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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.
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