Post-Mortem Debugging: Watson
You can use the Windows Embedded Compact Error Reporting feature to do post-mortem debugging.
All the details and configurations are documented at MSDN:
- Windows Embedded CE 6.0
- Windows Embedded Compact 7
- Windows Embedded Compact 2013: Not documented at MSDN, but it should basically work the same as on CE 7.
The post-mortem dumps can be helpful when reporting issues to Toradex Support or Community.
Enabling Watson
Generally you have to custom image and add the features as documented at the linked pages. Some Toradex BSPs allow you to enable this feature in the config block.
Colibri Txx and Apalis Txx Modules
You can enable the feature as described in the DBG Config Block Settings. Set dbg.watson to 1. You can also increase the size of the dumps if needed by modify dbg.watsonsize, the default setting is 1024 KBytes. This feature is available since image V2.0 beta 4.
The registry settings are the same as documented on MSDN.
Using the Dumps
Once a error occurs dump files are are generated. They are stored at the path you have defined in the registry (see registry configuration at MSDN). The default setting points to \Windows\DumpFiles. You may have to change the folder options (View -> Options...) in order to show the dumps as they are hidden.
Copy the files to your developer PC, where you have the source and .PDB files of your projects. Open the .kdmp in Visual Studio (File -> Open -> Project/Solution). Once loaded, you can "Debug" as if you would debug an application (press F5).
If you think there is an issue in the BSP, send the *.kdmp file to the How to contact the support. Do not forget to mention the BSP version.