Crash Dump Analysis

This is a revised, edited, cross-referenced and thematically organized volume of selected DumpAnalysis.org blog posts about crash dump analysis and debugging written in July 2009 - January 2010 for software engineers developing and maintaining products on Windows platforms, quality assurance engineers testing software on Windows platforms and technical support and escalation engineers dealing with complex software issues. The fourth volume features:

- 13 new crash dump analysis patterns
- 13 new pattern interaction case studies
- 10 new trace analysis patterns
- 6 new Debugware patterns and case study
- Workaround patterns
- Updated checklist
- Fully cross-referenced with Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3
- New appendixes

Product information:

• Title: Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 4
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24

• Paperback: 410 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (30 March 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-86-5

• Hardcover: 410 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (30 April 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-87-2

Back cover features memory space art image: Internal Process Combustion.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

“Memory dumps are facts.”

I’m very excited to announce that Volume 3 is available in paperback, hardcover and digital editions:

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 3

Table of Contents

In two weeks paperback edition should also appear on Amazon and other bookstores. Amazon hardcover edition is planned to be available in January 2010.

The amount of information was so voluminous that I had to split the originally planned volume into two. Volume 4 should appear by the middle of February together with Color Supplement for Volumes 1-4. 

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Previously announced Software Maintenance Institute was finally registered in Ireland (Reg. No. 400906) and its certificate was received yesterday. The SMI web site temporary points to Crash Dump Analysis and Debugging Portal: www.sminstitute.com

Here is the current component structure of various institutions (depicted in UML):

Interface Tags:

IIP Interface of Iterative Publishing
IRD Interface of Research and Development
IDR Interface of Defect Research
IIR Interface of Information Repository
IME Interface of Memetic Engineering

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Finally, after the long delay, the issue is available in print on Amazon and through other sellers:

Debugged! MZ/PE: Software Tracing

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

By analogy with a security researcher profession I propose the new title of a software defect researcher as a unified profession combining relevant fields of security research, testing, debugging, memory dump analysis, software reverse engineering, construction and maintenance. At least I consider myself a software defect researcher. If you think you consider yourself too please write a comment to this post. Thank you in advance.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

This is a revised, edited, cross-referenced and thematically organized volume of selected DumpAnalysis.org blog posts about crash dump analysis and debugging written in October 2008 - June 2009 for software engineers developing and maintaining products on Windows platforms, quality assurance engineers testing software on Windows platforms and technical support and escalation engineers dealing with complex software issues. The third volume features:

- 15 new crash dump analysis patterns
- 29 new pattern interaction case studies
- Trace analysis patterns
- Updated checklist
- Fully cross-referenced with Volume 1 and Volume 2
- New appendixes

Product information:

• Title: Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 3
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (20 December 2009)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-43-8

• Hardcover: 404 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (30 January 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-44-5

Back cover features 3D computer memory visualization image.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

DumpAnalysis.org accepts hardware such as laptops for reviewing in relation to their suitability for extreme debugging, virtualization, trace analysis, computer forensics, memory dump analysis, visualization and auralization. If you work for a H/W company like HP, Apple, Dell, Acer, Sony or any other respectable manufacturer please don’t hesitate to forward this post to your management: it could be your company brand or laptop model that debugging and software technical support community chooses next time of upgrade or for T&D / R&D! H/W reviews will be posted on the main portal page which currently has an audience of more than 200,000 unique visitors per year from more than 30,000 network locations (*).

If your company is interested please don’t hesitate to use this contact form:

http://www.dumpanalysis.org/contact

(*) From Google Analytics report.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

I’m very pleased to announce the free online version of Debugged! MZ/PE magazine under the code name DEMO launched last night:

Debugging Expert Magazine Online (www.DebuggingExpert.com)

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Responding to numerous requests and suggestions I plan to make magazine interior excluding promotional vouchers available for free download. If someone needs covers including back covers where I put tips and tables to be used as posters or certification vouchers printed inside then they should buy the magazine from Amazon or other bookshops.

This initiative will be accompanied by a smart marketing trick that I plan to unveil in a few days together with the magazine website.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

The digital version of the book is finally available:

x64 Windows Debugging: Practical Foundations

Paperback should be available in 1-2 weeks on Amazon and other stores. When working on the book I fixed errors in the previous x86 version. Errata file for it should be available tomorrow.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

OpenTask plans to expand its Practical Foundations series and publish the following 2 books for the forthcoming Memory Dump Analysis Fundamentals certification (Unix track) being developed by Memory Analysis and Debugging Institute:

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Finally the issue is available on Amazon and through other sellers:

Debugged! MZ/PE: Modeling Software Defects

I’m now planning the September issue and post details later. 

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

The second issue of the magazine was put into production today and should be available after one or two weeks on Amazon, B&N and other booksellers worldwide.

Title: Debugged! MZ/PE: Modeling Software Defects
Authors: Konstantin Chebotarev, Kapildev Ramlal, Dmitry Vostokov
ISBN: 1906717680
ISBN-13: 978-1906717681
Annotation: Welcome to the second issue of Debugged! MZ/PE magazine! It brings fault injection into new light and features articles discussing software defect construction via DLL injection, modeling CPU spikes and runaway exception processing. This issue also includes a memory dump analysis certification voucher. Back cover features WinDbg breakpoint and tracing command summary for easy desk reference. - Dmitry Vostokov - Editor-in-Chief

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

If we want to use gflags.exe to enable page heap settings (or any other image file execution options) for a 32-bit executable running on x64 Windows we should use 32-bit version of gflags.exe from 32-bit Debugging Tools for Windows (see windbg.org for quick download links) or if we want to set appropriate registry key manually we should use Wow6432Node branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\<process name with .exe extension>

Name: GlobalFlag
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0x02000000

Name: PageHeapFlags
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 0x00000003

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

This is the main topic of the forthcoming next issue of Debugged MZ/PE magazine. The most close term is called “fault injection” but I rediscovered it as a “software defect construction”, “software defect simulation” or “software defect modeling”. The latter term is also used to refer to construction of mathematical models related to software product quality and corresponding statistics but “modeling software defects” seems appropriate subtitle for the magazine front cover picture… Software defect construction is more general term than fault injection. The latter is used for testing but we want to simulate bugs and abnormal system conditions to study debugging and memory dump analysis techniques or to build reproduction environments. I actually recently found and bought the used copy of this book:

Software Fault Injection: Inoculating Programs Against Errors

and plan to write my own book with the following working title later:

Software Defect Construction: Simulation and Modeling of Software Bugs (ISBN: 978-1906717759)

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Finally it has been published and available for orders from Amazon and other bookstores:

http://www.dumpanalysis.org/Debugged+Magazine

I had to increase the number of pages for the first issue from 16, planned originally, to 28 and this is reflected in the retail price of $10 (originally planned $8) but bookstores should sell it with a discount between 0% and 55%.

More information about the next issue should be ready by the end of the next week.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org - 

Previously announced Memory Analysis and Debugging Institute was registered in the Republic of Ireland (No. 382026) last week.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org - 

Just recently got news about a Microsoft security WinDbg extension released as open source:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/msec/default.mspx

http://www.codeplex.com/msecdbg 

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Yesterday I submitted the magazine to print and distribution world-wide. If everything is right it should be available by the end of this month. This first issue features 12 page WinDbg command supplement to pattern-driven memory dump analysis methodology, an overview of Win32dd complete memory dumper and PowerDbg enhancements to debug ASP.NET code. The magazine will only be available in print.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

I’m sorry to announce that the book has been delayed and the publication date has been changed to 30th of November, 2009. I promise this delay is the last one and kindly ask you to be patient. As a bonus or compensation for it, the book will also cover Windows 7.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -