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debuggingvisual-studio-2010visual-studio-debuggingdebug-symbolspdb-files

Visual Studio debug symbol file (.pdb) default search locations

I'm storing some artifacts, and I have .lib files and .dll files in separate subdirectories. Are .pdb files searched for based on the startup directory (like .dll files) or are they searched for based on the link directory (i.e. the location of the corresponding .lib)?

I know I can specify the search paths, but I'm interested in the default Visual Studio 2010 behavior.

Edit: Doh, this has been indirectly asked and answered before, and I didn't find the question on my initial search.

While remote debugging how are the pdb located (VS 2008)

Solution

  • As you know, when the debugger starts a session, it begins to search for the location where PDB are located. The following article describes the mechanism and the search order of the process.