What is "memory.dmp?"

[Debra Labrador]

Due to a system "crash" I recently re-installed Windows
XP Professional from my original store-bought CD-ROM.

After a successful installation, I connected to the
Internet and Windows XP automatically downloaded over one-
half gigabyte of "Windows Updates."

After a successful installation of "Windows Update," I
noticed the available remaining space on my hard
drive "shrunk" by approximately one-half gigabyte.

I utilized Windows XP tools to "compress" the hard drive,
then "defragmented" the drive to free up some space.

After a number of attempts to "defrag" the hard drive I
noticed that an approximately one-half gigabyte file
named "memory.dmp," which resided in the C:\WINNT root
directory, would simply not "unfrag" and its space on my
hard drive remained "RED" despite over one dozen attempts
to complete defragment the drive.

QUESTION: Can I simply "delete" the "memory.dmp" file ??

Debra

 

[Rocket J. Squirrel]

The memory dump file contains the contents of your computer's memory and
other technical information. The information is pretty much unintelligible
to ordinary users, but it can be helpful to Microsoft engineers when
diagnosing a crash.

Your system is probably set up to write a 'complete memory dump' if it halts
unexpectedly. It doesn't have to be this way: You can choose to have a
'small memory dump' instead, which will record the smallest amount of
information that will help identify a problem. To learn how to do this, open
Help and Support and search for 'memory dump' (without the quotes, of
course). Read the article entitled "Specify what Windows does if the system
stops unexpectedly."

As long as you've re-installed Windows, you can safely delete the old dump
file (as they're called.)

As for why it doesn't defragment - that's by design. In the interest of
getting the job done more quickly, XP's defragmenter doesn't defrag files in
low priority paths. Since Microsoft doesn't anticipate that you'll have
great need for dump files, they aren't defragmented.

Rocky