Waits and APCs

Note

The behavior described on this page for a user APC applies to regular user-mode APCs as well as special user-mode APCs.

Threads that wait for a dispatcher object on behalf of a user-mode caller must be prepared for that wait to be interrupted, either by a user APC or by thread termination. When a thread calls KeWaitForSingleObject, KeWaitForMultipleObjects, KeWaitForMutexObject, or KeDelayExecutionThread, the operating system can place the thread in a wait state. Typically, the thread remains in the wait state until the operating system can complete the operation that the caller requests. However, if the caller specifies WaitMode = UserMode, the operating system might interrupt the wait. In that case, the routine exits with an NTSTATUS value of STATUS_USER_APC.

Any driver that calls one of the preceding four routines with WaitMode = UserMode must be prepared to receive a return value of STATUS_USER_APC. The driver must complete its current operation with STATUS_USER_APC and return control to user mode.

The exact situations in which the operating system interrupts the wait depends on the value of the Alertable parameter of the routine. If Alertable = TRUE, the wait is an alertable wait. Otherwise, the wait is a non-alertable wait. The operating system interrupts alertable waits only to deliver a user APC. The operating system interrupts both kinds of waits to terminate the thread.

The following table explains the relationship between different parameter settings, waits, and user APC delivery.

Parameters	Wait interrupted?	User APC delivered?
Alertable = TRUE WaitMode = UserMode	Yes	Yes
Alertable = TRUE WaitMode = KernelMode	Yes	No
Alertable = FALSE WaitMode = UserMode	Yes, for thread termination. No, for user APCs.	No
Alertable = FALSE WaitMode = KernelMode	No	No

You can disable kernel APCs for a thread. If you do disable kernel APCs for a thread, both user APC delivery and thread termination for that thread are also disabled. For more information about how to disable APCs, see Disabling APCs.

Alerts, a seldom-used mechanism that are internal to the operating system, can also interrupt alertable wait states. An alert can interrupt a wait when Alertable = TRUE, regardless of the value of the WaitMode parameter. The waiting routine returns a value of STATUS_ALERTED.

Note that kernel APCs run preemptively, and do not cause KeWaitForXxx or KeDelayExecutionThread to return. The system interrupts and resumes the wait internally. Drivers are normally unaffected by this process, but it is possible for the driver to miss a dispatcher object signal for a transient condition, such as a call to KePulseEvent.