Creating a Windows Vista “dump” file

Here is a nice feature that I found when poking around Windows Vista. In Windows Vista, you can create dump files that are stored in the Temp directory.

Dump files are really useful when you need to troubleshoot BSOD, application crashes, freezing, and any problem a Windows box maybe exhibiting.

Here are the steps to create a dump file in Windows Vista.

Open Task Manager.
Right-click on applicable process.
Select Create Dump. A dialog box will appear with the path of the file. Typically it will be in “c:\users\Appdata\Local\Temp\***.DMP.
Open Dump file in applicable debugger tool such as WinDBG to troubleshoot your issue. You simply type Windbg in the Instant Search and choose File|Open Crash Dump.

by Steven Warren, TechRepublic