Troubleshooting strange memory problem

[locksleyu]

When I run my (GDI-based, mix of C and C++) graphics application for 10-15 minutes, the OS starts having strange behavior like saying "out of memory" when I try to run anything (including task manager) and also there are strange graphics artifacts on the display (I am using RDP to access the machine).

Its clear there is some sort of memory/resource leak, but I have tried looking at Heap for my process in WindDBG and UMDH and do not see anything growing abnormally. I am allocating memory with GlobalAlloc and GlobalFree.

I am also doing alot of creation, manipulation (bitblt) and destruction of bitmaps, so I thought that maybe I was not freeing my bitmaps or some other GDI object, but the GDI handles in Task Manager (and everything else) aren't going up.

There is apparently some sort of 'special' resource being allocated that I cannot see on taskmanager or windbg, but I can't seem to figure out what it is.

I know without seeing my program it will be difficult to troubleshoot in detail, but I am looking for general suggestions what sort of resource might be being eaten up.

Thanks!

[Elysia]

You may wish to look into programs that can track memory leaks, such as valgrind for Linux. There are similar applications. I don't know the names of any specific tool, but it's a start.

[locksleyu]

Elysia, Thanks for the response. I looked around and Rational Purify seemed the most promising, but it doesnt support my OS (64-bit Windows 7). Does anyone know any tool that is supported by that OS and might help? Preferrably, I don't want to have to re-compile my app.

[Elysia]

Does this help?
Alternatively, there is a free memory leak detector here, but it requires a recompile.