Configure Small Memory Dumps in Windows 11

When Windows 11 experiences a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), creating a small memory dump file—also known as a minidump—captures the essential technical details of the crash without consuming gigabytes of storage space. This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough on how to configure Windows 11 to generate these 256 KB crash logs, allowing you to easily troubleshoot system instability using debugging tools.

Steps to Enable Small Memory Dumps

1. Open System Properties
   • Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
   • Type sysdm.cpl and press Enter (or click OK).
2. Access Startup and Recovery Settings
   • In the System Properties window, navigate to the Advanced tab.
   • Under the Startup and Recovery section at the bottom, click the Settings button.
3. Configure the Dump Type
   • Locate the System failure section.
   • Ensure that the Write an event to the system log checkbox is checked.
   • Open the drop-down menu under Write debugging information and select Small memory dump (256 KB).
4. Verify the Dump Directory
   • Confirm that the Small dump directory field is set to: %SystemRoot%\Minidump
   • Click OK to save the Startup and Recovery settings.
   • Click Apply, then OK on the System Properties window.
5. Restart Your Computer
   • Restart your PC to ensure the changes take effect.

Verifying Paging File Settings

For Windows to successfully create dump files during a crash, a paging file (virtual memory) must exist on the system drive (usually C:).

1. In the System Properties > Advanced tab, click Settings under the Performance section.
2. Go to the Advanced tab and click Change under Virtual memory.
3. Ensure that Automatically manage paging file size for all drives is checked, or ensure that the C: drive has a system-managed paging file enabled.
4. Click OK to exit.

Once configured, any future system crashes will automatically save .dmp files to C:\Windows\Minidump, which can be analyzed using tools like WinDbg or BlueScreenView.