How to Enable Small Memory Dump Logs in Windows 11 & 10 (Minidump Logs)

Learn the steps to enable small memory dump logs (minidump logs) in Windows 11 and 10 to simplify your troubleshooting process.

Whenever your system crashes, Windows can automatically create a dump file, often called a minidump or BSoD logs, that contains a lot of crucial information, such as the stop code, a list of drives that were loaded, and a small but critical portion of the kernel memory. These dump files will help you better troubleshoot system failures. For this to happen, Windows should be configured to write the debugging information in case of a system crash or critical failure. Generally, this feature is enabled by default. However, if it is disabled for any reason or if you wish to verify whether the crash dump is enabled, you do so using the Advanced System Settings.

In this quick and straightforward tutorial, I will show you the steps to enable small memory dump logs (minidump logs) in both Windows 11 and Windows 10. Let’s get started.

Good to know: How to open BSoD log files in Windows 11 & 10

Before You Start

• Administrator rights are required to enable dump files in Windows.
• The steps below have been tested to work on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Steps to Enable Minidump Logs (Small Memory Dump) in Windows 11 & 10

1. Open the Start menu by pressing the “Windows key”.
2. Search for “View advanced system settings” in the Start menu.
3. Click the “Open” option.
4. Go to the “Advanced” tab.
5. Click “Settings” under “Startup and Recovery.”
6. Select the “Small memory dump (256KB)” option from the “Write debugging information” dropdown menu.
7. Click “OK” to save changes.
8. Close the System Properties window.
9. Restart Windows.
10. With that, you’ve enabled minidump logs in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, we need to open the Advanced System Settings, also known as the System Properties dialog. To do that, open the Start menu by pressing the “Windows key”, search for “View advanced system settings“, and click the “Open” option.

Once the “System Properties” window opens, go to or ensure you are in the “Advanced” tab. Next, click the “Settings” button under the “Startup and Recovery” section.

Since we want to create minidump logs, select the “Small memory dump (256KB)” option from the “Write debugging information” section. By default, minidump files are limited to 256KB in size. Alternatively, you can also select the “Automatic memory dump” option, which lets Windows decide what to include in the dump file and its size.

Click the “OK” button to save the changes.

Note: To create a full dump file, select “Complete memory dump.” Keep in mind that depending on your system and its available memory, complete memory dump files will be huge.

Finally, close all open windows and restart your computer.

That is it. With that, you’ve enabled the dump logs in Windows 11 and Windows 10. From now on, whenever Windows crashes, it will automatically create minidump logs in the system folder. You can open minidump logs to troubleshoot and debug the problem.

Wrapping Up — Minidump Logs in Windows

As you can see, enabling the dump logs in Windows 10 and Windows 11 is pretty easy. Just open the “Advanced System Settings”, go to the “Startup and Recovery” settings, and select “Small memory dump” from the dropdown under the “Write debugging information” section. If you ever want to disable dump logs, select “None”, and you are done.

If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.