Software Diagnostics Library

Sometimes I accidentally use du WinDbg command (to interpret memory as Unicode) instead of da (to interpret memory as ASCII):

0:000> db 07329f28 l20
07329f28  68 69 64 70 6e 73 74 3d-26 74 78 74 74 6f 3d 26  hidpnst=&txtto=&
07329f38  74 78 74 63 63 3d 26 74-78 74 62 63 63 3d 26 74  txtcc=&txtbcc=&t

0:000> da 07329f28 l20
07329f28  "hidpnst=&txtto=&txtcc=&txtbcc=&t"

0:000> du 07329f28 l10
07329f28  "楨灤獮㵴琦瑸潴.硴捴㵣琦瑸换㵣琦"

This time I tried to get extra hidden meaning from a process dump taken after the process suffered a CPU spike by using Google translator and got this text (I put more lengthy Unicode sequence and removed some offensive words):

"Luan Xian Zhen Qi-bin 㵴 cisternae. Huasong 㵣 Qi, Qi-bin-bin for 㵣 pull 㵪 䕒 .. 䉉 Ya Hui material. Hong SHIKA King. Huajiayuyan nuts .. 䐰 〥 䅁 evil force. Rafter Hui Qi 䤫 Mi cat deterrent Junying hydrogen walk. cisternae Huzhao Man cat Wuzhou Wen Zhen Zhao Zhen Pan scene file Shan. prison Shang Tang. Jue Shi Pan. sewage knock Xi. generous Zhen. 䤫. ice. conflict. cisternae Zhao askance nuts. rafter .. On unfeigned domain knock. Kagesue Mankuo. 㜲 Ruo Yi enemy luster of gems. cisternae Yu Wei Shan scene. Tan knock Shan. tally Xia Pan Ying. rafter. Xia. luster of gems tumultuous. Jing Feng-Tou Airuo enemy luster of gems Yixian … additionally . Tu. civet eliminating the lot Shan Ying RB Thieme, Jr.-Voltage trapping Feng-潷 Man. Tan knock Ruo Yi Xian cat enemy luster of gems. rafter Shi Feng-Tou. Mu. Minli Bang domain sewage Huitangyuzhao Su-hai.-Voltage Jiumi. rafter. Qing Wei Jun. 歳 Mi hai 䤫 Panyu. Zhucuoqufang .. 䐰 〥. 䐰 〥 䥁 hydrogen walk. rafter. Mount Zao Man. .. Run-Voltage Rendering. Tang Ying Yi. Shisuqingshi Fangmaosheji Yu Zhao 䤫 Su-. tide. tatami knock Feng-generous. rafter. Min luster of gems. Que Tu Mei Shi Tang Pan Ying. Jijue-Voltage. rafter. Wei Hui Mongoose Feng-. hunting. rafter. revolves Recent-Voltage sewage 䤫. stay Jiao RB Thieme, Jr soup.潷 Han.’m setback Xun. Han Tun petty. Liaohe. 䥔 end of Tu Feng-generous. rafter Xiang Shan Li Tu. trapping the end of sleep ZHEJIANG NORMAL Feng-Tou Yu Xun Jing Wen Fang 䤫 .. 䠫 pine and methods of disease. tatami knock Feng-generous. apply Feng-evil force fell Junying Su-Ao Po .. knock .. Tan Li Shan Jie look askance alone. ㅆ Guang Tang rafter. pool just cultural and"

From the translation I see previously hidden notions of gems, disease and evil forces :-)

ASCII->Unicode->translation->ASCII

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

OpenTask to offer first 3 volumes of Memory Dump Analysis Anthology in one set:

The set is available exclusively from OpenTask e-Commerce web site starting from June. Individual volumes are also available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores worldwide.

Product information:

• Title: Modern Memory Dump and Software Trace Analysis: Volumes 1-3
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24
• Paperback: 1600 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (31 May 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-99-5

Information about individual volumes:

• Volume 1
• Volume 2
• Volume 3

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

I already had an experience with The Mystical One and a few weeks ago I finally grasped yet another parallel between The Year of Dump Analysis (0x7DA or 0n2010) and the fact that I started doing computer memory dump analysis 7 years ago! The emphasis here is on “computer“; before that I’d been doing general memory dump analysis for decades.

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

Highly recommended to listen during analysis of a complete memory dump from an isolated dead system to build tension resulting in a problem resolution in 21 minutes:

Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances & the Isle of the Dead

- 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 -

Once upon a time I was analyzing a memory dump and in the process become upset. I realized that the dump was vacuous and afterwards learnt that the customer forced the dump of a normal system with steady-state computational activities inside. At the same time computational precognition, the ability to see in advance what would happen with the system, always fascinated me from the very beginning of my memory dump analysis work. In computational precognition phrase, the word “computational” refers to computers and “precognition” refers to humans but this should not be the problem as the boundary between these two categories is not sharp and can be shifted in either direction. This is an opening of the new post series about investigation of occult, paranormal and supernatural in the realm of computable. In short, about psi-computation.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -