Windows 7 RTM contains a rather nasty chkdsk bug
section: windows, for your questions: KezNews forum, 5.8.2009
Tip: Click here to update all your PC's outdated driversWindows 7 RTM, which will be distributed to MSDN/TechNet and technical beta testers tomorrow, contains a nasty memory leak when the chkdsk command is initiated.
The bug occurs when the CHKDSK /R command is initiated on a non-system volume. Memory usage of the chkdsk.exe process soars until the system is using over 90% physical memory. In some cases this will cause the system to become unresponsive and unstable.
Some are calling the bug a "show stopper", whilst others (Randall Kennedy) claim it could derail the Windows 7 launch. It's worth noting that Kennedy claimed in November 2008 that Microsoft had delayed the Windows 7 beta to early 2009, even though company officials always stated this was the case. In other words, take his words with a pinch of salt.
Is this a show stopper? No not really. Yes the memory leak is bad but it's a process that is used so rarely that Microsoft would mark this as minor in terms of bugs. There are unconfirmed reports that Windows VP Steven Sinofsky has claimed this is a controller issue and can be fixed with updated drivers, something that Microsoft can push out with Windows Update. In an unverified blog posting, Sinofsky states "In this case, we haven't reproduced the crash and we're not seeing any crashes with chkdsk on teh (sic) stack reported in any measurable number that we could find. We had one beta report on the memory usage, but that was resolved by design since we actually did design it to use more memory. But the design was to use more memory on purpose to speed things up, but never unbounded — we requset (sic) the available memory and operate within that leaving at least 50M of physical memory."
It's worth noting that this bug also affects Windows Server 2008 R2, an operating system that potential customers would be more likely to use the chkdsk tool on. We have asked Microsoft officials for an official statement on the issue and are awaiting their reply.
source:
neowin.net
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Comments(9)
try copying a large number of big files in vista and you get the same result. memory
usage goes to 'zero free' and eventually crashes the copy process.
i tested chkdsk /r on a non boot drive (only for a few mins though) and it did used
pretty much all the memory, i eneded with just 24mb free. but when i aborted the process,
i got all my memory back inmediatelly, 1700mb free.
i know i only tested for a
few minutes, but my system was pretty responsive. no crashes or freezes here.
i just got 8 gigs of ram. bring it on!
could you do a test please?
i would like to know if chkdsk eats all your 8gb
of ram
ok jus tried this on my 16gb flash drive..scanning for file errors and bad sectors and i
can confirm it eats all of your memory but no crash and the system stays responsive. i
have windows 7 64x running on 8gb of ram and it went from 33% all the way up to 92% before
topping out and climbing back down to 89 percent. it gave me roughly 512mb to work with
and dropped to a lil less than a gig no problem. then i opened itunes windows media and
media player and it stayed at 90% and dropped back down to previous level of 89% then
after the drive was checked wham it dropped down and i got like 4gb back..so i assume that
the program is allowed to eat as much memeory as possible to make the task go
faster..problem is it doesnt increase the time imo because wouldnt the processor be used
more than jus 1-2% even if i have a quad core?
now the problem arises when i do
cancle the scan it keeps eating the memory wtf that is a bug farreal.and i dont know how
to get it down...what would happen if you run two checkdsk at the same time?
update..i got it all back and its at 24% so it gave me a lil bit more lol..i wouldnt call
it a bug lol
i got 6 gig ddr3 and did a test memory usage went to 95% but system still very usable,
win 7 7600 16385 x64
"yes the memory leak is bad but it's a process that is used so rarely that microsoft
would mark this as minor in terms of bugs." they're 'king joking mate, i use the chkdsk
facility on all my drives , that's why it's there to check for disc errors, and plenty
of people use it ... 'king morons.
i'm using windows 7 7600 16385 x64.
mine harddisk had a crash yesterday after using
chkdsk /r.
windows told me to check for disc errors.
so i did and now i have
really disk errors.
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Ho-hum
By Spackie on 05.08.2009 - 23:08