If you run Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or Microsoft SQL Server 2005 on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computer, SQL Server may temporarily stop responding (hang) in certain cases. Depending on the severity of the problem, this behavior may take from several milliseconds to several minutes.

In most cases, you may notice that the value in the "Batch Requests/sec" counter of the SQLServer:SQLStastics performance object drops significantly in the System performance monitor. Sometimes, the counter value drops to 0. Additionally, you may notice a similar decrease in CPU utilization and in disk utilization.

In some cases, the following error message may be logged in the SQL Server errorlog file:This problem occurs when one or more of the following conditions are true:

•	SQL Server runs lots of batches in which errors are raised. These errors include both error messages that are returned to the client connection and internal exceptions such as attention events.
•	SQL Server is running on a computer that has lots of CPUs and lots of RAM installed. This problem may be more pronounced on 64-bit operating systems.

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This problem occurs because SQL Server threads are stuck behind an internal Windows lock mechanism that identifies the process address. If lots of threads are waiting for the lock, this problem may occur.

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To resolve this issue, install the hotfix for Windows Server 2003 SP1 that is described in Microsoft Knowledge Base 919341. For more information about this hotfix, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

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

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We recommend that you install the following products to obtain optimal performance:

•	Windows Server 2003 SP1 together with the hotfix that is described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 919341
•	SQL Server 2005 or later versions of SQL Server 2005
•	SQL Server 2000 build 8.00.2187 or later versions of SQL Server 2000

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For more information about structured exception handling, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site:

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