How to: Save and Open Dump Files 

This topic applies to:

In Visual Studio, you can save dump files from native processes for debugging at a later time. You can also load dump files created from Visual Studio or other dump-generating utilities.

To save a dump file (native C++ only)

1. On the Debug menu, click Save Dump As.

2. In the Save Dump As dialog box, select Minidump or Minidump with Heap from the Save as type list box.

   Minidump is the default dump format used by Visual Studio 2005. Minidump with Heap provides more information, but also takes up more space. For more information, see Dump Requirements and Limitations.

3. Use the Navigation controls to choose a save location.

4. Click Save.

To open a dump file

1. On the File menu, click Open, and then click Project.

2. In the Open Project dialog box, locate and select the dump file.

   It will usually have a .dmp extension.

3. Click OK.

   To find the binaries for debugging a crash dump, Visual Studio 2005 looks in the symbol search paths. To make sure Visual Studio 2005 finds the binaries, you can add a symbol search path in the Options dialog box or from the Modules window. For more information, see How to: Specify a Symbol Path.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Debug a 64-bit Application Dump

Concepts

Dumps