Live Local Debugging
It is possible to do local kernel debugging by starting the kernel debugger (KD) or WinDbg with the -kl command line option:
kd [-y SymbolPath] -kl
or
windbg [-y SymbolPath] -kl
In Windows Vista and later, local kernel debugging requires the computer to be booted with the /debug option. Open a Command Prompt Window as Administrator, and enter bcdedit /debug on. Reboot the computer.
Important
Before using BCDEdit to change boot information you may need to temporarily suspend Windows security features such as BitLocker and Secure Boot on the test PC. Re-enable these security features when testing is complete and appropriately manage the test PC, when the security features are disabled.
In Windows Vista and later, local kernel debugging requires the debugger to be run as Administrator.
Live local debugging is extremely useful for debugging issues that are difficult to reproduce when the debugger is attached; however, anything that requires knowledge of time sensitive information, including packet, IRP, and SRB data, is unlikely to work unless the problem is a hang or a stall.
When performing local debugging, consider the following variables:
Overall states. For example, is the stream running? Is the stream paused?
Packet counts. For example, are there IRPs queued to the stream?
Changes in packet counts. Is the stream moving?
Changes in packet lists.
Hung kernel threads.
Consider the last of these.
Examining a Hung Thread in LKD
First, use the !process 0 0 extension to identify the process containing the hung thread. Then, issue !process again for more information about that thread:
lkd> !process 816a550 7
THREAD 81705da8 Cid 0b5c.0b60 Teb: 7ffde000 Win32Thread: e1b2d890 WAIT: (Suspended)
IRP List:
816c9ad8: (0006,0190) Flags: 00000030 Mdl: 00000000
Start Address kernel32!BaseProcessStartThunk (0x77e5c650)
Win32 Start Address 0x0101c9be
Stack Init f50bf000 Current f50bea74 Base f50bf000 Limit f50b9000 Call 0
Priority 10 BasePriority 8 PriorityDecrement 0
The threads are not displayed, but the stack addresses are. Using the dds (or ddq) command on the current address on the stack yields a starting point for further investigation, because it specifies which process is calling.
lkd> dds f50bea74
f50bea74 f50bebc4
f50bea78 00000000
f50bea7c 80805795 nt!KiSwapContext+0x25
f50beab4 8080ece0 nt!KeWaitForSingleObject
f50beabc f942afda ks!CKsQueue::CancelAllIrps+0x14
f50bead8 f94406c4 ks!CKsQueue::SetDeviceState+0x170
f50beb00 f943f6f1 ks!CKsPipeSection::DistributeDeviceStateChange+0x1d
f50beb24 f943fb1e ks!CKsPipeSection::SetDeviceState+0xb2