How to Debug an OS Image on a CEPC

When you run a Windows CE operating system (OS) on a CEPC, you can debug the OS if you include support for the debugger in the platform. With debugger support, you can use the kernel debugger and remote tools to debug your platform.

Consider the ways in which you want to debug the platform during the platform development process. Prior to building the platform, you must complete certain preparatory steps so that you can effectively debug the Windows CE OS.

To track your progress in the following table, select the check box next to each step.

  Step Topic
1. Open an existing platform that uses the CEPC board support package (BSP), or create a new platform and select the CEPC BSP. Creating a Platform
2. Familiarize yourself with the different types of OS images that have debugger support. OS Image Types
3. Choose a type of OS image that best fits the level of debugger support that you want for your platform. Selecting a Debug or Release OS Image
4. If you chose a release OS image, add support for the kernel debugger to your platform. Using the Kernel Debugger with a Release OS Image
5. To maximize debugging functionality, enable support for KITL in your platform.

For more information about KITL, see Kernel Independent Transport Layer.

Supporting KITL in a Platform
6. If you expect the size of your OS image to exceed 32 megabytes (MB), enable support for a large OS image in the settings for the platform.

The status bar in the Platform Builder integrated development environment (IDE) shows the estimated size of the OS image.

Note   Debug OS images are typically larger than release OS images. If you chose a debug OS image and your platform contains many features, it is likely that the size of your OS image will exceed 32 MB.
Enabling an OS Image Size Larger Than 32 MB
7. Build your platform. Building a Platform
8. If the CEPC uses an ISA-based Ethernet card, specify values for NET_IRQ and NET_IOBASE in the Autoexec.bat file on the boot floppy disk for the CEPC. Editing the Autoexec.bat File for an x86 SDB
9. Configure the Microsoft HyperTerminal accessory application to display the serial debug output from the CEPC. Configuring HyperTerminal for BSPs
10. Configure a remote connection to the CEPC.

Choose the appropriate topic based on whether you have an Ethernet or a serial port connection between the development workstation and the CEPC.

Configuring an Ethernet Remote Connection

Configuring a Serial Remote Connection

11. Download the OS image through the Ethernet or serial connection and boot the OS on the CEPC.

After the OS boots on the CEPC, the kernel debugger starts automatically, because you enabled kernel debugging in the settings for the platform.

Downloading an OS Image to a Target Device
12. View debug information from the CEPC in the IDE.

When the debugger is available, a Debug menu and a Debug window appear in the IDE. When the debugger is running, the text [run] appears in the caption for the IDE.

You can manually stop and start the debugger during the debugging process.

Stopping Kernel Debugging

Starting Kernel Debugging

13. Configure Platform Manager to connect to the CEPC. Configuring the Connection to a Target Device Using Platform Manager
14. Connect a remote tool to the CEPC.

For information about each remote tool that Microsoft provides, see Remote Tools.

When the remote tool succeeds in connecting to a CEPC, the Connecting to device dialog box disappears, and information from the CEPC appears in the window for the remote tool. The type of information displayed differs for each remote tool.

Connecting to a Target Device with a Remote Tool

See Also

CEPC How-to Topics | Platform Debugging | How to Connect to a Device for Debugging | How to Set up a CEPC

Last updated on Wednesday, April 13, 2005

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