The Checked Build and the Debugger

The typical setup for debugging kernel-mode drivers on Windows operating systems consists of two computers that are connected by means of a network, USB or serial connection. For information about setting up kernel-mode debugging, see Windows Debugging.

The host computer is the system on which the debugger runs. It should be a stable system and should always run the free build of the operating system.

The target computer is the system on which the driver you are testing runs. It can run either the free build or the checked build. For more accurate debugging, the checked build is preferred.

The debugger running on the host computer controls the target computer through the debugging connection you establish.