PRB: Dr Watson Won't Log Stack Symbols in Visual C++ App

• Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Edition, versions 2.0, 2.1, 4.0, 5.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation, version 3.x
• Microsoft Windows NT Server, version 3.x

SYMPTOMS

Dr. Watson won't log stack information in postmortem debug log if the application was built with the Visual C++, versions 2.x and later , default settings.

CAUSE

Dr. Watson can be configured to log debug information into a log file when an unhandled user mode exception occurs. For more information about this please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q121434
   TITLE     : Specifying the Debugger for Unhandled User Mode Exceptions

This is because Dr. Watson requires that symbol information be in COFF format. By default, the Visual C++ version 1.0 link build options included both COFF and Microsoft Format debug symbols. However, with Visual C++ versions 2.x and later, this has changed; only Microsoft Format style symbols are included.

RESOLUTION

To build the application with the required symbols for Dr. Watson, the build parameters must be changed for the project. Use the following steps from within the Visual C++ integrated development environment:

1. Load the desired project.

2. For Visual C++ version 4.0, choose Settings... from the Build menu.

   For Visual C++ version 2.x, choose Settings from the Project menu.

3. Select the Link tab.

4. Select Debug from the Category list box.

5. Select the "Generate Debug Info" check box.

6. Select the "Both Formats" option to include COFF and Microsoft Format symbols.

7. Rebuild the application.