Debugging DLL load failures with the Event Viewer

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[ This article is for Windows 8.x and Windows Phone 8.x developers writing Windows Runtime apps. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation ]

This topic explains how to debug DLL load failures in Windows Store apps and desktop apps using the Event Viewer.

Until now, debugging DLL load failures in desktop apps involved setting an image file execution option on the process and attaching a debugger to view the errors from the loader. Developers typically had to dig through a large number of entries in the debugger to troubleshoot specific issues. Windows Store app developers couldn't easily use this method to troubleshoot DLL failures since error dialog boxes are not displayed for Windows Store apps.

Windows 8.1 simplifies this debugging approach by allowing developers of both app types to view DLL load failures in the Event Viewer.

To see fatal DLL load failures for Windows Store apps

  1. Open Event Viewer.
  2. Go to Windows Logs -> Application channel.
  3. View the Level: information and Source: User-loader properties.

To see more detailed error messages

  1. Open Event Viewer.
  2. Select Show Analytic and Debug Logs from the View menu to enable the analytic log channel.
  3. Go to Applications and Services Logs -> Microsoft -> Windows -> User-Loader analytic channel.

Note  In order to minimize the number of events that get logged into this channel while a binary is being loaded, only the errors from loading the dependencies of this binary will be logged under this analytic channel.