7.9.1.3 Using WER with PDB to create a Windows crashdump

Program Database files (with suffix pdb) are included in the ZIP Archive Debug Binaries & Test Suite distribution of MySQL. These files provide information for debugging your MySQL installation in the event of a problem. This is a separate download from the standard MSI or Zip file.

Note

The PDB files are available in a separate file labeled "ZIP Archive Debug Binaries & Test Suite".

The PDB file contains more detailed information about mysqld and other tools that enables more detailed trace and dump files to be created. You can use these with WinDbg or Visual Studio to debug mysqld.

For more information on PDB files, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 121366. For more information on the debugging options available, see Debugging Tools for Windows.

To use WinDbg, either install the full Windows Driver Kit (WDK) or install the standalone version.

Important

The .exe and .pdb files must be an exact match (both version number and MySQL server edition); otherwise, or WinDBG complains while attempting to load the symbols.

1. To generate a minidump mysqld.dmp, enable the core-file option under the [mysqld] section in my.ini. Restart the MySQL server after making these changes.

2. Create a directory to store the generated files, such as c:\symbols

3. Determine the path to your windbg.exe executable using the Find GUI or from the command line, for example: dir /s /b windbg.exe -- a common default is C:\Program Files\Debugging Tools for Windows (x64)\windbg.exe

4. Launch windbg.exe giving it the paths to mysqld.exe, mysqld.pdb, mysqld.dmp, and the source code. Alternatively, pass in each path from the WinDbg GUI. For example:

   windbg.exe -i "C:\mysql-9.4.0-winx64\bin\"^
    -z "C:\mysql-9.4.0-winx64\data\mysqld.dmp"^
    -srcpath "E:\ade\mysql_archives\9.4\9.4.0\mysql-9.4.0"^
    -y "C:\mysql-9.4.0-winx64\bin;SRV*c:\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols"^
    -v -n -c "!analyze -vvvvv"

   Note

   The ^ character and newline are removed by the Windows command line processor, so be sure the spaces remain intact.