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P4 Server Administration Documentation | 2026.1

# Resolve Windows-related instabilities

Many large sites run a P4 Server on Windows without incident. There are also sites in which a Perforce service or P4 Server installation appears to be unstable; the server dies mysteriously, the service can’t be started, and in extreme cases, the system crashes. In most of these cases, this is an indication of recent changes to the machine or a corrupted operating system.

Though not all P4 Server failures are caused by OS-level problems, a number of symptoms can indicate the OS is at fault. Examples include: the system crashing, the P4 Server exiting without any error in its log and without Windows indicating that the server crashed, or the Perforce service not starting properly.

In some cases, installing third-party software after installing a service pack can overwrite critical files installed by the service pack; reinstalling your most-recently installed service pack can often correct these problems. If you’ve installed another application after your last service pack, and server stability appears affected since the installation, consider reinstalling the service pack.

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