BSOD Log/Dump File

A BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) produces a log file otherwise known as a memory dump. This file contains the error codes you received on the blue screen itself, as well as what was actually happening at the time of the crash and what was loaded in memory. A debug analysis can often reveal the direct cause of the problem, or at the very least, give a good idea of the probable cause.


How to Attach a Dump File in PCHF

Please Note: As long as you have any P2P/cracked/warez program(s) installed, as per the PCHF Rules, we will not be able to offer you assistance. Please remove any and all P2P Clients and wait for further BSOD's before posting them. Also, ensure you only have one Firewall and one Anti-Virus installed at any one time. Any of the above mentioned software can produce false readings in these logs.

When it comes to your reply, below the "Quick Reply" message box, click on: "Go Advanced"

The advanced screen will give a "Reply to Thread" screen with more options. Click on the attachment icon: and a Manage Attachments window will appear.

Under the section "Upload File from your computer", click on the first Browse or Choose File button, and a Choose/Open file window will appear.

Click on the "My Computer" or "Computer" icon on the left hand Window, double click on your local hard drive containing the "Windows" folder. Double click on your Windows folder, followed by the folder called “minidump”.

Inside here, you’ll see the dump/log files starting with the filename “mini..”. The files themselves are actually marked with a date in Amercian format (mmddyy) followed by the number of crashes that day. For example: mini080109-01.dmp would be the first crash on the 1st of August2009.


To ensure the accuracy of the results, attach the latest file possible, and attach a few of them (you can attach up to three per post). Double click on the file you wish to upload, and then click on the Upload button, followed by Close this window.


Troubleshooting

minidump’s are normally enabled by default. However there may be several reasons why they do not appear in this folder.

Make sure minidumps are enabled:
- Go to My Computer, Control Panel, System followed by Advanced tab.
- Under “Startup and Recovery”, click Settings.
- Under “System failure”, make sure Write and event to the system log is ticked.
- Under “Write debugging information”, make sure Small Memory Dump is selected.


Also, if you have performed a disk cleanup since the you received a BSOD, it would have been deleted.

You must now wait or reproduce your blue screen again before uploading the log file.