Microsoft KB Archive/130536

= Windows does not save memory dump file after a crash =

Article ID: 130536

Article Last Modified on 10/11/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Datacenter Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional for Itanium-based systems
 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional for Itanium-based systems
 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
 * Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002
 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional
 * Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter x64 Edition

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This article was previously published under Q130536



SYMPTOMS
When you receive a STOP error message or a fatal system error message, a Memory.dmp file may not be created.

Note Before troubleshooting the problem, make sure that the computer is correctly configured to save a crash dump file.



CAUSE
There are several reasons why the Memory.dmp file is not being created when your computer encounters a STOP message:
 * The Memory.dmp file already exists and the option Overwrite Any Existing File (found in Control Panel System) is not selected. It is a good idea to leave this box checked and to move or copy the current Memory.dmp file.
 * The paging file on the boot drive is not large enough. To use the "Write Debugging Information To" feature to obtain a complete memory dump file, the paging file on the boot drive must be at least as large as physical memory + 1 MB. When you create a kernel memory dump file, the file is usually around one-third the size of the physical memory on the system. Of course, this quantity will vary, depending on your circumstances.
 * The paging file is not on the %systemroot% partition. When the STOP error occurs, the system crash dump is written out to the pagefile on the root of the %systemroot% drive.
 * There is not room for the Memory.dmp file in the path specified in Control Panel for writing the memory dump.
 * It is possible that the SCSI controller is bad or the system crash is caused by a bad SCSI controller board.
 * If you specify a non-existent path, a dump file will not be written. For example, if you specify the path as C:\Dumpfiles\Memory.dmp and no C:\Dumpfiles folder exists, a dump file will not be written.

Note The administrator can configure the computer to generate system event log and to send alerts to specific computers or users upon a system crash. This is a very useful feature of Windows for monitoring systems for system crashes when away from computers and when system configured for automatic reboot.

Additional query words: debug trap page file reasons

Keywords: kbtshoot kbprb KB130536

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