Various devices/systems may include an embedded platform comprising an operating system, applications and various other files. For example, the various devices/systems may include portable ultrasound machines, Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), devices that power large construction machinery and/or the like. The operating system, the applications and important user data may be configured into a run-time image on which the devices/systems boot up and operate. For instance, Windows Embedded Technology, including the Embedded Windows operating system, integrates an existing Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and enables various services, such as management, security, data synchronization with a network or another device/system, usage profiling, location services, advertising services, business intelligence and line-of-business applications, access to data regarding device capabilities and services and/or the like.
The Embedded Windows operating system includes an optional feature known as filters (e.g., write filters), which redirect a user's change made on the operating system to an overlay, instead of making the change on the hard disk. As result, the operating system is protected from malicious/accidental modifies and remains in a same state through a device/system reboot. The current design of write filters may employ a RAM-based or a disk-based overlay (e.g., hard disk) as the overlay type. A size limit for the overlay media is predefined, such that filter may access part of a physical RAM or hard disk without impacting the user's normal activities. As more changes are made to the operating system, the overlay increases in size (e.g., a number of bytes). Eventually, the overlay media exceeds the size limit, which causes a crash, an unexpected reboot and other deleterious effects.