AppVerifier and WinDbg with VB6 are killing me!

Discussion:

(too old to reply)

Jianke

2007-02-24 17:21:05 UTC

Hi all,

This is the first time I post here. Recently I have been working on a
frustrating test on our VB6 application using AppVerifier and WinDbg for 2
whole days, and now I am so lost! Helpfully I can get some hints here.

Background:
Our company is going to send the software product to VeriTest for testing.
My work is to perform testing before sending it to VeriTest. I am a new guy
in this company and got started to use AppVerifier and WinDbg just a couple
of days ago.

Symptom:
Our software program seems working fine without AppVerifier. But as soon as
using AppVerifier, every time I exit the program, an exception window coming
up. Using WinDbg, I found there is a "invalid TLS index" exception at the
exit time. (Sorry I cannot post the related information right now until
Monday)
Our program is a VB6 application, using 4 timers at the beginning. After I
removed these 4 timers, there is no exception if I exit the application right
after I get in. But if I leave the application running there for a while,
about 12 minutes, (just leave there, doing nothing) then I click exit button,
the exception came up again! I have been struggling with this for a couple of
days already, really cannot figure out what causes the problem.

Question:
1. Is this exception caught by AppVerifier a real bug? Why it doesn't show
up without AppVerifier?
2. This is a VB6 application, and I am new to VB as well. (I am a VC guy)
AppVerifier can only work with executable file, so debugging costs me lots of
time because I have create a .exe file every time I test, and I really cannot
debug into the code which causes the problem.
Is there any better way to do this? (I saw another guy's post quite a while
ago, seems like he can track down to the code which causes the program. I
don't know how he could make it.)

Thanks a lot for reading this. I really appreciate your help.

Ben Voigt

2007-02-26 16:47:37 UTC

Permalink

Post by Jianke
1. Is this exception caught by AppVerifier a real bug? Why it doesn't show
up without AppVerifier?
2. This is a VB6 application, and I am new to VB as well. (I am a VC guy)
AppVerifier can only work with executable file, so debugging costs me lots of
time because I have create a .exe file every time I test, and I really cannot
debug into the code which causes the problem.
Is there any better way to do this? (I saw another guy's post quite a while
ago, seems like he can track down to the code which causes the program. I
don't know how he could make it.)

VB6 has an option to emit source level debugging information (as a pdb file
I believe), but chances are that the problem is showing up somewhere in the
VB runtime code even if it's caused by a user error.

Jianke

2007-02-26 17:38:38 UTC

Permalink

Thank you for your response, Ben!
I checked "Create Symbolic Debug Info" option in the project properties
already, but I don't know how to use this pdb file. Can you give me some
hints? Thanks.

Prasad Kakulamarri [MSFT]

2007-02-26 17:45:12 UTC

Permalink

Hi,
Since you are using VB6, I assume this is all native code. The error you are
seeing is an error in your app or the run time caught by AppVerifier. When
the error happens, you can check the call stack (kb command in windbg) to see
where the invalid TLS index is being used. AppVerifier ships with help
documentation that can provide more information about the type of error you
are seeing. Here's the info on the error you are seeing:

Application Verifier break message
Invalid TLS index used in current stack (use kb).

Probable cause
This stop is generated if the function on the top of the stack passed an
invalid TLS index to TLS system routines. Using the kb command will reveal
the problem. The typical issue here is to assume a certain value for a TLS
index instead of calling TlsAlloc. This can happen either by thinking that
you always get value N therefore there is no need to call TlsAlloc or more
frequently due to an un-initialized variable. Invalid TLS index used in
current stack.

Information displayed by Application Verifier
Parameter1 - Invalid TLS Index

Parameter2 - Expected lower part of the index

Parameter3 - Not used

Parameter4 - Not used

Description - Invalid TLS index used in current stack (use kb)

Additional information
Verifier stop code 0351.

Please let us know if you need any further help.

Thanks,
Prasad

Post by Jianke
Hi all,
This is the first time I post here. Recently I have been working on a
frustrating test on our VB6 application using AppVerifier and WinDbg for 2
whole days, and now I am so lost! Helpfully I can get some hints here.
Our company is going to send the software product to VeriTest for testing.
My work is to perform testing before sending it to VeriTest. I am a new guy
in this company and got started to use AppVerifier and WinDbg just a couple
of days ago.
Our software program seems working fine without AppVerifier. But as soon as
using AppVerifier, every time I exit the program, an exception window coming
up. Using WinDbg, I found there is a "invalid TLS index" exception at the
exit time. (Sorry I cannot post the related information right now until
Monday)
Our program is a VB6 application, using 4 timers at the beginning. After I
removed these 4 timers, there is no exception if I exit the application right
after I get in. But if I leave the application running there for a while,
about 12 minutes, (just leave there, doing nothing) then I click exit button,
the exception came up again! I have been struggling with this for a couple of
days already, really cannot figure out what causes the problem.
1. Is this exception caught by AppVerifier a real bug? Why it doesn't show
up without AppVerifier?
2. This is a VB6 application, and I am new to VB as well. (I am a VC guy)
AppVerifier can only work with executable file, so debugging costs me lots of
time because I have create a .exe file every time I test, and I really cannot
debug into the code which causes the problem.
Is there any better way to do this? (I saw another guy's post quite a while
ago, seems like he can track down to the code which causes the program. I
don't know how he could make it.)
Thanks a lot for reading this. I really appreciate your help.

Jianke

2007-02-26 18:06:46 UTC

Permalink

Hi Prasad, I have checked the call stack already, but cannot figure anything
out.
very appreciate your help!
Here is the information:

0:000> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*
*
* Exception Analysis
*
*
*
*******************************************************************************

Unknown Verifier code (352)
Unknown verifier description
Arguments:
Arg1: 0016abba
Arg2: 00000000
Arg3: 00000000
Arg4: 00000000

FAULTING_IP:
ntdll!DbgBreakPoint+0
7c901230 cc int 3

EXCEPTION_RECORD: ffffffff -- (.exr ffffffffffffffff)
ExceptionAddress: 7c901230 (ntdll!DbgBreakPoint)
ExceptionCode: 80000003 (Break instruction exception)
ExceptionFlags: 00000000
NumberParameters: 3
Parameter[0]: 00000000
Parameter[1]: 7c91eb05
Parameter[2]: 0012f823

FAULTING_THREAD: 000004cc

BUGCHECK_STR: AVRF_352

DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: STATUS_BREAKPOINT

PROCESS_NAME: aralco.exe

ERROR_CODE: (NTSTATUS) 0x80000003 - {EXCEPTION} Breakpoint A breakpoint
has been reached.

LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER: from 00363760 to 7c901230

STACK_TEXT:
0012f908 00363760 0012cdba 73eae61c 09926ff0 ntdll!DbgBreakPoint
0012fb0c 0038c8be 00397c88 00000352 0016abba
vrfcore!VerifierStopMessageEx+0x4b5
0012fb40 0038cb47 0016abba 7c80996d 7c809bc5 vfbasics!CheckTlsIndex+0xce
0012fb54 73e68dda 0016abba 00000000 00000000 vfbasics!AVrfpTlsSetValue+0x47
0012fb74 73e6935d 09926ff0 00000000 00000000
MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+0x90
0012fb88 73e6e0fc 00000000 73e69328 00000000
MFC42!CThreadSlotData::~CThreadSlotData+0x28
0012fb90 73e69328 00000000 73e688c4 00000000 MFC42!CThreadSlotData::`scalar
deleting destructor'+0xa
0012fb98 73e688c4 00000000 73dd7459 73dd0000 MFC42!AfxTlsRelease+0x22
0012fba0 73dd7459 73dd0000 00000000 00000000 MFC42!RawDllMain+0x9e
0012fbc0 00367fcb 73dd0000 00000001 00000000 MFC42!_DllMainCRTStartup+0x91
0012fc08 0039118e 73dd0000 00000000 00000000
vrfcore!VfCoreStandardDllEntryPointRoutine+0x127
0012fc60 7c9011a7 73dd0000 00000000 00000000
vfbasics!AVrfpStandardDllEntryPointRoutine+0x10e
0012fc80 7c91e6f4 00391080 73dd0000 00000000 ntdll!LdrpCallInitRoutine+0x14
0012fd78 00391833 735a0000 00000000 02250fe8 ntdll!LdrUnloadDll+0x41c
0012fd90 7c80abf7 735a0000 0012fde4 0012feb0 vfbasics!AVrfpLdrUnloadDll+0x73
0012fda4 77513442 735a0000 0012fecc 77513456 kernel32!FreeLibrary+0x3f
0012fdb0 77513456 0012fdf0 0012fdd8 776067e0
ole32!CClassCache::CDllPathEntry::CFinishObject::Finish+0x2f
0012fdc4 77530729 0012feb0 0012fde4 0012fdd8
ole32!CClassCache::CFinishComposite::Finish+0x1d
0012fecc 7752fd6a 7752fee4 6610e518 0368eee0
ole32!CClassCache::CleanUpDllsForProcess+0x1b2
0012fed0 7752fee4 6610e518 0368eee0 00000000 ole32!ProcessUninitialize+0x37
0012fee4 774fee88 0012fefc 00000000 00000000 ole32!wCoUninitialize+0x11b
0012ff00 6600e933 00000002 6610e470 6600e886 ole32!CoUninitialize+0x5b
0012ff0c 6600e886 03d16efc 6610e498 00000000 MSVBVM60!InitTermGlobal+0xaa
0012ff1c 6600c54b 03d16efc 6610e470 0012ffb8
MSVBVM60!CThreadPool::TerminateRuntime+0x21
0012ff34 6600c3a9 00def6f0 6610e470 66003623
MSVBVM60!CVBThreadAction::Stop+0xb0
0012ff40 66003623 00def6f0 00000040 7ffd8000
MSVBVM60!CThreadPool::TerminateThread+0x43
0012ffb8 0046f286 0046fb74 7c816fd7 00def6f0 MSVBVM60!ThunRTMain+0xb9
0012fff0 00000000 0046f27c 00000000 78746341 aralco!__vbaS+0xa

FOLLOWUP_IP:
MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+90
73e68dda 5f pop edi

SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX: 4

SYMBOL_NAME: MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+90

FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner

MODULE_NAME: MFC42

IMAGE_NAME: MFC42.DLL

DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 411096a5

STACK_COMMAND: ~0s ; kb

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: AVRF_352_MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+90

BUCKET_ID: AVRF_352_MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+90

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

Prasad Kakulamarri [MSFT]

2007-02-26 18:30:07 UTC

Permalink

Hi,
This is a bug in MFC and it should be fixed in Vista. Can you disable TLS
checks on your app to make progress on your tests or test it on Vista?
Thanks,
Prasad

Post by Jianke
Hi Prasad, I have checked the call stack already, but cannot figure anything
out.
very appreciate your help!
0:000> !analyze -v
*******************************************************************************
*
*
* Exception Analysis
*
*
*
*******************************************************************************
Unknown Verifier code (352)
Unknown verifier description
Arg1: 0016abba
Arg2: 00000000
Arg3: 00000000
Arg4: 00000000
ntdll!DbgBreakPoint+0
7c901230 cc int 3
EXCEPTION_RECORD: ffffffff -- (.exr ffffffffffffffff)
ExceptionAddress: 7c901230 (ntdll!DbgBreakPoint)
ExceptionCode: 80000003 (Break instruction exception)
ExceptionFlags: 00000000
NumberParameters: 3
Parameter[0]: 00000000
Parameter[1]: 7c91eb05
Parameter[2]: 0012f823
FAULTING_THREAD: 000004cc
BUGCHECK_STR: AVRF_352
DEFAULT_BUCKET_ID: STATUS_BREAKPOINT
PROCESS_NAME: aralco.exe
ERROR_CODE: (NTSTATUS) 0x80000003 - {EXCEPTION} Breakpoint A breakpoint
has been reached.
LAST_CONTROL_TRANSFER: from 00363760 to 7c901230
0012f908 00363760 0012cdba 73eae61c 09926ff0 ntdll!DbgBreakPoint
0012fb0c 0038c8be 00397c88 00000352 0016abba
vrfcore!VerifierStopMessageEx+0x4b5
0012fb40 0038cb47 0016abba 7c80996d 7c809bc5 vfbasics!CheckTlsIndex+0xce
0012fb54 73e68dda 0016abba 00000000 00000000 vfbasics!AVrfpTlsSetValue+0x47
0012fb74 73e6935d 09926ff0 00000000 00000000
MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+0x90
0012fb88 73e6e0fc 00000000 73e69328 00000000
MFC42!CThreadSlotData::~CThreadSlotData+0x28
0012fb90 73e69328 00000000 73e688c4 00000000 MFC42!CThreadSlotData::`scalar
deleting destructor'+0xa
0012fb98 73e688c4 00000000 73dd7459 73dd0000 MFC42!AfxTlsRelease+0x22
0012fba0 73dd7459 73dd0000 00000000 00000000 MFC42!RawDllMain+0x9e
0012fbc0 00367fcb 73dd0000 00000001 00000000 MFC42!_DllMainCRTStartup+0x91
0012fc08 0039118e 73dd0000 00000000 00000000
vrfcore!VfCoreStandardDllEntryPointRoutine+0x127
0012fc60 7c9011a7 73dd0000 00000000 00000000
vfbasics!AVrfpStandardDllEntryPointRoutine+0x10e
0012fc80 7c91e6f4 00391080 73dd0000 00000000 ntdll!LdrpCallInitRoutine+0x14
0012fd78 00391833 735a0000 00000000 02250fe8 ntdll!LdrUnloadDll+0x41c
0012fd90 7c80abf7 735a0000 0012fde4 0012feb0 vfbasics!AVrfpLdrUnloadDll+0x73
0012fda4 77513442 735a0000 0012fecc 77513456 kernel32!FreeLibrary+0x3f
0012fdb0 77513456 0012fdf0 0012fdd8 776067e0
ole32!CClassCache::CDllPathEntry::CFinishObject::Finish+0x2f
0012fdc4 77530729 0012feb0 0012fde4 0012fdd8
ole32!CClassCache::CFinishComposite::Finish+0x1d
0012fecc 7752fd6a 7752fee4 6610e518 0368eee0
ole32!CClassCache::CleanUpDllsForProcess+0x1b2
0012fed0 7752fee4 6610e518 0368eee0 00000000 ole32!ProcessUninitialize+0x37
0012fee4 774fee88 0012fefc 00000000 00000000 ole32!wCoUninitialize+0x11b
0012ff00 6600e933 00000002 6610e470 6600e886 ole32!CoUninitialize+0x5b
0012ff0c 6600e886 03d16efc 6610e498 00000000 MSVBVM60!InitTermGlobal+0xaa
0012ff1c 6600c54b 03d16efc 6610e470 0012ffb8
MSVBVM60!CThreadPool::TerminateRuntime+0x21
0012ff34 6600c3a9 00def6f0 6610e470 66003623
MSVBVM60!CVBThreadAction::Stop+0xb0
0012ff40 66003623 00def6f0 00000040 7ffd8000
MSVBVM60!CThreadPool::TerminateThread+0x43
0012ffb8 0046f286 0046fb74 7c816fd7 00def6f0 MSVBVM60!ThunRTMain+0xb9
0012fff0 00000000 0046f27c 00000000 78746341 aralco!__vbaS+0xa
MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+90
73e68dda 5f pop edi
SYMBOL_STACK_INDEX: 4
SYMBOL_NAME: MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+90
FOLLOWUP_NAME: MachineOwner
MODULE_NAME: MFC42
IMAGE_NAME: MFC42.DLL
DEBUG_FLR_IMAGE_TIMESTAMP: 411096a5
STACK_COMMAND: ~0s ; kb
FAILURE_BUCKET_ID: AVRF_352_MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+90
BUCKET_ID: AVRF_352_MFC42!CThreadSlotData::DeleteValues+90
Followup: MachineOwner
---------

Jianke

2007-02-26 18:35:05 UTC

Permalink

Great! Thanks a lot, Prasad!