How to Download and Use LiveKD for Windows Debugging
If you want to debug Windows systems, you may have heard of LiveKD, a utility that allows you to run the Kd and Windbg Microsoft kernel debuggers locally on a live system. In this article, we will explain what LiveKD is, how to download and use it, what are its benefits, and what are some alternatives to it.
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What is LiveKD?
LiveKD is a utility that was written by Mark Russinovich and Ken Johnson for the CD included with Inside Windows 2000, 3rd Edition. It is now freely available from the Sysinternals website.
LiveKD allows you to run the Kd and Windbg Microsoft kernel debuggers, which are part of the Debugging Tools for Windows package, locally on a live system. This means that you can execute all the debugger commands that work on crash dump files to look deep inside the system, without having to connect to another computer or reboot the system in debug mode.
LiveKD enables more functionality than the built-in live kernel debugging feature of Windbg and Kd, which is available on Windows Vista and Server 2008 and later versions. For example, LiveKD allows you to view thread stacks with the !thread command, which is not possible with the native live kernel debugging facility.
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How to Download LiveKD?
LiveKD is freely available from the Sysinternals website. You can download it as a standalone executable file or as part of the Sysinternals Suite.
You also need to download and install the Debugging Tools for Windows package from Microsoft's website. This package contains the Kd and Windbg kernel debuggers, as well as other tools and documentation for Windows debugging.
If you install the tools to their default directory of \\Program Files\\Microsoft\\Debugging Tools for Windows, you can run LiveKD from any directory; otherwise you should copy LiveKD to the directory in which the tools are installed.
If you haven't installed symbols for the system on which you run LiveKD, LiveKD will ask if you want it to automatically configure the system to use Microsoft's symbol server (see the Debugging Tools for Windows documentation for information on symbol files and the Microsoft symbol server).
How to Use LiveKD?
You can run LiveKD from a command prompt with administrator privileges. The syntax of LiveKD is as follows:
liveKd [ [-w] [-k ] [-o filename]] [-vsym] [-v] [-m] [-p] [-b] [-h] [-?]
The options are as follows:
OptionDescription
-wLaunches Windbg instead of Kd (the default debugger)
-k <debugger>Specifies the path and name of the debugger image to use
-o filenameCreates a crash dump file instead of launching the debugger
-vsymEnables verbose symbol output
-vDisplays the version of LiveKD and the debuggers
-mUses a slower but more reliable method of accessing physical memory
-pPauses before exiting to allow you to see any error messages
-bBypasses the use of a local symbol cache for the symbol server
-h or -?Displays usage information for LiveKD
For example, to launch Windbg with LiveKD, you can type:
livekd -w
To create a crash dump file named c:\\temp\\live.dmp, you can type:
livekd -o c:\\temp\\live.dmp
To specify a different debugger image than the default one, you can type:
livekd -k c:\\mytools\\windbg.exe
To use LiveKD on a remote system, you can use the PsExec tool from Sysinternals to run LiveKD on the target system and redirect its output to a local file. For example, to create a crash dump file from a system named \\remote, you can type:
psexec \\remote livekd -o live.dmp > live.out
This will create a file named live.dmp on the remote system and a file named live.out on the local system.
Once you have launched the debugger with LiveKD, you can use all the commands that work on crash dump files to examine the state of the system. For example, you can use the !process command to list all the processes, the !thread command to list all the threads, the !vm command to show virtual memory statistics, and so on. You can also set breakpoints, single-step through code, modify memory and registers, and perform other debugging tasks.
What are the Benefits of LiveKD?
LiveKD has several advantages over other methods of kernel debugging. Some of them are:
LiveKD allows you to analyze things that change slowly, such as certain device states, without stopping the system. This can be useful for troubleshooting intermittent problems or performance issues.
LiveKD supports debugging Hyper-V virtual machines without installing anything on the guest system. You can use LiveKD on the host system to access the memory of any running virtual machine and debug it as if it were a physical machine.
LiveKD creates a consistent view of kernel memory without crashing the system. LiveKD uses a technique called snapshot dumping to copy the contents of physical memory to a temporary file and then map it into the debugger's address space. This ensures that the memory image is coherent and does not change while you are debugging.
What are the Alternatives to LiveKD?
If LiveKD does not meet your needs, you can try some other methods of kernel debugging. Some of them are:
You can use local kernel debugging with WinDbg or KD, which is available on Windows Vista and Server 2008 and later versions. This method does not require another computer or a serial cable, but it has some limitations. For example, some commands are not available, such as !thread and !process; some commands may not work correctly, such as lm and x; and some difficulties may arise with symbol loading and breakpoint handling.
You can use vmss2core.exe to convert a snapshot file of a VMware virtual machine to a memory dump file. This method allows you to debug a virtual machine that is not running, but it requires that you have VMware Workstation or VMware Server installed on your system.
Conclusion
In this article, we have explained what LiveKD is, how to download and use it, what are its benefits, and what are some alternatives to it. We hope that this article has helped you understand how to use LiveKD for Windows debugging and how it can make your debugging tasks easier and more convenient.
If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you and help you with any issues you may have.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about LiveKD and their answers:
Q: Can I use LiveKD on Windows XP or earlier versions?
A: No, LiveKD does not support Windows XP or earlier versions. You need to have Windows Vista or Server 2008 or later versions to use LiveKD.
Q: Can I use LiveKD on 64-bit systems?
A: Yes, LiveKD supports both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. However, you need to use the appropriate version of the debugger for the system architecture. For example, if you are debugging a 64-bit system, you need to use the 64-bit version of Windbg or Kd.
Q: Can I use LiveKD on systems with multiple processors or cores?
A: Yes, LiveKD supports systems with multiple processors or cores. However, you need to be aware that LiveKD does not synchronize the processors or cores when it creates the snapshot dump. This means that the state of each processor or core may not be consistent with each other. You can use the .tlist command to switch between processors or cores in the debugger.
Q: Can I use LiveKD on systems with encrypted or compressed drives?
A: Yes, LiveKD supports systems with encrypted or compressed drives. However, you need to have enough free space on the drive to store the snapshot dump file. You can use the -o option to specify a different location for the dump file if needed.
Q: Can I use LiveKD on systems with BitLocker enabled?
A: Yes, LiveKD supports systems with BitLocker enabled. However, you need to have the BitLocker recovery key or password available to unlock the drive before running LiveKD. You can use the manage-bde.exe tool to unlock the drive from a command prompt. 44f88ac181
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