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All those of you who re Windows users, may be pretty
familiar with the blue error screen that Windows pops up now
and again.Ilegal Operation errors, Exception errors and
Kernal errors are a common sight. The problem with these
common errors is that they provide the user with very little
info on what caused the error to occur and why the hell did
the application or Windows crash.In order to diagonise the
reasons behind the crash or error, we need to be able to
understand what Windows is trying to tell us through the
weird difficult to understand error messages it provides us
with.
There has been a lot of talk about Windows being a lamer's
machine and a real uberhacker uses a Linux box and
everything else…..well I do not agree with it. There is a
common belief amonst people that Windoze is very insecure
and it sucks but then on the other hand Red Hat too is not
so great in the security sphere. There are nearly 50 known
exploits to get root on a Linux box. The reason why hackers
have found so many holes or bugs in Windows is due to the
fact the Windows is the most widely used OS in the world and
the largest number of Hackers have access to Windows and the
largest number of people have a go at Windoze's Security.
The only thing that is in support of Linux is the fact that
it is free and the concept of Open Source and wel
performance. So what I think is that there is nothing wrong
in Using a Windoze box for Hacking. Yes Linux does provide
you access to some kewl hacking tools from the various
shells but for Windows there are many third party freebies
that allow you to do the same thing. Linux does make hacking
easier but there is nothing wrong in using Windows for
Hacking.If you are able to understrand the entire Windows
system then believe me, it is great.
Anyway, lets get down to what this manual is actually meant
for.
Errors
Many people go real panicky when they see the blue error
screen or the blue death, they really don't know what to do,
some even start calling tech support saying that their
computer is infected with a virus. Well there is no reason
for a user to dread Windows error messages. They can be used
usefully and for diagonising problems or roots of the
problems, and answer questions like What exactly caused an
error to occur and When does an error occur and What sould I
do to rectify this error.
There are three general types of error messages you may
encounter when working with applications under Win-dows.
These are Exception errors, Illegal operation errors and
Kernel errors.
Exception Error
An exception error signifies that something unexpected has
happened within the Windows environment, typically an
improper memory access. For example, an application or a
Windows component might read or write to a memory location
that has not been allocated to it, potentially overwriting
and corrupting other program code in that area of memory.
Fatal
Errors
Fatal exception errors are typically of the form: 'A fatal
exception <Xx> has occurred atxxxx:xxxxxxxx.
Fatal exception errors are codes returned by a program if
access to an illegal instruction has been encountered,
invalid data or code has been accessed, or the privilege
level of an operation is invalid.
When any of these errors occur, the processor returns an
exception to the operating system, which in turn is han-dled
as a fatal exception error. In many cases, the exception is
non-recoverable, and the system must be restarted or shut
down, depending on the severity of the error.
In the fatal exception error 'A fatal exception <XX> has
occurred at xxxx:xxxxxxxx, the <XX> represents the actual
processor exception from OO to OF. The xxxx:xxxxxxxx
represents the 'code segment pointer:actual address where
the exception occurred'.
Illegal Operation errors
Illegal Operation errors or 'program crashes' are actually
invalid page faults (IPF). The error message is similar to:
'This program has performed an illegal operation and will
be shut down. If the problem persists, contact the pro-gram
vendor.' If you click Details, the following error message
appears:
'<Application> caused an invalid page
fault in module <module name> at <address>.' After you
click OK, the pro-gram is shut down.
An invalid page fault also occurs when a program or a
Windows compo-nent reads or writes to a memory loca-tion
that is not allocated to it. Kernel errors are also similar.
The first clue to the cause of an IPF is in the IPF error
message that is dis-played. Note the module name that is
listed. If you can gather clues about the component that is
causing the IPF, then you can target the specific cause of
the problem.
Sometimes, removing and rein-stalling the file mentioned in
the IPF cor-rects the problem. Mso, noting when the error
occurs can help determine the cause of the problem. For
example, if the error occurs when you try to print a
doc-ument in Word, the problem could be with the printer
driver rather than Word itselL
A key part of troubleshooting IPFs is to determine how
widespread the problem is. Try to answer the following
questions:
Is the problem reproducible (can you make it happen
whenever you want), or does it occur at random?
Does the problem occur only in the current application or
in other applica-tions as well?
Are there specific, known issues about the application that
describe your problem?
Does the problem happen only with a particular file handled
by that applica-tion?
Does the problem occur only at a par-ticular time, such as
while printing?
If, when trying to reproduce the problem, the error does
not occur again, you can assume you have solved the problem.
If the error occurs in other applications, most probably the
fault is not with the application but with Win-dows, a
component of Windows or a piece of software that is running
in the background. Check with the program vendor's site if
there are known issues with the application that may cause
IPFs under specific circumstances. If the IPF is specific to
a certain file opened by this application, the file may be
too large, or damaged.
Well I hope know you know how to face Windows error
messaages and make use of them to get rid of roots of
crashes and prevent them.
Credits
written by ankit fadia <ankit@bol.net.in>
version 1.0
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