You may experience a system memory leak of private bytes in the Winlogon.exe process on a computer that is running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003

You may experience a system memory leak of private bytes in the Winlogon.exe process on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Server 2003. When this occurs, the operating system becomes unresponsive and must be restarted.

Note In some cases, the Windows Product Activation window may pop up and prompt you to activate the system even after you have completed the activation.

CAUSE

Microsoft Windows XP

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. 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: 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 have Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP2) installed on your computer.

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) 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 item in Control Panel.
Windows XP, Service Pack 1Windows XP, Service Pack 2

Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) 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 item in Control Panel.
Windows Server 2003, 32-bit versionsWindows Server 2003, 32-bit versions with Service Pack 1Windows Server 2003, x64-based versions with Service Pack 1Windows Server 2003, Itanium-based versionsWindows Server 2003, Itanium-based versions with Service Pack 1

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: