How do I troubleshoot computer dumps?

Question

Once I have a dump of a computer crash/freeze, what are some tools and steps to take in order to troubleshoot crash based off of the dump itself?

I am looking for tools to isolate what processes or issues are causing the crash, and also good techniques in troubleshoot the actual dump itself. Once I've determined what the "troublesome" process has been, what do I do to troubleshoot the issue?

For example if I determine process foo.exe or bar.dll etc, is the problematic file how do I determine what can be done?

Answer 1

I use these procedures :

Install Tools If you havn't got the windows debugging tools installed, then install the Microsoft Debugging Tools (Direct Link) Analyse The MiniDump To extract useful information out of the minidump file created:

1. Open a command prompt (Start -> Run -> "cmd")
2. cd \program files\debugging tools (Or wherever they are installed to)
3. kd -z C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini???????-??.dmp
4. kd> .logopen c:\debuglog.txt
5. kd> .sympath srvc:\symbolshttp://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols
6. kd> .reload;!analyze -v;r;kv;lmnt;.logclose;q
7. You now have a debuglog.txt in c:\, open it in a text edit (Notepad?).

Answer 2

Minidump info, tools, downloads

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315263

See this thread for learning

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/138334/starting-to-learn-windbg