Dr. Watson - Older, Wiser, More Apologetic

[Jon Westfall]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,10311' target='_blank'>http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/a...on=expand,10311</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Remember the Doctor Watson on Windows NT 4.0? The famous doctor has morphed in to Windows Error Reporting, and now the same technology is present on your Windows Mobile 5.0 based devices to track and report the errors. Unlike its desktop cousin, the Windows Mobile version of Error Reporting is turned off by default. Recently I turned on the Error Reporting functionality on my Smartphone and here is a quick look at what you can expect from this feature."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Kris-Feb06-ER1.jpg" /><br /><br />Kris over at SPT has put together a nice quick look on what exactly Error Reporting does in WM 5. The feature is disabled by default, but Kris recommends enabling it - after all, why not let Microsoft tell you it's sorry and get that warm fuzzy "I'm helping remove bugs" feeling when your device crashes?

[ctitanic]

The status of the error reporting feature depends on what OEM wants. In Axim x51v this feature comes ON by default and it slows down the device a lot. Just think about. All processes in your devices, every single program that you open are debuged by this feature. Add to this that many programs still not tested fully in WM5 and still have problems so this "error reporting feature" is triggered more often than what would be normal. The concept is good but the implementation is very poor.

So I disabled it since the first minute I turn it ON my x51v for the first time and believe me.... I noticed the huge difference in performance.

So I disagree in this case... My recommendation is to turn it OFF. If Microsoft wants a feed back all they need is to visit these forums more often ;)

[Ward]

I'll do MS's beta testing when they pay me for it. :)

[jalex]

OMG, I just read this article, ran over to my TORQ P120, turned off error reporting and it's like a whole new device! What a difference!

I couldn't agree more, when Bill Gates sends me a check, I'll turn error reporting back on and not a second before then.

[andyb]

What do you mean "when they start paying you"! Didn't you read the screenshot - "Please tell Microsoft about this problem, at no cost to you". Don't you realise it is through their generosity that you are even allowed this opportunity to submit bug reports :wink:

[gt24]

&lt;snip>
"Please tell Microsoft about this problem, at no cost to you". Don't you realise it is through their generosity that you are even allowed this opportunity to submit bug reports :wink:

Apparently, decreased performance isn't a "cost", it is a "feature" of bug reporting. :lol:

Seriously though... application crashes, I contact the application developer, and they work on debugging it. I'm sure that the developer would yell and scream at Microsoft if they found out that their bug was caused by an OS bug... or at least they would try to...

[PPCWanderer]

Does anyone have the X50v with WM5 installed? Maybe this 'feature' is the cause of the slow functioning that most of us have been experiencing. I don't have WM5 installed myself(rolled-back) or I would test.

[Darius Wey]

Does anyone have the X50v with WM5 installed? Maybe this 'feature' is the cause of the slow functioning that most of us have been experiencing. I don't have WM5 installed myself(rolled-back) or I would test.

A feeling of slowness is relative, so I'm not sure if my comments will help. But I've tried running the X50v (Windows Mobile 5.0) with error reporting disabled, and it seems okay - not fast, yet not too slow.

[joshbu [msft]]

Windows Error Reporting (aka. Watson) does not "debug" applications as it runs.

There are two parts to Watson, and neither runs at all, ever, unless something abnormal happens (called an exception.) Exceptions are bad. Generally, it means the CPU has been given an instruction that for some reason, it cannot execute. Sometimes apps can handle exceptions, but sometimes they don’t handle them and then it gets back to the OS.

The first part of Watson is the bit that runs right after the exception gets to the OS. It’s a replacement for the bit that normally would run on an exception telling you that your app did something bad and needs to be shut down. It captures the state of the CPU, and grabs the bit of memory the CPU was working on and writes it into a very small, special section of flash. (Only a few K.) This part should always be able to run.

The second part of Watson is a process that tries to upload the error report. This part may or may not be able to run, depending on how bad the error was. If it can't run, on the next boot, the error report will be detected in the flash, and uploaded then.
Both of these parts only run when an exception happens, and once their job is finished, they terminate.

As far as its usefulness, Watson is super important. We look at these reports very carefully, and we can usually deduce from a very small report what went wrong. I can't make you enable Error Reporting, but I can tell you that if you do, you're helping to make Windows Mobile better. For real.