Re: [edk2-devel] Help with debugging

["Ethin Probst" <harlydavidsen@gmail.com>]

Okay, so I just tried exactly what you told me to do -- use
CpuDeadLoop() and then just modify index to get out of it. Here's what
I do in GDB:
- Load the EFI application and connect via target remote :1234
- type `add-symbol-file Build/MdeModule/DEBUG_GCC5/X64/UsbAudio.debug
0x0007E4B8000` and answer yes when it prompts me to do so.
(0x0007E4B8000 is the image base, the entry point is at
0x0007E4B9440.)
- When I try to print the Index symbol, GDB tells me that it isn't in
the current context.
I feel like I'm missing something. I'm also not the best with GDB myself. :)

On 6/11/21, Andrew Fish <afish@apple.com> wrote:
>
>
>> On Jun 11, 2021, at 11:39 AM, Ethin Probst <harlydavidsen@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Andrew,
>> How do you debug the EFI binary with LLDB? Can LLDB use GDB stubs or
>> does that work differently?
>>
>
> Ethin,
>
> Lldb is the command line debugger that comes with Xcode on Mac. There is no
> gdb with Xcode, so I have to use lldb for my day job.
>
> Lldb can speak the gdb remote serial protocol: lldb -o “gdb-remote 9000”
> That assumes you passed `-gdb tcp::9000`to QEMU.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew Fish
>
>> On 6/11/21, Andrew Fish <afish@apple.com <mailto:afish@apple.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> On Jun 11, 2021, at 10:06 AM, Ethin Probst <harlydavidsen@gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hey all,
>>>>
>>>> So Leif and I have discussed this at length but I thought I'd reach
>>>> out to all of you for more help.
>>>>
>>>> I'm having a lot of trouble debugging my UEFI app. Here's how I do
>>>> things:
>>>>
>>>> - I load the app using uefi-run
>>>> (https://github.com/Richard-W/uefi-run) like this (from the main EDK
>>>> II directory): uefi-run -b Build/OvmfX64/DEBUG_GCC5/FV/OVMF.fd
>>>> Build/OvmfX64/DEBUG_GCC5/X64/Shell.efi -- -M q35 -m 24G -usb -device
>>>> qemu-xhci -device usb-audio,audiodev=audio -audiodev alsa,id=audio -s
>>>> -debugcon file:../debug.log -global isa-debugcon.iobase=0x402
>>>> -nographic
>>>> Or:
>>>> uefi-run -b Build/OvmfX64/DEBUG_GCC5/FV/OVMF.fd
>>>> Build/OvmfX64/DEBUG_GCC5/X64/Shell.efi -- -M q35 -m 24G -usb -device
>>>> qemu-xhci -device usb-audio,audiodev=audio -audiodev alsa,id=audio -s
>>>> -debugcon stdio -global isa-debugcon.iobase=0x402
>>>> - I connect to the remote GDB stub (localhost:1234) and wait until
>>>> OVMF gives me the image base. Then I use:
>>>> add-symbol-file UsbAudio.debug <image base>
>>>> Here's where everything breaks down. One of two things happens at this
>>>> point:
>>>> 1. Either I get the wrong debug information (I get source code but the
>>>> image isn't loaded anymore), and resetting the system and placing a
>>>> breakpoint (either software or hardware) has no effect; or
>>>> 2. If I use CpuBreakpoint(), the firmware gives me the registers and
>>>> the image base and entry point addresses, and then appears to just sit
>>>> there waiting for something. Once I load the symbols using the image
>>>> base it gives me, I can't actually do anything in the debugger; I
>>>> can't list code because I get "1 in <artificial>", I can't jump into
>>>> my code without triggering a general protection exception or not
>>>> actually causing anything to happen... You get the idea.
>>>>
>>>> So I'm really, really confused on what's going wrong. Do you guys have
>>>> any advice?
>>>
>>> Ethin,
>>>
>>> Caveat emptor as I use lldb for my daily driver debugger so I might be a
>>> little off on gdb specifics…. Also my terminology may be lldb centric.
>>>
>>> Easy one 1st. When you run on top of a debugger using CpuBreakpoint()
>>> works
>>> great as the debugger hides its self from you. On x86 CpuBreakpoint() is
>>> an
>>> INT 3h instruction (0xCC) and it causes an exception 3. If you don’t have
>>> a
>>> debugger hooked in underneath  the exception 3 is going to get handled
>>> in
>>> the unexpected exception handler, and that is probably in the CPUD DXE
>>> driver or DXE Core or some such. So you are going to end up with the
>>> PC/IP/RIP in the wrong driver. A lot of times for hardware debuggers it
>>> works better to use CpuDeadLoop(). The gdb-remote stub from QEMU acts a
>>> lot
>>> more like a JTAG hardware debugger than a pure software debugger. Also
>>> note
>>> that CpuDeadLoop() is an infinite loop, so you can modify the loop
>>> variable
>>> with the debugger to continue.
>>>
>>> I’d suggest a work flow of run your App/Driver, hit the CpuDeadLoop(),
>>> attach gdb. Now after you have the target established load the symbols.
>>> The
>>> reason for me suggesting this flow is the debugger has a flexible concept
>>> of
>>> what the target is. If you load symbols that will create a target for a
>>> stock x86-64 image. When you connect to the QEMU gdb-remote there is a
>>> handshake that describes the target and what registers are available. I
>>> seem
>>> to remember QEMU exports some of the system registers, like the control
>>> registers, so it is an extended version of the x86-64 target. So this
>>> changing the target definition might confuse the debugger. To be safe I
>>> always connect 1st and then load symbols.
>>>
>>> The EFI images are PE/COFF relocatable executables that are linked
>>> around
>>> zero. They get loaded into memory and relocated, so that is why you need
>>> to
>>> specify the load address to get the symbols to resolve. One trick I use
>>> is
>>> to load the ELF (or PE/COFF) build output directly into the debugger.
>>> This
>>> lets you poke around the image at the linked address. You can
>>> disassemble
>>> the functions to see what they look like, obviously you can read any
>>> variables. This can be useful if you get the unhandled exception and it
>>> prints out the load address and offset (you can use the offset directly).
>>> It
>>> is also a good way to debug why your symbols are not quite loaded at the
>>> correct address, as you can see what bytes/instructions should be at a
>>> given
>>> address.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Andrew Fish
>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Signed,
>>>> Ethin D. Probst
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Signed,
>> Ethin D. Probst
>>
>>
>> 
>
>


-- 
Signed,
Ethin D. Probst