Windows XP kernel crash analysis

Abstract

PC users have started viewing crashes as a fact of life rather than a problem. To improve operating system dependability, systems designers and programmers must analyze and understand failure data. In this paper, weanalyze Windows XP kernel crash data collected from a population of volunteers who contribute to the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) project. We found that OS crashes are predominantly caused by poorly-written device driver code. Users as well as product developers will benefit from understanding the crash behaviors elaborated in this paper.