KdNet Remote Desktop

This method is intended for early-stage debugging. You can connect to the target device's Windows remote desktop via KdNet to test touch, USB, etc. References and tutorials adapted from the WOA Project.

Preparation

• A device that has just had Windows deployed and has not been booted yet.
• The ESP partition's ESP FLAG must have been set correctly before deploying Windows.
• The phone is currently in Mass Storage Mode and connected to the PC.
• You have read the KDNET setup guide and performed the full procedure at least once.
• Download unattend.xml from unattend.xml.

Note

The unattended file only takes effect on the first boot. Make sure you have just finished deploying the system and installed drivers.

• For installing Windows see Windows installation summary.
• For driver installation see Install Drivers.

Configure Unattended Setup

• Open File Explorer and locate the system drive of the phone.
• Enter \Windows\Panther\.
• Copy the unattend.xml you downloaded into this folder.
  • Optional: you can modify the LocalUser in unattend.xml to change the created username.
• Eject the disk and reboot the phone, then boot into UEFI.
• Wait for the system to boot. The normal flow is:
  • Spinning wheel -> Getting devices ready -> Ready -> Automatic reboot
• After the automatic reboot, boot UEFI again. The normal flow is:
  • Spinning wheel -> OOBE -> Enter desktop as user LocalUser
• Note both steps are automated; you only need to boot UEFI twice.
• If on first boot you see a "Windows could not complete the installation... click OK to restart" message, check the ESP FLAG and reinstall Windows if necessary.

Windbg Connection

• Follow the KDNET setup steps in SetupKDNET to configure KDNET and connect.
  • If the debugger auto-breaks, click Go in the top-left of Windbg or type g and press Enter in the command line.
• After the phone boots into Windows, click the Break button in the top-left of Windbg. In the command line area enter !process 0 1 and press Enter, then wait for the output to finish.
• Pick any process, click the blue data link after Peb, Windbg will execute the command and dump a lot of data.
• In the output find USERDOMAIN and copy the value after it. It is usually like PHONE-XXXXX or DESKTOP-XXXX.

TIP

If the selected Peb output does not contain USERDOMAIN, try another process's Peb.

RDP Connection

• Open the built-in Windows Remote Desktop tool (Remote Desktop Connection). You can search it in the Start menu or press Win+R and run mstsc.
• Enter the USERDOMAIN you copied in the Computer field and click Connect.
• The username is LocalUser, or whatever you set in unattend.xml.
• There is no password; enter the username and connect. If you are warned about a certificate, ignore/accept it.
• If Remote Desktop connects successfully, the setup is complete — start your debugging session!

References

• MSDN: Answer file (unattend.xml)