Stop 0x3F or NO_MORE_SYSTEM_PTES

The Stop 0x3F message indicates one or more of the following problems:

• The system Page Table Entries (PTEs) are depleted or fragmented because the system is performing a large number of input/output (I/O) actions.
• A faulty device driver is not managing memory properly.
• An application, such as a backup program, is improperly allocating large amounts of kernel memory.

Interpreting the Message

Depending on the configuration of your system, the value of the first parameter might vary. The following are possible values for the first parameter and the information returned:

• 0x0A PTE type: 0x00 = system expansion, 0x01 = nonpaged pool expansion
• 0x0B Requested size
• 0x0C Total free system PTEs
• 0x0D Total system PTEs

Resolving the Problem

The following suggestions are specific to Stop 0x3F errors. For additional troubleshooting suggestions that apply to all Stop errors, see the section titled "Stop Message Checklist" later in this tutorial.

• Stop 0x3F messages can occur after you install faulty drivers or system services. If a driver file name is given, you need to disable, remove, or roll back that driver. Disable the service or application and confirm that this resolves the error. If so, contact the hardware manufacturer about a possible update. Using updated software is especially important for backup programs, multimedia applications, antivirus scanners, and CD mastering tools.
• The system might not actually be out of PTEs, but a contiguous memory block of sufficient size may not be available to satisfy a driver or application request. Check for the availability of updated driver or application files and consult the hardware or program documentation for minimum system requirements.

A related Stop message, 0xD8: DRIVER_USED_EXCESSIVE_PTES, is described in the section titled "Stop 0xD8 or DRIVER_USED_EXCESSIVE_PTES" later in this tutorial.

More Info For more information about Stop 0x3F messages, see the Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com/. Search the Knowledge Base using the keywords 0x0000003F and 0x3F.