.NET Runtime 2.0 Error

Question

I keep on getting .NET Runtime 2.0 Errors (reported in the Event Log) on my test machines, I tend to get these when swapping assemblies out for those with more debugging / diagnostic information (or fixes). An example message:

Faulting application MyApp.exe, version 1.0.0.66, stamp 4a3851fa, faulting module kernel32.dll, version 5.2.3790.4480, stamp 49c51f0a, debug? 0, fault address 0x0000bef7.

My guess is that even though I'm careful not to alter the interface, swapping assemblies in this way is probaly something I shouldnt be doing (should I be doing this?)

All the same, the instalation / Build process for this app is hefty, and its a massive pain to rebuild and reinstall everything when debugging problems (in fact its just not fesable). Is there any way to get any more useful information out of these sorts of errors?

Answer 1

Although it may be more work in the short run, you could rework your application to include tracing information and to use the tools provided in the System.Diagnostics namespace.

For example, System.Diagnostics.Trace allows you to specify via configuration (no change in build) different listener classes that could be used for runtime tracing. You could use this to implement functionality that would at least help you narrow down what might be causing your issues, and only enable the tracing output on your test machines.

Also, make sure you have a clean, top level exception handler. That may help you at least discover some of your stack trace information when your application faults.