Search:

How to Enable Kernel Memory Dumps



...in Windows 2000 and Windows XP

For debugging kernel driver crashes, it is often convenient to generate kernel memory dumps for later analysis.

By default, Windows 2000 and Windows XP only generate a 64K "mini-dump". This dump is usually not very useful for analyzing USB driver problems.

Windows 2000 and Windows XP also offer the option of "kernel memory dumps" and "full memory dumps". Usually, kernel memory dumps are adequate for analyzing USB driver problems.

To enable kernel memory dumps:
  1. Log in as a system administrator.
  2. Open the system control panel, and double-click "System":

  3. After a short pause, you'll see the the general system properties page. Select the "Advanced tab"

  4. You'll see the advanced properties page. In Windows 2000, select "Startup and Recovery". In Windows XP, select the "Settings" button under "Startup and Recovery." The image below is for Windows XP:

  5. You'll see the Startup and Recovery page. When Windows is installed, the default is set to save a "mini-dump" (2K) or "small dump" (XP). Change the circled prompt to the setting "Kernel Memory Dump."

  6. Click OK.
  7. If you see the following alert, please note the drive letter (C: in this example) and the size (200M in this example), and follow the procedure on changing the paging file size on that drive.

  8. Restart the system.

    After a crash, the dump files will appear in your system root directory.
See also:


Back to top