Windows Error Reporting Dump Type Registry Key

This article explains how to locate and configure the registry keys responsible for managing Windows Error Reporting (WER) dump types. It covers the primary Group Policy override path, the standard local configuration key, and the specific DWORD values used to define whether the system generates mini, summary, or full crash dumps when an application crashes.

The Global Policy Registry Key

The global policy override for Windows Error Reporting dump collection is located in the Windows Registry under the Policies hive:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps

When configured via Group Policy or administrative management tools, settings defined in this path take precedence over the default user and machine-level WER configurations.

If policy overrides are not enforced, the standard system-wide key for user-configured dumps is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps

Configuring the DumpType Value

To set the global crash dump type, create or modify the following value inside the LocalDumps key:

• Value Name: DumpType
• Value Type: REG_DWORD

Available Dump Types

• 0 (Custom Dump): Captures custom data specified by the application.
• 1 (Mini Dump): Captures minimal information, including the thread stack, processor context, and loaded modules.
• 2 (Full Dump): Captures the entire user-mode process memory space at the time of the crash.

Additional Related Registry Values

You can customize dump handling further by adding these optional values to the same LocalDumps key:

• DumpFolder (REG_EXPAND_SZ): Specifies the directory where crash dumps are written (default is %LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps).
• DumpCount (REG_DWORD): Defines the maximum number of crash dumps to retain in the dump folder before overwriting old files (default is 10).
• CustomDumpFlags (REG_DWORD): Specifies custom MINIDUMP_TYPE flags if DumpType is set to 0.