b4bc14f3805e9aa3a5dbeb5a6_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.21990_none_70b6d1b71f31b828.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

692

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

X86_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.17025_none_a68842ee7e0ea98a.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,508

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

05:10

File name

X86_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.21210_none_a717b0199728abd7.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,508

Date (UTC)

09-May-2012

Time (UTC)

05:12

File name

X86_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.17843_none_a857294c7b46e48f.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,508

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

05:17

File name

X86_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.21990_none_a8a7b59d948fc409.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,508

Date (UTC)

09-May-2012

Time (UTC)

05:07

Additional files for all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2

File name

Amd64_09920ea00f2bd9c60da9e19a9b450b9c_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.17025_none_9114ece6ec202316.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

696

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

Amd64_ebfe6b99c7fbb3d2d575acdd08f8bc8a_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.21990_none_c7a2cd724e76c451.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

696

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

Amd64_f2735c31a083fcb4a249aa2dfac8c016_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.21210_none_f1e2f960db262e94.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

696

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

Amd64_f374640c89a864b19b5f51ce48dcc8fe_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.17843_none_451a4dcdeb3f9726.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

696

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

Amd64_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.17025_none_02a6de72366c1ac0.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,514

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

06:10

File name

Amd64_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.21210_none_03364b9d4f861d0d.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,514

Date (UTC)

09-May-2012

Time (UTC)

06:11

File name

Amd64_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.17843_none_0475c4d033a455c5.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,514

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

06:12

File name

Amd64_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.21990_none_04c651214ced353f.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,514

Date (UTC)

09-May-2012

Time (UTC)

06:12

Additional files for all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2

File name

Ia64_0e3217de9133dc4956b2d24c204dd85d_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.17025_none_e99c22ff60afb4ae.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

694

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

Ia64_3f3e40e3c7d7f1de355106dc30b72aec_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.21210_none_0508ef2be8bfa5a7.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

694

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

Ia64_58dd3d865d95289dd081be0d665d7887_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.17843_none_9aede6c5e06da110.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

694

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

Ia64_9b8efb12888124608bceecb0373bfc3f_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.21990_none_2f20eda1ea11968c.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

694

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

12:31

File name

Ia64_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.17025_none_a689e6e47e0cb286.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,511

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

06:06

File name

Ia64_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.21210_none_a719540f9726b4d3.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,511

Date (UTC)

09-May-2012

Time (UTC)

06:08

File name

Ia64_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.17843_none_a858cd427b44ed8b.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,511

Date (UTC)

17-May-2012

Time (UTC)

06:02

File name

Ia64_microsoft-windows-ntfs_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7601.21990_none_a8a95993948dcd05.manifest

File version

Not applicable

File size

14,511

Date (UTC)

09-May-2012

Time (UTC)

06:03

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