How to Use dBug to Debug Your Windows Applications
Debugging is an essential skill for any developer, but it can also be frustrating and time-consuming. That’s why you need a powerful and easy-to-use tool like dBug, a new version of WinDbg with more modern visuals, faster windows, and a full-fledged scripting experience.
dBug is built with the extensible object-orientated debugger data model front and center, and it uses the same underlying engine as WinDbg today, so all the commands, extensions, and workflows still work as they did before. You can use dBug to debug kernel-mode and user-mode code, analyze crash dumps, and examine the CPU registers while the code executes.
In this article, we will show you how to download, install, and configure dBug on your Windows system, and how to use it to debug your Windows applications. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, dBug will help you find and fix errors faster and easier than ever before.
Download and Install dBug
To get started with dBug, you need to download it from the Microsoft Store: WinDbg Preview. You can also download it from the Windows SDK page if you need the debugging tools for earlier versions of Windows.
Once you have downloaded dBug, you can install it by following the instructions on the screen. You will need administrator privileges to install dBug on your system. After the installation is complete, you can launch dBug from the Start menu or by typing “dBug” in the search box.
Configure Symbols and Source Code
Before you can debug your Windows applications with dBug, you need to configure some settings to enable symbol loading and source code access. Symbols are files that contain information about the names and locations of functions, variables, and other elements in your code. Source code access allows you to view and edit your code in dBug while debugging.
To configure symbols in dBug, go to File > Symbol File Path and enter the path to your symbol files or symbol servers. You can use multiple paths separated by semicolons. For example:
C:\Symbols;SRV*C:\Symbols*https://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
This tells dBug to look for symbols in the C:\Symbols folder and on the Microsoft symbol server. You can also use environment variables like _NT_SYMBOL_PATH or _NT_ALT_SYMBOL_PATH to specify symbol paths.
To configure source code access in dBug, go to File > Source File Path and enter the path to your source files or source servers. You can use multiple paths separated by semicolons. For example:
C:\Source;SRV*C:\Source*https://myserver.com/source
This tells dBug to look for source files in the C:\Source folder and on a custom source server. You can also use environment variables like _NT_SOURCE_PATH or _NT_ALT_SOURCE_PATH to specify source paths.
Debug Your Windows Applications
Now that you have configured dBug, you are ready to debug your Windows applications. There are two main ways to start a debugging session: attach to a running process or launch a new process.
To attach to a running process, go to File > Attach to Process (Ctrl+P) and select the process that you want to debug from the list. You can filter the list by name, ID, type, or session using the search box. Click Attach when you have selected the process.
To launch a new process, go to File > Launch Executable (Ctrl+E) and browse for the executable file that you want to debug. You can also enter command-line arguments and working directory for the executable. Click OK when you are done.
Once you have started a debugging session, you can use various commands and windows in dBug to control the execution of your code, inspect its state, set breakpoints and watchpoints, modify values, run scripts, and more. Some of the most common commands are:
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