Stack Overflow Troubleshooting

Reader Question:
“Hi Wally, I am having problems with Stack Overflow and wondering how to fix it?” - Monique K., USA

Before addressing any computer issue, I always recommend scanning and repairing any underlying problems affecting your PC health and performance:

Step 1 : Download PC Repair & Optimizer Tool (WinThruster for Win 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP and 2000 – Microsoft Gold Certified).
Step 2 : Click “Start Scan” to find Windows registry issues that could be causing PC problems.
Step 3 : Click “Repair All” to fix all issues.

Setting up weekly (or daily) automatic scans will help prevent system problems and keep your PC running fast and trouble-free.

Wally’s Answer:

Overview of Stack Overflow

Stack overflow is a condition that can arise when a program needs to use large amounts of memory to run properly and perform certain tasks. When stack overflow occurs, the program experiencing this event will often crash. In some cases, the computer will crash as well.

“Stack” is a term used to describe the amount of memory a program will need to run and perform tasks. The stack is set at a specific amount when the program starts and this amount of free memory is set aside for the program to use.

Most programs will function fine until they need more memory than the stack has available. When this happens, the memory requirements of the program exceed the available memory and a condition of stack overflow exists.

Stack overflow is the result of programming errors and there is no way to configure the computer to avoid stack overflow errors. The user can only report the issue to the developers and when they have corrected the programming, they will issue an update that will fix the issue.

What Problems are Associated with Stack Overflow?

One of the most common causes of stack overflow is called, “infinite recursion.” Infinite recursion means that the application is attempting to perform the same action or process over and over without end. Each time the process is executed, it takes a portion of the stack memory. It executes again and takes another portion of the stack memory. This process continues until there is no stack memory available for the process and the program crashes. Often this process happens so fast the user does not realize there is a problem until the program suddenly closes.

Another common cause of stack overflow is when the programmer allocates very large stack variables for a task. Sometimes the execution of a process calls for more memory than has been allocated to the stack when the program was started. When this happens, the stack does not have enough memory to assign to the process, and the application crashes.

Program processes can also be written so they require increasing amounts of memory over time. Eventually, these processes will consume all of the memory in the stack and cause the program to crash. Sometimes the program will begin responding very slowly before it crashes. In these situations, the user can sometimes avoid stack overflow by closing and reopening the program when it begins to respond slowly.

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Is Your PC Healthy?

I always recommend to my readers to regularly use a trusted registry cleaner and optimizer such as WinThruster or CCleaner. Many problems that you encounter can be attributed to a corrupt and bloated registry.

Happy Computing!

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About the Author

Wally PhillipsWindows Wally is a helpful guy. It’s just in his nature. It’s why he started a blog in the first place. He heard over and over how hard it was to find simple, plain-English solutions to Windows troubleshooting problems on the Internet. Enter: Windows Wally. Ask away, and he will answer.