"Stop Debugging" stops debugging but does not terminate and close debug execution window.

[Glenn1]

I have this intermittent problem on 3 of 4 systems. All systems have VS2008 Standard. 2 systems have VS2008 SP1. 1 system has 11.1.051 and is most troublsome. The other two systems have 11.1.054.

I can set a breakpoint on a line of code and "Start Debugging" (F5). Once the breakpoint is hit, if I "Stop Debugging" (Shift F5), debugging stops as normal but the execution window does not terminate and exit. Once this happens, it cannot be stopped using the "End Task" in the Task Manager nor by a normal computer Shut Down, Log Off, Standby, or Hibernate. I have to do a manual hard shutdown of the system.

The problem occurs with VS2008 with and without SP1 and on both compiler versions .051 & .054.

The one system that is not exhibiting this problem has VS2008 (no SP1) and I am systematically updating the compilers starting from 11.0.074. So far I am up to 11.1.038 and have not been able to replicate the problem.

Any helpful suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Update: I had mentioned in my original post that I had 3 out of 4 systems exhibiting this problem. After following the link in one of the replies concerning a Windows Security Update and reading the posts, I realized that the one system that was working did not have the security updates installed. Specifically, KB978037. I installed the security updates on that system and the problem appeared the same as on the other 3 systems. I uninstalled that one update, KB978037, and the "Stop Debugging" seems to be working properly again. I haven't been able to reproduce the problem after uninstalling that specific update.

[Steven_L_Intel1]

What OS are you running? What "type" of application is it (Console, QuickWin, etc.)?

[dannycat]

I have noticed a similar problem on my new Dell 64-bit Windows XP computer, although the symptom Isee is that when in debugger and the program breaks as a result of an error, such as access violation, I stop the run but the executable does not stop running. I usually don't notice this until I try to rebuild and the linker cannot create a new instance as the old one is still effectively there. I can stop it, eventually,by using the end process but sometimes have to wait quite a while before the process finally terminates. I'm using VS2008, Compiler Version 11.1.054. I have not had to resort to shutting down the system yet thankfully, but I have not had this problem on machines running either 32 or 64 bit Vista nor Win7OS.

[chuckhp]

I'm havign the same problem, and it only started happening after I recently upgraded to the 11.1.054 version of the compiler. Previously I had been using version 11.0.074 and never saw this problem even once over years of development. Now, I see it almost every time I cancel Debug. I am creating a console application, and I currently have a stack of 6 console windows piling up at the bottom that I have no way of terminating. They don't even show up as processes in task manager so there's no way to kill them, but the windows are still there. I can't shutdown my laptop normally because of them (shutdown just hangs), and I also have to do a hard manual shutdown every day because of it. This has become a very serious problem, and I have no clue how to resolve it. I don't want to have to keep shutting down my laptop this way. I am using VS2005, which is the same as what I was using before with the previous version of the compiler. The only thing that changed on my system is that I upgraded the compiler version. I am running Windows XP, service pack 3 on a Dell Precision M4300 laptop. Any help would be appreciated.

[Steven_L_Intel1]

We'd appreciate a ZIP of a project that demonstrates this behavior. You can attach it to a reply here.

[dswakefield · Accepted solution]

I am seeing the same problem on Windows XP 32 bit, latest IVF version with VS2008 Shell.

Comments on a Visual Studio Thread http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vsdebug/thread/e6d4a4f5-7002-401a-90e1-6174d7f9e3ca entitled "VS 2008 debugging: console window will not close when debugging stopped" suggest that a recent XP security update might be the source of the problem.

[chuckhp]

Unfortunately, my solution is too complex to zip up. I have hundreds of projects in my solution, and when I tried to reproduce the problem on a simpler project, I couldn't. Hopefully, someone here has a simpler project that is exhibiting this problem that they could send you. If not, I will keep trying to come up with something.

[chuckhp]

This was a good find. It sounds like the problem may indeed be those security updates. I'll try uninstalling them and see if the problem goes away.

[Glenn1]

I have updated my original post with my findings but wanted to reply that KB978037 specifically, seems to be the culprit. Thanks for the help!

[WSinc]

Dear Glenn;

To avoid this problem, you have to close the window first.

It will then generate an interrupt, and you can tell it to stop the execution then.

Otherwise, you will get the "orphan" window you described.

Yours; Bill

Incidentally, why do we sometimes get a "Zero size object" when we hit "submit" ?

It wipes out everything I put into the window, and I have to start over.

[Steven_L_Intel1]

If you get the "zero size object" error, just click refresh.

[IanH]

Hooray! A fix is out!

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982551