Error Staring ColdFusion MX - JVM Heap Issues

If your running the Service Pack 1 on Windows 2003, and ColdFusion MX with more than 1024mb in the max heap setting, you might see the error:

Windows could not start the ColdFusion MX Application Server on Local
Computer. For more information, review the System Event Log. If this
is a non-Microsoft service, contact the service vendor, and refer to
service-specific error code 2.

In the logs you might see:

Error occurred during initialization of VM
Could not reserve enough space for object heap

The problem could be a number of things but here are two possibilities you should look into:

• Microsoft Windows 2003 Service Pack 1 Bug - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924054 - Programs that request lots of contiguous memory, such as one gigabyte or more, may fail with an unexpected error after you install security update 921883 on a computer that is running an x64-based version of Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), or Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. There is a hotfix for this issue, and it should be fixed in future service packs.
• Heap Size Greater than 1.8GB - in this case you may have run into a limit of 32 bit Windows, see the link for more info.