Chapter 5. Troubleshooting Introduction

Chapter 5. Troubleshooting

Introduction

Target Audience and Purpose

You can use Addenda 5. Standard 2009 Troubleshooter as a general purpose troubleshooting starting point, as it contains references to the tips provided in this chapter, as well as references to other chapters and external links.

If you are troubleshooting issues that are specifically related to older product versions, refer to the content found at these links.

Microsoft Windows XP Embedded SP2 Resource Kit

The Windows XP Embedded SP1 Resource Guide

IMPORTANT NOTE: Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 1 (SP1) reached end of life on 4/10/2007 and is no longer formally supported. Security updates are no longer provided and Developer Support cases are treated as "best effort only". Service Pack 2 support formally retires on 1/11/2011.

Microsoft Support Lifecycle

Help from the embedded community

Other links:

An excellent resource to take advantage of is the following Web site:

Design tools

Target Designer Development

Filters in Target Designer causing a CMI error

0x80042335 (-2147212491)

A database error occurred within the CMI.

To resolve this issue, add the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows Embedded\CMI\DBCmdTimeout

You can then create the DBCmdTimeout DWORD value type, and set the value to 300, which is 5 minutes. If the error occurs again, or if you are using a more complex filter algorithm, you may need to increase the DBCmdTimeout value.

Configuration error when you try to create a new configuration

Configuration Management Error Code=0x8002801d

To resolve this problem, upgrade your development computer to Windows Script 5.6 for Windows XP:

Windows Script 5.6 for Windows XP and Windows 2000

Component development

Component development, debugging and testing tools

• 
  Addenda 2. General Microsoft resources
  
• 
  Addenda 3. Third-party resources
  

Problem re-importing a component in an XP Pro development system

• 
  Change the permissions, and then push the permissions through to all the folders in the share to prevent this problem from occurring in the future with other component repositories. Before doing this however, make sure you are not using Simple File Sharing which does not provide full visibility of all properties. In File explorer, click Tools->Folder Options... Click on the View tab. At the bottom of the Advanced Settings list, make sure the following is not checked: Use simple file sharing. Then click on the button labeled Apply to All Folders. Now you can set permissions for which users can share the Repositories folder etc.
  
• 
  In Explorer, delete your old custom repository manually. To discover the relationship between the name of a repository and its folder name, run Component Database Manager and click on the Repository tab. An example of a repository folder is {FA42B463-6457-41E5-93B2-2F21BA2D28D7}. Then re-import the .sld file.
  
• 
  When you import the new .sld file, if the new .sld file involves no changes to the files in the repository, click to clear the Copy files to repository check box when you click the Import button.
  

Embedded image deployment

The following tips are from the original release of Windows XP Embedded SP1, but many are still relevant to SP2 and beyond.

Licensing

Licensing issues when you install Office on a runtime

Standard 2009 can be licensed for use for line-of-business applications only. The number of other applications that can be used is unlimited, as long as they are required for use as part of the specific OEM embedded role or application. If you have a scenario that requires Microsoft Office, you can use either Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional to fulfill the licensing and functional requirements of Microsoft Office.

Common issues

Your design reports CMI Error 0x800A01C9 (or other CMI errors)

• 
  Upgrading a pre-existing image using Configuration->Upgrade Configuration
  
• 
  Building a new design and you choose primitive level components that are end of life, Prototype, or otherwise obsolete.
  

2. Remove Prototype components from your image. It is possible that you manually included one or more Prototype components in your old SP1 image. Prototype components are not intended to be used in a configuration, they serve as abstract base prototype components for building real components. Target Designer makes some of these prototype components visible and hence selectable by the developer. Search for and delete any components that contain the word Prototype.

3. Make sure your database is at the same version level or higher, than the design you are attempting to load, and all the latest security updates (for components) are installed. Otherwise you may get errors relating to (newer) components not being found by Target Designer.

4. This error can occur when upgrading an SLX that contains any of the components that have been marked as “End of life” in SP2. This problem has been reported with both "MSN Explorer" and WMP 8.0 components.

The Memory.dmp dump file is never created when the system stops

This behavior occurs because the default log file path is "%SystemRoot%\Memory.dmp". You have to change this to a path similar to "C:\Windows\Memory.dmp".

You can change the path either in the System item in Control Panel, or you can modify the registry at the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\ControlSet001\Control\CrashControl\DumpFile

If you modify the run-time image while it is not running (that is, when it is offline), use Regedit to open and edit the System hive.

Additional dump file considerations:

• 
  Set the memory.dmp path to a hard path such as c:\memory.dmp
  
• 
  Make the registry change to enable crashing via keyboard, KB 244139
  Windows feature allows a Memory.dmp file to be generated with the keyboard
  
• 
  Set it for a complete memory dump (if you want a minidump, you must also include the Save Dump component in your build)
  
• 
  Ensure the pagefile is at least as big as the amount of your system memory
  
• 
  Ensure you have enough free disk space to accommodate the memory.dmp file
  
• 
  Ensure the pagefile is located on your system volume, then reboot
  
• 
  To configure Dr. Watson, run drwtsn32.exe.
  

You cannot set HI resolution mode for ATI RAGE video adapters

• 
  ATI 3D RAGE LT PRO
  
• 
  ATI RAGE Mobility
  
• 
  ATI RAGE Mobility-L
  
• 
  ATI RAGE Mobility-P
  
• 
  ATI RAGE Mobility-M
  
• 
  ATI RAGE Mobility-M1
  

To resolve this problem, you must first disable the ATI Hotkey Poller service entry in the component. To do this:

1. 
   Select the ATI Rage Mobility Pro instance found in your configuration (in the center pane of Target Designer).
   
2. 
   Ensure that the [View -> Resources] check box is selected in the main Target Designer menu.
   
3. 
   Expand the tree under the ATI Rage Mobility Pro Instance.
   
4. 
   Select the expanded tree on [Resources].
   
5. 
   In the right pane, find the ATI Hotkey Poller service data entry.
   
6. 
   Right-click the ATI Hotkey Poller service data entry, and then click Disable. If a dialog box opens, click Continue.
   

Unsigned device drivers are not installed on run-time images

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Driver Signing\Policy

to hex:00 so that unsigned drivers will install.

Some Start menu shortcuts are not provided

You must add a missing registry key to properly configure video drivers

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\UseNewKey

Managing printers

Another printer management method is to use prnmngr.vbs script that ships with XP to add/delete/list/etc local printers. This script can be added to your Standard 2009 image by adding the Print Administration Scripts component in Target Designer. Note that this script uses WMI to manage the printers (specifically WMI Scripting, WMI Win32 Provider, WMI Core and WMI Tools). You also need the CMD - Windows Command Processor and Windows Script Engines components to be able to run scripts on the Standard 2009 device.

Run cscript prnmngr.vbs in a command window to see the usage.

Dialogs and Fonts do not appear correctly, some dialogs may be distorted

USB Printer support not working

The Add Printer Wizard will not work unless the Unidrv.hlp file and all printer-specific .hlp files are present.

Clicking the "Print" toolbar button in Internet Explorer and other programs opens the "Print" dialog box even though you have already set a default printer

1. 
   Add the following registry key. Click to select the Key only check box because you only need a key and not a value:
   

2. 
   Add the following value as extra registry data (leave value name empty) to the key you created in step 1:
   

Setting video resolution offline does not always work.

• 
  Lack of Plug and Play components in the configuration.
  
• 
  A color depth setting that the drivers will not accept.
  

• 
  Ensure that PnP(User), PnP(Kernel), FBA: PnP, and Plug and Play Software Enumerator are in the configuration.
  
• 
  Set the color depth for a lower setting. For example, if you are trying to set a 32-bit color depth and the screen resolution after FBA is incorrect, set it for 16-bit or set the Component Management Interface (CMI) property, cmiColorQuality, to 24 (the 24-bit equivalent) if the hardware and driver set supports this color depth.
  

Run-time images do not report drivers as being driver-signed

You need a file to enable desktop shortcuts to MS-DOS programs

Desktop Cleanup tool not available in Standard 2009

The resolution or color depth do not appear correctly or the refresh rate does not appear in the Configuration UI in Target Designer

• 
  cmiScreenResolution
  
• 
  cmiColorQuality
  
• 
  cmiScreenRefresh
  
  
  

When you boot your Standard 2009 runtime for the first time, you receive an error message

This behavior usually indicates that you did not correctly set the partition size in Target Designer. It is important that the Standard 2009 tools and First Boot Agent (FBA) know the destination partition size. If the true partition size is very different from your property settings in Target Designer, you will receive this error message. To verify or modify the partition size setting in Target Designer:

1. 
   Open your configuration in Target Designer.
   
2. 
   Click the Settings node. The Settings node is located near the top in the root of this configuration.
   
3. 
   Click Target Device Settings in the list of links in the configuration user interface in the right pane.
   
4. 
   Under Target Device Settings, click Show to reveal the detailed target configuration settings.
   
5. 
   Locate the Boot Partition size (MB) setting. The default value is 1024 MB. This setting assumes that your destination partition will be approximately 1 GB in size.
   
6. 
   Change this setting to indicate what the target device partition size will be when you deploy the runtime. Set the target device partition size as closely as possible. While the setting does not need to be exactly the same as the target device partition size, it must not differ too much from the actual partition size.
   

You cannot print to some Windows-based printers.

• 
  Windows 95
  
• 
  Windows 98
  
• 
  Windows 98 Second Edition
  
• 
  Windows Millennium Edition
  
• 
  Windows NT 4.0 Alpha printer
  

Keys:

Values:

To resolve the problem:

1. 
   Add the following registry keys and values as a registry resources in the Printer_Common_2.sld file:
   

Values:

2. 
   Remove the following registry keys and values from the registry resources that are defined in the following .sld files:
   

• 
  Client_Printing.sld
  
• 
  Local_Printing.sld
  
• 
  Server_Printing.cld
  

Keys:

Values:

Boot Time Errors

The target Standard 2009 system hangs or produces a blue screen upon first boot

Note that to install Windows XP Professional, you will minimally require a keyboard and a standard display device with a minimum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. You can remove these devices later if your final design does not require them.

If Windows XP Professional fails to install on the target hardware, it is likely that the target hardware does not meet the minimal requirements of Standard 2009.

You receive an "NTLDR missing" error message before you receive the operating system selection screen

You receive a "HAL.DLL not found" error message after you receive the operating system selection screen

The partition would be the first on the hard disk drive, and Windows is the proper Windows folder name. 

You receive a "Computer disk hardware configuration" error message after you receive the operating system selection screen

The partition would be the first on the hard disk drive, and Windows is the proper Windows folder name. 

How to avoid receiving a "Missing pci.sys" error message or avoid missing other critical boot devices during initial boot of the runtime

This error can occur for several reasons. The most common causes are:

• 
  You used Ta.exe to collect the hardware information on your embedded device but the basic input/output system (BIOS) on the target device returned device information that could not be found in the dependency database when you imported the Devices.pmq file.
  
• 
  The generic Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus component or the PCI bus component for your particular chip set has been disabled or deleted.
  
• 
  Your device requires a driver that is not in the database.
  

Resolution

• 
  Avoid using Ta.exe to collect hardware information on your embedded device.
  

One workaround for the BIOS issue is to use Tap.exe. However, you should only run Tap.exe from Windows XP Professional, which means that you must first install a full build of Windows on the target embedded device and experiment with it. From that build of Windows, run Tap.exe. This tool will parse the ENUM key in your registry to gather the hardware information that is populated by Setup and by Plug and Play.

• 
  The generic PCI bus component has been disabled or deleted.
  

• 
  Your device requires a driver that is not in the database.
  

Your resulting Devices.pmq file will contain all the hardware necessary to start the device, and it will be operational as long as your configuration satisfies all of the hardware dependencies.

The downside to using Tap.exe is that there are many more devices listed in the PMQ that you will probably not need. For example, there will be software enumerated devices such as RAS Async, or the Terminal Server redirectors that are not real devices. Therefore, if you do not know whether or not you need them, it is more than likely that you can disable or remove these devices in your configuration to reduce your footprint. Do this before you run Check Dependencies (F5) in Target Designer.

Another downside to using Tap.exe is that it will also pick up device information for hardware that used to be installed on the embedded device but has since been removed or replaced. For example, if you plug in a Web camera, install the drivers, remove the Web camera from the system, and then run Tap.exe, Tap.exe will still pick up the Web camera device ID and add it to the PMQ. This behavior occurs because the camera device information is still in the registry from which Tap.exe collects the hardware data. When you import that PMQ into Target Designer, it will show the Web camera device in the default configuration. If you no longer use the Web camera, you should disable it in the configuration before you run dependency checks for the first time. If you neglect to disable a device that you have removed or replaced, you will bring in superfluous drivers and their dependencies, and increase your run-time footprint.

How to avoid the "Stop Error 6B" error during the initial boot of the runtime

How to avoid the "Stop Error 7B" error during the initial boot of the runtime

The two most common causes are:

• 
  You have built the hardware configuration yourself without using the tools to query the target embedded system for its devices.
  
• 
  You used Ta.exe in the BIOS on the target device but it returned information that could not be found in the database. This means you could have missed a critical device in the configuration process. If you know the specific component or one that is compatible, such as a generic driver that is in the database, try adding one of these components into your configuration, and build the runtime again.
  

• 
  Use Tap.exe instead of Ta.exe. Using Tap can be virtually foolproof and it will determine all devices necessary. You should only run Tap from Windows XP Pro. Tap will query the registry to identify the correct devices that Windows Setup determined would be best for that embedded device. Another downside to Tap is that it will pull in any devices that it used to install in that device but were subsequently removed, as well as pull in some software enumerated devices into your configuration that you may not want or need. If this happens, delete the unnecessary component from your configuration.
  
• 
  The second solution would be to examine device manager in a safe build successfully installed on the target embedded device. For instance, if you already have Windows XP or Windows 2000 installed, open device manager and identify the critical device listed in Device Manager that is missing from your configuration in Target Designer. Then locate the device with the same display name in Target Designer and add it to your configuration.
  

The embedded device skips the operating system selection menu

The embedded device reboots after you select an operating system

Ensure that you are using the correct core PC component (Standard PC, Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC, and so on) in your configuration. If you are not sure which to choose, first try Standard PC.

A blue screen occurs, displaying Bugcheck 74 "BAD_SYSTEM_CONFIG_INFO", STOP: 0x00000074

To resolve this problem, overwrite the NTLDR and Ntdetect.com files on drive C with the versions that are generated by the runtime. You will still be able to boot back to the safe build of Windows 2000.

CScript fails to run, registry entries of user profiles are deleted, and/or you cannot create desktop shortcuts

First Boot Agent

Troubleshoot First Boot Agent errors yourself

Note that %windir% is usually the Windows folder.

The log lists every binary registered, protocols bound to the NIC, PnP devices found, and so on. Errors are also listed here and much more.

If you have the kernel debugger connected, all this information is also reported to the debugger, while FBA is running.

Exception errors during First Boot Agent

• 
  You specified the wrong destination partition in Target Designer. To resolve this problem, specify the appropriate destination partition (see the "First Boot Agent reboots repeatedly" section for information about how to do this).
  
• 
  You ran out of memory during FBA. To resolve this problem, add more RAM to the target embedded device or add paging file support. You can disable the page file after FBA completes.
  

First Boot Agent (FBA) reboots repeatedly

To change the destination partition:

1. 
   In Target Designer, click Settings in the center pane.
   
2. 
   Click Target Device Settings. Your boot drive is probably correctly set to drive C, but the Windows folder, Program Files folder, and Docs and Settings folder probably need to have their drive letter changed from C to the correct drive letter. The correct drive letter for these folders is indicated in Real Mode (for example, running MS-DOS, then launching FDISK to view drive letter assignments). The correct drive letter is not always the same drive letter that is assigned by Windows.
   

What to check if FBA generates an exception error and you receive a virtual memory error during FBA

• 
  Reduce the number of features in the runtime by disabling or deleting components from your configuration.
  
• 
  In Target Designer, add paging file support to the configuration (paging can be turned off after FBA completes).
  
• 
  Add more RAM to the target embedded device.
  

FBA Log Indicates "Invalid Path" Errors

You receive exit code 0x4a020 from Snetcfg.exe in the FBA log

Display device settings are different after FBA

To resolve this problem, reconfigure the display device settings in Target Designer to one that is supported by the particular device.