How To Create A Dump File In Windows 10

If you're a heavy user of the Windows platform and have been utilizing the OS for a number of years, I'd say you've experienced the dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). By default, It dumps everything from memory onto disk In the form of a dump file, which can be analyzed to Identify the cause of the crash. You can also create your very own dump file for any application you like, thus In this tutorial, I will show you how to do It with Incredible ease.


On the grounds that a particular application that's Installed on your PC Is hanging, crashing or simply not responding the way It should, you'd want to establish the reason(s) why It's behaving as such. Sure, It can be uninstalled & reinstalled with an updated version however not only Is this Inconvenient, but It can fail to rectify the Issue at the best of times.

As such, I will demonstrate how to create a dump file natively within Windows for the application In question, which you can analyze, troubleshoot and Identify the cause of the problem thereafter. As said, the process Is extremely simple so without further ado, let's get this tutorial started.

Step One:

The first thing you need to do, Is access the Windows Task Manager. Open the Run menu, enter taskmgr and hit OK as shown below.

Step Two:

Next, make sure the Processes tab Is selected and then locate your problematic application. For the purpose of this tutorial, I will assume a program named Classic Start Menu, Is causing my computer Issues. I've right-clicked It and selected Create dump file. Obviously, the same procedure will apply to you.

Step Three:

A message has been returned, confirming that the application's contents have been dumped onto the hard disk, as per the directory highlighted In orange. We need to navigate there In the next step. Click OK to close the message box.

Step Four:

The easiest way to navigate to the directory where the dump file Is located, Is to open File Explorer, and enter the above directory (excluding the file name) Into the address bar as per the Image below. Then simply hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

Last Step:

As you can see, this has taken me directly to where my dump file Is located, namely the  ClassicStartMenu.DMP file. I can now analyze It via online services, or Microsoft Visual Studio, which In my experience, Is a very powerful application to troubleshoot problematic programs, tools and applications.

Final Thoughts:

There are many tools that can be used to analyze and troubleshoot a dump file, a lot of which are quite user-friendly and do the job rather well, however It's way beyond the scope of this article to cover the lot. When you have a moment, simply hit a Google search and you'll find pages of search results at your disposal.