CLR Activation Debugging

Diagnose .NET Framework runtime activation issues by analyzing CLR activation logs (CLRLoad logs) produced by the shim (mscoree.dll). These logs record every decision the shim makes when selecting and loading a CLR version.

When to Use

• A process fails to load the CLR at all ("Unable to find a version of the runtime to use")
• The shim picks the wrong CLR version (e.g., v2.0 instead of v4.0)
• Unexpected .NET 3.5 Feature-on-Demand (FOD) install dialogs appear
• FOD dialogs are expected but do NOT appear
• Both CLR v2 and CLR v4 load into the same process, causing failures
• A COM object fails to activate because the shim can't resolve the runtime
• Legacy hosting APIs (CorBindToRuntime) bind to an unexpected version

When Not to Use

• Modern .NET (CoreCLR / .NET 5+) — this skill covers .NET Framework only (the mscoree.dll shim)
• Assembly binding failures — use Fusion logs (fuslogvw.exe), not CLR activation logs
• Runtime crashes after the CLR has loaded — activation succeeded; the problem is elsewhere

Background

The Shim Architecture

The .NET Framework shim has two layers:

• mscoree.dll (the "shell shim") — the public-facing DLL that is the registered

  InprocServer32

  for CLR-hosted COM objects and the entry point for

  _CorExeMain

  , legacy APIs, etc.
• mscoreei.dll — the actual shim implementation where the runtime selection logic, logging, and activation decisions live. mscoree.dll forwards into mscoreei.dll.

When reading logs, the

caller-name:mscoreei.dll

.NET 3.5 / v2.0.50727 Version Mapping

.NET 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5 all share the same CLR runtime version: v2.0.50727. The "3.0" and "3.5" releases were library additions on top of CLR v2.0. For activation purposes, they are all "v2.0.50727." When the shim resolves to v2.0.50727 or FOD offers to install "NetFx3", it's installing the CLR v2.0 runtime (plus the 3.0/3.5 libraries). Similarly, CLR v4.0 (v4.0.30319) covers all .NET Framework versions from 4.0 through 4.8.x.

.NET 3.5 Availability on Recent Windows

On recent Windows versions (Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27965 and future platform releases), .NET Framework 3.5 is no longer available as a Windows optional component (Feature-on-Demand). It must be installed from a standalone MSI. This means the FOD dialog (

fondue.exe /enable-feature:NetFx3

Shim HRESULT Codes

When the shim fails, it returns specific HRESULTs in the

0x8013xxxx

0x80131700

CLR_E_SHIM_RUNTIMELOAD

0x80131701

CLR_E_SHIM_RUNTIMEEXPORT

0x80131702

CLR_E_SHIM_INSTALLROOT

0x80131703

CLR_E_SHIM_INSTALLCOMP

0x80131704

CLR_E_SHIM_LEGACYRUNTIMEALREADYBOUND

0x80131705

CLR_E_SHIM_SHUTDOWNINPROGRESS

If a user reports one of these HRESULTs (especially

0x80131700

Prerequisites

CLR activation logging must be enabled to produce log files. If the user doesn't have logs yet, instruct them to enable logging:

Via environment variable (recommended — scoped to current session):

set COMPLUS_CLRLoadLogDir=C:\CLRLoadLogs

Via registry (machine-wide — affects all .NET Framework processes):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework
  CLRLoadLogDir = "C:\CLRLoadLogs" (REG_SZ)

On 64-bit systems, also set under

Wow6432Node

⚠️ The log directory must already exist. The shim will not create it. If it doesn't exist, no logs will be written and there will be no error or indication of failure.

Logs are written as

{ProcessName}.CLRLoad{NN}.log

After capturing, remove the env var or registry key to stop logging.

Inputs

.CLRLoad*.log

Workflow

Step 1: Load Reference Material

Try to load the reference files in this order — they contain the detailed log format, decision flow, and CLSID registry documentation:

1. references/log-format.md

   — Log line format, fields, and all known log message types

2. references/activation-flow.md

   — The shim's decision tree for runtime selection

3. references/com-activation.md

   — COM (DllGetClassObject) activation specifics, CLSID registry layout

If reference files are not available, proceed using the inline knowledge below.

Step 2: Survey the Log Files

Get the big picture before diving into any single log:

1. List all log files and group by process name — this shows which executables triggered CLR activation
2. For each process, scan for outcome lines:

   • Decided on runtime: vX.Y.Z

     — successful resolution

   • ERROR:

     — failed resolution

   • Launching feature-on-demand

     — FOD dialog was shown

   • Could have launched feature-on-demand

     — FOD would have fired but was suppressed

   • V2.0 Capping is preventing consideration

     — v4+ was skipped due to capping

grep -l "ERROR:\|Launching feature-on-demand\|Could have launched" *.log
grep -c "Launching feature-on-demand" *.log

3. Build a summary table:

Step 3: Analyze Problematic Logs

For each log file with an unexpected outcome, trace the full activation flow. Read the log top-to-bottom and identify:

⚠️ Nested log entries: The shim's own internal calls can trigger additional log entries within an activation sequence that is already being logged. For example, a

DllGetClassObject

call may internally call

ComputeVersionString

, which calls

FindLatestVersion

, each generating log lines. When the FOD check runs ("Checking if feature-on-demand installation would help"), it re-runs the entire version computation — producing a second

ComputeVersionString

block within the same activation. Don't mistake these nested/re-entrant entries for separate activation attempts.

3a. Entry Point

The first

FunctionCall:

MethodCall:

_CorExeMain

DllGetClassObject. Clsid: {guid}

ClrCreateInstance

CorBindToRuntimeEx

ICLRMetaHostPolicy::GetRequestedRuntime

LoadLibraryShim

3b. Input Parameters

Immediately after the entry point, the log dumps the version computation inputs:

• IsLegacyBind

  : Is this a legacy (pre-v4) activation path? If 1, the shim uses the single-runtime "legacy" view of the world. Legacy APIs (

  CorBindToRuntimeEx

  ,

  DllGetClassObject

  for legacy COM,

  LoadLibraryShim

  , etc.) set this.

• IsCapped

  : If 1, the shim's roll-forward semantics are capped at Whidbey (v2.0.50727) — it will NOT consider v4.0+ when enumerating installed runtimes. This is the mechanism that makes v4 installation non-impactful: legacy codepaths continue to behave as if v4 doesn't exist. On a v4-only machine with no .NET 3.5, a capped enumeration sees no runtimes at all. Capping does NOT prevent loading v4+ if a specific v4 version string is explicitly provided (e.g., via

  CorBindToRuntimeEx("v4.0.30319", ...)

  or via config with

  useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy

  ).

• SkuCheckFlags

  : Controls SKU (edition) compatibility checking.

• ShouldEmulateExeLaunch

  : Whether to pretend this is an EXE launch for policy purposes.

• LegacyBindRequired

  : Whether a legacy bind is strictly required.

3c. Config File Processing

Look for config file parsing results:

• Parsing config file: {path}

  — the shim is looking for a

  .config

  file

• Config File (Open). Result:00000000

  — config file found and opened successfully

• Config File (Open). Result:80070002

  — config file not found (HRESULT for ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND)

• Found config file: {path}

  — config was successfully read

• UseLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy is set to {0|1}

  — whether

  <startup useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy="true">

  is present. When 1, all runtimes are treated as candidates for legacy codepaths — meaning legacy shim APIs can enumerate and choose v4+. This can be used with multiple

  <supportedRuntime>

  entries, with other config options, or even with no

  <supportedRuntime>

  entries at all (in which case legacy APIs can simply enumerate v4). Side effect: turns off in-proc SxS with pre-v4 runtimes — locks them out of the process.

• Config file includes SupportedRuntime entry. Version: vX.Y.Z, SKU: {sku}

  — each

  <supportedRuntime>

  found in config

Key insight: If a process has no config file AND is doing a capped legacy bind, the shim has nothing to direct it to v4.0. It will enumerate installed runtimes (capped to ≤v2.0), find nothing if 3.5 isn't installed, and fail. This is by design — v4 is intentionally invisible to these codepaths to keep v4 installation non-impactful.

3d. Version Resolution

• Installed Runtime: vX.Y.Z. VERSION_ARCHITECTURE: N

  — what's installed on the machine

• {exe} was built with version: vX.Y.Z

  — version from the binary's PE header (managed assemblies only; native EXEs won't have this)

• Using supportedRuntime: vX.Y.Z

  — the shim picked a version from the config's

  <supportedRuntime>

  list

• FindLatestVersion is returning the following version: vX.Y.Z ... V2.0 Capped: {0|1}

  — result of policy-based latest-version search

• Default version of the runtime on the machine: vX.Y.Z

  or

  (null)

  — what the shim settled on;

  (null)

  means nothing was found

• Decided on runtime: vX.Y.Z

  — final decision — this is the version that will be loaded

3e. Failure and FOD Path

If version resolution fails:

1. ERROR: Unable to find a version of the runtime to use

   — the shim found no suitable runtime

2. SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS is set to {value}

   — checks the process error mode:
   • Value 0: Error dialogs and FOD are ALLOWED
   • Nonzero (any bit set, commonly 0x8001): Error dialogs and FOD are SUPPRESSED. The

     SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS

     flag (0x0001) is inherited from the parent process.

3. Checking if feature-on-demand installation would help

   — the shim re-runs version computation to see if installing .NET 3.5 would resolve the request
4. Then either:

   • Launching feature-on-demand installation. CmdLine: "...\fondue.exe" /enable-feature:NetFx3

     — FOD dialog shown

   • Could have launched feature-on-demand installation if was not opted out.

     — FOD suppressed because

     SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS

     was set

3f. Multiple Activations in One Process

A single log can contain multiple activation sequences. Each begins with a new

FunctionCall:

MethodCall:

1. First activation via

   ClrCreateInstance

   /

   GetRequestedRuntime

   → succeeds (loads v4.0 via config)
2. Second activation via

   DllGetClassObject

   (COM) → legacy bind, capped → fails

This happens when a native EXE (like link.exe or mt.exe) loads the CLR successfully for its primary work, then a secondary COM activation request (e.g., for diasymreader) triggers a separate legacy resolution that can't find v2.0.

Step 4: Check System State (if needed)

When log analysis points to a registration or configuration issue, check:

CLSID Registration (for COM activation issues):

# Check the CLSID entry
Get-ItemProperty 'Registry::HKCR\CLSID\{guid}'
Get-ItemProperty 'Registry::HKCR\CLSID\{guid}\InprocServer32'
Get-ChildItem 'Registry::HKCR\CLSID\{guid}\InprocServer32' | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Output "--- $($_.PSChildName) ---"
    Get-ItemProperty "Registry::$($_.Name)"
}

Key values under

InprocServer32

• (Default)

  should be

  mscoree.dll

  for CLR-hosted COM objects
• Version subkeys (e.g.,

  2.0.50727

  ,

  4.0.30319

  ) indicate which runtime versions registered this CLSID

• ImplementedInThisVersion

  under a version subkey means that runtime version natively implements the COM class (not via managed interop)

• Assembly

  and

  Class

  under a version subkey indicate a managed COM interop registration

• RuntimeVersion

  under a version subkey specifies which CLR version should host this object

Installed runtimes:

Get-ChildItem 'Registry::HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\policy'

Process error mode (why FOD did/didn't fire): The

SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS

SetErrorMode

Step 5: Diagnose and Report

Produce a clear diagnosis covering:

1. What happened — which process(es) had activation issues and what the symptom was
2. Why it happened — trace through the specific decision path in the shim that led to the outcome
3. What controls the behavior — identify the specific inputs (config file presence, error mode, CLSID registration, capping state) that determined the outcome
4. What changed (if applicable) — if the user says behavior changed, identify which input could have changed (error mode from parent process, config file, CLSID registration, installed runtimes)

Common Scenarios

Unexpected FOD Dialogs

Pattern:

DllGetClassObject

IsCapped: 1

(null)

SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS: 0

Root cause: A native EXE is doing COM activation of a CLSID registered under mscoree.dll. This takes the legacy codepath, which is capped at v2.0. With no config file (and no

useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy

SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS

Key question: Why did

SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS

SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS

Wrong Runtime Selected

Pattern:

supportedRuntime

Key insight: Config

<supportedRuntime>

Both v2 and v4 Loaded

Pattern: Multiple activation sequences in the same process log — one binds v4, another binds v2 (or vice versa). Side-by-side loading of CLR v2 and v4 in the same process IS supported but can cause issues with shared state.

Key insight: Look for separate

Decided on runtime

Legacy Runtime Already Bound

Pattern: A legacy codepath succeeds early in the process (e.g.,

CorBindToRuntimeEx

useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy

Key insight: The ORDER of activations within a process matters. If v4.0 is bound as the legacy runtime first, capped COM activations work. If the capped COM activation happens first (before any legacy runtime is bound), it fails. This means behavior can depend on which component activates first — a race condition in concurrent code can change the outcome.

Common Pitfalls

IsCapped: 1

useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy="true"

<supportedRuntime version="v4.0"/>

SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS

useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy

<supportedRuntime>

useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy

useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy="true"

useLegacyV2RuntimeActivationPolicy

Validation

Before delivering a diagnosis, verify:

• All log files with errors or FOD triggers were analyzed (not just the first one)
• The entry point for each problematic activation was identified
• The capping and legacy bind state was noted for each activation sequence
• Config file presence/absence was checked
• SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS state was noted for FOD-related issues
• Multiple activations within a single log were individually traced
• The diagnosis explains the specific decision path, not just the outcome