VMware Workstation

Run ntoseye configure to select a registered VMware VM and configure it automatically. It preserves existing serial devices, uses the next free guest COM port, backs up the .vmx file, and prints the matching guest instructions. Power the VM off before configuring it, and only keep one VMware VM powered on while using ntoseye. For manual configuration, follow the sections below.

KD over a serial socket

In the guest, enable kernel debugging (run as Administrator, then reboot):

bcdedit /debug on
bcdedit /dbgsettings serial debugport:1 baudrate:115200

Configure the first virtual serial port (guest COM1) as a server-side pipe:

serial0.present = "TRUE"
serial0.fileType = "pipe"
serial0.fileName = "/tmp/ntoseye-kd.sock"
serial0.pipe.endPoint = "server"
serial0.startConnected = "TRUE"
serial0.yieldOnMsrRead = "TRUE"

If another virtual serial device already occupies COM1, configure the next serialN entry and use the corresponding debugport:N+1.

Then connect: ntoseye.

KDNET

KDNET uses the guest’s virtual NIC instead of a serial device. Choose a host IP that the guest can reach through its bridged, NAT, or host-only VMware network, then follow the KDNET guide.

GDB stub

VMware Workstation provides its own GDB remote stub. Add the following to the VM’s .vmx file:

debugStub.listen.guest64 = "TRUE"
debugStub.port.guest64 = "1234"

Then run with --backend gdb. Do not enable kernel debug mode in the guest; see the GDB backend warning.

Legacy VMware stubs that do not expose an AMD64 XML target description are unsupported; use KD or the memory backend instead.

Memory introspection

No host or guest configuration needed; see Choosing a backend for what the memory backend can and cannot do.