gdb - Cannot find new threads: generic error

Hi, I'm using gdb 6.6 on a 2.6.20 kernel gentoo installation. I get this generic error when I try to run my c++ program (built with gcc 4.1.1-r3) and I'm not sure how to proceed to figure out what is going on. Any sugggestions would be welcome.

Have you
1 made sure you've installed a version of GDB with thread support?
2 if you are what version of the kernel are you running, has it or GDB got a compatabillity problems? Check notes, this is usually the case with this error. There are know errors with some 2.6's and GDB
3 Have you tried with a front end? DDD or insight. Incase you are not running a needed feature? Look for thread support in drop down boxes on these two.
4. This problem can also arise if you build your own kernel and set things up wrong?

Hi, thanks for the suggestions...

I have thread support built in to gdb and it works. I tried debugging a different program and it worked fine. I'm just using gdb, no gui wrapper.

The errata list for 6.6 doesn't mention anything about having a problem with 2.6.20 kernels. Is there canonical source for capturing all errata for past revs or is browsing the separate lists required? How do we know when issues are fixed. Is the mailing lists and the archives the most complete and easiest to use resource for this kind of info?

I did build this kernel myself, I guess I could have done something to cause this but I have no reason to suspect any particular option. All I did was choose various options with menuconfig and build. I didn't modify the kernel source. A further complication is that this set up is running as a virtual machine in a vmware session.

I think I need to learn how to debug gdb itself.

this generic error seems to occur in many applications that use "stealth threads" - e.g. GdkPixbuf, libxml2, or other libraries. pkg-config for some/all of these libraries do not include "-pthread" as a dependency. The program will run, but seriously hangs the system when you try to debug it. The solution is to include "-pthread" in LDFLAGS in your Makefile for the application. The problem remains in gdb-7.1, since it isn't really a gdb problem, although gdb probably should die more gracefully! This workaround was found in this thread from opensuse: http://forums.opensuse.org/english/d...plication.html. My application is unrelated to theirs, but the same fix worked.