Perhaps you want to save minidumps to a different drive (e.g., D:\CrashDumps ) to avoid filling your SSD. You cannot simply move the folder—Windows will not follow symbolic links for crash dumps easily.
Click on the in the top menu bar and select Options (or click View > Options in older Windows versions). Switch to the View tab. Check the box for Show hidden files, folders, and drives .
For standard system crashes, Windows stores minidump files in a dedicated system folder. 1. The Standard Directory
Let me produce the article. The Exclusive Guide to Minidump Files Location: Where Windows Hides Crash Diagnostics
This is the "Kernel Memory Dump." It contains more data than a minidump but is overwritten every time a new crash occurs. Minidumps are preferred for long-term troubleshooting because Windows keeps a historical list of them (e.g., Mini050426-01.dmp), whereas the MEMORY.DMP file only represents the most recent event. Tools for Reading Minidump Files minidump files location exclusive
Found in C:\Windows\Minidump (or %SystemRoot%\Minidump ).
The default location for minidump files in Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7 is:C:\Windows\Minidump Why You Might Not Find Minidump Files
| Value Name | What it does | | :--- | :--- | | | The file path for small minidumps. (Default: %SystemRoot%\Minidump ). | | DumpFile | The path for the MEMORY.DMP file. (Default: %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP ). | | CrashDumpEnabled | 1 = Complete dump, 2 = Kernel dump, 3 = Small minidump. |
If you want to change the dump location to a different drive (e.g., a dedicated error log drive D: ), change the MinidumpDir string value to D:\CrashDumps . Perhaps you want to save minidumps to a different drive (e
While you can alter the path for the larger MEMORY.DMP file inside the Startup and Recovery settings, the path for small memory dumps ( %SystemRoot%\Minidump ) is hardcoded into the Windows operating system architecture and cannot be fundamentally changed. If you need help resolving a crash, tell me:
If Windows is configured to write a "Kernel memory dump" or "Complete memory dump" instead of a minidump, it overwrites a single file located at: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP
If the C:\Windows\Minidump folder is empty or missing, use these quick fixes:
The term %SystemRoot% is an environment variable used by Windows. In almost all standard installations, this refers to the C:\Windows folder. Therefore, %SystemRoot%\Minidump is simply a technical way of saying C:\Windows\Minidump. Exclusive Access and Permissions Switch to the View tab
When a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) occurs, the Windows crash dump handler ( diskdump.sys ) bypasses the file system to write directly to the disk. This is a desperate, brute-force act of survival. The resulting file is a "snapshot" of the kernel's state at the exact moment of death. It contains everything: the registers, the stack of the crashed thread, and a list of loaded drivers.
: Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps and set the DumpFolder value. Quick Access Checklist Collecting User-Mode Dumps - Win32 apps - Microsoft Learn
Confirm the dump directory path reads %SystemRoot%\Minidump . Click , apply the changes, and restart your computer. Critical Pagefile Requirements