gdb: “No symbol table is loaded”

gdb: “No symbol table is loaded”

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I keep getting this error mesage when trying to add a breakpoint in gdb.

I've used these commands to compile:

gcc -g main.c utmpib2.c -o main.o
and:
cc -g main.c utmpib2.c -o main.o
and also:
g++ -g main.c utmpib2.c -o main.o

I also tried "-ggdb" instead of "-g" and I still get that error message.

I then execute gdb:

$gdb

In gdb:

(gdb)exec-file main.o
(gdb)break 59
No symbol table is loaded. Use the "file" command.

c gdb

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edited Feb 12 '12 at 2:03

asked Feb 12 '12 at 1:38

user994165

3,4321560101

• Oh I meant main.o. I updated it. I tried also using "-ggdb" and it is still giving me the same problem. – user994165 Feb 12 '12 at 1:51

• Show us exactly how are you invoking gcc and gdb. Copy-paste to avoid any erors. – Piotr Praszmo Feb 12 '12 at 1:53

• 1

  I updated my commands. This is really weird. It just started working. I know previously I was accessing gdb using "gdb a.out" and I was getting an error message about a.out not existing or something. Then I switched to the "exec-file". Now I tried with a.out and it says "This GDB was configured as "i486-linux-gnu" " and breakpoints can be set. – user994165 Feb 12 '12 at 2:08

• oh duh I was specifying the wrong file a.out. I followed along a gdb tutorial without thinking to change the filename to my own. – user994165 Feb 12 '12 at 2:12

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4 Answers

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up vote48down voteaccepted

First of all, what you have is a fully compiled program, not an object file, so drop the .o extension. Now, pay attention to what the error message says, it tells you exactly how to fix your problem: "No symbol table is loaded. Use the "file" command."

(gdb) exec-file test
(gdb) b 2
No symbol table is loaded.  Use the "file" command.
(gdb) file test
Reading symbols from /home/user/test/test...done.
(gdb) b 2
Breakpoint 1 at 0x80483ea: file test.c, line 2.
(gdb) 

 exec-file test(编译程序)

 file test

Or just pass the program on the command line.

$ gdb test
GNU gdb (GDB) 7.4
Copyright (C) 2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
[...]
Reading symbols from /home/user/test/test...done.
(gdb) b 2
Breakpoint 1 at 0x80483ea: file test.c, line 2.
(gdb) 

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edited Jan 14 '14 at 3:51

answered Feb 12 '12 at 4:10

Kevin

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