Introduction

A dump file provides a snapshot during a crash of the PC.

The smallest form of a dump file is the minidump, which provides the smallest amount of information about why a system has crashed.

It is created automatically with a blue screen and is pretty helpful for analysis and error detection.

Activate creation of Minidump Files

To make sure a dump file is created with every Blue Screen, follow the below steps:

1. Open the Control Panel → System
2. Select "Advanced System Settings"
3. Open the Settings for "Start and Restore"
4. In the section "save debug information", choose "Minidump"

In this section also the default path for the created Minidump files can be changed.

Access Minidump files

The Minidump files are saved in C:\Windows\Minidumps by default.

If there is no permission to open this folder, copy it to another directory to be able to access the .DMP Files.

Open Minidump with BlueScreenView

A dump file is provided as binary code. Therefore, a tool is required to open it and for further analysis.

For example, the free "BlueScreenView" tool can be used here.

Change Dump directory

After opening, BlueScreenView automatically searches in the default folder for minidump files "C:\Windows\Minidump".

The minidump folder to be read out can be changed as required:

Change Dump view

The display of the selected dump file can be changed via the menu "Options → Lower Pane Mode".

For example, the original BlueSceen can be displayed: