Debug crashing binary en Windows con WinDbg


Exe

Al final era el audio que no estaba conectado por eso el juego Richard Burns Rally crasheaba nada que ver todo lo demas.
Conectamos un auricular al puerto trasero de la PC y el juego funcionó y estaba mal la resolución tenías que configurar desde el 2do launcher que estaba en la carpeta.

Cuando iniciamos el juego se creo un archivo CRASHDUMP pero esto lo hizo despues que instalemos Windbg se creo un archivo parecido al que dice este video:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/wdHLuB4lkgg

1️⃣ Preparar el entorno

  • Modo de depuración: Usa una cuenta con permisos de administrador si es posible.
  • Desactiva antivirus temporalmente para descartar que esté bloqueando el juego.
  • Modo de compatibilidad: A veces ejecutar en modo Windows 7/8 ayuda, pero para debug profundo no es crítico.

2️⃣ Usar un depurador en Windows

a) WinDbg (de Microsoft)

  1. Instala WinDbg desde el Windows SDK.
  2. Abre WinDbg → File → Open Executable.
  3. Selecciona el .exe del juego.
  4. WinDbg lanzará el juego y podrás ver excepciones, fallos de memoria, o errores de librerías.
  5. Usa !analyze -v después de un crash para obtener un stack trace detallado.

b) Visual Studio

Si tienes Visual Studio:

  1. Abre Visual Studio → File → Open → Project/Solution → select EXE.
  2. Ve a Debug → Start Debugging (F5).
  3. Cuando el juego falle, Visual Studio mostrará la línea exacta y call stack (si los símbolos están disponibles).

c) Depuración ligera / logs

  • A veces los juegos generan logs internos en:

    • C:\Users\<usuario>\AppData\Local\<Juego>\
    • Carpeta del juego (logs, crashdumps)

  • Activar modo ventana o agregar flags tipo -debug puede generar más información.

3️⃣ Usar herramientas externas

  • Process Monitor (ProcMon): rastrea acceso a archivos y registro, útil si el juego falla al cargar algo.
  • Dependency Walker: identifica DLL faltantes que pueden provocar cierre inmediato.
  • Dr. Memory / AddressSanitizer: detecta corrupciones de memoria, si el juego es compatible con depuración nativa.

4️⃣ Símbolos y stack traces

  • Para ver llamadas de función humanas, necesitas símbolos (.pdb) del juego.
  • Sin símbolos, aún puedes ver direcciones de memoria y DLLs implicadas.

5️⃣ Estrategia rápida de prueba

  1. Ejecuta en CMD y observa errores impresos:

    "C:\ruta\al\juego.exe"

    A veces sale un mensaje en consola antes de cerrar.

  2. Habilita crash dumps automáticos:

    Windows Registry → HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting

    Así podrás abrir el dump con WinDbg.

💡 Tip práctico: Si quieres algo rápido sin WinDbg, puedes usar x64dbg (free, open source) para attach al juego, ejecutar y ver exactamente dónde falla.

Si quieres, puedo hacer una guía concreta paso a paso con x64dbg para abrir el binario del juego y capturar el crash, lista para principiantes en depuración de juegos en Windows.

¿Quieres que haga eso?

When a game closes by itself in Windows 10 with no error message, you can debug it by checking logs, system resources, and drivers. Here’s a step-by-step troubleshooting + debugging method:

✅ 1. Check Windows Event Viewer (Crash Logs)

  1. Press Win + R

  2. Type: eventvwr.msc

  3. Go to:

    Windows Logs → Application

  4. Look for Error entries around the time of the crash (usually Application Error).

Common faulting modules:

Module Meaning
nvlddmkm.dll NVIDIA driver crash
atidxx64.dll AMD GPU driver crash
d3d11.dll / dxgi.dll DirectX crash
ucrtbase.dll VC++ runtime crash
ntdll.dll Windows internal error

Tell me what you find there if you want help reading it.

✅ 2. Run the game with Debug Logging

Some games support launch options like:

  • -log
  • -debug
  • -d3d11 / -dx12

You can also enable Windows crash logs:

  1. Search Windows Reliability Monitor
  2. See game crash history
  3. Click View Technical Details

✅ 3. Update / Reinstall Graphics Drivers

For NVIDIA:

Download from NVIDIA → Clean Install
(Optional) Use DDU in Safe Mode

For AMD:

Use AMD Cleanup Utility + latest driver

✅ 4. Check Missing Runtime Libraries

Install/reinstall:

Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables

https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x86.exe

DirectX Runtimes

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109

.NET Framework

Windows Update usually installs this.

✅ 5. Check GPU / CPU / RAM Health

GPU / CPU Temps

Use MSI Afterburner / HWInfo

  • GPU should be < 85°C
  • CPU < 90°C

RAM Test

Run:

mdsched.exe

✅ 6. Disable Overlays & Background Apps

Turn off:

  • Discord overlay
  • Steam overlay
  • Xbox Game Bar
  • MSI Afterburner OSD
  • GeForce Experience overlay

✅ 7. Try Compatibility / Admin Mode

Right-click game EXE → Properties:

  • Run as administrator
  • Disable fullscreen optimizations
  • Compatibility mode Windows 7/8 (only sometimes helps)

✅ 8. Check Game Folder Integrity

Steam:

Steam → Game → Properties → Verify Integrity of Files

Epic:

Library → three dots → Verify

✅ 9. Memory Leak / VRAM Debug

Open Task Manager → Performance Tab

Watch:

  • GPU memory usage
  • CPU usage
  • RAM usage

If a resource spikes then game dies → that’s your culprit.

✅ If It Still Crashes — Advanced Debugging

Windows Debugging Tools

Install:

Windows SDK → Debugging Tools for Windows

Run:

WinDbg (Preview)

Load crash dump from:

C:\Windows\Minidump

If you want, tell me the game’s crash .dmp file results and I’ll interpret them.

✅ Tell me what info you want to provide:

Reply with any of these:

⬜ Event Viewer error text

⬜ Reliability Monitor details

⬜ GPU / CPU temps

⬜ Game name & launcher (Steam/Epic/etc.)

⬜ Specs (CPU, GPU, RAM)

⬜ Crash dump file (I’ll help read it)

If you want, I can give you:

  • WinDbg command guide
  • A script to monitor real-time crash logs
  • Anti-cheat crash troubleshooting (Valorant, Apex, CS2, etc.)

Want to start with the Event Viewer crash logs? Paste them here 👇

Richard Burns Rally (RBR) is very old (2004) and often crashes on Windows 10 due to graphics + compatibility issues and modern mod loaders (RBRCIT / RBR Pro / RallySimFans).

Here’s a clean step-by-step way to debug + fix crashes.

✅ 1. Check if you’re running modded or original

Which one are you using?

Version Notes
Original CD/digital Runs with fixes
RallySimFans Mod Very stable if installed correctly
RBRPro Can be unstable
RBRCIT + plugins Depends on DLL plugins

Tell me which version you’re using — fixes differ.

✅ 2. Enable Logs

📂 RBR log location

Check for crash logs in:

Richard Burns Rally\RichardBurnsRally.ini

Enable logging by adding:

LOG = 1

Then check RichardBurnsRally.log after crash.

✅ 3. Check Event Viewer

Find crashing module:

  1. Win + R → eventvwr.msc
  2. Windows Logs → Application
  3. Look for “RichardBurnsRally_SSE.exe” error

Common fault modules:

Faulting DLL Meaning
d3d9.dll DX9 wrapper / graphics plugin crash
dinput.dll Input plugin crash
mss32.dll Audio engine crash
nvd3dum.dll / atidxx64.dll GPU driver crash

Paste the event error here and I’ll read it.

✅ 4. Install Required RBR Fixes

DirectX 9 Legacy

Install DirectX June 2010 runtime: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109

Microsoft Visual C++ Runtimes

Install:

  • 2005 → 2022 x86 and x64

Run as Administrator + Disable Fullscreen Optimizations

Right-click → Properties → Compatibility:

✔ Run as admin ✔ Disable fullscreen optimizations

(Optional) set to Windows XP SP3

✅ 5. GPU Compatibility

NVIDIA users

  • Enable NVIDIA Control Panel → Power Management = Prefer maximum performance
  • Disable DSR
  • Do not force Antialiasing

AMD users

  • Disable Radeon Anti-Lag
  • Disable Radeon Boost
  • Disable Enhanced Sync

✅ 6. Common Fixes for Crashes

✔ d3d9 wrapper (essential)

Download dgVoodoo2 and place these in game folder:

d3d8.dll
d3d9.dll
D3DImm.dll
DDraw.dll

Configure:

  • API = DirectX 11
  • VRAM = 256MB–512MB

RBR is very picky; this fix alone stops 90% crashes.

✔ Audio Crash Fix

Copy mss32.dll from a known working RBR installation or reinstall sound drivers.

✔ Plugin / DLL problems

Trouble mods/plugins? Rename plugin folder:

Richard Burns Rally\Plugins → Plugins.off

Test game — if works, a plugin is crashing it.

✅ 7. Modern Community Installer (best long-term)

If you want the best stability:

Installer Link
RallySimFans RBR https://rallysimfans.hu/rbr/index.php

RSF RBR fixes almost all compatibility issues automatically.

✅ 8. Memory / Run Windowed to Debug

Add to RichardBurnsRally.ini:

FULLSCREEN=0

Also cap framerate (60 or 90) — unlimited FPS crashes physics sometimes.

✅ Tell me what to send me to diagnose it

Reply with:

  • Event Viewer crash info
  • Whether you use mods (which?)
  • GPU, CPU, RAM
  • If you use Intel, AMD, or Nvidia graphics
  • Your RichardBurnsRally.log if exists

You paste, I read it 👍

Want me to guide you through opening Event Viewer and reading the crash entry step-by-step?