Referencing a DLL from another DLL - Missing Dependency - c#

I have a DLL written in C# that runs a job from within the context of a 3rd party application. The DLL needs to reference another 3rd party DLL. Intellisense in VS works great but during runtime the error is generated: "Could not load file or assembly or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified."
I ran the dependency tool and saw a missing reference to mscorwks and perfcounter.dll. Putting these 2 missing DLLS in the same folder as the 3rd party DLL corrects the missing references in the dependency tool.
I'm not sure what to do next. Where do all these files need to reside for my DLL to work properly? The interesting thing is I also have a stand-alone executable that references the same 3rd party DLL and it doesn't have any issues with missing references.
What should I try next?
Edit:
Downloaded Fusion++ and this is the result from the log. Looks like it can't find the parent. Not sure how to point the dependent DLL to the right folder when it's running in the context of a 3rd party application.
*** Assembly Binder Log Entry (11/24/2019 # 6:59:35 PM) ***
The operation failed.
Bind result: hr = 0x80070002. The system cannot find the file specified.
Assembly manager loaded from: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\clr.dll
Running under executable C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Vault Professional 2020\Explorer\Connectivity.JobProcessor.Delegate.Host.exe
--- A detailed error log follows.
=== Pre-bind state information ===
LOG: DisplayName = LicenseSpring, Version=4.7.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=2d5c13cc31edbaaf
(Fully-specified)
LOG: Appbase = file:///C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Vault Professional 2020/Explorer/
LOG: Initial PrivatePath = NULL
LOG: Dynamic Base = NULL
LOG: Cache Base = NULL
LOG: AppName = Connectivity.JobProcessor.Delegate.Host.exe
Calling assembly : (Unknown).
===
LOG: This bind starts in default load context.
LOG: No application configuration file found.
LOG: Using host configuration file:
LOG: Using machine configuration file from C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\config\machine.config.
LOG: Post-policy reference: LicenseSpring, Version=4.7.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=2d5c13cc31edbaaf
LOG: GAC Lookup was unsuccessful.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Vault Professional 2020/Explorer/LicenseSpring.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Vault Professional 2020/Explorer/LicenseSpring/LicenseSpring.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Vault Professional 2020/Explorer/LicenseSpring.EXE.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Program Files/Autodesk/Vault Professional 2020/Explorer/LicenseSpring/LicenseSpring.EXE.
LOG: All probing URLs attempted and failed.

When you added LicenseSpring.dll from disk(via Browse) - VS just copied this DLL and placed it to the package folder. But VS doesn't know anything about dependent DLL. Let's consider that LicenseSpring.dll contains two methods. The first method, do some simple stuff and don't have any dependencies from another DLL. The second method depends on some other DLL. If you call the first method - it will work fine. But when you try to exec the second method - you will get an error:
"Could not load file or assembly or one of its dependencies ...
How to fix this:
When you are adding a library from disk - you need to add all dependencies as well.
You can add your assemblies to GAC - but this will be more complicated

If you cannot find out, what Assembly the system is missing at runtime, you can enable FUSLOG (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/tools/fuslogvw-exe-assembly-binding-log-viewer) and use Assembly Binding Log Viewer to find out what is missing.
To be honest: FUSLOG is not very comfortable, but it's working great. Don't forget to disable it, when you are done.

Related

DLL dependency of another DLL not found though loaded

In a C# application I'm Loading 2 DLLs provided by user during runtime (not a pre-difined reference) Let it be A.dll, B.dll.
A.dll is referencing B.dll, but they are supplied separately.
When I try to access a method from A.dll, with a parameter of type that is declared in B.dll, I get an:
"Could not load file or assembly 'B, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=null' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot
find the file specified.".
error, although both DLLs were loaded. Even calling MethodInfo.GetParameters() will throw the exception.
Tried to Load both DLLs with different methods:
Assembly.Load(<Path>)
Assembly.LoadFile(<Path>)
Assembly.LoadFrom(<Path>)
I set the reference in project A to B.dll as "Copy Local = false".
Any usage of types and method from A or B which does not involve the connection described above seems to work fine.
I made sure both assembly were loaded with
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies()
(they both are).
I have to presume I don't have developer access to A.dll and B.dll projects (provided by users), but for testing purpose I can try to change stuff in them as well.
Fusion log For A.dll:
*** Assembly Binder Log Entry (8/10/2019 # 11:47:04 PM) ***
The operation failed.
Bind result: hr = 0x80070002. The system cannot find the file specified.
Assembly manager loaded from: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\clr.dll
Running under executable C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\JetBrains\Installations\ReSharperPlatformVs15_95cb26a8\JetBrains.ReSharper.TaskRunner.CLR45.x64.exe
--- A detailed error log follows.
=== Pre-bind state information ===
LOG: DisplayName = A, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null
(Fully-specified)
LOG: Appbase = file:///<project fullpath>/bin/Debug
LOG: Initial PrivatePath = NULL
LOG: Dynamic Base = NULL
LOG: Cache Base = C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\u5r0nb10.kwf\k2mn3yzp.umi
LOG: AppName = AppTest
Calling assembly : (Unknown).
===
LOG: This bind starts in default load context.
LOG: No application configuration file found.
LOG: Using host configuration file:
LOG: Using machine configuration file from C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\config\machine.config.
LOG: Policy not being applied to reference at this time (private, custom, partial, or location-based assembly bind).
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///<project fullpath>/bin/Debug/A.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///<project fullpath>/bin/Debug/A/A.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///<project fullpath>/bin/Debug/A.EXE.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///<project fullpath>/bin/Debug/A/A.EXE.
LOG: All probing URLs attempted and failed.
You are missing are probably missing another dependency of B.dll it.
When you try to load a dll, Windows will try to look all dependency of it (other dlls). Unfortunately, the error you see will be:
"The system can not find the specified"
All dependencies of B.dll should be also copied to the local directory.
Use Dependency Walker .NET to find the missing dependencies.
Since everything is "there" I've got another possibility. Normally, this is obscure, but it can happen.
If B.dll depends on a higher version of a dll that your main program depends on, sometimes the lower version dll you loaded can't be made to work with the higher version B wants. In that case, you get this error.

C# binding failure on missing ".resources" files

I have a C# program that links to a (large) third-party library and builds successfully with it. All necessary references between my program and the library are included, and the program starts correctly.
Upon loading the .NET managed DLL for the aforementioned library, I get a System.IO.FileNotFoundException that says that the library or one of its dependencies could not be loaded ("The specified module could not be found.").
Since the relevant DLL is present in the Release directory, I went through the fusion event logs and found only binding failures for a bunch of nonexistent <PROJECT>.resource.<DLL|EXE> files under a nonexistent Release\en directory. This doesn't make much sense to me at all, since the project's only resource (a single icon) is internalized.
The logs look like this, with some information redacted:
*** Assembly Binder Log Entry (7/11/2016 # 10:08:49 AM) ***
The operation failed.
Bind result: hr = 0x80070002. The system cannot find the file specified.
Assembly manager loaded from: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\clr.dll
Running under executable C:\Users\USER\Desktop\PROJECT\bin\x86\Release\PROJECT.vshost.exe
--- A detailed error log follows.
=== Pre-bind state information ===
LOG: DisplayName = PROJECT.resources, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=en, PublicKeyToken=null
(Fully-specified)
LOG: Appbase = file:///C:/Users/USER/Desktop/PROJECT/bin/x86/Release/
LOG: Initial PrivatePath = NULL
LOG: Dynamic Base = NULL
LOG: Cache Base = NULL
LOG: AppName = PROJECT.vshost.exe
Calling assembly : PROJECT, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null.
===
LOG: This bind starts in default load context.
LOG: Using application configuration file: C:\Users\USER\Desktop\PROJECT\bin\x86\Release\PROJECT.vshost.exe.Config
LOG: Using host configuration file:
LOG: Using machine configuration file from C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\config\machine.config.
LOG: Policy not being applied to reference at this time (private, custom, partial, or location-based assembly bind).
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/USER/Desktop/PROJECT/bin/x86/Release/en/PROJECT.resources.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/USER/Desktop/PROJECT/bin/x86/Release/en/PROJECT.resources/PROJECT.resources.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/USER/Desktop/PROJECT/bin/x86/Release/en/PROJECT.resources.EXE.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///C:/Users/USER/Desktop/PROJECT/bin/x86/Release/en/PROJECT.resources/PROJECT.resources.EXE.
LOG: All probing URLs attempted and failed.
Update: This is what Process Monitor shows when loading the DLL:
The first three loads are the relevant DLL, and the following ones are (ostensibly) its dependencies, all from the standard VS C++ redistributable.
Update 2: Dependency Walker shows the same DLLs as missing, although this doesn't seem to manifest at load time:

File Not Found exception in .NET application when calling into C++/CLI DLL

I've got a simple .NET application written in C#, which links with a C++/CLI DLL
which is itself just a thin wrapper around a C++ static library.
The app runs fine on the development machine (Windows 8), but, when the EXE and
DLL are copied over to another machine (Windows 10) it crashes immediately on
startup.
Looking in Event Viewer, I can see that the crash is due to an unhandled
exception, System.IO.FileNotFoundException, and the call-stack indicates that
the exception occurs in a function that makes a call into the DLL.
If I edit the function in the DLL to return immediately, then the crash still
occurs. Adding a try-catch block around the call also has no effect. However,
if I remove the call entirely, then the application runs.
The app runs fine on the development box, even if I move the EXE and DLL to a
different location. However, if I delete the DLL from the directory in which the
EXE is located, then exactly the same crash occurs.
This suggests that the problem is that the app cannot find the DLL when run on
the other machine.
The projects for both the application and the DLL are included in the same
Visual Studio 2015 solution, and the application is linked to the DLL via a
project reference.
The application targets .NET 4.5.2, and the other machine has .NET 4.6
installed. The only other references in the application project are to parts of
.NET, such as Microsoft.CSharp and System.Core.
How can I fix this crash?
EDIT: As suggested by #Alex K. in the comments, I tried logging bind failures with fuslogvw.exe, which garnered the following log excerpt:
*** Assembly Binder Log Entry (08/04/2016 # 14:47:02) ***
The operation failed.
Bind result: hr = 0x80070002. The system cannot find the file specified.
Assembly manager loaded from: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\clr.dll
Running under executable D:\[Path]\[App Name].exe
--- A detailed error log follows.
=== Pre-bind state information ===
LOG: DisplayName = [DLL Name], Version=1.0.5941.28221, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null
(Fully-specified)
LOG: Appbase = file:///D:/[Path]/
LOG: Initial PrivatePath = NULL
LOG: Dynamic Base = NULL
LOG: Cache Base = NULL
LOG: AppName = [App Name].exe
Calling assembly : [App Name], Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null.
===
LOG: This bind starts in default load context.
LOG: No application configuration file found.
LOG: Using host configuration file:
LOG: Using machine configuration file from C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\config\machine.config.
LOG: Policy not being applied to reference at this time (private, custom, partial, or location-based assembly bind).
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///D:/[Path]/[DLL Name].DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///D:/[Path]/[DLL Name]/[DLL Name].DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///D:/[Path]/[DLL Name].EXE.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL file:///D:/[Path]/[DLL Name]/[DLL Name].EXE.
LOG: All probing URLs attempted and failed.
So it seems that the file that cannot be found is my DLL, and that .NET is
indeed looking in the correct location for the file, but for some reason it is
not finding it there.
Note that I obtained the same error log on my development machine when I attempted to run the EXE with the DLL deleted.
As discussed in the comments, I tried installing the Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable. This didn't appear to have any effect at the time. However, a couple of days later, the problem is no longer reproducible, and I can't think of anything else that would have fixed it. (The Redistributable installer didn't request a reboot, but my best guess is that one was actually required.)

NUnit DLL revision mismatch

I'm having this weird revision mismatch error. All my NUnit test projects used to work with NUnit 2.5.7, but now that I switched them to using NUnit v2.5.10, I keep on getting the following error:
FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly 'nunit.framework, version 2.5.7...
Note: I cleaned up, rebuilt, double checked the references, no problem there.
Using the Assembly Binder Log Viewer (see below), it seems to me that the trigger of this error is the Spring.Testing.NUnit.dll... which seems weird given that the Spring.Testing.Nunit 1.3.2 Nuget page says in its Dependency List: NUnit (≥ 2.5.7)
Any idea what I'm missing here?
Thanks in advance,
TB.
Assembly Binder Log Entry (02.07.2012 # 16:06:35)
The operation failed.
Bind result: hr = 0x80131040. No description available.
Assembly manager loaded from:
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\clr.dll Running under
executable
F:\robin\4-Development\Workspace\3rdParty\NUnit\2.5.10\nunit-agent.exe
--- A detailed error log follows.
=== Pre-bind state information === LOG: User = Mth\tbourguignon LOG: DisplayName = nunit.framework, Version=2.5.7.10213,
Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=96d09a1eb7f44a77 (Fully-specified)
LOG: Appbase = file:///F:/robin/4-Development/Workspace/Application
LOG: Initial PrivatePath =
Rh.Robin.Common.Tests\bin\Debug;Rh.Robin.Service.Test\bin\Debug;Rh.Robin.Domain.Unit.Test\bin\Debug;Rh.Robin.Service.Unit.Test\bin\Debug;Rh.Robin.Web.UI.MVC.Unit.Test\bin\Debug
LOG: Dynamic Base = NULL LOG: Cache Base =
C:\Users\tbourguignon.Mth\AppData\Local\Temp\nunit20\ShadowCopyCache\4980_634768419945070499
LOG: AppName = Tests_29030132 Calling assembly : Spring.Testing.NUnit,
Version=1.3.2.40943, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=65e474d141e25e07.
=== LOG: This bind starts in default load context. LOG: No application configuration file found. LOG: Using host configuration file: LOG:
Using machine configuration file from
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\config\machine.config.
LOG: Post-policy reference: nunit.framework, Version=2.5.7.10213,
Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=96d09a1eb7f44a77 LOG: GAC Lookup was
unsuccessful. LOG: Attempting download of new URL
file:///F:/robin/4-Development/Workspace/Application/nunit.framework.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL
file:///F:/robin/4-Development/Workspace/Application/nunit.framework/nunit.framework.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL
file:///F:/robin/4-Development/Workspace/Application/Rh.Robin.Common.Tests/bin/Debug/nunit.framework.DLL.
LOG: Assembly download was successful. Attempting setup of file:
F:\robin\4-Development\Workspace\Application\Rh.Robin.Common.Tests\bin\Debug\nunit.framework.dll
LOG: Entering download cache setup phase. LOG: Assembly Name is:
nunit.framework, Version=2.5.10.11092, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=96d09a1eb7f44a77 WRN: Comparing the assembly name
resulted in the mismatch: Revision Number ERR: The assembly reference
did not match the assembly definition found. ERR: Setup failed with hr
= 0x80131040. ERR: Failed to complete setup of assembly (hr = 0x80131040). Probing terminated.
Did you gain anything from referencing a newer dot-version of NUnit? If not, the easiest thing you could do is go back and reference the older version of NUnit assemblies matching the version Spring is referencing in your code.
The other option is to modify your (Spring) application's configuration to use binding redirects to pick up the newer version of NUnit assemblies.
It makes me wonder if Spring's reference to NUnit's assembly had Specific Version set to true. Seems unlikely, though. Here's a reference on how .NET locates and binds assemblies at runtime.
Somehow I managed to solve this issue... but I still don't know what caused it. I did a major cleanup of the references, excluding all the NUnit references from my project, removing all the DLLs and reintroducing the new DLL only. I can only guess that a DLL was stuck somewhere and Spring was picking it up instead of the new one... wild guess though :(

EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database assembly linking issue with Workflow

I get the following error when i try to run a console program which calls a Workflow 4 activity I created. Note the workflow compiles and runs without issue when executed from unit Tests or embedded in another workflow.
Could not load file or assembly
'Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database,
PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or
one of its dependencies. The system
cannot find the file specified.
I am using EnterpriseLibrary 5.0 for logging and connection strings.
I notice that the path to the assemblies is as follows:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft
Enterprise Library
5.0\Bin\Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.*
Looking at the Assembly Binding Log is
see the following:
* Assembly Binder Log Entry (17/03/2011 # 15:32:48) *
The operation failed. Bind result: hr
= 0x80070002. The system cannot find the file specified.
Assembly manager loaded from:
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\clr.dll
Running under executable
C:\Development\Work\EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow\EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow.FeedManager\bin\Debug\EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow.FeedManager.vshost.exe
--- A detailed error log follows.
=== Pre-bind state information === LOG: User = EQUINOXEAIS\pmckee LOG:
DisplayName =
Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database,
Version=5.0.414.0, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35
(Fully-specified) LOG: Appbase =
file:///C:/Development/Work/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow.FeedManager/bin/Debug/
LOG: Initial PrivatePath = NULL LOG:
Dynamic Base = NULL LOG: Cache Base =
NULL LOG: AppName =
EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow.FeedManager.vshost.exe
Calling assembly :
EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow.ActivityLibrary,
Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=null.
LOG: This bind starts in default load
context. LOG: No application
configuration file found. LOG: Using
host configuration file: LOG: Using
machine configuration file from
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\config\machine.config.
LOG: Post-policy reference:
Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database,
Version=5.0.414.0, Culture=neutral,
PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35 LOG:
GAC Lookup was unsuccessful. LOG:
Attempting download of new URL
file:///C:/Development/Work/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow.FeedManager/bin/Debug/Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL
file:///C:/Development/Work/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow.FeedManager/bin/Debug/Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database/Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database.DLL.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL
file:///C:/Development/Work/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow.FeedManager/bin/Debug/Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database.EXE.
LOG: Attempting download of new URL
file:///C:/Development/Work/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow/EquinoxeAISManagementSystemWorkflow.FeedManager/bin/Debug/Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database/Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database.EXE.
LOG: All probing URLs attempted and
failed.
I have tried the following to resolve the issue:
- Setting 'Specific version' to False for all referanced EnterpriseLibrary assemplies
- Recreating the app.config using the EnterpriseLibrary config tool again (and again and again :(
- Deleting all references assemblies and adding them back in one by one.
I would be really grateful if anyone had further pointer as to how to debug this issue.....THANKS!
I see three possible issues...
Your app is x64 (C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\), is Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Logging.Database x86 or x64? (never tried to do this so I'm not sure if it can be done or not)
Is this file being copied local on build? It has to be located in C:/Development/Work/[snip]/bin/Debug in order for the fusion loader to find it. Fusion won't look under every directory.
It is in the GAC, but it is not in the directory mentioned in #2. Fusion must first find the assembly under the install directory before it will probe the GAC for the assembly, IIRC*.
*this behavior depends on how the assembly is loaded at runtime using a partial bind, i.e., not using the assembly's strong name.

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