Crash Dump Analysis

Sponsored link: Memory Dump Analysis Services

Debugging Experts Magazine Online

A customer reports application.exe crashes and you ask for a dump file. You get a dump, open it and see the dump is not from your application.exe. You ask for print spooler crash dump and you get mplayer.exe crash dump. I originally thought to call it Wrong Dump pattern and place it into patterns category but after writing about Zippocricy I clearly see it as anti-pattern. It is not a rocket science to check process name in a dump file before sending it for analysis:

• Load the user process dump in WinDbg
• Type command .symfix; .reload; !analyze -v and wait

 

until WinDbg is not busy analyzing

• Find PROCESS_NAME: in the output. You get something like:

PROCESS_NAME: spoolsv.exe

You can also use dumpchk.exe from Debugging Tools for Windows.

I’m also writing a new version of Citrix DumpCheck Explorer extension that will include process name in its output.  

Another example is when you ask for a complete memory dump but you get a kernel dump or you get various mini-dumps. Fortunately DumpCheck extension can  warn users before they submit a dump.

- Dmitry Vostokov -

           

Museum of Debugging and Memory Dumps

7/7/2010 - 8/8/2010 Annual Competition: Tell Your Windows Debugging Story

Crash and Hang Analysis Audit Service

CARE: Crash Analysis Report Environment

Crash Dump and Software Trace Analysis Training and Seminars

Access OpenTask Titles on Safari Books Online

DATA (Dump Analysis + Trace Analysis) Facebook group
Please join the community of memory (dump) and trace analysis engineers. This group promotes scientific methods and memory dump-based worldview.

Twitter @ DumpAnalysis
You can now follow portal and blog news at DumpAnalysis on Twitter

LinkedIn Group Dr. Watson Enthusiasts
All about Dr. Watson errors and more. Get news, excerpts and progress reports about the forthcoming book The Science of Dr. Watson: An Illustrated History of Debugging (ISBN 978-1906717070)

2010 (0x7DA) - The Year of Dump Analysis
2011 (0x7DB) - 2020 (0x7E4) The Debugging Decade

International Memory Analysts and Debuggers Day:
07.07 and/or 08.08 starting from The Year of Dump Analysis, 2010, 7DA

Announcements

Coming Soon:

Management Bits: An Anthology from Reductionist Manager

Crash Dump Analysis: Practical Foundations (Windows Edition, Systematic Software Fault Analysis Series)

Debugging Notebook: Essential Concepts, WinDbg Commands and Tools

Crash Dump Analysis for System Administrators and Support Engineers

New Magazines:

Debugged! MZ/PE: MagaZine for/from Practicing Engineers

New Books:

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology: Color Supplement for Volumes 1-3

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 3

First Fault Software Problem Solving: A Guide for Engineers, Managers and Users

x64 Windows Debugging: Practical Foundations

Also available:

Windows Debugging: Practical Foundations

DLL List Landscape: The Art from Computer Memory Space

Dumps, Bugs and Debugging Forensics: The Adventures of Dr. Debugalov

WinDbg: A Reference Poster and Learning Cards

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 2

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 1

New Children's Book:

Baby Turing

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at 3:55 pm and is filed under AntiPatterns, Crash Dump Analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.