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Windows 2000 Server - resources

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by rabbit_runner

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Hi, we have an IBM x-series230 server. It is running a FoxPro database, and also used as a file server. During the last 3 weeks we have been having a tremendous slow-down on this server. From the task manager, we notice that the 'system' process is using 100% of the resources.
NOTE: we are running McAfee 4.5 and have the current virus definitions. We are confident that there are no virus's on this server or on our network.

Note2: We have also run a hardware diagnostic on this server andhave not found anything wrong.

Note3: The problem will present itself, even if the server is disconnected from the network and no sessions open, and no files being used.

Note4: We have changed the NIC to eliminate that as a potential problem
Note5: This is not a continious problem. We can go several hours with no problem, then the problem will simply popup. It will happen at any time of the day, and we have not seen any rhyme or reason as to the potential cause.

We are monitoring with Win2000 Performance monitor and we are noticing this...
1. In the task manager, 'system' process will use all 100% of the resources
2. In performance monitor, we are narrowing down the different 'threads', associated with 'system' to find the one(s) which take all the resources.
3. From our research we find the following threads (in order of most egregious at the top)
Thread #37 - Parent 'system' (by far the most problematic)
Thread #50 - Parent "system'
Thread #53 - Parent "system'
Thread #54 - Parent "system'
Thread #55 - Parent "system'
Thread #56 - Parent "system'

We have checked technet for the processes of each of these threads. We have not been able to locate any information.
My questions,
1. Do you know of a site, or location where we can better identify these particular threads?
2. Does anyone know of a solution to this problem?

Thanks in advance.

11 replies

by curlergirl

I can't suggest any way to research these particular threads. However, if you read any of Microsoft's literature on performance monitoring and optimizing, you'll see that they say unequivocally that if your CPU is being pegged at or near 100% regularly (except for a few known issues with specific software that I've read about), you need to add CPU power either by upgrading to a faster processor or adding a processor to multi-processor systems. I don't know anything about the configuration of an IBM x-series 230 server, so only you can say if this seems a reasonable answer or not. Hope this helps!

by curlergirl

One additional thought - again not knowing anything about this particular server or the background of your situation, if you have recently upgraded this server to Win2K and if it is running AD, this will definitely increase the resource requirementsof a server over an NT server running the same basic services.

by rabbit_runner

We have not been able to identify, nor isolate the particular thread. It looks like we will need to reload the OS. Thanks for your help.

by rabbit_runner

Additional information on this server. It is Windows 2000 running on a NT 4.0 domain. So AD is not installed. Also this server was not upgraded. Win2000 was the initial install.
We are not running any IIS services.
Single processor running at 1Gig
Memory is 1 Gig Ram
Hard drive - Raid 5 (one volume with 2 partitions)
C drive = 8 gig
d Drive = 160 gig

by shmaltz

Doing just File sharing on a server doesn't need more than 1 Ghz CPU and 1GB RAM is more than required. However you mention that you are running RAID 5, is this hardware RAID 5 or software?
If you are running Software this might be the problem.
Also, check the event viewer for any hardware problems. There might be a problem with your hard drives.
Try monitering your harddrives to see if there is a large amount of read/write errors.
Upgrade to the lates drivers.

by rabbit_runner

We have not been able to identify, nor isolate the particular thread. It looks like we will need to reload the OS. Thanks for your help.

by a.grogan

Its a long shot - but try adding the following into the boot.ini file /3GB - this will help with memory and resource management on your server.

by rabbit_runner

We have not been able to identify, nor isolate the particular thread. It looks like we will need to reload the OS. Thanks for your help.

by eascott

Although this is terribly obvious I felt compelled to mention it simply because I sometimes overlook it myself: have you checked the "Application" and "System" logs for errors... I have found that correcting errors that appear in these logs (esp theApplications log, which seems to be the least likely tp get my attention in these cases) has resolved many slow boot and system slowdown issues.

by rabbit_runner

We have not been able to identify, nor isolate the particular thread. It looks like we will need to reload the OS. Thanks for your help.

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