JSI Tip 5047. Your Windows 2000 Server is unable to allocate memory from the system paged pool?

In tip 3408, I described one possible reason for Event ID 2020.

If your server is under heavy load, your System event log may contain:

Event ID 2020 - The server was unable to allocate from the system paged pool because the pool was empty.

Another possible reason for this error is that you have a very large number of files open on the server and the Memory Manager can NOT trim the allocated paged pool memory fast enough.

The Memory Manager begins to trim the allocated paged pool memory when it reaches 80% of the total paged pool. If you tune the server, it is likely you can alleviate this problem:

1. Use the Registry Editor to navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management.

2. On the Edit menu, Add Value name PoolUsageMaximum, as a REG_DWORD data type, and set the data value to 40, using the Decimal Radix. This setting directs the Memory Manager to begin trimming the allocated paged pool memory when it reaches 40% of the total paged pool.

3. Double-click the PagedPoolSize Value Name, a REG_DWORD data type, and set the data value to 0xFFFFFFFF, using the Hex Radix. This setting allocates the maximum paged pool possible.

4. Exit the Registry Editor.

5. Shutdown and restart your server.