Finally; a simple-to-use "minidump" viewer to toubleshoot BSODs..

[ShyWriter]

BlueScreenView 1.45

License / Price: Freeware / $0

Size / OS: 60 KB / Windows XP / 2003 / Vista / 2008 / Vista64 / 7 / 7 x64

Last Updated: December 8th, 2011, 20:15 UTC

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Show information about blue screen crashes occurred in your system.

Written by Bogdan Popa on December 9th, 2011

The famous blue screen of death still sends chills down our spines, although today's Windows versions are significantly improved and supposed to return no errors.

Still, in case you're one of the BSOD victims, BlueScreenView may lend you a hand, trying to assist you while attempting to figure out the errors.

The application has been specifically designed to read minidump files and help you identify the source of the problem and thus prevent crashes from occurring again in the future.

BlueScreenView will automatically scan the computer and display the available minidump files, along with crash time, so you will know for sure which one to open.

But what's more important is that it has the power to show a wide array of details regarding the processes or drivers that may have caused the blue screen of death, including information regarding the file name, description, version and product name.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that you're now on the safe side, but you can use the information provided by BlueScreenView to search the Internet for solutions and fix drivers or repair the faulty processes.

And since this is a thing most users will do, BlueScreenView also includes a special tool to Google for bug check and drivers, so you may find a fix faster than you'd be tempted to believe.

The interface is very simple and straightforward, and there's not much to change about it. The configuration menu is minimal but comprises a very important option to provide the path to the Windows minidump files. In addition, it lets you open minidump files from remote computers or even load a single file stored into another folder.

Simply put, BlueScreenView is a must have if you're still in trouble with blue screen of death. It's freeware, so giving it a try doesn't hurt your pocket.

Here are some key features of "BlueScreenView":

• Automatically scans your current minidump folder and displays the list of all crash dumps, including crash dump date/time and crash details.
  
• Allows you to view a blue screen which is very similar to the one the Windows displayed during the crash.
  
• BlueScreenView enumerates the memory addresses inside the stack of the crash, and find all drivers/modules that might be involved in the crash.
  
• BlueScreenView also allows you to work with another instance of Windows, simply by choosing the right minidump folder (In Advanced Options).
  
• BlueScreenView automatically locate the drivers appeared in the crash dump, and extract their version resource information, including product name, file version, company, and file description.
  

Limitations:

· BlueScreenView can only read minidump files of 32-bit systems, but it cannot read the dump files created by x64 systems. It's possible that x64 support will be added in future versions

What's New in This Release: [ read full changelog ]

• You can now choose to open only a specific dump file - from the user interface or from command-line.
  
• You can now also specify the MiniDump folder or MiniDump file as a single parameter, and BlueScreenView will be opened with the right dump file/folder, for example: BlueScreenView.exe C:\windows\minidump\Mini011209-01.dmp
  

Steve

[David H. Lipman]

BlueScreenView is a NirSoft utility by Nir Sofer and can be obtained from the NirSoft web site. No need to go to a third party site like SoftPedia. In fact, nothing in the above states it is a Nir Sofer utility.

NOTE:

Nir Sofer wrote many excellent utilities. Due to their nature, and what they do, some of Nir Sofer's utilities are flagged as hack tools or PUPs. It is not because the utilities are malicious, they aren't. It is because they have the ability to be used maliciously.

[ShyWriter]

Dave,

I use whatever site I land on when I'm looking for something; in this case, 3 hours trying to find a non-M$ developer "minidump" viewer. Usually I use Softpedia because most often their descriptions are better than those at other sites. I use VirusTotal if I happen to land on a site I'm not familar with to make sure it's not a malware site.. There's no reason to get testy (and nasty) because the download doesn't mention Nir Sofer or come directly from his site.. There are quite a few pieces of software back in the SOFTWARE subFORUMS that don't come from the author's site. You'll find when you extract the file that Nir Sofer is mentioned at least THREE times; two at the bottom of the utility and once in the ABOUT.

- -

No one, ESPECIALLY MYSELF, is trying to "hide" the author or his site.. and I'm beginning to resent these little comments..