Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD  

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    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD

    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD

    How to Configure Windows 10 to Create Dump Files on BSOD
    Published by Category: BSOD
    22 Mar 2023
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Configure Windows 10 to Create Dump Files on BSOD

    information   Information
    A blue screen (aka: BSOD) error (also called a stop error) can occur if a problem causes your PC to shut down or restart unexpectedly. When you experience this type of error, you won’t be able to see things like the Start menu or the taskbar on the screen when your PC is turned on. Instead you might see a blue screen with a message that your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart.

    In the event of your PC encountering a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) a Dump File will be required for debugging purposes by a BSOD analyst. By default Windows 10 is set to write Automatic memory dumps, this tutorial will show you how to configure Windows 10 to write Minidumps (Small memory dumps), Kernel memory dumps, Complete memory dumps, Automatic memory dumps and Active memory dumps.

    For more information about crash dump files, please see: Understanding Crash Dump Files - Ask the Performance Team - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

    You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to perform any of the steps in this tutorial.

    Note   Note
    Automatic memory dump
    An Automatic Memory Dump contains the same information as a Kernel memory dump. The difference between the two is in the way that Windows sets the size of the system paging file. If the system paging file size is set to System managed size, and the kernel-mode crash dump is set to Automatic Memory Dump, then Windows can set the size of the paging file to less than the size of RAM. In this case Windows sets the size of the paging file large enough to ensure that a kernel memory dump can be captured most of the time.

    Complete memory dump

    A complete memory dump records all the contents of physical memory (RAM) at the time of the crash. A complete memory dump may contain data from processes that were running when the memory dump was collected. If a second crash occurs and another complete memory dump (or kernel memory dump) file is created, the previous contents of the C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP file are overwritten.
    By default, the complete memory dump option is not available in Startup and Recovery on computers that have 2 gigabytes (GB) or more of RAM installed. You can still set Windows to create a Complete memory dump using the REG file in step 4 of Option Two if you wish.

    The complete memory dump will require that there is a page file set to at least the size of physical memory installed plus 1MB (for the header).

    Active memory dump
    An active memory dump is smaller than a Complete memory dump, however it still contains active memory in both kernel and user mode. You can now obtain kernel information as well as user information without having to dump the complete memory.

    Kernel memory dump
    A kernel dump contains only the kernel-mode read / write pages present in physical memory at the time of the crash. Since this is a kernel-mode only dump, there are no pages belonging to user-mode processes. However, it is unlikely that the user-mode process pages would be required since a system crash (bugcheck) is usually caused by kernel-mode code. The list of running processes, state of the current thread and list of loaded drivers are stored in nonpaged memory that saves in a kernel memory dump. The size of a kernel memory dump will vary based on the amount of kernel-mode memory allocated by Windows and the drivers that are present on the system.

    If a second crash occurs and another kernel memory dump (or complete memory dump) file is created, the previous contents of the C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP file are overwritten.

    Small memory dump
    A small memory dump (Minidump) is a C:\Windows\Minidump dump file that contains the stop code, parameters, list of loaded device drivers, information about the current process and thread, and the kernel stack for the thread that caused the crash.


    For a Windows 11 version of this tutorial, see:

    Change BSOD Crash Memory Dump File Type in Windows 11






    INTRODUCTION

     List of Contents


    Option One: Configure Dump File Settings in Start-up and Recovery
    Option Two: Configure Dump File Settings with a REG file download
    Option Three: Configure Dump File Settings in Elevated Command Prompt




    OPTION ONE

     Configure Dump File Settings in Start-up and Recovery


    1: Open Control Panel

    2: Click/tap on System and Security

    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-control-panel.png

    3: Click/tap on System

    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-system-security.png

    4: Click/tap on Advanced System Settings, the System Properties window will open.

    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-system.png

    5: In the Start-up and Recovery section click/tap on Settings...

    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-advanced-system-settings.png

    6: In the System failure section ensure both Write an event to the system log and Automatically restart options are checked. In the Write debugging information section click on the dropdown box and select either of the options below then click/tap OK:



    No Dump Files

    Have Windows NOT Create a Dump File on BSOD


    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-none.png



    Small Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create a Small Memory Dump (Minidump) on BSOD


    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-small-memory-dump-save-location.png




    Kernel Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create a Kernel Memory Dump on BSOD


    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-kernal-dump-save-location.png




    Complete Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create a Complete Memory Dump on BSOD


    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-complete-memory-dump-save-location.png




    Automatic Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create an Automatic Memory Dump on BSOD


    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-automatic-memory-dump-save-location.png




    Active Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create an Active Memory Dump on BSOD


    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-active-memory-dump-save-location.png
    Note   Note
    Ensure the Small dump directory: for Small memory dumps (Dump file: for all other dump types) save location box underneath the dropdown box reads the following for each selected dump:

    Dump Type Save Location
    (none) %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP (Greyed out)
    Small memory dump (256kb) %SystemRoot%\Minidump
    Kernel memory dump %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP
    Complete memory dump %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP
    Automatic memory dump %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP
    Active memory dump %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP

    7: You can now close Control Panel.



    OPTION TWO

     Configure Dump File Settings with a REG file download


    1: Download the relevant .reg file from the list below for which Memory Dump you want Windows to create:



    No Memory Dumps

    Have Windows NOT Create a Memory Dump on BSOD


    Click the download button below to download Create_NO_dump_file_on_BSOD.reg
    Go to Step 2



    Small Memory Dumps (Minidumps)

    Have Windows Create a Small Memory Dump (Minidump) on BSOD


    Click the download button below to download Create_Minidump_on_BSOD.reg

    Download
    Go to Step 2



    Kernel Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create a Kernel Memory Dump on BSOD


    Click the download button below to download Create_Kernel_memory_dump_on_BSOD.reg

    Download
    Go to Step 2



    Complete Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create a Complete Memory Dump on BSOD


    Click the download button below to download Create_Complete_memory_dump_on_BSOD.reg

    Download
    Go to Step 2



    Automatic Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create an Automatic Memory Dump on BSOD


    NOTE: This is the default setting

    Click the download button below to download Automatic_memory_dump.reg

    Download
    Go to Step 2



    Active Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create an Active Memory Dump on BSOD


    Click the download button below to download Active_memory_dump.reg
    Go to Step 2

    2: Save the .reg file to your desktop or other convenient location

    3: Double click on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

    4: When prompted, click on Run, Yes, Yes, and OK to approve merging the .reg file.

    5: Restart the computer to apply.

    6: You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you wish.




    OPTION THREE

     Configure Dump File Settings in Elevated Command Prompt


    1: Open an Elevated Command Prompt

    2:
    Enter the relevant command from the list below to set the type of dump file you wish to set



    No Memory Dumps

    Have Window NOT Create a Dump File


    A) Copy and paste the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below the command list)

    wmic RECOVEROS set DebugInfoType = 0

    B)
    Go to Step 3



    Small Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create a Small Memory Dump (Minidump) on BSOD


    A) Copy and paste the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below the command list)

    wmic RECOVEROS set DebugInfoType = 3

    B)
    Go to Step 3



    Kernel Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create a Kernel Memory Dump on BSOD


    A) Copy and paste the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below the command list)

    wmic RECOVEROS set DebugInfoType = 2

    B)
    Go to Step 3



    Complete Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create a Complete Memory Dump on BSOD


    WARNING:
    Ensure you read the important information regarding page file requirements in order for this type of dump to be created.

    A) Copy and paste the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below the command list)

    wmic RECOVEROS set DebugInfoType = 1

    B)
    Go to Step 3



    Automatic Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create an Automatic Memory Dump on BSOD


    NOTE: This is the default setting

    A) Copy and paste the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below the command list)

    wmic RECOVEROS set DebugInfoType = 7

    B)
    Go to Step 3



    Active Memory Dumps

    Have Windows Create an Active Memory Dump on BSOD


    A) Copy and paste the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below the command list)

    wmic RECOVEROS set DebugInfoType = 1

    B)
    Go to Step 3

    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-c-prompt-2.jpg

    3: Close the Elevated Command Prompt

    4: Restart the computer to apply the settings

     View the Current Memory Dump Type Setting


    To view the current Memory Dump type setting

    A) Open an Elevated Command Prompt

    B) Copy and paste the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter

    wmic RECOVEROS get DebugInfoType

    Note   Note
    The example below shows the system set to 3 for a Small Memory Dump (minidump)

    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-c-prompt-1.jpg


    That's it,
    Gav.

    Massive thanks to Brink for the huge amount of help in making this tutorial as complete as it is.






  1. Posts : 1
    Windows 10
       #1

    The Create_Complete_memory_dump_on_BSOD.reg download link opens a picture and does not download a reg file. The kernel reg file download works fine.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 68,545
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #2

    Hello @jaylweb, and welcome to Ten Forums. :)

    Sorry about that. The download has now been fixed.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 49
    WINDOWS 10 home 64 BIT
       #3

    Hi Brink
    I deleted my temp files yesterday using windows disk cleanup and my dump files have gone does this mean I forgot to un-tick the box before I clicked OK and I wiped them out? I have had a couple of BSOD in the last month caused by my anti virus security and the tech team wants my dump files ...hence finding out they are gone also in the pic will these settings be OK for system failure : overwrite any existing file....and.....disable automatic deletion of memory dumps when disk space is low is it OK to leave un-ticked ?

    thanks in advance :)

    Configure Windows 10 to Create Minidump on BSOD-ashampoo_snap_2016.09.08_16h43m15s_002_.png
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 68,545
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #4

    Hey Brian, :)

    Nar, it was just deleted by Disk Cleanup.

    Those settings are fine. It allow you to keep multiple dump files until you disk space runs low to then delete the oldest dump file as needed to for a new one.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 49
    WINDOWS 10 home 64 BIT
       #5

    sweet thanks very much Brink :)
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 152
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #6

    Hi Guys...

    When you specify that a dump file should be created as a result of a BSOD and your page file is not on your Boot drive you will get a message stating you need to create a page file on it. I vaguely recall finding a way to put your only page file on D for example and still have Windows take a dump (lol). In fact, I also recall that whatever I found at the time actually worked. I suspect it is a Registry entry or Group Policy thing. Any help to get this working will be appreciated.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 11,062
    Windows 10 Pro version 22H2 0n one desktop and running Window 11 Pro 22H2 on unsupported desktop
       #7

    Now I have probably asked already but am now getting more involved with 10 I can see the configuring stuff but am wondering how the results are posted in the 10 forum like they are in 7??
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 14,901
    Windows 10 Pro
       #8

    The results are posted exactly as in 7 :)
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 11,062
    Windows 10 Pro version 22H2 0n one desktop and running Window 11 Pro 22H2 on unsupported desktop
       #9

    Thanks mate:)
      My Computer


 

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