FIX: SP4 Hotfix Performance Problem on Alpha Version

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You can observe the excessive CPU usage and the exact cause by using the Windows NT Performance Monitor. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Start Performance Monitor.
2. On the Edit menu, click Add to Chart.
3. In the Object box, select System, and in the Counter box, select Alignment Fixups/sec (this is the rate of alignment faults fixed by the system).
4. Log in to SQL Server and perform a standard series of operations. You will see an abnormal number of alignment fixups per second.

Alignment faults are specific to the RISC environment and are a result of variables not being aligned on natural bit boundaries for a specific data type. The CISC environment handles this transparently at the hardware level. For more information, see the C++ Help files or search the Web for CISC and RISC information sources.