Windows Explorer Stops Responding When It Tries to Sort More Than 1 Million Objects on a RAID Controller

Article ID: 817768 - View products that this article applies to.
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
256986
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986/EN-US/ )
Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry
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SYMPTOMS

When you access any type of redundant array of independent disks (RAID) controller that contains more than 1 million objects, files, images, or folders, your computer may stop responding (hang).
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RESOLUTION

Service Pack Information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
260910
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260910/EN-US/ )
How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

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 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:
http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support
(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)
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 has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. 
      Date      Time   Version          Size      File name
   ----------------------------------------------------------
   31-Mar-2003  16:26  5.0.3700.6697   2,356,496  Shell32.dll
After you have installed the hotfix, you must modify the registry to set a value for the maximum number of files to be sorted. After this limit is reached, the rest of the files remain unsorted in Windows Explorer.WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
Follow these steps, and then quit Registry Editor:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer
  3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD.
  4. Type SortMaxItemCount, and then press ENTER.
  5. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
  6. Type Maximum_#, and then click OK.
Note Maximum_# is the value for the maximum number of items that Windows Explorer sorts in any one folder.
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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.
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MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how to obtain a hotfix for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
265173
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/265173/EN-US/ )
The Datacenter Program and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Product
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Properties

Article ID: 817768 - Last Review: February 19, 2007 - Revision: 2.7
APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP3
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP1
Keywords: 
kbautohotfix kbhotfixserver kbqfe kbshell kbwin2ksp4fix kbwin2000presp4fix kbfix kbbug KB817768
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