What does Windows error code 199 (ERROR_AUTODATASEG_EXCEEDS_64k) mean?

ERROR_AUTODATASEG_EXCEEDS_64k

What ERROR_AUTODATASEG_EXCEEDS_64k means

ERROR_AUTODATASEG_EXCEEDS_64k is Win32 system error code associated with the documented message: “The operating system cannot run this application program.” The significant condition is that the automatic data segment of a segmented executable is larger than the format’s 64 KiB limit.

Likely causes

• global or static data growth pushed a 16-bit data segment over 64 KiB
• linker memory-model settings combine too much data into one automatic segment
• generated resources or tables were added without repartitioning the legacy image

Troubleshooting steps

1. Review the linker map and automatic data segment size
2. split data across segments or select a suitable memory model
3. rebuild the legacy component and confirm the new image header before deployment

Code-specific investigation notes

The automatic data segment commonly contains globals, statics, and runtime-managed data selected by the 16-bit memory model. Growth in any of these can push the combined segment over its boundary.

Use the linker map to rank the largest contributors rather than moving arbitrary variables and hoping the total drops enough.

Retest startup and data access after repartitioning because changing segment placement can expose far/near pointer assumptions elsewhere.

Difference from related errors

ERROR_ITERATED_DATA_EXCEEDS_64k is caused by expanded repeated-data records; it is the aggregate automatic data-segment limit.

References

• Microsoft: System error codes 0–499