Consider the following scenario in the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0:

• You have an application that re-hosts a workflow designer.
• You load several workflows in the workflow designer. Or, you load and then unload some workflows several times in the workflow designer.
• These workflows have custom container activities that contain child activities.

In this scenario, the workflows gradually take longer to load.

This issue occurs because the number of items in an internal WeakHashtable structure increases. Each child activity in the custom container activities has read-only properties in the workflow designer. In this situation, items that correspond to the read-only properties are added to the WeakHashtable structure. However, these items are not removed after garbage collection. Therefore, the size of the structure gradually increases. When you load a workflow, the workflow designer accesses these items several times. Therefore, an increase in the structure size leads to an increase in the time that a workflow takes to load.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, it is intended to correct only the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

You must have the .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed to apply this hotfix.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply the hotfix if affected files are not being used.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows Server 2000, of Windows Server 2003, and of Windows XP

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2000, of Windows Server 2003, and of Windows XP

For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2000, of Windows Server 2003, and of Windows XP

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows Vista SP2 and of Windows Server 2008 SP2

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows Vista SP2 and of Windows Server 2008 SP2

For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 SP2

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: