Windows Server 2003 requires hard reboot every 2 weeks
Hello, Couldn't seem to find a forum for server 2003, so hopefully this is the right spot. I am relatively new to this client who is reporting that he has to reboot the server roughly every two weeks (usually Wednesday mornings). I've gone through Event logs for the past couple of months. With the exception of an SQL database called BID2WIN that fails quite often, there are little to no errors or warnings in the System or Application logs. I have been watching the memory and processes over the past couple of weeks and have not seen anything out of the ordinary such as memory leaks, high page faults, running low on resources, etc...The exception to this is UltraVNC which had a large number of page faults (10x higher than all other processes), but other fields appear normal. My next best guess is something is running every 2nd week, but have not yet been able to locate what that might be. Scheduled tasks only has entries for SyncBackPro which runs every day, generally without issue. I guess my question is what else should I be doing to try to determine the cause of these crashes? Server Information: Windows Server 2003 (SP2) - Latest updates as of last night Xeon 2GHz / 3.5GB RAM 75% Free space on C / 95% Free on E CPU utilization generally stays under 10% PF usage less than 1GB DHCP/DNS/Acronis True Image/AVG9/AVGM/Few LOB applications SyncBackPro backup runs 3 jobs each day, successful or with exceptions usually Since the server was updated/rebooted last night, the crash that should have happened this morning (keeping in line with the pattern) did not happen. All I can think of right now. Please let me know if more info is required. Thanks, Ben
May 12th, 2010 8:32pm

Hi, Checking the following may help you troubleshoot the issue: · Did the mouse and keyboard respond when the issue occurred? · Did the computer respond when the issue occurred? Could you connect to the share folder on the server? · Did the server still hang if you disconnect it from the network? · Did the Task Manager show a particular process taking up significant CPU cycles? As you have checked the event log and performance monitor but no useful information was found, you may consider generating a dump file when the issue occurs again: Windows feature lets you generate a memory dump file by using the keyboard http://support.microsoft.com/?id=244139 After you collect a dump file, I suggest that you contact Microsoft Customer Support Service (CSS) so that the dump file can be analyzed. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web: http://support.microsoft.com/directory/overview.asp Hope the information is helpful.This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
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May 14th, 2010 11:13am

hi , Pagefaults do not cause the system to hang. Even on a working operating system you can check this behavior by using process explorer. Page fault occurs at the thread level when the executing thread tries to reference a memory location which is not present. While analyzing you have to differenciate between hard page faults and soft page faults. In more technical terms the instruction that references the page fails and it generates an interrupt. windows is designed in such a way whenever there is an Interupt , its internal component called ISR kicks in and OS locates the page and loads it . But the above procedure doesnt hold good all the time. And one of the problem with perfmon is that it doesnt tell you whether the page fault is hard page fault or soft page fault. To successfully analyze the hard page faults use memory\page reads /sec.
May 14th, 2010 12:41pm

I will be back onsite tomorrow and will answer your questions as best I can. We definitely cannot log on to the machine when it occurs, but I'm pretty sure we are able to view the Computer Management console. Will need to check on the shared folder and whether disconnecting it from the network has an effect. I will definitely check into creating the dump file as well. I have this feeling it will require a Microsoft call, so it can't hurt to have things ready for them. Thanks for your assistance thus far. Ben
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May 18th, 2010 10:18pm

Hi Sainath, I generally have just been watching for anything out of the ordinary and UltraVNC and AVG are the only ones that fit the description. However, I've recently had another site with AVG that caused a memory leak and this site does not have the same symptoms or errors (not that it's not possible, just very different results between them). Since page faults shouldn't be the issue, that should cancel UltraVNC as the problem as well. I think we'll go with collecting the crash dump for now. Will update with any changes. Thanks, Ben
May 18th, 2010 10:23pm

I think we'll have to wait until next Wednesday to see if the issue pops up so we can attempt to get these last few answers for you. All schedules/tasks/backups run in the evening and take less than 30 mins to complete. Full backup takes 3-4 hours but only runs on the weekend, otherwise it's just incrementals. One thing I found is that APC PowerChute is currently using the most memory in all categories, but I do not have the logon information to get in there. I'm sure a reinstall will be necessary and research suggested in rare cases, may cause a crash. So, I'll post back next Wednesday evening with further information. Regards, Ben
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May 21st, 2010 9:15pm

Hi Ben, Did you had a chance to analyze the systems ?
June 11th, 2010 10:30am

Was sure I had answered this, apologies for the very long delay. In any case, removing PowerChute seems to have resolved our issue. I appreciate the assistance. Take care.
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August 12th, 2010 9:08am

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