Debugging in Dosbox

[Aureustgo]

I am running IDA pro and wish to debug master.exe running in dosbox. Is there a way to do this? The local debugger doesn't seem to detect the program, and I don't think remote debugger would work either, as dosbox is not considered a remote computer (with it's own ip address etc).

Alternatively I could use the dosbox debugger tool. But would prefer to stay in IDA pro if possible.

Any help would be most appreciated! Thanks!

[I like Serena]

I tried a couple of methods.
IDA does not appear to support debugging, so you won't be able to stay in IDA itself.
Best I could find is the debugger built into dosbox itself, when compiled with the proper flags.
Tip: In my Real-Time Game Tweaker I show a number of the dos addresses and I've incorporated the beginning of an address calculator to map the addresses.

[kyrub]

I have no idea about how to debug in IDA. Neither I use debug tool for Dosbox, although I guess it could help me a great bit.
So I cannot help you more with this, Aureus - ask ILSe for details with Dosbox, if necessary.

[Aureustgo]

I have no idea about how to debug in IDA. Neither I use debug tool for Dosbox, although I guess it could help me a great bit.
So I cannot help you more with this, Aureus - ask ILSe for details with Dosbox, if necessary.

ILS - do you have a link to your program? I think IDA does local and remote debugging but I don't think dosbox fits into either category.

Kyrub - I am versed in assembly, but attempting to pinpoint AI routines is almost impossible without a debugger or some other aid. Let me know if you have any tools that might help [or even just a spreadsheet that delineates the segments of code dedicated to certain basic functions: spell casting, AI movement, etc.].

Thanks!

For the most part I am very happy with the changes I've already made, but some slight adjustments to the AI [some of which you've already done] would be nice.

[I like Serena]

ILS - do you have a link to your program? I think IDA does local and remote debugging but I don't think dosbox fits into either category.

So you must have a newer version of IDA than I have, since I could not find any debugging facilities.

You can find a link to my Tweaker in the top post of this thread:
http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/showt...php?t=4205

In the same place you can also find the IDA database that I got from Kyrub, which I extended with a lot of extra definitions.

You can find an old discussion between Kyrub and me about debuggers in his visitor messages, which you can see here:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/se...en&ct=clnk


If you google "dosbox debugger", the first hit describes how to set up the dosbox internal debugger and how to use it, which is here:
http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=3944

If you're interested, I guess I can give you a few pointers on how to use it.

[Asfex]

Thanks Kyrub and IlSe for IDa database,its very handfull.
However,i use different debuger.
Do anybody help:how to move the function names from ida database to the new patch of the same disassembled program?

[Aureustgo]

Thanks ILS. I do have a more updated version of IDA Pro. I think 5.5, while you have 5.2 (I'm guessing).

The IDA database isn't immediately helpful as the program is now a lot longer (Kyrub has added a lot of code). I'll have to dig around to see how it maps to the original exe.

[I like Serena]

I really do not understand what you mean.
IDA has various import and export facilities...

[SDragon]

Hey all, back from a 6-8 month hiatus. Yea, it's been a while. ;o

kyrub, I'll read your message when they fix the database issue, but glad to see you're still around and kicking.

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I've been disassembling another program and basically used the DosBOX debugger to 'log #####' the set of instructions that I'm interested in. Once you have the log file, you can use notepad++ to find a unique set of instructions that you can search for in IDA. It's a bit tedious but once you get the hang of it it won't take long and then you can spend the rest of the time debugging the actual program in IDA.

[Asfex]

I really do not understand what you mean.
IDA has various import and export facilities...

i just try to move names and comments from ida database to the latest ( k ) patch (and disasemble it). I form .idc file and try to implement it to the latest patch(via 'ida.exe -c'), and get error in the middle of the process.
Do i completely wrong?can i use .IDC for it at all?