Not Enough Server Storage on a Windows XPshare

Trying to access a shared documents folder over my local network, I came across a window with this error message – not enough server storage? What’s going on here? It’s a fresh install of windows and I had never seen it before.

Fortunately, after a bit of research I found a solution that did actually work, and the PC hasn’t missed a beat since.

The error message can indicate a IRPStackSize bug, and looking at the event log of the machine for an error with ID 2011, is further eveidence of this particular bug.

What is the IRPStackSize? Well, straight from the Microsoft website:

The IRPStackSize parameter specifies the number of stack locations in I/O request packets (IRPs) that are used by Windows 2000 Server, by Windows Server 2003, and by Windows XP. You may have to increase this number for certain transports, for media access control (MAC) drivers, or for file system drivers. Each stack uses 36 bytes of memory for each receive buffer.

I don’t know about you , but I’m still none the wiser 🙂

Anyway, let’s get around fixing it…..

Before I go on, my disclaimer: Trying the below is done so at you own risk. I take no responsibility for any problems that may occur. The fix involves a registry change, so if you are not comfortable playing with the registry, get someone that is.

Open up the registry (regedit from the run box), and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet
\Services
\LanmanServer
\Parameters

Look for a parameter called IRPStackSize. Whatever the value is, we need to increase it. From what I’ve read on other sites, a value of between 15 and 25 will work. I tried 16 and it didn’t. 20 did.

if you don’t have a IRPStackSize entry, create one by right clicking in the right hand window, and select new>DWORD value. Call it IRPStackSize (note: case sensitive).

DWORD value

Once done, click on it and enter a value (as a decimel). As you can see, I entered 20 – shown here as 14 in hex:

IRPStackSIZE

Once done, close the window and restart the computer and then you should be able to access the share.

What causes the bug? Well I read that programs like Acronis True Image, Seagate Disc Wizard and Symtec Endpoint protection can be the culprits. In my case, I had a fresh install of XP Pro, with Acronis True Image. Fairly easy fix, and as I said earlier, all has been fine since.

I would be interested in other people’s experiences. Please share them below.

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  1. Sweet post.

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