Fix Dr Watson Error

Repair Dr. Watson Problems Instantly - Free Download!

Windows comes with numerous utilities to help keep its operating system running smoothly.

In the past, when Windows encountered an error it would shut down, causing the user to lose any unsaved data and mystifying them with cryptic messages such as “illegal operation” errors.

But now in Windows XP, Microsoft has provided a detection utility called Dr. Watson that detects and decodes errors. Dr. Watson summarizes the error in a report which can be sent to Microsoft for further review.

Dr. Watson will shut down the offending program but the other programs and their data are untouched. Users no longer experience the “blue screen of death”. The report Dr. Watson generates is fairly technical but it does provide you with useful information, especially if you are continually running into Dr. Watson errors.

To view the Dr. Watson error log, go to the “Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\DrWatson” folder and find a log file named drwtsn32.log or user.dmp.

Double-click on the log file and a program such as NotePad or WordPad will open the text based file. Each error is listed in chronological order. You’ll notice a heading with the name of the program that caused the error, the time and date, and an exception number.

In addition, each error contains what’s called a PID, or Process Identifier, that correlates to a particular process in Windows’ task list that may have caused the error. For example, all tasks that were running at the time of the crash will be numbered. If you have a PID number of 242, scroll down the list to PID item 242 and it will tell you what process or program in the task list was involved in the crash.

This data along with the exception code is useful when troubleshooting your errors. You can search your manufacturer’s website for information about these error codes and find possible solutions.

You’ll know Dr. Watson when you see him in action. He generates a gray dialogue box that says the program has caused and error and will be shut down.

You can opt to see the details by pressing a button. These are the same details you will find in the error log. You can also opt to send the report to Microsoft. Sometimes, by sending the report, you will be directed to a possible solution for your particular error.

Dr. Watson kicks in whenever an error is encountered but you can also start this utility manually. Click the Start button and choose Run. Here you simply type in: drwatson. For Windows NT or Windows 2000, type in: drwtsn32. An icon appears in the taskbar indicating Dr. Watson’s presence. Click on the icon and if no errors are present, he’ll say, “No faults detected”. If errors are detected, you’ll see the standard dialogue box.

Now that you understand the function Dr. Watson performs, you’ll appreciate that he shuts down only the offending program and preserves as much of your data as possible.

In addition, Dr. Watson gives you clues so you can troubleshoot the errors and get your system running smoother.

Repair Dr. Watson Problems Instantly - Free Download!