An application may close unexpectedly on a computer that is running an Itanium-based version of Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2

On a computer that is running an Itanium-based version of Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2, you may experience issues that are related to the IA-32 emulation layer.

Issue 1

An application may close unexpectedly. For example, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Management Studio may close unexpectedly when you click the New Query button on the toolbar.

Issue 2

When an application uses Windows PowerShell to call 32-bit COM components, the application may stop unexpectedly. Additionally, a STATUS_INVALID_DISPOSITION error code is returned.

Cause of issue 1

When the IA-32 emulation layer translates IA-32 codes, it does not translate IA-32 codes one by one. Instead, the IA-32 emulation layer translates a block of IA-32 codes. The pointer to the copy of the block is not updated when the code block is split. Therefore, the pointer to the copy of the code block may point to an invalid memory address. An access violation occurs when the IA-32 emulation layer tries to access this invalid memory address.

Cause of issue 2

When the IA-32 emulation layer translates IA-32 codes, the native modules and the IA-32 applications share from 0 through 2 gigabytes (GB) of user memory space. Therefore, a memory page that is allocated by an IA-32 application may be next to a memory page that is allocated by a native code. Then, the native code may free the data in the page that is allocated by the native code. In this situation, inconsistent page attribution occurs if the IA-32 emulation layer enables speculative code page discovery.

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 Server 2003 Service Pack 2 installed on the computer. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Restart requirement

You must restart the 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 with Service Pack 2, Itanium-based versions

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: