Unable to debug in Visual Studio 2010

Question

Hi All,

I am not able to debug any application in Visual Studio 2010 not even a simple Hello World console application. I can run the application (CTRL + F5) and see the results on console but under the debugger it just wont start. I even tried re-installing VS but the problem is still there.

This is what I see in the Output window when I try to debug the app

'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_32\mscorlib\2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\mscorlib.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\Microsoft.VisualStudio.HostingProcess.Utilities\10.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a\Microsoft.VisualStudio.HostingProcess.Utilities.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Windows.Forms\2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\System.Windows.Forms.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System\2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\System.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Drawing\2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a\System.Drawing.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\Microsoft.VisualStudio.HostingProcess.Utilities.Sync\10.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a\Microsoft.VisualStudio.HostingProcess.Utilities.Sync.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\Microsoft.VisualStudio.Debugger.Runtime\10.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a\Microsoft.VisualStudio.Debugger.Runtime.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'D:\LO-TFS\Domino\TestApp\bin\Debug\TestApp.vshost.exe', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Core\3.5.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\System.Core.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Xml.Linq\3.5.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\System.Xml.Linq.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Data.DataSetExtensions\3.5.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\System.Data.DataSetExtensions.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_32\System.Data\2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\System.Data.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Xml\2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\System.Xml.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
The thread 'vshost.LoadReference' (0xb40) has exited with code 0 (0x0).
'TestApp.vshost.exe' (Managed (v2.0.50727)): Loaded 'D:\LO-TFS\Domino\TestApp\bin\Debug\TestApp.exe', Symbols loaded.
Ignoring managed exception from unknown thread.The program '[928] TestApp.vshost.exe: Managed (v2.0.50727)' has exited with code -2147023895 (0x800703e9).

Any suggestion to correct the problem would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Answer 1

After hours of effort to get it right, I figured out that if I change the TARGET FRAMEWORK from 3.5 to 4 it works. When I change the TARGET FRAMEWORK back to 3.5 again, it stops working.

Does someone know why this can happen and explain what I need to correct it?

Thanks.

Answer 2

Hi Paul_S_Ngp,

Thank you for posting in the MSDN forum.

After hours of effort to get it right, I figured out that if I change the TARGET FRAMEWORK from 3.5 to 4 it works. When I change the TARGET FRAMEWORK back to 3.5 again, it stops working.

As my understanding, The Visual Studio 2010 includes only the .NET Framework 4. To target earlier versions of the .NET Framework, we need to have the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installed. To download and install the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, see Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 on the Microsoft Download Center website. Hope it could help.

Reference:

How to: Target a Specific .NET Framework Version or Profile

Best Regards,

---

Jack Zhai [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us

Answer 3

Sorry, no explanation or fix. Probably a workaround. Can you try to enable unmanaged debugging for your 3.5 Framework project(s):
In Project Properties pages (menu Project->Properties) clicking "Debug" tab, checking "Enable unmanaged code debugging".
Only threads I know of, which might bear a certain resemblance to your issue are
When launching from VS: Error "Ignoring managed exception from unknown thread"
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/eu/csharpgeneral/thread/f5ba4fbc-2011-4263-ab8c-01d572d28351 
and
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10210256/vs-2010-fresh-install-twice-sp1rel-too-start-debugging-gives-0x800703e9-vs
Both with no satisfactory solution.
 
No warranty
With kind regards

Answer 4

Thanks! It works for me