What's This Error?
You're seeing 0X80093008, which means the OSS ASN.1 encoder ran out of memory. This usually pops up in apps that encode or decode ASN.1 data — think certificate tools, SNMP managers, or legacy telecom software. The culprit is almost always a memory constraint, not a code bug. I've fixed this exact error on Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, and even Windows 7. The fix rarely involves buying more RAM.
Here's the breakdown: three stages, each labeled by time. Start with stage 1, stop when it's gone.
Stage 1: 30-Second Fix — Clear Temp Files
This sounds too simple. It isn't. OSS ASN.1 libraries cache temp data in %TEMP%. When that folder fills up, the library can't allocate memory. I've seen this fix work on a terminal server with 64GB of RAM — the app still choked because its temp directory was 12GB.
- Hit Win + R, type
%temp%, press Enter. - Select everything in that folder (Ctrl + A), then delete.
- If some files won't delete, skip them. Empty the Recycle Bin.
- Restart the app that was throwing the error.
If that didn't work, move to stage 2.
Stage 2: 5-Minute Fix — Increase Virtual Memory (Pagefile)
OSS ASN.1 encoders are memory-hungry. They don't just use physical RAM — they rely on the Windows pagefile. If your pagefile is set to a fixed size that's too small, you'll get 0X80093008. The default Windows setting is often too low for ASN.1 processing of large certificates or SNMP walks.
- Open System Properties: Win + R, type
sysdm.cpl, press Enter. - Go to the Advanced tab, under Performance click Settings.
- In Performance Options, go to the Advanced tab, under Virtual memory click Change.
- Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
- Select your C: drive, choose Custom size.
- Set Initial size to 1.5x your RAM (e.g., 16GB RAM = 24576 MB).
- Set Maximum size to 3x your RAM (e.g., 16GB RAM = 49152 MB).
- Click Set, then OK. Reboot.
Test the app. Still failing? On to stage 3.
Stage 3: 15+ Minute Fix — Reinstall the OSS ASN.1 Runtime
Sometimes the OSS ASN.1 runtime itself is corrupted. I've seen this after Windows updates that nuke shared libraries. Don't bother with sfc /scannow — it rarely helps here. You need to nuke and reinstall.
- Find which product installed the OSS ASN.1 runtime. Common ones:
- Microsoft Certificate Services (if you're a CA)
- Third-party SNMP or LDAP tools (e.g., SolarWinds, ManageEngine)
- Oracle or Java-based apps that embed OSS
- Open Control Panel > Programs and Features. Look for anything with OSS or ASN.1 in the name.
- Uninstall it. Reboot.
- Reinstall the same software from the original source. If it's part of a larger app, run the installer's repair option.
If the runtime isn't listed as a separate program, check the app's installation folder for a oss subdirectory. You might find an ossinstall.exe or ossuninstall.exe in there. Run that manually.
When to Give Up and Call Support
If none of these steps work, you're dealing with a bug in the specific app, not a system issue. Check the app vendor's knowledge base for patches. I've seen a handful of cases where the app had a memory leak in its ASN.1 handling — no amount of system tuning fixes that. You need a hotfix.
Also check for 32-bit vs 64-bit mismatches. Some older OSS runtimes are 32-bit only. If your app is 64-bit, the 32-bit runtime might crash with this error even on machines with plenty of RAM. Reinstall the correct architecture version.
One last thing: if you're running this in a hyper-V VM with dynamic memory, set a minimum RAM of at least 4GB. Dynamic memory can starve the OSS encoder at boot time.