The dbms_pipe is used internally be the Oracle's debugger subsystem. There are 4 things we can do to analyze this problem:
1. Reload the dbms_debug packages.
As a result of previous dbms upgrades, the dbms_debug packages can cause problems. You can logon to the server computer, go to $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin, start SQL*Plus under the SYS account, and run pbload.sql. This will reload the dbms_debug packages. Check if this has a positive influence on the problem.
2. Increase the shared pool size.
The Oracle Debugger seems to have some stability issues when there is not enough free memory in the shared pool.
3. Disable the call stack.
Go to Tools > Preferences > Debugger and disable the "Update call stack after each step".
4. Check for user trace files on the server.
If the Test Window hangs, it may be that the server process has died. Check if a trace file exist that is related to the problem, and if so, send it to me.