Using the CTRL - SCROLL LOCK key combination to cause a system dump

Question

We have a Windows 2008 r2 server that we connect to via Remote Desktop Connection.

We want to use the "Crash on Ctrl-ScrollLock" key combination as described here (a vendor is asking us to send them memory dump):

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/244139

The synopsis of the kb article is: "...you can generate a memory dump file by holding down the right CTRL key and pressing the SCROLL LOCK key two times."

But, since it is VMWare session and we connect to it via RDC, it doesn't want to take that keystroke combination (i.e. no dump is performed).

Does anyone have any ideas on how to send that key combination through RDC...or perhaps cause a dump to happen another way?

score 4 · Answer 1 · edited Dec 03 '20 at 14:23

4

You can't.

This manual crash functionality is embedded in the PS/2 and USB keyboard drivers in Windows, and keystrokes originating from remote desktop connections never go anywhere near those drivers.

Thus, you can only trigger this manual crash from a directly attached keyboard.

A workaround

[Edit: Luckily, there's a workaround. Please see David's answer, below.]

edited Dec 03 '20 at 14:23

unforgettableidSupportsMonica

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answered Jul 25 '13 at 12:19

Michael Hampton

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Luckily, there's a workaround. Please see David's answer, below. – unforgettableidSupportsMonica Dec 02 '20 at 05:34
@unforgettableidSupportsMonica That's good news, but it's a very strange reason for a downvote. – Michael Hampton Dec 02 '20 at 12:35
Fair point. At this point, I don't care much about reputation points. Still, I admit that many people do. ❧ I've proposed [an edit](https://serverfault.com/suggested-edits/58215). If you accept it, please reply to this comment; I can then retract my downvote. ❧ Later on, we can delete the entire set of comments. – unforgettableidSupportsMonica Dec 03 '20 at 06:28
@unforgettableidSupportsMonica Done – Michael Hampton Dec 03 '20 at 14:23

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 05 '20 at 07:44

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Try a 3rd-party utility to trigger the BSOD like NotMyFault https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/notmyfault

answered Nov 05 '20 at 07:44

David Svirskis

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 22 '10 at 20:46

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I will admit I haven't tested this, but in your RDP session could you bring up the on screen keyboard and do it from there? Might be worth a shot.

answered Oct 22 '10 at 20:46

Ben Pilbrow

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That sounds like it might work. If not, the OP may be able to install a soft keyboard on the server and generate the keystrokes that way. – joeqwerty Oct 22 '10 at 20:48

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 22 '10 at 21:46

0

Try running MSTSC.EXE, and experiment with the Keyboard options on the Local Resources tab.

answered Oct 22 '10 at 21:46

Simon Catlin

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 22 '10 at 22:02

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You could try http://www.autohotkey.com/ with a script like

Send {Control down}
Send {scroll_lock 2}
Send {Control up}

( http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/commands/Send.htm )

answered Oct 22 '10 at 22:02

TessellatingHeckler

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Using the CTRL - SCROLL LOCK key combination to cause a system dump

5 Answers5

A workaround