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Information POSTING INSTRUCTIONS - Please read before posting in this section

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jmarket

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BSOD Log/Dump File

A BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) produces a log file otherwise known as a memory dump. This file contains the error codes you received on the blue screen itself, as well as what was actually happening at the time of the crash and what was loaded in memory. A debug analysis can often reveal the direct cause of the problem, or at the very least, give a good idea of the probable cause.


How to collect log files for PCHF

Please Note: As long as you have any P2P/cracked/warez program(s) installed, as per the PCHF Rules, we will not be able to offer you assistance. Please remove any and all P2P Clients and wait for further BSOD's before posting them. Also, ensure you only have one Firewall and one Anti-Virus installed at any one time. Any of the above mentioned software can produce false readings in these logs.

  • Navigate to your dump directory (in most cases it'll be in C:\Windows\Minidump or C:\Minidump.
  • Gather all the logs and either put them into a ZIP or RAR archive or attach them to your post.
Troubleshooting

Minidumps are normally enabled by default. However there may be several reasons why they do not appear in this folder.

Make sure minidumps are enabled:
  • Go to My Computer, Control Panel, System, then click the Advanced tab.
  • Under “Startup and Recovery”, click Settings.
  • Under “System failure”, make sure Write and event to the system log is ticked.
  • Under “Write debugging information”, make sure Small Memory Dump is selected.
You can also do this at the command prompt should you wish to do so:
  • Go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, and click on Command Prompt... Note: if your running Vista or newer, please right click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
  • Enter the following in the Command Prompt, pressing enter after each:
  • Code:
    wmic recoveros set DebugInfoType = 3
    wmic recoveros set MiniDumpDirectory = %SystemRoot%\minidump
You must also make sure your Paging File is set to same drive the OS is installed on:
  • Go to My Computer, Control Panel, System followed by Advanced tab.
  • Under “Performance”, click Settings, followed by the Advanced tab.
  • Click Change towards the bottom of the screen, and then click on the drive letter that contains your Operating System.
  • For that drive, if "No paging file" has been selected, click System managed size, and finally restart your PC.

Note: If you have performed a disk cleanup since the you received a BSOD, it would have been deleted.

You must now wait or reproduce your blue screen so that further log files can be generated.

If you find that a log file is still not being generated, this could be an indication of a more serious hardware problem.
In this case we'll need to further troubleshoot the problem hardware.
 
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