When you start the CDB, KD, or WinDbg applications, there are several ways you can select your debugging target.

KD and CDB each begin a session with a target, and when the session ends, the program exits.

WinDbg, on the other hand, can start without a target, either by starting it from a command prompt without specifying a target, or by starting it from the Start menu by opening Debugging Tools for Windows and clicking WinDbg. You can also end a WinDbg debugging session without exiting the WinDbg application. If you open WinDbg without specifying a target or end a WinDbg session without existing the application, WinDbg enters dormant mode. In this mode, you can select a new debugging target and begin a new session.

This section describes the following methods to begin a debugging session. Each method involves starting a new debugger or selecting a target for a dormant WinDbg.

You can also do the following to begin a debugging session:

1. You can join a remote debugging session by connecting to a debugging server. For more information about this method, see Activating a Debugging Client.
2. The debugger can be automatically opened when a user-mode process fails. For more information about this method, see Enabling Postmortem Debugging.
3. You can automatically reactivate a previous debugging session by loading a named workspace. For more information about this method, see Using Workspaces.