Your Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0-based computer may stop unexpectedly (crash), and you may receive a "STOP 0x00000041" stop error message.

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This problem occurs because of a memory leak in TCP/IP on your Windows NT 4.0 server. A memory leak in TCP/IP may occur if a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows 98 Second Edition repeatedly sends a Control Bit TCP packet from the same IP address. This behavior is known as a network packet storm.

TCP's Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) packet pools are designed to maintain a small size so that they do not use too much of the non-paged memory. However, during the network packet storm, the NDIS packet pools on your Windows NT Server grow very large. When the NDIS packet pools grow to a certain size, they stop maintaining a limit on the non-paged memory that they use. The packet pools use most of the non-paged pool memory. Therefore, the computer stops unexpectedly.

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A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this hotfix 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.
Windows NT 4.0 Server

   Date         Time   Version        Size     File name
   -----------------------------------------------------
   14-Jan-2004  10:40  4.0.1381.7256  179,472  Tcpip.sys

				

Windows NT 4.0 Workstation

   Date         Time   Version        Size     File name
   -----------------------------------------------------
   14-Jan-2004  10:40  4.0.1381.7256  179,472  Tcpip.sys

Note Because of file dependencies, this hotfix requires Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a.

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Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Windows NT Server 4.0.

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