If your computer experiences a bluescreen, how can you find out what happened, fix the issue and it prevent it from happening again? You may find the memory dump file useful in this situation. The memory dump file contains the smallest amount of useful information that could help you identify why your computer experienced a bluescreen. Windows Debugger, also known as WinDbg, is a tool made by Microsoft to help troubleshoot bluescreen minidumps. Windows Debugger is a tool that helps you read the minidump file.
The memory dump file contains the following information:
PRCB
) for the processor that stoppedEPROCESS
) for the process that stoppedETHREAD
) for the thread that stoppedFollow the step-by-step instructions below to learn how to read .dmp (dump) files.
Causes for blue screen errors vary. Hardware failures or software corruption are both possible.
To use Windows Debugger, Install and Run WinDbg Preview, Analyze a Dump File, then Review the Analysis Results. You may also Use the Driver Verifier Tool to Gather Information. Click the appropriate subject for more information.
WinDbg must be installed to open and read a memory dump file. These steps show how to download and install WinDbg.
WinDbg
in the Microsoft Store and then download WinDbg Preview.With WinDbg installed, follow these steps to read the memory dump file.
srv*https://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
and then click OK.C:\Users\XYZ\AppData\Local\CrashDumps\
C:\Windows\Minidump\
!analyze -v
and then press Enter.MODULE_NAME
or IMAGE_NAME
for the file. Reviewing the results can lead to further troubleshooting steps and potentially reveal the cause of the error.For more information about the error, reference the Bug Check Codes from Bug Check Code Reference.
For more information about blue screen error code confirmation links, reference Advanced Troubleshooting for Stop or Blue Screen Errors.
For more information about file Information, reference Process Explorer.
For more information about resolving blue screens, reference Resolving Blue Screen errors in Windows.
For more information about Windows Debugger, reference Analyze a kernel-mode dump file by using WinDbg.
For more information about the analyze extension, reference Using the !analyze Extension and !analyze (WinDbg)
.
Approximately 75% of blue screen errors are caused by driver issues. The Driver Verifier tool runs in real-time to examine the behavior of installed drivers. The driver verifier manager is built into Windows and is available on all Windows computers.
Follow these steps to start the driver verifier manager:
CMD
in the field.Verifier
in Command Prompt.You can specify which drivers you would like to verify. The verify tool adds all drivers associated to the driver being verified as it runs, so try to verify the smallest number of drivers as possible. For more information, see Driver Verifier.
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