Debugging Tools for Windows

GFlags Details

GFlags enables and disables system features by editing the Windows registry and internal settings. This section explains the operation of GFlags in detail and includes tips for using GFlags most efficiently.

General Information

Flag Details

Dialog Box and Command Line

You can run GFlags by using its handy dialog box or from the command line. Most features are available in both forms, with the following exceptions.

Dialog box only

Command line only

Registry Information

GFlags settings that are saved between sessions are stored in the registry. You can use the registry APIs, Regedit, or reg.exe to query or change these values. The following table lists the types of settings and where they are stored in the registry.

Systemwide settings ("Registry") HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\GlobalFlag
Program-specific settings ("Image file") for all users of the computer. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ImageFileName\GlobalFlag
Page heap options for an image file for all users of the computer HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ImageFileName\PageHeapFlags
User mode stack trace database size (tracedb) HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ImageFileName\StackTraceDatabaseSizeInMb
Create user mode stack trace database (ust, 0x1000) for an image file Windows adds the image file name to the value of the USTEnabled registry entry (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\USTEnabled).
Load image using large pages if possible HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ImageFileName\UseLargePages.
Special Pool

(Kernel Special Pool Tag)

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PoolTag
Verify Start / Verify End HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PoolTagOverruns. The Verify Start option sets the value to 0. The Verify End option sets the value to 1.
Debugger for an image file HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\ImageFileName\Debugger
Object Reference Tracing HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Kernel\ObTraceProcessName, ObTracePermanent and ObTracePoolTags

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