One can associate files with a DMP file extension with “Screen or Memory Dump”, thus one can say that DMP stands for “Dump”. DMP files are considered as part of a system file in different Microsoft Corporation operating systems like Windows XP and Windows Vista. In these operating systems, the DMP file extension is linked to memory dump files which are created by the operating system itself every time it bumps into an error or a system crash.
The explanation behind the “dump” is the fact that there is data “dumped” from the system’s memory during an error or a system crash. When the operating system comes across an error, it will automatically dump the memory into a file with a DMP extension. This DMP file can then be used to troubleshoot or trace the cause of the error or system crash and even find the possible solution/s for such error. Since most of DMP files take so much space though, it is recommended that users delete these files when not needed anymore or when the error has been solved or corrected.
Aside from automatic creation, a user can also manually create a DMP file by initiating a manual memory dump so as to generate a file with a DMP file extension. A user can do this by pressing the CTRL plus the SCROLL LOCK two times (probably not possible for a laptop). Upon completion of this action, the screen will turn blue and display an error message and generate a crash dump file with a DMP extension. The DMP file will be available once the system is rebooted and can then be used to debug and repair the system.
The following programs can open and display the content of a DMP file:
|Windows||Windows Debug Tool
Microsoft Visual Studio
Windows Kernel Debug
Microsoft Dumpflop Utility