Microsoft denies Windows 7 bug has 'showstopper' status

Microsoft said on Wednesday it's looking into reports of a potential bug in the final version of Windows 7. However, Microsoft's top Windows executive said in a blog posting that the issue appears to be neither widespread, nor the "showstopper" that some are claiming it to be.

The issue, noted on several enthusiast sites this week, involves a fairly arcane process used to check for problems in a particular disk. Under certain scenarios, the site suggested Windows 7 would siphon off all the available memory to perform the scan, potentially crashing the system.

One report went so far as to characterise the issue as a potential "showstopper" that might derail the product's launch, while others have downplayed the threat.

However, in the discussion on one of the blogs, top Windows executive Steven Sinofsky said the company is looking into the issue. But he said the company hasn't reproduced the crashing issue nor has it received widespread reports of crashes.

Sinofsky wrote on the site: "While we appreciate the drama of 'critical bug' and then the pickup of 'showstopper' that I've seen, we might take a step back and realise that this might not have that defcon level.

"Bugs that are so severe as to require immediate patches and attention would have to have no workarounds and would generally be such that a large set of people would run across them in the normal course of using their PC... So far this is not one of those issues."

Microsoft finalised the code for Windows 7 two weeks ago and is preparing to release it to developers in Microsoft's MSDN and TechNet programmes on Thursday, as well as make it available to some large businesses on Friday.

A Microsoft representative also confirmed Sinofsky's comments were authentic and that Microsoft was looking into the issue but declined to comment further.

Original article: Windows 7 bug likely not a 'showstopper' from CNET News.com