What causes a memory dump (dumprep o-k)

[karen402]

What causes a memory dump?
I got up this morning and had a blue screen with error messages on it,
sorry was to long to write all the stuff down, but was a memory error
and told me to boot into the safe mode. I didn't do that I just
re-booted my computer.
I did a google search; in my msconfig I have "dumprep o-k". I also read
how to disable this.
My question is how do I find out what caused this? It happened in the
middle of the night. I do have Norton's set to scan for viruses every
night. I looked and this task was completed before the "blue screen".
Nothing else running in the background or no other programs open.
WinXP Home, 384 memory, over 21 gig free hard-drive space if that makes
a difference.
Thanks Karen

 

[Guest]

Hi,

A memory dump is normally caused if a program "misbehaves"
by trying to use an area of memory that it is not allowed
to (i.e. an area of memory already in use or an area that
is protected).

This can occasionally happen and if it is not frequent
then I wouldn't be concerned. If it happens frequently
then you need to find out which program is causing the
memory dump. Firstly you need to stop your PC from
rebooting after a memory dump -:

Go to System Properties | Advanced | Startup and Recovery
Settings. Under System failure, remove the check from
Automatically restart.

The next time your machine creates a memory dump you
should at least see the name of the file that caused it,
which may provide a clue to the program.

Regards,

Tim