How to Get Rid of a Dump File With Disk Cleanup

A dump file contains everything that was in a computer's memory at the time that it crashed.

When an operating system encounters a problem that forces it to shut down immediately, it is commonly called a "crash." When a crash takes place in Windows, the operating system creates a file containing the contents of the computer's memory at the time of the crash. This file is called a "dump file." Dump files can be analyzed by experts to help determine the cause of the crash. For most computer users, however, dump files do little more than take up space--hundreds of megabytes, in some cases. Use the Windows Disk Cleanup tool to delete dump files and error reports, reclaiming the hard drive space consumed by these files.

Instructions

1. Click the "Start" button, then click "Computer" in Windows 7 and Vista or "My Computer" in Windows XP.

2. Right-click the hard drive that Windows is installed on (usually C:) and click "Properties."

3. Click the "General" tab, then click the "Disk Cleanup" button near the bottom of the window. Windows scans the computer for files that can be safely deleted, and calculates the amount of hard drive space that can be reclaimed by deleting them. A new window opens with a list of the types of files that can be deleted along with the amount of space that will be reclaimed by deleting each type. If any dump files are saved on your computer, they will be listed here.

4. Click to place a check in the "System Error Memory Dump Files" box. To reclaim additional hard drive space, scan the list for any other files that you would like to delete and place a check next to each one.

5. Click "OK," then click "Yes." Windows deletes the files specified, and the "Disk Cleanup" window closes automatically.

References

• Faster PC 101: Speeding Up Your Computer by Clearing Your Hard Drive