System.BadImageFormatException

http://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/433065/system-badimageformatexception-is-not-informative

Posted by Microsoft on 5/19/2009 at 2:08 PM
Hello,
Thank you for getting in touch with us and providing this feedback. We are at a point in the release where this particular bug (BadImageFormatException should be more informative) does not meet the bug-fixing bar. As a result, I'm resolving your bug "By Design".
However, your suggestion is valid and here are some resources/mitigations that will help.
1) Run peverify.exe - this provides some useful information on the cause of the bad image, helping you to debug the issue better.
2) Check bitness - are you trying to load a 32 bit assembly in a 64 bit application?
3) Check if the runtime versions match - are you trying to load a CLR v2.0 assembly in an application that has CLR v1.1? Modules built against v2 can not be loaded by a pre-v2 CLR.
4) Are you loading an unmanaged assembly as if it's a managed dll?

(2), (3) and (4) are the primary causes of a BadImageFormatException. I hope this suggestion helps. If you think that the resolution of this bug is unacceptable, please feel free to send me an email at aarthir AT microsoft DOT com, or simply re-activate this issue.

Thanks!
Aarthi Ramamurthy,
PM, CLR.