Windows Dump File analyzer

xSamhainx

Paws of Doom
Original Sin Donor
Joined
October 18, 2006
Messages
5,228
Location
San Diego, Ca
On a hard crash that really sends windows reeling, blue screen or otherwise, windows commonly creates what's called a .dmp file, or a "minidump" file. It basically has information pertaining to the problem that caused the crash, etc. Sounds great at first, but to just open one of these files takes installing and configuration of the "windows debugging tools", which can in itself be a little confusing. Then, reading the actual .dmp file itself can be a pain, youre basically looking for a driver's name being repeated over and over (if it's a driver problem). If it's not a driver problem, youre looking for memory errors or something else of that nature. Right now I'm just talking driver issues, which is the most common blue screen inducer.

I found a great free little program called WhoCrashed, which will analyze dump files on your computer and call out the driver that it thinks is the problem. Better yet, after putting the program's folder on a flash drive, I found that it can be run portable on any computer.

**before creating your portable version however, run it on a pc install and install any windows components that it wants to install first. I found that it wanted to add some symbol library links etc
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
5,228
Location
San Diego, Ca
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