Example 8: Enlarging the User-Mode Stack Trace Database
The following GFlags command increases the maximum size of the user-mode stack trace database for myapp.exe, a fictitious program, from 8 MB to 24 MB.
The command uses the /i parameter to specify the image file. It uses the /tracedb parameter to set the maximum stack trace database size and the value 24 to indicate the size in megabytes. The command uses decimal units. (Hexadecimal units are not valid.)
gflags /i MyApp.exe /tracedb 24
As the following error message indicates, this command fails because the Create user mode stack trace database (+ust) flag is not set for the MyApp image file. You cannot set the size of a trace database until you create one.
Failed to set the trace database size for `MyApp.exe'
The following commands fix the error. The first command creates a trace database for myapp.exe and the second command sets the maximum size of the trace database to 24 MB. These commands cannot be combined into a single command. The following display shows the commands and the success message from GFlags.
gflags /i MyApp.exe +ust
Current Registry Settings for MyApp.exe executable are: 00001000
ust - Create user mode stack trace database
gflags /i MyApp.exe /tracedb 24
Trace database size for `MyApp.exe' set to 24 Mb.
GFlags can change the size of the user-mode stack trace database, but it does not display it. To display the trace database size, use registry APIs or Regedit to check the value of the StackTraceDatabaseSizeInMB registry entry (HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ImageFileName\StackTraceDatabaseSizeInMB).
The following command uses Reg to query the value of StackTraceDatabaseSizeInMB:
reg query "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\MyApp.exe" /v StackTraceDatabaseSizeInMB
In response, Reg displays the value of StackTraceDatabaseSizeInMB, which confirms that the new value, 24 (0x18), was set. This value becomes effective when you restart myapp.exe.
! REG.EXE VERSION 3.0
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\MyApp.exe
StackTraceDatabaseSizeInMB REG_DWORD 0x18
Tip Type the reg query command into Notepad, then save the file as tracedb.bat. Thereafter, to display the value of StackTraceDatabaseSizeInMB, just type TraceDb.