You receive a "Stop 0x0000003E" error message when you try to install Windows Vista Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 on a computer that has certain multiple processors

You are running an x64-based version of Windows Vista or of Windows Server 2008 on a computer that has multiple Intel x64 processors or has an Intel x64 multi-core processor. When you try to install Windows Vista Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 on the computer, you receive the following Stop error message:Note When this problem occurs, parameter1 and parameter2 in this Stop error message can make the following equation valid:

This issue occurs because some processors on the computer report support for some unsupported feature sets. Therefore, when the system uses these feature sets, a Stop error occurs. This situation can occur if incorrect processor packages are used or if the BIOS incorrectly enables a processor erratum.

Windows Vista, 64-bit versions

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB973879) package now.

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Windows Server 2008, 64-bit versions

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition (KB973879) package now.

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Prerequisites

To apply this update, your computer must be running one of the following Windows operating systems:

• Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)
• Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this update.

File information

The global version of this update has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table.

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 file information notes

• The files that apply to a specific product, SR_Level (RTM, SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table.

  Version	Product	SR_Level	Service branch
  6.0.600 0 . 16xxx	Windows Vista	RTM	GDR
  6.0.600 0 . 20xxx	Windows Vista	RTM	LDR
  6.0.600 1 . 18xxx	Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008	SP1	GDR
  6.0.600 1 . 22xxx	Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008	SP1	LDR
  6.0.600 2 . 18xxx	Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008	SP2	GDR
  6.0.600 2 . 22xxx	Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008	SP2	LDR

• Service Pack 1 is integrated into the original release of Windows Server 2008.
• The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and MUM files (.mum) installed for each environment are listed separately. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are critical to maintaining the state of the updated component. The security catalog files (attributes not listed) are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

The English version of this update 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.

File information for V1 and V2 versions

Use the following information to determine which version of the update is installed on your system:

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

For more information about the "STOP 0x0000003E" error, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

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