FIX: Deletes, Updates and Rank Based Selects May Cause Deadlock of MSSEARCH

SQL Server 2000 uses the MSSEARCH service to provide full text query functionality.

A catalog can hold one or more indexes. The MSSEARCH service can perform insert, update and delete operations (population) at the same time that SQL Server is performing select operations against the catalog. When a catalog encounters inserts, updates and rank based select queries on similar key values, a deadlock may occur.

Queries against the catalog stop responding (hang) indefinitely and may create a condition where all SQL Server worker threads are blocking on MSSEARCH queries and the SQL Server appears to stop responding.

An undetected deadlock condition when a crawl is updating, deleting or inserting records in the catalog while rank based queries are executing.

SQL Server 2000
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for SQL Server 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 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 this specific problem.

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, submit a request to 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 Web site: Note 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. The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later: NOTE: Due to file dependencies, the most recent hotfix or feature that contains the preceding files may also contain additional files.

Avoid full text queries while catalog population is in progress.

This problem was first corrected in SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 1.

SQL Server 2000 contains features for Full Text Change Notification and the CONTAINSTABLE query syntax. When the catalog population or query is running and the notifications result in deletes and inserts on similar keys while the rank based select queries are traversing the Tquery.dll, MSSEARCH may encounter the deadlock condition.