An application stops responding, experiences low performance, or experiences high privileged CPU usage if many large I/O operations are performed in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2

Applies To
Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

  • You have a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
  • The computer has many logical processors.
  • You run an application that performs many large I/O operations. For example, you run Microsoft SQL Server Data Warehousing.

In this scenario, you may experience one of the following issues:

  • The application stops responding
  • Low performance in the application
  • High CPU usage in the privileged mode

Cause

The issue occurs because there is too much kernel time when many large I/O operations are performed. If the total I/O bandwidth of the computer is not large enough, the kernel time causes low performance in the application that performs the I/O operations.

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 Web site:

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.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must be running Windows 7 or 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 English (United States) 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 MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows Server 2008 R2 and for Windows 7" section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are extremely important 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 Platform
Ntkrnlpa.exe 6.1.7600.20700 3,964,800 24-Apr-2010 08:45 Not Applicable
Ntoskrnl.exe 6.1.7600.20700 3,908,992 24-Apr-2010 08:45 Not Applicable

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

File name File version File size Date Time Platform
Ntoskrnl.exe 6.1.7600.20700 5,481,864 24-Apr-2010 09:00 x64
Ntkrnlpa.exe 6.1.7600.20700 3,964,800 24-Apr-2010 08:45 Not Applicable
Ntoskrnl.exe 6.1.7600.20700 3,908,992 24-Apr-2010 08:45 Not Applicable

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

File name File version File size Date Time Platform
Ntoskrnl.exe 6.1.7600.20700 11,110,784 24-Apr-2010 07:42 IA-64
Ntkrnlpa.exe 6.1.7600.20700 3,964,800 24-Apr-2010 08:45 Not Applicable
Ntoskrnl.exe 6.1.7600.20700 3,908,992 24-Apr-2010 08:45 Not Applicable

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 how to monitor CPU usage, visit the following Microsoft website:

Monitoring CPU Usage For 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 Update.mum
File version Not Applicable
File size 1,674
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 18:28
Platform Not Applicable
File name X86_100f0ce735fe9ce4a76294f54dda3551_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_efd9c33c51f55b89.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 697
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 18:28
Platform Not Applicable
File name X86_microsoft-windows-os-kernel_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_6ce1d82f2e57e0dd.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 16,151
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 09:25
Platform Not Applicable

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

File name Amd64_100f0ce735fe9ce4a76294f54dda3551_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_4bf85ec00a52ccbf.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 699
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 18:28
Platform Not Applicable
File name Amd64_83c6d48463a5bc2f44c46f160bf9d7df_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_0271645605bc4c9c.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 701
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 18:28
Platform Not Applicable
File name Amd64_microsoft-windows-os-kernel_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_c90073b2e6b55213.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 15,291
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 10:26
Platform Not Applicable
File name Update.mum
File version Not Applicable
File size 1,906
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 18:28
Platform Not Applicable
File name X86_microsoft-windows-os-kernel_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_6ce1d82f2e57e0dd.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 16,151
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 09:25
Platform Not Applicable

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

File name Ia64_0c2e2641f433b3c6cb1f89c50631b5b3_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_188aa0fed2ae930c.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 699
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 18:28
Platform Not Applicable
File name Ia64_100f0ce735fe9ce4a76294f54dda3551_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_efdb673251f36485.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 698
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 18:28
Platform Not Applicable
File name Ia64_microsoft-windows-os-kernel_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_6ce37c252e55e9d9.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 15,289
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 10:17
Platform Not Applicable
File name Update.mum
File version Not Applicable
File size 1,684
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 18:28
Platform Not Applicable
File name X86_microsoft-windows-os-kernel_31bf3856ad364e35_6.1.7600.20700_none_6ce1d82f2e57e0dd.manifest
File version Not Applicable
File size 16,151
Date (UTC) 24-Apr-2010
Time (UTC) 09:25
Platform Not Applicable