BUG: Resolutions for DBWIN Utility Continuous Beeping

• Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows version 3.1

SYMPTOMS

While running an application that has been compiled under debug mode, with the DBWIN application running, the system may beep continuously causing the computer to hang. This can happen when running the debug version of an executable file in the debugger, or by just executing it.

CAUSE

DBWIN uses an edit control for its output window. An edit box is limited to approximately 32K total data. If this limit is exceeded, the system will beep each time a new message is received by DBWIN. Depending on the settings of the AFX.INI file, the messages sent can include TRACE messages, main windows messages, WM_COMMANDS, and OLE (object linking and embedding) trace messages.

RESOLUTION

There are several possible solutions:

• Instead of sending the output to the DBWIN window, the output can be directed to a monochrome monitor, which requires a monochrome adapter card and monitor installed on your system, or to a terminal connected to either COM1 or COM2 of the system.

  -or-

• If the DBWIN application is set to output the DBWIN information to the window and then the DBWIN application is shut down, the debug output is instead sent to the output window of the Visual Workbench, which does not have the 32K limit.

  -or-

• The SYSTEM.INI file can be set so that the debug output is directed to a file rather then to the debug window. The entry in the file should be

        [debug]
        OutPutTo=<filename>
  

  where filename is the full path of the file to which the debug output will be written. If there is not a debug section in your SYSTEM.INI file then you must add it.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in Microsoft Windows SDK, version 3.1. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

The source code for DBWIN is included as a sample in the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK). It can be found under \MSVC\SAMPLES\DBWIN.