This wikiHow teaches you how to analyze your Windows computer’s dump files after a crash. Dump files, which are automatically created by Windows after your computer crashes, display a list of programs that were running before the crash; this can help you determine which programs are responsible for the crash. If you’re anticipating another crash or you want to test a program, you can use a free program called BlueScreenView to analyze your dump files. You can also use the free Windows 10 Drivers Kit to open dump files from a past crash.
StepsPart 1Part 1 of 2:Reading with BlueScreenView
1Open Start 
. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
2Type in view advanced system settings. This will search your computer for the Advanced System Settings section of Control Panel.
3Click View advanced system settings. It’s a computer monitor with a checkmark icon at the top of the Start menu. Doing so opens the Advanced System Settings window.
4Click the Advanced tab. You’ll see this at the top of the window.You may first have to click the computer monitor-shaped icon that appears at the bottom of the screen to open the Advanced System Settings window.
5Click Settings. It’s below the “Startup and Recovery” heading near the bottom of the page. Doing this will open a separate window.
6Click the “Write debugging information” drop-down box. You’ll find this box in the middle of the separate window. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
7Click Small memory dump. It’s in the drop-down menu. This option makes future memory dumps readable with a simple file explorer such as BlueScreenView.EXPERT TIP
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A memory dump file is a file that’s taken from RAM. RAM has a number of allocation tables—or buckets—inside. A memory dump file is an entire download of whatever was inside that file when a catastrophic failure happened, and it goes into a log so an engineer or a software professional can look at it and see where the conflict happened.
8Click OK. It’s at the bottom of the window. This will close the window and return you to the Advanced System Settings window.
9Click OK. Doing so saves your changes and closes the Advanced System Settings window.
10Open the BlueScreenView page. Go to https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html in your browser. BlueScreenView is a program that finds and analyzes dump files for you, making it easy to see which programs were running directly before a crash.
11Download BlueScreenView. Scroll down and click the Download BlueScreenView with full install/uninstall support link that’s near the middle of the page.
12Open the BlueScreenView setup file. Double-click the bluescreenview_setup file in your computer’s “Downloads” location.
13Install BlueScreenView. To do so:Click Yes when prompted.Click NextClick NextClick InstallWait for BlueScreenView to install.
14Open BlueScreenView. Make sure that the “Run NirSoft BlueScreenView” box is checked, then click Finish at the bottom of the window. BlueScreenView will open.
15Review your dump files. BlueScreenView has a top pane and a bottom pane; you’ll see the dump file(s) listed in the top pane, while the programs that were recorded by the currently selected dump file will appear in the bottom pane.You can select a dump file by clicking it in the top pane.At least one of the programs that were recorded by the dump file is most likely responsible for the crash.Part 2Part 2 of 2:Reading with the Windows Drivers Kit
1Open the Windows 10 Drivers Kit page. Go to https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/download-the-wdk in your browser. The Windows Drivers Kit allows you to open dump files of all kinds, making it useful for checking a dump file from a past crash.
2Download the Windows Drivers Kit setup file. Scroll down and click the Download WDK for Windows 10, version 1803 link, which is below the “Install WDK for Windows 10” heading near the top of the page. The setup file will download onto your computer.
3Open the WDK setup file. Double-click the wdksetup file in your computer’s default “Downloads” folder.
4Install the Windows 10 Drivers Kit. To do so:Click Next on the first 4 pages.Click AcceptClick Yes when prompted.Wait for the WDK program to finish installing.
5Open Start
. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
6Type in command prompt. This will search your computer for the Command Prompt app.
7Right-click 
Command Prompt. It’s a black box at the top of the Start window. A drop-down menu will appear.
8Click Run as administrator. This option is in the drop-down menu.You won’t be able to complete this step if you’re not on an administrator account on your computer.
9Click Yes when prompted. Doing so opens the Command Prompt app in administrator mode.
10Switch to the WDK directory. Type in the following address and then press ↵ Enter:cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Debuggers\x86
11Enter the installation command. Type in windbg.exe -IA and then press ↵ Enter.
12Click OK when prompted. This signifies that the Windows Debugger will now open dump files automatically.
13Open WinDBG. Click Start
, type in windbg, and click WinDbg (X86) in the results. The Windows Debugger program will open.
14Add a symbol path. The symbol path tells the Windows Debugger which information to display:XClick File in the upper-left corner.Click Symbol File Path…Type in SRV*C:\SymCache*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbolsClick OK
15Find your dump file. To do this, you’ll need to go to the system root folder:Open StartType in run and press ↵ EnterType in %SystemRoot%Click OKClick the View tab.Check the “Hidden items” box if it isn’t already checked.Scroll down and double-click the MEMORY.DMP file.
16Review the dump file’s results. You should see a list of programs that were open when your computer crashed, which will help you determine which program(s) is/are responsible for the computer crash.
