Windows tip of the week

Save a crash dump file after a Blue Screen of Death

Debugging a STOP error (that's the official name of what's more popularly known as the Blue Screen of Death) is a straightforward process for anyone with the right software tools. Developers can download the Debugging Tools for Windows as part of the Windows Software Development Kit, but you can also find third-party tools and services capable of decoding a crash dump file.

To find the most recent crash dump file, look in the %SystemRoot% folder, typically C:Windows, for a file called Memory.dmp. These files can be large, but they compress dramatically, so be sure to zip them up before uploading or emailing one.

To fine-tune the settings Windows uses for saving crash dump files, click Start and then type systempropertiesadvanced (with no spaces) in the search box. Click the one search result to open the System Properties dialog box with the Advanced tab selected and then click Settings under the Startup And Recovery heading.

The options you're looking for are under the System Failure heading. You can, for example, change the type of dump file to include more or less information, change the location where dump files are saved, and specify whether you want to automatically restart after a BSOD.