Troubleshoot Blue Screen errors with the Crash Dump Analyzer

The Toolset includes a Crash Dump Analyzer to help make troubleshooting Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) issues fast, easy, and accurate. To utilize the analyzer, go to Inform > History > Blue Screens > Details.

When you launch the Blue Screens Details window (only accessible if the system has crash dumps), you'll see a list of detected crash dumps from the following locations:

  • %WinDir%\MiniDump\*.dmp
  • %WinDir%\MEMORY.DMP

This first view aims to give you a quick pre-analysis overview of the following:

  • Date- date and time when the crash occurred.
  • Bugcheck Code- the actual error code of the BSOD/Bugcheck.
  • Description- description of the crash based on the bugcheck/BSOD error code.
  • Uptime- total time the operating system had been running for when the crash occurred.
  • System State- estimated state the OS was in when the crash may have occurred.
  • File Path- Path to the crash dump file.

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Clicking the Analyze button after selecting a crash dump will call on an integrated portable version of the Debugging Tools for Windows by Microsoft to perform a complete crash dump analysis and output the results in a easy to digest format:

  • Analysis Summary - This will give you an overview of the crash dump analysis and highlight key details around the results.
    • Crash Information - Operating System (with version, Architecture, and Build), Timestamp, Up Time (of the OS), Stop Code (with error code, error message, and detailed description), Arguments, and Bucket ID.
    • Probably Caused By- Path, Company Name, Description, Product Name, File Version, Product Version, Last Modified date, and a Comment if the driver is identical, different, or missing on the system.
    • Note: Some fields will not show if the file is missing from or different on the current system.

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  • Stack Trace - This will give you a deeper level of detail around what was happening in the memory stack when the BSOD occurred. This can help identify if there are multiple things at play causing the BSOD.
    • Call Stack - the ordered list of modules, their called function, and arguments from when the crash occurred.
    • Relevant Modules - list of modules from the Call Stack with details on the Path, Company Name, Description, Last Modified date, and the Current State of the module (e.g. identical, different, or missing).
    • Note: Some fields will not show if the file is missing from or different on the current system.

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  • Full Output - Complete raw text output from WinDBG for manual inspection and additional raw technical details.
    • Note: You can highlight, use common keyboard shortcuts, or the right-click context menu to copy content from the Raw Output tab.

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Note: Internet access is required to obtain symbol files from Microsoft to provide an effective and accurate crash dump analysis.

 
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