Collecting Crash-Dump Files on Windows 10/11

    What’s a crash dump?

    A crash dump ( .dmp ) is Windows’ snapshot of what an app was doing the instant it fell over. It lets us pinpoint the offending code instead of guessing.

    By default Windows doesn’t create these files, so you’ll need to turn the feature on once. It takes about two minutes.


    Step-by-Step — Enable Crash Dumps

    Safety first: we’ll tweak one small area of the Windows registry. Back it up before you edit—just in case.

    1. Open Registry Editor

      1. Press Win + R, type regedit, hit Enter.

      2. Approve the User Account Control prompt.

    2. Back Up the Key We’re About to Change

      1. Navigate to
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\

      2. Right-click Windows Error Reporting → Export → save the .reg file somewhere safe (Desktop is fine).

    3. Create a “LocalDumps” Key

      1. In that same Windows Error Reporting folder, right-click, choose New ► Key.

      2. Name the new key LocalDumps.

    4. Add Three Values inside LocalDumps

      Value Type Data What it does
      DumpFolder Expandable String (REG_EXPAND_SZ) %LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps Where dumps are stored
      DumpCount DWORD (32-bit) 10 Max number of dumps before the oldest is overwritten
      DumpType DWORD (32-bit) 2 2 = full dump (best for debugging)

      To add each one: right-click the blank area on the right-hand pane → New → choose the correct type → enter the name and data above.

    5. Reproduce the Crash & Grab the File

      • Relaunch the app, make it crash, then open:
        %LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps

      • You’ll see a file named something like ProTools.exe.1234.dmp.
        Zip it and send it back to us along with the session log we requested.

    That’s it! Once you’re done with support you can leave the dump feature on (handy for future issues) or simply delete the LocalDumps key to disable it.

    Published