Fix for no memory dump file

[zonemaster60]

This thread is just for those (and myself) that have had problem's when (and if) a BSOD has occurred the memory dump was NOT being saved.

I actually had to make a few changes and additions to the registry hive. I'm pretty good at doing this stuff since I have in the past worked a lot with XP and Win 98 and NT.

So here is the lowdown....

Registry values for 'Startup and Recovery' (usually found in My Computer > Properties > Advanced System Settings > Startup and Recovery)

Start regedt32

The following registry value is used so just navigate to the key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl

CrashDumpEnabled REG_DWORD 0x0 = None
CrashDumpEnabled REG_DWORD 0x1 = Complete memory dump
CrashDumpEnabled REG_DWORD 0x2 = Kernel memory dump <- what the devs need
CrashDumpEnabled REG_DWORD 0x3 = Small memory dump (64KB)

Additional registry values for CrashControl:
0x0 = Disabled
0x1 = Enabled
%SystemRoot% = X:\Windows (where 'X' is your drive letter, usually 'C')

Just make sure you have the following keys below:

CrashDumpEnabled REG_DWORD 0x2
AutoReboot REG_DWORD 0x1
DumpFile REG_EXPAND_SZ %SystemRoot%\Memory.dmp
LogEvent REG_DWORD 0x1
MinidumpDir REG_EXPAND_SZ %SystemRoot%\Minidump
Overwrite REG_DWORD 0x1
SendAlert REG_DWORD 0x1

I myself was missing several of these keys, including the 'Dumpfile' key so I just added them myself. It's quite safe if you know what to do. Do your editing, quit regedt32, and reboot, that's pretty much it.

Cheers! and Peace

[Coldmoon]

-{ Quote: "CrashDumpEnabled REG_DWORD 0x1 = Complete memory dump" }-

Be careful that you have the room for this one as it will be the size of your actual RAM... We would not ask for something like this due to the size and the Kernel memory dump is usually enough.

The KMD (when created) will usually be in the 100 - 350 MB range. Please do not do this unless you are specifically asked to do so by tech support due to the information above. In Vista and Win 7 you simply need to do the following to obtain a Kernel Memory Dump when requested:

How to generate a complete crash dump file or a kernel crash dump file by using an NMI on a Windows-based system
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927069

Mike

[zonemaster60]

-{ Quote: "The KMD (when created) will usually be in the 100 - 350 MB range. Please do not do this unless you are specifically asked to do so by tech support due to the information above." }-

Good point ;D

I did point out that the KMD is what you guys need specifically in case there is a BSOD involved. I think there is also a debugging utility available to download also if you want to dive into checking out the debug info yourself. I believe it is called I386KD.exe, and it's a command line utility so it's not too user friendly. You can also download a 32 or 64 bit debugger tool package from Microsoft's web site.

Thanks.

[zonemaster60]

OH, BTW Coldmoon I haven't forgot about installing RVS 2010 for testing, I've got a couple other projects going here at home.

I am on a LAN and have 2 other computers besides mine to deal with. They belong to my 2 teenage boys, and they don't seem to keep them up to date as much as they should, so I have to do it for them. It keeps me busy lol.

I promise I will get to installing it before the weekend. There are a few issues on my PC that need to get addressed here shortly but nothing major, but I WILL have some info for you, hopefully NO BSOD's by the time I'm done here.

Peace 8)

[Coldmoon]

Be sure to use the latest release:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=255480

It fixes several reported issues so should be working well...

Mike