Any OS gurus out there? ipc_kmsg_copyout_header: can't grow user ipc space

Question

Hi all,
Lately, ever since upgrading from 10.6.5 to 10.6.7, my computer has started locking up frequently (usually at least once every couple of days). I will get the spinning pinwheel and the system will become non-responsive (both gui and ssh, etc). This state will last indefinitely, requiring a forced restart. It will enter this irrecoverable spin when I am actively using the computer or even in my absence, "idle" for hours or days.
Upon restarting, I check the console logs to see what might be wrong. In every single case, there is always the same message that appears right before the beginning of the system startup messages. It reads something like:
2011/6/06 9:41:51 AM          kernel          ipc_kmsg_copyout_header: can't grow user ipc space
with, of course, the date and time of the last instance that the computer was responsive. Nothing else unusual appears before this message. Just standard console stuff.
Googling this message, I only came across where this message appears in the source code ipc_kmsg.c, which appear to be components of the freebsd and mach kernels
Here are links to the relevant source:
1) http://fxr.watson.org/fxr/source/osfmk/ipc/ipc_kmsg.c?v=xnu-1456.1.26
2) http://fxr.watson.org/fxr/ident?v=xnu-1456.1.26;im=excerpts;i=MACH_MSG_IPC_SPACE
3) http://fxr.watson.org/fxr/ident?v=xnu-1456.1.26;im=excerpts;i=MACH_RCV_HEADER_ER ROR
if (kr != KERN_SUCCESS) {
2964                                         /* space is unlocked */
2965
2966                                         if (kr == KERN_RESOURCE_SHORTAGE) {
2967                                                 printf("ipc_kmsg_copyout_header: can't grow kernel ipc space\n");
2968                                                 return (MACH_RCV_HEADER_ERROR|
2969                                                         MACH_MSG_IPC_KERNEL);
2970                                         } else {
2971                                                 printf("ipc_kmsg_copyout_header: can't grow user ipc space\n");
2972                                                 return (MACH_RCV_HEADER_ERROR|
2973                                                         MACH_MSG_IPC_SPACE);
2974                                         }
2975                                 }
2976                                 /* space is locked again; start over */
  658 #define MACH_MSG_IPC_SPACE              0x00002000
  659                 /* No room in IPC name space for another capability name. */
  720 #define MACH_RCV_HEADER_ERROR           0x1000400b
  721                 /* Error receiving message header.  See special bits. */
I don't want to pretend to know exactly what's going on here, but it looks like the kernel is running out of open ports for inter-process communications?
If this is the case, what could be causing this problem? Shouldn't the system free up ports that aren't in use? I can't think of anything I have installed that could use up all the ipc ports.
I haven't seen any other posts anywhere on the internets about others having this problem, but I can't imagine I'm the only person to have it.
Thanks, any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Guess apple's forums were the wrong place to ask this type of question. Got help at stackexchange instead:
http://superuser.com/questions/294285/getting-console-message-ipc-kmsg-copyout-h eader-cant-grow-user-ipc-space-any
Long story short, if this is happening to you, check your activity monitor for processes that might be consuming too many ports