The W3wp.exe process may crash frequently on Exchange Server 2003 servers in an organization that has many Outlook Web Access users

You have a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 organization that has many Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access users. In this situation, the W3wp.exe process may crash frequently on servers that are running Exchange Server 2003. Additionally, the following event is logged in the Application log:

Type: Error
Event ID: 1000
Raw Event ID: 1000
Category: Application Crashing Events
Source: Application Error
Computer: ServerName
Message:
Faulting application w3wp.exe, version version, faulting module davex.dll, version version, fault address address.

Note When you run Exchange Server 2003 in a cluster environment, this problem affects only a particular Exchange Server virtual server resource.

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

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 must be installed before you apply this hotfix. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Restart requirement

After you apply this hotfix, you must restart the following services and all dependent services:

• Microsoft Exchange Information Store service
• Microsoft Search service
• IIS Admin Service

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

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.

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

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