DOSBox-X crashes before debug

[tigrouind]

If I try the following, DOSBox-X will crash (and sometimes IDA as well) :

I mount C and D drives manually (using the GUI) and then start c:\infogram\indark\indark.exe by typing appropriate commands. After pressing F5, DOSBox-X debugger will go to entry point of indark.exe and IDA 7.5 will point same location (as expected). Anyway, after pressing F5 again, they always crash.

I have been using previous IDA DOSBox plugin (for IDA 6.8) for years but I can't get this new version to work.
Before, I would just drop a batch file with the following content to dosboxIDA.exe and then press play in IDA.

imgmount d "ISO/AITD.cue" -t iso
cd infogram
cd indark
debug indark

Here is what happen with this new version : DOSBox-X try to debug imgmount, because it set window title to "MOUNT DEBUGGER". If I press F5 (to continue) it just crashes. I have tried without the "debug" command in the batch file, it crash as well.

OS information :

• Windows 10 21H1 64 bit
• IDA 7.5 32-bit (with loaders and plugins from dsbxida_75.7z)
• DOSBox-X x86 0.83.13 (from dsbxida_75.7z)

[lab313ru]

Hello,

As I understand, it's Alone in the Dark? I'll try to fix that. The variant, where it stops at the entry point is correct way to start exe if it requires mounting something.

[tigrouind]

That's right.
You can find that game on Abandonware France (take the CD-ROM version, not floppy).

[tigrouind]

Here is some update : I found out that it only crash at some point (not right after debugger is attached). More precisely, it happen when the game initialize sound card. Disabling sound card (eg: using game setup) allow me to run the game under debugger.

Anyway, the following does not work correctly (compared to IDA 6.8):

• Setting a breakpoint require to pause the program before (otherwise it is never hit)
• If I double click on a function when debugger is active (eg: a breakpoint has been hit), IDA will end up at wrong place, inside a data segment. The only way to view code inside a function when debugger is active is to execute code step by step and enter function. If debugger is not active, double clicking on a function works perfectly.

[hellquister]

Same issue, any command runs debugger after launch.

Cannot not finish build from sources for IDA 7.7

• mismatched type for function
• duplicated definition for standard types (int e.t.c)
• and strange linker errors in VS2017:

If I use prev version (8.12) - it does not start debug just blinking cursor (debug <my.exe>) - if I try to attach IDA, it just stucks at dialog

And the big gap is missed manual on how to connect your version and IDA.

Man, is it working somehow? You said on forums that old version (another author) is a mess but it still working for 6.8, with bugs, but it is working.

[lab313ru]

Hi,

Unfortunately I don't have a time to anyhow support or even update this thing. Every particular case depends on many things (especially - a debuggable software files).

Most IDA versions are incompatible between each other, and even a minor version change can be a huge pain in ... to update the plugin code.