Runaway httpd.exe: handle count -> 2.5 million! -> crash

[DevMonkey]

I have XAMPP 1.7.1 installed on my development PC. (Drupal doesn't play nice with versions >1.7.1.) I don't know what happened last week, but since then, if I start Apache, one of the httpd.exe processes starts opening handles at an alarming rate, eventually making the Windows nonpaged memory pool run out and my PC crash.

The httpd.exe handle count reaches 2.5 MILLION in a couple of minutes!

I have searched, but can't find many mentions of this problem. I'm unsure where to begin debugging this. (I uninstalled 1.7.1, backed up the config files I'd modified, and reinstalled 1.7.1. The problem persists.) Thanks for your help; having to shift development to a remote server will slow me down quite a bit.

DevMonkey

[JonB]

Do you take incremental backups? (I'm guessing prolly not)

Since you un-installed (and presumably the problem started recently), then re-installed and put BACK your configuration files -- I would suggest its a problem with your configuration files or some code snippet or update applied.

WinMerge would be a good way to compare the 'clean' XAMPP 1.7.1 with your 'modified' one. It can track down EVERY differnence in ALL the files. (its a graphical diffutil on steriods). I use it for track all my WordPress code fixes for 'whoopsies'.

http://winmerge.org/

I would ask myself "when did I first notice this?" and go hunting for a file inside your XAMPP related folders that has a last modified date close to that 'bad day'.

Its likely to be a PHP process that is not terminating properly (my WAG for the moment).

Good Luck

[DevMonkey]

Do you take incremental backups? (I'm guessing prolly not)

My Drupal projects are under source control, but I had omitted to place the Apache directory tree under source control.

Since you un-installed (and presumably the problem started recently), then re-installed and put BACK your configuration files -- I would suggest its a problem with your configuration files or some code snippet or update applied.

No, that's not it — a fresh install of XAMPP, without my modified configuration files, still creates millions of handles. I wonder what could cause this problem. I made sure, when uninstalling prior to reinstalling, that I had stopped both services and rebooted.

At this point, I can't have the Apache service running at all, which obviously hinders my development...

[JonB]

have you done a memory test?

[DevMonkey]

have you done a memory test?

I left this morning on a 2-week trip, so for the next 2 weeks, I won't be able to test my RAM. Until then, what else can I check? I'm mystified that a fresh install would misbehave this way.

[JonB]

Assuming (always dangerous) that the installation files were not corrupt, the failure of a program to execute properly in an environment where it has run previously usually points to a hardware fault.

As my real job is systems integration, I'll list them in the order I go for:

Disk errors
RAM Errors
Processor/MB errors (usually from overheating; i.e. failed fans).
Power Supply Problems (bad voltages can lead to stuck bits)

I suggested RAM checking as it is the most likely cause when things go awry immediately after loading a program. How much RAM are you running?

Other than that, I'd look (Google) for runaway processes on the exact specific apache Windows DLL's in use.

I'm not such an expert that I think I have heard of everything, but I have not heard of this particular type of problem - other than with corrupt code or hardware problems.