Technology Notebook

Stack Page Overflow

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q149/0/83.asp

Windows 9x has one gaping flaw that has caused problems with the OS since it's inception - tThe ability for individual applications or drivers to make a mess of the entire operating environment. This usually results in hangs, bizarre application behavior or error messages. One of the common dialogs you may experience relates to spare stack pages being unavailable. This is the result of a driver allocating more than the 4KB it has been allocated for a stack page. In that case, Windows dutifully provides 2 additional 4KB stack pages for temporary use to accommodate the sloppily written driver. Unfortunately, 2 spare pages may not be enough. Increasing the MinSPs value in the System.ini file may be the cure in this case. In the [386Enh], add the following line. If you still experience problems, increase the value in increments of 4 (i.e. 8, 12, 16, etc.).