How to generate a full user-mode dump file in Windows Vista

This article describes how to generate a full user-mode dump file in Windows Vista.

Dr. Watson is not included in Windows Vista. Dr. Watson was the default debugger in older Windows operating systems. The replacement for Dr. Watson is Problem Reports and Solutions. You can configure Problem Reports and Solutions in Control Panel. However, you cannot use Problem Reports and Solutions to create a full user-mode dump file.

How to create a full user-mode dump file in Windows Vista

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

1. Obtain and then install Windows Debugging Tools. To obtain Windows Debugging Tools, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
   http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx)
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. Copy and then paste (or type) the following command in the Open box, and then press ENTER:
   regedit
4. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AeDebug
5. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click String Value.
6. Type Debugger, and then press ENTER.
7. Right-click Debugger, and then click Modify.
8. In the Edit String Value dialog box, type C:\debuggers\ntsd -p %ld -c ".dump /f /u c:\tmp\mydump.dmp;q", and then click OK. In this example, the Windows Debugging Tools directory is C:\Debuggers.
9. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click String Value.
10. Type Auto, and then press ENTER.
11. Right-click Auto, and then click Modify.
12. In the Edit String Value dialog box, type 1, and then click OK.
13. Exit Registry Editor.

If an application crashes, a full user-mode dump file will be created in the C:\Tmp directory that you specified in step 8.