Windows debugging and troubleshooting
Update Dec. 8, 2025: I got some feedback from a member of the Windows File Systems Team. They can reproduce the issue and also pointed out the leaking driver is not enabled in most cases: Wcifs only gets attached Continue reading
This is a level setting post on the complexities of saving a file. When working at the kernel level, this becomes a serious consideration. Update (Jan 2026) Microsoft must get a lot of questions about this. They have a Continue reading
The most underrated part of client software is the installer. While it s easy enough to get something up and running using tools like WiX, the real challenge lies in handling edge cases around install / uninstall, repair, upgrade, and rollback Continue reading
Python is Magic? Coming from a C/C++ Windows background, Python seems magical in how easy it is to get things done. However, this ease this comes at a cost. What do you do when things go wrong in a non-trivial Continue reading
Debugging PPL processes is quite possible even without attaching a kernel debugger. My favorite post on the subject is here. This is just a quick recipe for cases where you have a kernel debugger attached and you want to debug Continue reading
I looked at a case today where our process was not starting for some reason. It had one thread and the thread stack looked very much like this: The thread is clearly suspended. My first thought was that someone manually Continue reading
I ve been trying to track down a rare case where our filter driver hangs on unload. I haven t yet been able to find the source of the leak, but I have learned something about rundown references. Perhaps this will help Continue reading
Update: I reported this to the Filter Manager team at Microsoft. Of course, they already knew about it but maybe my report tipped the scales, because it is now documented on the Filter Verifier page. One of our excellent testers Continue reading
I ve been using WPP tracing in the kernel for many years. On the upside, WPP tracing uses a mechanism which is super fast and space efficient. On the downside, the output is in a binary format and it s cumbersome to Continue reading
The Problem With Filenames (Summary) In recent years, identifying a file by a filename has become less and less attractive. Here s an incomplete list of problems. Problem Comments Per-folder case sensitivity New in Windows 10 1803/RS4, on NTFS and NTFS Continue reading