Misc. bug: llama cpp always outputs a line of information and then exits

[df56h]

Name and Version

b7813

Operating systems

Windows

Which llama.cpp modules do you know to be affected?

No response

Command line

llama-cli.exe --help
llama-cli.exe --version
llama-cli -hf ggml-org/gemma-3-1b-it-GGUF

Problem description & steps to reproduce

I downloaded llama-b7813-bin-win-cpu-x64 from GitHub, unzipped it, and then ran the command using cmd, but it doesn't seem to work.

It just outputs a line of command and then exits, without any prompt.

C:\Users\jack\Downloads\llama-b7813-bin-win-cpu-x64>llama-cli.exe --help
load_backend: loaded RPC backend from C:\Users\jack\Downloads\llama-b7813-bin-win-cpu-x64\ggml-rpc.dll

No matter what command I enter, it always outputs this statement.such as

llama-cli.exe --version
load_backend: loaded RPC backend from C:\Users\jack\Downloads\llama-b7813-bin-win-cpu-x64\ggml-rpc.dll

I installed the VC++ Redistributable 2015-2022.

My system is Windows 10 1909

First Bad Commit

No response

Relevant log output

Logs

[kpouget]

do you see something like this?

> What's the GGML API?
{"name": "get_api_documentation", "parameters": {"x": "GGML API"}}

see my comment in #18462 to confirm we're hitting the same thing

[df56h]

do you see something like this?

> What's the GGML API?
{"name": "get_api_documentation", "parameters": {"x": "GGML API"}}

see my comment in #18462 to confirm we're hitting the same thing

no,i didn't

[aldehir]

This usually happens when the application crashes, as Windows does not show a stack trace.

Check the event viewer for application errors related to llama-cli.

[df56h]

This usually happens when the application crashes, as Windows does not show a stack trace.

Check the event viewer for application errors related to llama-cli.

Yes, i checked it,an error was found in the Event Viewer tab.

Faulting application name: llama-cli.exe, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x69729670
Faulting module name: MSVCP140.dll, version: 14.31.31103.0, time stamp: 0xf632f325
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00000000000132a8
Faulting process ID: 0x2778
Faulting application start time: 0x01dc8f977a78c879
Faulting application path: C:\Users\jack\Downloads\llama-b7813-bin-win-cpu-x64\llama-cli.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\MSVCP140.dll
Report ID: 5d9da1b8-fe20-4807-bb93-857549c66538
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID: 

Can you figure out what the reason is?

[aldehir]

Sadly this only confirms there's a crash, Windows is notoriously difficult to debug without any tooling.

Use procdump with -e to generate a mini dump file. If you send me the dump file, I can explore a bit further.

[df56h]

Sadly this only confirms there's a crash, Windows is notoriously difficult to debug without any tooling.

Use procdump with -e to generate a mini dump file. If you send me the dump file, I can explore a bit further.

I used procdump, and it output the following information

procdump.exe -e -x D:\test C:\Users\jack\Downloads\llama-b7813-bin-win-cpu-x64\llama-cli.exe --version

ProcDump v11.1 - Sysinternals process dump utility
Copyright (C) 2009-2025 Mark Russinovich and Andrew Richards
Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com

Process:               llama-cli.exe (8300)
CPU threshold:         n/a
Performance counter:   n/a
Commit threshold:      n/a
Threshold seconds:     n/a
Hung window check:     Disabled
Log debug strings:     Disabled
Exception monitor:     Unhandled
Exception filter:      [Includes]
                       *
                       [Excludes]
Terminate monitor:     Disabled
Cloning type:          Disabled
Concurrent limit:      n/a
Avoid outage:          n/a
Number of dumps:       1
Dump folder:           D:\test\
Dump filename/mask:    PROCESSNAME_YYMMDD_HHMMSS
Queue to WER:          Disabled
Kill after dump:       Disabled


Press Ctrl-C to end monitoring without terminating the process.

load_backend: loaded RPC backend from C:\Users\jack\Downloads\llama-b7813-bin-win-cpu-x64\ggml-rpc.dll
[14:10:11]Exception: C0000005.ACCESS_VIOLATION
[14:10:11]Unhandled: C0000005.ACCESS_VIOLATION
[14:10:11]Dump 1 info: Available space: 183448031232
[14:10:11]Dump 1 initiated: D:\test\llama-cli.exe_260128_141011.dmp
[14:10:11]Dump 1 complete: 2 MB written in 0.0 seconds
[14:10:11]Dump count reached.

This is the output dump file,Thank you for checking

llama-cli.exe_260128_141011.dmp

[aldehir]

Below is the exception analysis from the dmp file, thank you for providing that.

This appears to be a result from llama.cpp compiled with a newer version of STL libraries than those on your host system.
ref: https://github.com/microsoft/STL/releases/tag/vs-2022-17.10

I notice you're running Win 10 1909, which is pretty old. Are you able to install the latest VC++ 2017-2026 redist from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170#latest-supported-redistributable-version?

If not, you might need to compile llama.cpp yourself to run it on your system.

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Exception Analysis                                   *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for llama-cli.exe

KEY_VALUES_STRING: 1

    Key  : AV.Dereference
    Value: NullPtr

    Key  : AV.Type
    Value: Read

    Key  : Analysis.CPU.mSec
    Value: 421

    Key  : Analysis.Elapsed.mSec
    Value: 2255

    Key  : Analysis.IO.Other.Mb
    Value: 0

    Key  : Analysis.IO.Read.Mb
    Value: 1

    Key  : Analysis.IO.Write.Mb
    Value: 20

    Key  : Analysis.Init.CPU.mSec
    Value: 281

    Key  : Analysis.Init.Elapsed.mSec
    Value: 5395

    Key  : Analysis.Memory.CommitPeak.Mb
    Value: 60

    Key  : Analysis.Version.DbgEng
    Value: 10.0.29507.1001

    Key  : Analysis.Version.Description
    Value: 10.2511.5.1 amd64fre

    Key  : Analysis.Version.Ext
    Value: 1.2511.5.1

    Key  : Failure.Bucket
    Value: INVALID_POINTER_READ_c0000005_msvcp140.dll!mtx_do_lock

    Key  : Failure.Exception.Code
    Value: 0xc0000005

    Key  : Failure.Exception.IP.Address
    Value: 0x7ffaa80c32a8

    Key  : Failure.Exception.IP.Module
    Value: msvcp140

    Key  : Failure.Exception.IP.Offset
    Value: 0x132a8

    Key  : Failure.Hash
    Value: {f909de7e-301a-0813-b5ec-53d7cc7abb16}

    Key  : Failure.ProblemClass.Primary
    Value: INVALID_POINTER_READ

    Key  : Faulting.IP.Type
    Value: Paged


FILE_IN_CAB:  llama-cli.exe_260128_141011.dmp

COMMENT:  
*** procdump.exe  -e -x D:\test C:\Users\jack\Downloads\llama-b7813-bin-win-cpu-x64\llama-cli.exe --version
*** Unhandled exception: C0000005.ACCESS_VIOLATION

NTGLOBALFLAG:  70

APPLICATION_VERIFIER_FLAGS:  0

CONTEXT:  (.ecxr)
rax=0000000000000000 rbx=00000000e1b3b501 rcx=00007ffaa3ce3120
rdx=0000000000000000 rsi=00007ffaa3ce3118 rdi=00007ffaa0b4b450
rip=00007ffaa80c32a8 rsp=000000c3fd95c3c0 rbp=000000c3fd95c680
 r8=000000c3fd95c5c8  r9=000000c3fd95c680 r10=0000000000000000
r11=0000000000000246 r12=0000000000000004 r13=000000c3fd95c700
r14=0000000000000000 r15=00007ffaa3ce3160
iopl=0         nv up ei ng nz na pe nc
cs=0033  ss=002b  ds=002b  es=002b  fs=0053  gs=002b             efl=00010280
msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+0x9c:
00007ffa`a80c32a8 488b00          mov     rax,qword ptr [rax] ds:00000000`00000000=????????????????
Resetting default scope

EXCEPTION_RECORD:  (.exr -1)
ExceptionAddress: 00007ffaa80c32a8 (msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+0x000000000000009c)
   ExceptionCode: c0000005 (Access violation)
  ExceptionFlags: 00000000
NumberParameters: 2
   Parameter[0]: 0000000000000000
   Parameter[1]: 0000000000000000
Attempt to read from address 0000000000000000

PROCESS_NAME:  llama-cli.exe

READ_ADDRESS:  0000000000000000 

ERROR_CODE: (NTSTATUS) 0xc0000005 - The instruction at 0x%p referenced memory at 0x%p. The memory could not be %s.

EXCEPTION_CODE_STR:  c0000005

EXCEPTION_PARAMETER1:  0000000000000000

EXCEPTION_PARAMETER2:  0000000000000000

STACK_TEXT:  
000000c3`fd95c3c0 00000000`00000000     : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+0x9c


STACK_COMMAND: ~0s; .ecxr ; kb

IP_IN_PAGED_CODE: 
msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+9c [d:\a01\_work\43\s\src\vctools\crt\github\stl\src\mutex.cpp @ 103]
00007ffa`a80c32a8 488b00          mov     rax,qword ptr [rax]

FAULTING_SOURCE_LINE:  d:\a01\_work\43\s\src\vctools\crt\github\stl\src\mutex.cpp

FAULTING_SOURCE_FILE:  d:\a01\_work\43\s\src\vctools\crt\github\stl\src\mutex.cpp

FAULTING_SOURCE_LINE_NUMBER:  103

FAULTING_SOURCE_CODE:  
No source found for 'd:\a01\_work\43\s\src\vctools\crt\github\stl\src\mutex.cpp'


SYMBOL_NAME:  msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+9c

MODULE_NAME: msvcp140

IMAGE_NAME:  msvcp140.dll

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  INVALID_POINTER_READ_c0000005_msvcp140.dll!mtx_do_lock

OSPLATFORM_TYPE:  x64

OSNAME:  Windows 8

IMAGE_VERSION:  14.31.31103.0

FAILURE_ID_HASH:  {f909de7e-301a-0813-b5ec-53d7cc7abb16}

Followup:     MachineOwner
---------

[df56h]

Below is the exception analysis from the dmp file, thank you for providing that.

This appears to be a result from llama.cpp compiled with a newer version of STL libraries than those on your host system. ref: https://github.com/microsoft/STL/releases/tag/vs-2022-17.10

I notice you're running Win 10 1909, which is pretty old. Are you able to install the latest VC++ 2017-2026 redist from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170#latest-supported-redistributable-version?

If not, you might need to compile llama.cpp yourself to run it on your system.

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Exception Analysis                                   *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************

*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for llama-cli.exe

KEY_VALUES_STRING: 1

    Key  : AV.Dereference
    Value: NullPtr

    Key  : AV.Type
    Value: Read

    Key  : Analysis.CPU.mSec
    Value: 421

    Key  : Analysis.Elapsed.mSec
    Value: 2255

    Key  : Analysis.IO.Other.Mb
    Value: 0

    Key  : Analysis.IO.Read.Mb
    Value: 1

    Key  : Analysis.IO.Write.Mb
    Value: 20

    Key  : Analysis.Init.CPU.mSec
    Value: 281

    Key  : Analysis.Init.Elapsed.mSec
    Value: 5395

    Key  : Analysis.Memory.CommitPeak.Mb
    Value: 60

    Key  : Analysis.Version.DbgEng
    Value: 10.0.29507.1001

    Key  : Analysis.Version.Description
    Value: 10.2511.5.1 amd64fre

    Key  : Analysis.Version.Ext
    Value: 1.2511.5.1

    Key  : Failure.Bucket
    Value: INVALID_POINTER_READ_c0000005_msvcp140.dll!mtx_do_lock

    Key  : Failure.Exception.Code
    Value: 0xc0000005

    Key  : Failure.Exception.IP.Address
    Value: 0x7ffaa80c32a8

    Key  : Failure.Exception.IP.Module
    Value: msvcp140

    Key  : Failure.Exception.IP.Offset
    Value: 0x132a8

    Key  : Failure.Hash
    Value: {f909de7e-301a-0813-b5ec-53d7cc7abb16}

    Key  : Failure.ProblemClass.Primary
    Value: INVALID_POINTER_READ

    Key  : Faulting.IP.Type
    Value: Paged


FILE_IN_CAB:  llama-cli.exe_260128_141011.dmp

COMMENT:  
*** procdump.exe  -e -x D:\test C:\Users\jack\Downloads\llama-b7813-bin-win-cpu-x64\llama-cli.exe --version
*** Unhandled exception: C0000005.ACCESS_VIOLATION

NTGLOBALFLAG:  70

APPLICATION_VERIFIER_FLAGS:  0

CONTEXT:  (.ecxr)
rax=0000000000000000 rbx=00000000e1b3b501 rcx=00007ffaa3ce3120
rdx=0000000000000000 rsi=00007ffaa3ce3118 rdi=00007ffaa0b4b450
rip=00007ffaa80c32a8 rsp=000000c3fd95c3c0 rbp=000000c3fd95c680
 r8=000000c3fd95c5c8  r9=000000c3fd95c680 r10=0000000000000000
r11=0000000000000246 r12=0000000000000004 r13=000000c3fd95c700
r14=0000000000000000 r15=00007ffaa3ce3160
iopl=0         nv up ei ng nz na pe nc
cs=0033  ss=002b  ds=002b  es=002b  fs=0053  gs=002b             efl=00010280
msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+0x9c:
00007ffa`a80c32a8 488b00          mov     rax,qword ptr [rax] ds:00000000`00000000=????????????????
Resetting default scope

EXCEPTION_RECORD:  (.exr -1)
ExceptionAddress: 00007ffaa80c32a8 (msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+0x000000000000009c)
   ExceptionCode: c0000005 (Access violation)
  ExceptionFlags: 00000000
NumberParameters: 2
   Parameter[0]: 0000000000000000
   Parameter[1]: 0000000000000000
Attempt to read from address 0000000000000000

PROCESS_NAME:  llama-cli.exe

READ_ADDRESS:  0000000000000000 

ERROR_CODE: (NTSTATUS) 0xc0000005 - The instruction at 0x%p referenced memory at 0x%p. The memory could not be %s.

EXCEPTION_CODE_STR:  c0000005

EXCEPTION_PARAMETER1:  0000000000000000

EXCEPTION_PARAMETER2:  0000000000000000

STACK_TEXT:  
000000c3`fd95c3c0 00000000`00000000     : 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 00000000`00000000 : msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+0x9c


STACK_COMMAND: ~0s; .ecxr ; kb

IP_IN_PAGED_CODE: 
msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+9c [d:\a01\_work\43\s\src\vctools\crt\github\stl\src\mutex.cpp @ 103]
00007ffa`a80c32a8 488b00          mov     rax,qword ptr [rax]

FAULTING_SOURCE_LINE:  d:\a01\_work\43\s\src\vctools\crt\github\stl\src\mutex.cpp

FAULTING_SOURCE_FILE:  d:\a01\_work\43\s\src\vctools\crt\github\stl\src\mutex.cpp

FAULTING_SOURCE_LINE_NUMBER:  103

FAULTING_SOURCE_CODE:  
No source found for 'd:\a01\_work\43\s\src\vctools\crt\github\stl\src\mutex.cpp'


SYMBOL_NAME:  msvcp140!mtx_do_lock+9c

MODULE_NAME: msvcp140

IMAGE_NAME:  msvcp140.dll

FAILURE_BUCKET_ID:  INVALID_POINTER_READ_c0000005_msvcp140.dll!mtx_do_lock

OSPLATFORM_TYPE:  x64

OSNAME:  Windows 8

IMAGE_VERSION:  14.31.31103.0

FAILURE_ID_HASH:  {f909de7e-301a-0813-b5ec-53d7cc7abb16}

Followup:     MachineOwner
---------

It worked, thank you.

I downloaded https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170#latest-supported-redistributable-version and installed it.

It output the correct version information and model prompt.

I previously installed VC++ Redistributable 2015-2022,it might not be new enough.