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The application is in break mode. your app has entered a break state,

I found myself in this same problem than here, I'm using windows forms in a dll (this is for an Autocad plug-in) and I cannot debug my code because I receive "The application is in break mode. your app has entered a break state, but no code is currently executing that is supported by the selected debug engine". I have tried every recommendation in this list and none worked for me. One odd thing was that I can break in the constructor but the events that use a controller/config object get that page.
Any ideas why this may be happening?
thanks in advance

In my case, I was receiving this same message when calling an MVC API endpoint, and it was also throwing a stack overflow exception. The cause was an object property in an external dll which was written with a backing field. The set accessor of the property was accidentally written to set the property and not the backing field which caused an infinite loop, hence the stack overflow exception. Note the missing underscore in the setter.
private string _Prefix;
public string Prefix
{
get { return _Prefix; }
set { Prefix = value; }
}
Though your issue may not be exactly as mine, something similar is occurring in an external dll.

Restarting visual studio solve this for me.

I've never worked with Autocad but I've made a few plugins for Solidworks and for Creo Parametrics. Here what I usually do when my breakpoint is not working:
Make sure that on build tab of project settings
DEBUG constant is on
Debug info set to full
Optimized code is off
To the code in question add System.Diagnostics.Trace.WriteLine("something unique"); and run it without visual studio attached to make sure your code is actually being called. Check with DebugView utility from sys internals.
Make sure right copy of your dll is loaded :
Run your solution from visual studio as you usually do
Check if you are attached to the right process.
Do actions in Autocad that trigger your code.
Click on Break All button in Debug toolbar in VS
Open Debug->Windows->Modules window and make sure that your dll is present in the list, path is correct and there's pdb file for your dll right next to it.
Add calls to
System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Launch(); and
System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Break(); to your code.
Hope this helps, let me know if you need clarifications for any of the steps.

I have this problem on my Visual Studio 2017 15.8.6.
Maybe my code setting is "Allow unsafe code", but it has the same error code.
The solution is click Tool > Options > Debugging > General > Use Managed Compatibility Mode and activate it.
I found the solution from this forum.

For me, the solution was to install the Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Core NuGet package only. I had Oracle.ManagedDataAccess installed as well and I needed to uninstall them to fix the Break mode error.

I also had the same issue. After doing some analysis found out that some of the dependent projects were not built properly. Rebuilding all the dependent projects worked for me.

Error while trying to edit code in debugging mode in VS2013

I'm a C# programmer and recently I've installed Visual Studio 2013. The problem is when i set a break point or get an error and trying to edit the codes while debugging I get this error and I couldn't find the same error searching on Google.
Changes are not allowed for this module as it was not built for
changes while debugging or the target .NET runtime version does not
support it
I also tried to check the options on Tools -> Options -> Debugging -> Edit and Continue, But didn't help.
Any idea what the problem is?

To edit a C# program while you're running it in Visual Studio 2013:
Go to Project, Properties, Build.
Set Platform target: x86
Disable "Optimize code"
Set Advanced, Debug Info: Full

I came across the same issue and found that "solution configuration" on the top bar was changed to Release from Debug,because I build the last version into Release folder.Changing back to Debug mode will solve the issue.

The code your probably modifying is included in the exception. Since, your code is not posted here, I can't say. So please refer to this link and check whether it is really not allowed.

We just had the same issue in Visual Studio 2013 and in our case it was because we had disabled the Visual Studio Hosting Process on the Debug tab in Project Settings.

You can try
Right click 'Solution' in the Solution Explorer.
Select Properties.
Choose Configuration Properties from the left menu.
Select 'Debug' from the dropdown list in the upper-left corner labeled 'Configuration:'.

I just had the same problem and found a solution that worked for me right here after trying 100 other things:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/12543388/5367013
1.) execute VsPerfCLREnv /globaloff
2.) reboot your computer

In a Web Forms application, I initially received the "Changes are not allowed for this module as it was not built for changes while debugging or the target .NET runtime version does not support it" error message. Based on suggestions above I completed the following:
Right click the project name, just under the Solution name in Solution Explorer and select Properties, the "Build" tab
Set Platform target: x86 (Note, for me this was already set)
Disable "Optimize code"
Click the “Advanced” button (near bottom) and set, Debug Info: Full
I tried to modify code, but then I received the "Edit and Continue" window stating "Changes are not allowed while code is running."
Here was the important part: I can only make changes while stopped at a breakpoint. If the page is loaded, I get that same "Changes are not allowed..." message. So set a breakpoint to a line above where you need to make the change, complete the update and you should be set.
Or (as I subsequently discovered) another way to modify code without using a breakpoint is to click in Visual Studio "Debug/Break All" (Ctrl+Alt+Break), make your change and then press F5 or click the "Continue" button. (Using this method you will might need a page refresh to see the mods.)

It worked for me by unchecking "Enable optimizations" option.
Please refer below image for more info.

Visual Studio 2012 won't let me debug

I can't seem to be able to debug. When I try to, I don't get any build errors, and the layout changes to debug mode, but the windows never pops up. I have an orange bar at the bottom of VS, which I think is standard, but nothing happens after that. It's not just in the project I'm working on. I have started a new WFA and tried to debug without adding any code and the same thing happens. Anybody have similar issues?

I've encountered this before. Not sure what causes it, but generally it is one of a couple of things to fix it.
make sure you are building in debug and not release
close VS, go to the project's dir and delete the obj and bin directories. Reopen in VS and rebuild.
there is an option under tools - options - build (iirc) that allows for checking if source is same as code file. However, you should see a message in output window if this is the case.
on the project properties in the build (iirc) you can throttle the pdb file from full debug symbols to no pdb at all. If you are not the only person on the project check this setting still has full pdb enabled (low probability this got changed though)
make sure you're on the right platform that you are building to (x64 vs x32)
...lots more, but a starting place...
Addendum as per comment...
So, those messages are good. It is saying there are no problems (but it sounds like you already know that :) ). I would start with the general debug options you mention. Do this on a hello world app. That way you can troubleshoot the lowest common first. Here are my settings. Try to match them and see if that works. For example, I know "ask before deleting breakpoint" is irrelevant, but "break all processes when one process breaks" is important. So, I just added them all to make it easier to troubleshoot.
ALso, make sure you are getting a red dot here like so in your code in visual studio (I've seen instances where VS won't let you put this here):

Right click on the project
Click on the properties.
go to web.
Check the Box for Enable Edit and Continue .
Hope that helps :)

This is an issue with visual studio 2012. It doesn't ALWAYS show up. I've found that if you stop your program during debugging, or if you close the console window, this will almost always trigger.
However, letting it run to completion isn't enough either, sometimes this just happens.
Also you can build your application in debug mode, go to the output, run the program, and attach to that process. :P

Amazing answers already given but they dont help in the purpose. So here is my finding, no matter if i am late in answering, but it really works for me.
Even if you are developing a web app, just go to the website properties by right-clicking the project and then you see a "Web" tab on left as i have highlighted. Then just check the box saying "Enable Edit and Continue". Thats all you need to do. it works for me!

I had a similar problem, and solution was absolutely dumb. VS was confused with two instances of Internet Explorer in “Browse with” setting. So, I set Google Chrome (any browser) as default, and then set IE as default again. It deleted the other instance of IE (only one remained) and debugging was enabled.
Hope it help!

I had a similar issue.
I added up:
using namespace std;
and this solved the problem

For me, uninstalling the Redgate's Reflector plugin that had expired fixed it. I spent more than 4 hours uninstalling, rebooting, reverting to older code, etc etc..

When my default browser was changed to CHROME, I could no longer debug my User Interface. Setting IE back to the default browser fixed it. Alternatively you can attach the process plug-in during debug.

I had the same problem with my desktop application and as this forum says you should mark your project as a startup project, since visual studio has unmarked. It worked just fine for me an I believe it will help other people that may have this problem, since I believe you have finished this project.

One of my VB .NET Winforms projects wouldn't allow debugging.
This was due to the configuration manager set to 'Release' even though the toolbar dropdown indicated 'Debug'.
You need to select the mode dropdown and select the last option 'Configuration Manager' and ensure that the main project is set to 'Debug' and not 'Release'

Install Microsoft SSDTSetup.exe 450Kb and Close the SSDT tool during install. After installation open the SSDT tool and execute the script task and Component with breakpoint. Worked for me

try checking your output without debugging
Ctrl + F5
good luck

Cannot obtain value of local or argument as it is not available at this instruction pointer, possibly because it has been optimized away

Visual Studio 2010 kills (there is no other word) data in one of the arguments of the function in the unsafe block.
What could cause this error? The following message shows by the debugger.
Cannot obtain value of local or argument as it is not available at this instruction pointer, possibly because it has been optimized away.

Go to Project Properties and under Build Make sure that the "Optimize Code" checkbox is unchecked.
Also, set the "Debug Info" dropdown to "Full" in the Advanced Options (Under Build tab).

Also
In VS 2015 Community Edition
go to
Debug->Options or Tools->Options
and check
Debugging->General->Suppress JIT optimization on module load (Managed only)

If you compile with optimizations enabled, then many variables will be removed; for example:
SomeType value = GetValue();
DoSomething(value);
here the local variable value would typically get removed, keeping the value on the stack instead - a bit like as if you had written:
DoSomething(GetValue());
Also, if a return value isn't used at all, then it will be dropped via "pop" (rather than stored in a local via "stloc", and again; the local will not exist).
Because of this, in such a build the debugger can't get the current value of value because it doesn't exist - it only exists for the brief instant between GetValue() and DoSomething(...).
So; if you want to debug... don't use a release build! or at least, disable optimizations while you debug.

In visual Studio 2017
goto Debug->Option then check Debugging->general->
and check this option

I just ran into this and I was running under Release build configuration instead of Debug build configuration. Once I switched back to Debug my variable showed in the watch again.

For web applications there is another issue which is important and it is selecting correct configuration during application publish process.
You may build your app in debug mode, but it might happen you publish it in release mode which omptimzes code by default but IDE may mislead you since it shows debug mode while published code is in release mode.
You can see details in below snapshot:

I have faced the same issue and the solution for me is change Solution Configuration from Release to Debug. Hope it helps

When I was faced with the same problem I just had to clean my solution before rebuilding. That took care of it for me.

Regarding the problem with "Optimize code" property being UNCHECKED yet the code still compiling as optimized: What finally helped me after trying everything was checking the "Enable unmanaged code debugging" checkbox on the same settings page (Project properties - Debug). It doesn't directly relate to the code optimization, but with this enabled, VS no longer optimizes my library and I can debug.

In my case, I was working on a web api project and although the project was set correctly to full debug, I was still seeing this error every time I attached to the IIS process I was trying to debug. Then I realized the publish profile was set to use the Release configuration. So one more place to check is your publish profile if you're using the 'Publish' feature of your dotnet web api project.

I found that I had the same problem when I was running a project and debugging by attaching to an IIS process. I also was running in Debug mode with optimizations turned off. While I thought the code compiled fine, when I detached and tried to compile, one of the references was not found. This was due to another developer here that made modifications and changed the location of the reference. The reference did not show up with the alert symbol, so I thought everything was fine until I did the compilation. Once fixing the reference and running again it worked.

As an additional answer for those experiencing this issue when debugging an Azure websites' web app:
When deploying from GitHub, for example, the code is compiled in Azure server optimized by default.
I tell the server to compile in a debuggable way by setting SCM_BUILD_ARGS to /p:Configuration=Debug
but there are more options. See this:
http://azure.microsoft.com/blog/2014/05/08/introduction-to-remote-debugging-on-azure-web-sites-part-3-multi-instance-environment-and-git/

In Visual Studio 2017 or 2015:
Go to the Solution right click on solution then select Properties-> select all the Configuration-> Debug then click OK.
After that Rebuild and Run,this solution worked for me.

Had the same issue before with a WPF application and all the solutions here did NOT solve the issue. The problem was that the Module was already optimized so the previous solutions DO NOT WORKS (or are not enough to solve the issue):
"Optimize Code" checkbox un-Checked
"Suppress JIT optimization on module load" checked
Solution configuration on DEBUG
The module is still loaded Optimized. See following screenshot:
To SOLVE this issue you have to delete the optimized module. To find the optimized module path you can use a tool like Process Hacker.
Double click your program in the "Process panel" then in the new window open the tab ".NET Assemblies". Then in the column "Native image path" you find all Optimized modules paths. Locate the one you want to de-optimize and delete the folder (see screenshot below):
(I blurred my company name for obvious reasons)
Restart your application (with check box in step 1 correctly checked) and it should works.
Note: The file may be locked as it was opened by another process, try closing Visual Studio. If the file is still locked you can use a program like Lock Hunter

Check to see if you have a Debuggable attribute in your AssemblyInfo file. If there is, remove it and rebuild your solution to see if the local variables become available.
My debuggable attribute was set to: DebuggableAttribute.DebuggingModes.IgnoreSymbolStoreSequencePoints which according to this MSDN article tells the JIT compiler to use optimizations. I removed this line from my AssemblyInfo.cs file and the local variables were available.

In Visual Studio 2012:
Go to the project properties -> Debug -> Uncheck "Enable the Visual Studio hosting process"

I had the same issue. Tried all the above and found I also had to delete everything inside {PROJECT_ROOT}\bin\Release\netcoreapp2.2 and {PROJECT_ROOT}\obj\Release\netcoreapp2.2 for my project. Its definitely releated to publishing because although I use Deployment tools / bitbucket on my Azure Web App, I did try the Build >> Publish >> Publish to Azure because I wanted to inspect which files were actually deployed.

Edit and Continue is not working in VS2010

for some reason this no longer works. I ugraded the winforms solution from VS2008 to VS2010 and on new machine also Windows 7 64bit but id does not allow edit and continue
I haver set the options to enable it and to compile against 86 cpu
any ideas?

also Windows 7 64bit
Edit+Continue only works for 32-bit code. Easy fix, and the default now for VS2010 projects: Project + Properties, Build tab, Platform target = x86. You can of course leave that setting for your Release configuration at Any CPU.

try this link. quoting from it
Edit and Continue is enabled under Tools>Options>Debugging>Edit and Continue
My solution platform is set to x86
My solution configuration is set to Debug
All my projects are building for Debug and x86
For all projects under Projects>Properties>Build the Optimize code is unchecked
tools->options->unselect intellitrace events and call information

I know it's a old question... but I not found a similar answer on another question.
I was having this issue for months. I found today a solution on my PC (win7 x64):
I run VS2010 with administrator privileges (uac enabled, popup appears and I accept everytime that I run vs 2010) this is because I need a 3rd party addon to work.
It appears that running vs 2010 with admin privileges make it run on another account or something else...
I checked one setting on vs2010 that allowed me to edit and continue now again :)
this option is under:
Tools/Options/Debugging -> Edit and Continue -> check "Enable while remote debugging or debugging and aplication running under another user account"
note: vs2010 will show a warning (security related...).. I not sure how dangerous it is... but works
I hope that this solution can help someone.

In my situation, someone added a Reference to the Project's output into the Reference list: in Solution Explorer look under [ProjectName]\References for [ProjectName*] and remove it. If the project is relying on code from a copy of itself, you can't 'Edit and Continue'.
In the warning list you'll see conflicts with imported type messages if this was the cause of the problem.

I've seen this as well. It seems that some stuff of the expressions and lambdas cause this. ;(

I have the same problem and found this info from the MSDN page "How to: Use Edit and Continue (C#)" :
Note
Edit and Continue is not supported when debugging 64-bit code, the Compact Framework, optimized code, mixed native/managed code, or SQL Server common language runtime (CLR) integration code. If you try to apply code changes in one of these scenarios, the debugger puts up a dialog box explaining that Edit and Continue is not supported.
I think the mix of native/managed code is the problem for me (my project indeed mixes them).