The Windows cache manager can consume all available memory on Windows when running SAS programs. Low available memory then triggers a range of problems, including very poor performance for SAS programs and applications, and significant system issues including unexpected failures and exceptions.

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Set the System Environment Variable SAS_NO_RANDOM_ACCESS=1

1. Right-click My Computer or Computer and select Properties.
2. Click Advanced system settings to open the System Properties dialog box.
3. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables....
4. In the System variables pane (not the user variable pane), click New. The New System Variable command box appears. (Important: Make sure that you are not adding a new user variable. The top of the command box should say, "New System Variable," not "New User Variable." )
5. In the Variable name field, enter SAS_NO_RANDOM_ACCESS, and in the Variable value field, enter 1.
6. Click OK.

Step 2: Apply SAS hot fix (if one is needed based on your SAS version). Click the Hot Fix tab at the top of this SAS note.

This problem occurs because the file cache manager in Windows retains all pages of data that are open for RANDOM ACCESS. Typically, this issue occurs under Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. However, the problem might also occur in earlier releases, such as Windows 2008 R1 and the Windows 2003 64-bit and 32-bit operating systems.

Earlier versions of this SAS note suggested a Microsoft hot fix. However, additional testing showed that the Microsoft hot fix had little impact.

For more details about how SAS uses Windows I/O and Windows file cache, see Configuration and Tuning Guidelines for SAS^®9 in Microsoft Windows Server 2008.

Operating System and Release Information

A fix for this issue for Base SAS 9.21_M3 is available at:

A fix for this issue for Base SAS 9.3 M0 is available at:

A fix for this issue for SAS Threaded Kernel Core Routines 9.3_M1 is available at: