FIX: SELECT MAX from INT Column May Cause Access Violation

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft SQL Server, version 4.2

BUG# NT: 814 (4.2)

SYMPTOMS

Selecting the MAX value from a column that is defined as INT NOT NULL and is the fourth column in a table may result in an access violation on SQL Server.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft SQL Server version 4.2. This problem was corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for SQL Server version 4.21a. For information on obtaining the Service Pack, please contact your primary support provider.

MORE INFORMATION

The table may be wider than 4 columns, but MAX should be selected from the fourth column and columns 1-3 should be 4 bytes wide.

Here is a brief script to demonstrate the problem:

   use pubs
   go
   drop table t1
   go
   create table t1(c1 int, c2 int, c3 int, c4 int)
   go
   declare @counter int
   select @counter = 0
   while @counter < 400
   begin
     insert t1 values(@counter,@counter,@counter,@counter)
     select @counter = @counter + 1
   end
   go
   select max(c4) from t1
   go