Windows Server 2003 Std Stops working

[TimRegester]

This server has had one login in two weeks as it was in a school shutdown for the holiday. The server was out of resources when I arrived, I could login but not map resources, logged into server could not launch cmd line or Task manager or event viewer all said insufficient resources. Rebooted server and springs back into life. No abnormal errors since.

Server had been running since November happily. It is running on Fujitsu Siemens Server H/W with a hardware RAID 0 array with 512MB RAM, 36 concurrent users on AD acts as DC DNS and DHCP, Print Server, File Server, IIS for a simple Intranet home page (one html page) and the only app is Sophos Enterprise Manager. Virus Scan was clean.

Event Log for System revealed a few errors caused by lack of resources and increasing errors from 4/4/05 (14,000 in total) but technet error checker says only memory related error is 2019 caused, it says by Norton Corporate AV software, which I do not use. I have checked with Sophos they have no such similar issues with Server 2003.

So here are my questions, Is there a tool (cheap or free there is no budget for this) that can find out what happened or monitor such issues in future?
Is there a website that makes real sense of these errors?
Has anyone seen a similar scenario?
Do I need to increase my pagefile size manually, at present it at default and there are usually no issues with free physical memory or pagefile memory?
Do I need to increase my Physical RAM?

Oh and how an earth can a healthy server become unhealthy with noone using it for a week and a half?

 

[fitfixer]

I have the same problem with our PDC, it is running Server 2003 std on a proliant ML370 G3 with dual Xeon Processors and 2 GB of RAM, we also run Sophos AV.
This is a small LAN with about 70 users, there should be ample resources on this server to run file and print services but when we arrive in work each morning the PDc is dead in the water with a string of 2019 errors in the event log, I would be interested to hear if you sorted this problem out
Regards


FrankF
A+,Network+,MCSA

 

[TimRegester]

The problem ceased of it's own accord, so I am unable to help.

Sophos EM software has updated since so I am wondering if that was the cause, but this is mere conjecture. Logically it must be an app running 24/7 that is causing a memory leak, but as I say only Sophos EM fits that bill.

I do not like self healing errors, they worry me and I would like to put this one to bed but cannot as I have precious little evidence to go on and cannot recreate the error.

 

[fitfixer]

Thanks for the reply,

I was using Sophos EM on this Server but moved it across to another DC when this problem started, it did not make any difference to either server, the problem did not move with the supect application so I am still looking for the cause,

regards

FrankF
A+,Network+,MCSA