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WDS memory leak

Anonymous
2025-02-12T08:54:48+00:00

Hi there,

We are currently having issues with our WDS (Windows Deployment Server) and MDT (Microsoft Deployment Toolkit) setup. When PXE booting devices, most never make it far enough to start the MDT process. Most machines get stuck and never make it past the “Getting boot file: boot\x64\wdsmgfw.efi” screen and while this is happening the WDS Service will slowly (but surely) eat itself, consuming all the ram on offer, until it is no longer usable and needs a hard reset.

Last time this happened (about a month or two ago), i uninstalled a Windows Update and everything went back to normal. Since then Windows Updates have been disabled on the system but it has started acting up again.

For now the only common thread between machines with and without issue, is the Bios vendor being Insyde.

I am having a hard time finding solutions to this problem, i have tried all the TFTP, Variable Window Size and other settings and nothing works. Are there anyone else experiencing this problem?

I have also tried switching to another server installation, which worked for a while before it also developed this memory leak problem.

Server setup: VM on HyperV, Windows Server 2022, 16G RAM, 12 Virtual Cores.

Client setup: Various HP laptops.

Any and all tips will be gladly appreciated!

Windows for business | Windows Server | Performance | System performance

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-02-13T02:29:41+00:00

    Hello,

    Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.

    Based on the description, I understand your question is related to WDS.

    In the WDS server properties, under the TFTP tab, clear the "Enable Variable Window Extension" box.

    Experiment with different TFTP max block sizes to see if it resolves the issue.

    Ensure no recent Windows Updates have been installed that could be causing the issue. If any updates were installed, consider rolling them back.

    Also, A memory leak occurs when a process allocates memory from the paged or nonpaged pools, but doesn't free the memory. As a result, these limited pools of memory are depleted over time, causing Windows to slow down. If memory is completely depleted, failures may result.

    Here is a reference link:

    Find a Memory Leak - Windows drivers | Microsoft Learn

    Have a nice day. 

    Best Regards,

    Molly

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