What is this error message mean and how to fix it

Question

I receive the following error message:

Windows has triggered a breakpoint in GDIMario.exe

This may be due to a corruption of the heap, which indicates a bug in GDIMario.exe or any of the DLLs is has loaded.

This my also be due to the user pressing F12 while GDIMario.exe has focus.

The output window may have more diagnostic information.

I really don't know why I've this caution, I don't F12. thanks for reading this ;)

Answer 1

The second sentence is probably the important one. Windows is telling you that you have corrupted the heap of your program, and you should fix the problem.

You can run your program under the debugger to find out more precisely where the error occurred.

Answer 2

Googling around for "Windows has triggered a breakpoint in ...."

Shows a myriad of possible reasons including:

• Mismatched DLL versions
• Thread Access
• Issues Heap Corruption.
• Win32 compatibility with Vista

If possible, I recommend stepping through your program in the debugger and see if its a memory corruption.

Also, perhaps trying to run your application in Compatibility Mode (if you're running Vista or Win7)