Out of memory errors but not actually out of memory...

Posted by commradepolski on Super User See other posts from Super User or by commradepolski
Published on 2010-04-09T18:00:41Z Indexed on 2010/04/09 18:03 UTC
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So, myself and my fellow support techs have been fighting with this issue and we still dont know what the problem is.

Lets start off with the system specs:

  • Windows XP 32 bit Corporate (SP2 and SP3)
  • Intel D975XBX2 Mobo
  • 4gb of ram
  • Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
  • ATI Radeon HD 3600 - 512mb

After a few hours of working on the machine, the end user will begin to see the following symptoms:

  • Out of memory messages
  • Title bars and menus dont draw in properly
  • Problems accessing network resources
  • Problems opening up documents such as MSWord and MSPowerpoint and text files
  • Problems opening up explorer windows
  • General instability

We have looked at task manager while this issue was occurring, and all indicators, like PF usage, threads, handles, etc. are normal. We have been having trouble pinpointing the root cause of this issue. It is also not situated with one user, it affects 8-10.

So far we have tried:

  • Resetting CMOS (Waiting to see results)
  • Replacing video card (didnt help)
  • Windows updates (didnt help)
  • Updating network drivers (didnt help)
  • Switching user from 1gbps to 100mbps network connection (awaiting results)
  • Swapping the affected user's hardware (waiting for results)
  • Increasing desktop heap size (helped for a bit but then the issue became more frequent)
  • Applying the /3 switch to XP (didnt help)
  • Increasing and decreasing and setting PF to system managed state (didnt help)

We did have a power outage at the office a couple weeks ago, and all these issues became more frequent. Prior to the power outage it may take a week or so for the users to experience the issues but since the power outage it takes 3-4 hours or less. We havent had reports of the above issues causing BSODs, although that would be easier to diagnose :).

Any help is greatly appreciated.

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