V2.5_Dump

Turning on Dump Files in SpecView Version 2.5

If you are getting crashes or hangs from SpecView, then there is a tool from Microsoft that will automate the process of making DUMP files that we can analyse.

The tool is PROCDUMP and is available from Microsoft here.

When you have downloaded it, copy the PROCDUMP.EXE file into your main SpecView folder (recommended) - this is usually C:\SV32 for Version 2.5

Here is the recommended way of using it:

Either before SpecView is running, or after you have started SpecView:

Start a Command Prompt, then type these commands

CD \SV32 (or wherever you have installed SV32)
PROCDUMP -E -H -MP -N 10 -W SV32

You can put this into a Batch file to save typing this every time.

When PROCDUMP runs, it opens a new Command Prompt window as shown below. This window can be ignored - it is just there watching for SpecView crashes. Do not close the window. It’s OK to look inside it, it looks like this:

The next time SpecView crashes, PROCDUMP will jump in and take a Memory Snapshot (Dump).

It will give a file like:

That will create a ZIP file of the .DMP file, which will be a lot smaller than the original, typically only 1% to 10% of the original size. These can be eMailed to support@specview.com or sent via an account on Dropbox or Google Drive or even via FTP.

Please also send us a SpecView archive of your project, which can be done by starting SpecView and clicking the [Archive] button before you go into your project. See the main SpecView help for details.

SV32_160211_151704.DMP (The date is coded like 2016 Feb 11th 15:17:04)

These .DMP files tend to be very large, so please ZIP them first before sending. Windows includes a built-in ZIP facility, as follows:

Find the .DMP file in Windows Explorer - it will be in the main SV32 folder where SpecView is run from. RIGHT-Click the .DMP file then choose Send To from the pop-up menu, and then Compressed Folder, as shown here: