Debugging of native code

I have a C# Service that is calling a C DLL that was originally written in VC6.

There is a bug in the DLL which I am trying to inspect.

After having a nightmare trying to get debug to work I eventually added the dll to the VS2005 solution con开发者_Go百科taining the C# Service and added the necessary _CRT_SECURE_NO_WARNINGS.

The debug version of the service is registered using 'installutil.exe' tool.

I can get the debugger to break just before the line where the dll is entered via a call to System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Break();.

I found some instruction on the net regarding stepping into debugging unmanaged code, and enabled the 'Enable unmanaged code debugging' check box, I've also tried turning on the Options->Debugging->Native 'Load DLL exports' and 'Enable RPC Debugging' (even though it's not COM). I've also copied the debug dll and .pdb to the same bin directory as the service.

However the unmanaged code is not being stepped into which is what I really need.

UPDATE: I found the Debugging Type in the DLL properties and set it to 'Mixed' as per suggestion on several sites but to no avail.

UPDATE2: My project now emits the debug dll and the pdb to the same directory as the debug service. Still unable to debug the dll.

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Try setting the unmanaged code as the startup project. I know it doesn't make sense but I remember this working for a very similar project.

Since the DLL doesn't have an associated executable, when you try to run it will pop up asking what app to run. Browse to your C# app and then you should be good to go.

Happy debugging!

EDIT: it's been a while, but I think the debugging type Mixed is correct

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In the end I created a console app and recreated all the prior calls just to make sure the call would act as it did in the actual service with the actual parameters once it got there.

I chronicled my fix and the resultant code at my site.

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There is a workaround in Visual Studio 2013. Run the application from cmd line. When System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Break(); is hit, a Visual Studio Just-In-Time Debugger window should pop out. Check "Manually choose the debugging engines.", click "Yes" and ensure that "Native" engine is checked. Click "OK". Now you should be able to step into the native code as if you would by running the code from within VS.