How to Collect a Crash File

[ClearContext Support]

Stability issues are often caused by a conflict with another add-in or a corrupted Outlook mail file. If the above links don't help, it may be possible to grab a Windows crash file and send it to ClearContext Support for analysis.

Details on collecting a crash file in your version of Windows are below. When sending a crash file to ClearContext, you must include detailed information about your environment.

To send when ClearContext is running:

1. Open ClearContext > About > Email Support from within Outlook
2. Attach the crash file (details below) to the email created.
3. Include a detailed description of how the crash occurred and how to repeat it.

If ClearContext is not running, attach the crash file on an email to support at clearcontext dot com with the following information:

1. A detailed description of how the crash occurred and how to repeat it.
2. The version of Outlook and Windows you are running
3. How you access your email (Exchange or POP, Online or Cached Exchange Mode)
4. Any other add-ins you are using

To grab a crash file in Windows XP:

1. Cause the crash to occur
2. Do not press any buttons on that crash dialog when you first encounter it
3. Click start, run, %TEMP%, OK, and it will open an file explorer window
4. Click view, details, and sort by date
5. Look for a file just created as something.dmp (i.e. 46A8BE.dmp).
6. If the dump file is there (it might not be) open Task Manager by right clicking your Windows Taskbar and selecting Task Manager
7. Click the Processes tab
8. Locate the dwwin.exe and/or the dw20.exe process.
9. Right click it and kill the process
10. Close the task manager
11. Right click on that dmp file, send to zip to zip up that dmp file and send it to us.

To grab a crash file in Windows Vista and higher:

1. Cause the crash to occur
2. Do not press any buttons on that crash dialog when you first encounter it
3. Click start, run, %TEMP%, OK, and it will open an file explorer window
4. Click view, details, and sort by date
5. Look for a file just created as something.*dmp such as 46A8BE.hdmp, select, right click and click the read-only attribute.
6. Press the donʼt send button on the outlook error dialog.
7. Right click on that dmp file, send to zip to zip up that dmp file and send it to us.

The crash file may be too big to send through email. If so, please find a place to post online and send us the link.