The Old New Thing

Why is kernel32.dll running in user mode and not kernel mode, like its name implies?

September 26, 2023 Sep 26, 2023 09/26/23

Raymond Chen

It's just a name, and it comes from the days before user-mode/kernel-mode separation.

GetQueueStatus and the queue state

September 25, 2023 Sep 25, 2023 09/25/23

Raymond Chen

There's stuff going on that's hiding behind the innocuous-looking name.

When I try to call an exported function, the target crashes when it tries to call any Windows function

September 22, 2023 Sep 22, 2023 09/22/23

Raymond Chen

Using what you know about how functions are imported to construct a theory that matches the evidence.

How does Explorer calculate the “Date” of a file?

September 21, 2023 Sep 21, 2023 09/21/23

Raymond Chen

Mapping the generic concept to specific file types.

Why does my C++/WinRT project get unresolved externals for constructors?

September 20, 2023 Sep 20, 2023 09/20/23

Raymond Chen

You forgot to include the namespace header file, didn't you.

Why did the 16-bit _lopen and _lcreat function return -1 on failure instead of 0?

September 19, 2023 Sep 19, 2023 09/19/23

Raymond Chen

Trying to look like somebody else.

When looking to free up disk space, don’t forget your symbol file caches

September 18, 2023 Sep 18, 2023 09/18/23

Raymond Chen

They go all over the place.

How can I prevent myself from using a parameter after I’ve extracted all value from it?

September 15, 2023 Sep 15, 2023 09/15/23

Raymond Chen

You can shadow it with something useless.

I accidentally performed an operation on INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE, and it worked: What just happened?

September 14, 2023 Sep 14, 2023 09/14/23

Raymond Chen

Coincidentally valid, but not what you think.

How do I perform a case-insensitive comparison of two strings in the Deseret script?

September 13, 2023 Sep 13, 2023 09/13/23

Raymond Chen

It sort of depends on why you're comparing them.