System Internals

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 provide new kernel subsystems that support modern processor, memory, I/O, and other core technologies. The following topics provide insight into system hardware, firmware, and driver design.

BIOS and Firmware

	Imaging Guidelines for Windows Server 2008 on UEFI Systems
	Firmware and Boot Environment

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 System Internals

	Advances in Memory Management for Windows
	Changes to User Mode Services in Windows Vista
	Kernel Enhancements for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
	Software Licensing Guidance for Products that Use Process Patching and Hooking

Going Deep - Windows Vista System Internals

	Windows Vista Kernel Changes [WinHEC 2007; 246 KB]
	Going Deep Inside Windows Vista's Kernel Architecture (Channel 9 interview)
	Mark Russinovich - From Winternals to Microsoft, On Windows Security, Windows CoreArch (Channel 9 interview)
	Michael Fortin - Windows Vista SuperFetch
	Nar Ganapathy: Windows Vista I/O
	Security Team Notes on Kernel Patch Protection

Kernel Patching and Protected Processes

	Impact of Session 0 Isolation on Services and Drivers in Windows Vista
	Patching Policy FAQ
	Patching Policy for x64-Based Systems
	Protected Processes in Windows Vista

Processor, Memory, and Chipsets

	Interrupt-Affinity Policy Tool
	Machine.inf Update Submission Procedure
	Static Resource Affinity Table
	Virtual Address Space Usage in Windows Game Development
	Windows Support for Hyper-Threading Technology
	Windows Memory Management
	Memory Management (MSDN)
	Windows Memory Diagnostic

Multiprocessor and Multicore

	Multiprocessor Considerations for Kernel-Mode Drivers
	Multiprocessor Systems and Processor Steppings Support
	PCI IRQ Routing on a Multiprocessor ACPI System

I/O, Processor, and Memory - WinHEC 2007

	DMA Directions and Windows [WinHEC 2007; 279 KB]
	Future of Memory and Storage: Closing the Gap [WinHEC 2007; 3.1 MB]
	Future of Memory and Storage: Closing the Gap [WinHEC 2007; Streaming media]

General I/O Technologies

Partial Address Decoding and I/O Space in Windows Operating Systems

Watchdog Timer and Multimedia Timer

	Guidelines For Providing Multimedia Timer Support
	Hardware Watchdog Timers Design Specification
	Watchdog Timer Hardware Requirements for Microsoft Windows Server 2003

See Also

	64-Bit System Design
	PCI and PCI Express
	Mark Russinovich's Blog