Patch for rare NT bug coming
Responding to the findings of an original equipment maker, Microsoft will post a bug fix next week on its Web site that will correct a rare problem found in Windows NT 4.0 Server.
The bug was found by a third party who was taking NT 4.0 through some high-level stress tests. "It's a very difficult bug to reproduce," said Enzo Schiano, a product manager for Windows NT.
The bug occurs when large files are being read over a long period of time, according to company officials, flushing the server cache, and causing data corruption.
Schiano said the tests being conducted by the OEM were not tests that would come up during everyday use of the server software. "You would probably never see it in a production environment," Schiano said. Portions of Microsoft's networks are currently running on NT 4.0 themselves.
The bug was found a few days ago by the OEM, but contrary to rumors, the OEM did not stop shipments of NT 4.0, according to Schiano.
Schiano said a patch has already been sent to the OEM and that same patch will be available sometime next week to customers on the Microsoft Web site.