DOCUMENT:Q198707 19-MAY-2000 [sms] TITLE :SMS: Dependency Walker for Win32 (Depends.exe) PRODUCT :Microsoft Systems Management Server PROD/VER:winnt:2.0 OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS:kbtool ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Systems Management Server version 2.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY ======= This article describes the Depends.exe tool that is included with Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit Supplement 3 and later. You can use this tool to assist in diagnosing problems with a particular .dll or .exe file. MORE INFORMATION ================ Dependency Walker for Win32 (Depends.exe) is a diagnostic tool that that you can use to determine which 32-bit program files are required to run a particular program or load a particular dynamic-link library (DLL). The Depends.exe features include: - The minimum set of files required to run a particular program or load a particular DLL. - Why a certain module is being loaded with a particular program. - The complete path for all the modules being loaded for a particular program. - The base addresses of each module being loaded. - The version of the file and/or computer type that it was created for. Dependency Walker recursively scans all dependent modules required by a particular program. During this scan it performs the following tasks: - Detects missing files. These are files that are required as a dependency to another module. A symptom of this problem is the "The dynamic link library Bar.dll could not be found in the specified path..." error message. - Detects invalid files. This includes files that are not Win32 compliant and files that are corrupted. A symptom of this problem is the "The program or DLL Bar.exe is not a valid Windows image" error message. - Detects import/export mismatches. The tool verifies that all functions imported to a module are actually exported from the dependent modules. All unresolved import functions are flagged with an error message. A symptom of this problem is the "The procedure entry point Name could not be located in the dynamic link library Bar.dll" error message. - Detects circular dependency errors. This is a very rare error, but it can occur with forwarded functions. - Detects mismatched computer module types. This occurs if a module built for one type of computer tries to load a module built for a different type of computer. You can run this tool from a command prompt or from within Windows. The syntax of the command is: depends.exe Additional query words: prodsms smstools ====================================================================== Keywords : kbtool Technology : kbSMSSearch kbSMS200 Version : winnt:2.0 Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY. Copyright Microsoft Corporation 2000.