Setting up Dr. Watson TechNote

Setting Up Dr. Watson for MicroStation V8/J/SE and MicroStation 95 on Windows 2000/NT

These instructions should be followed by the User for random processor exception errors. Random exception errors are usually memory faults somewhere in the Operating System and/or inside the MicroStation source. The Dr. Watson debug log will help development determine where the exception is occurring. These instructions must be followed for a valid Dr. Watson log.

For NT:

• Go to the Administrative Tools group and run the Event Viewer.
• In the Event Viewer select the LOG pull down menu.
• Select "LOG SETTINGS" and set the Maximum Log Size to 1024.
• Check off "overwrite events as needed".

For Windows 2000

• Go to the Administrative Tools group and run the Event Viewer.
• In the Event Viewer, make sure no specific events are selected, then go to the ACTION pull down menu and choose PROPERTIES.
• Set the Maximum Log Size to 1024.
• Check off "overwrite events as needed".

Go to the %WINDIR%/ directory and look for a file called DRWTSN32.LOG, if exist, delete this file.
Go to the %WINDIR%/system32/ directory and run the DRWTSN32.EXE.

Make the following changes to the Dr. Watson Interface:

• Set the Number of Instructions to 50.
• Set the Number of Errors to Save to 100.
• Under the Options, toggle on Dump Symbol Table, Dump All Thread Counts, and Append to Existing Log File.
• Turn on "Create Crash Dump File". The name of the file is usually "user.dmp" and the path to it is usually the same as the path to the "drwtsn32.log". "User.dmp" files are typically large but compressible.
• Turn off the remaining options.
• Hit the CLEAR button. (Then you can close Dr Watson).

Go to a DOS Command Prompt. Set the following variable: type in, SET MS_TRAP=NONE.

From a DOS Command Prompt:

• MicroStation V8 directory, i.e. C:\Program files\Bentley\Program\MicroStation\..) start MicroStation by running the following command: type in, START USTATION.EXE
• MicroStation J directory, i.e. C:\Bentley\Program\MicroStation\..) start MicroStation by running the following command: type in, START USTATION.EXE
• MicroStation 95/SE directory, i.e. C:\win32app\ustation\..) start MicroStation by running the following command: type in, START USTATION.EXE

Note: Upon starting MicroStation you should see a MicroStation Text Window with the message MS_TRAP set to NONE.

In MicroStation reproduce the application exception error. After the error occurs check the default Windows directory, %WINDIR%, for a DRWTSN32.LOG file and a USER.DMP file. For MicroStation V8 check the …program files\Bentley\program\microstation\tmp directory for an exception.log file. Zip up and Email all three files to support@bentley.com. This will help us determine where the failure is occurring. You might have to try these steps several times to get the log file. In the email include the following information:

• The complete version of MicroStation you're running, (go to the Help pull-down in MicroStation and select About MicroStation), this will give you the full version. You can also get the full version from the Readme.txt file in the %ustation% directory.
• The complete version of any MicroStation Engineering Configurations or third party programs running within MicroStation.
• What operating system you're running, i.e. NT 3.51, NT 4.0 etc. Also note if any Service Packs are installed. To get the OS version, open the OS control panel, Start > Settings > Control Panel. Under the Help Pulldown menu select About %OS%.
• Keep a record of when the exception error occurs, a list of the IP numbers and what function/tool was being used, and what design file you were in when the system crashed.

Note: The IP number is case sensitive - copy it down exactly as it appears.

Sometimes MicroStation can simply hang instead of giving a processor exception error message. In this instance, there is still a way to create a Dr Watson log. If MicroStation is hanging at anytime so that the task manager lists it as "not responding", follow these instructions for creating a Dr Watson log and a user.dmp.

1. Configure the Dr Watson executable per the instructions above.
2. Next, recreate the hang. DO NOT end the task.
3. Go to Windows Task Manager > Process Tab, to find the process id (PID) of the hung ustation.exe process.
4. Open a Command Prompt window (Start > Run, type CMD and push Enter) and enter this command: drwtsn32.exe -p [PID] If, for instance, the PID of the hung ustation.exe is 3520, the command would be: drwtsn32.exe -p 3520.
5. Dr. Watson should then produce a drwtn32.log and user.dmp file. They should be in the same folder as the drwtsn32.exe.

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