Dr.Watson - Who is he

Dr. Watson for Windows is a program error debugger that gathers information about your computer when an error (or user-mode fault) occurs with a program. Technical support groups can use the information that Dr. Watson obtains and logs to diagnose a program error. When an error is detected, Dr. Watson creates a text file (Drwtsn32.log) that can be delivered to support personnel by the method they prefer. You also have the option of creating a crash dump file, which is a binary file that a programmer can load into a debugger.

Note Windows XP also provides an Error Reporting service that monitors your computer for both user-mode and kernel-mode faults ("stop" error messages or error messages that are displayed on a blue screen, as well as improper shutdown events) that affect both the operating system and any programs. This service allows you to send error reports to Microsoft when an error occurs. Because all error reports are confidential and anonymous, Microsoft Support Professionals do not have access to any error report that you have sent to Microsoft over the Internet using the Error Reporting service. As a result, you may need to send a Dr. Watson for Windows log file to a support professional. For additional information about Error Reporting Service in Windows XP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

310414 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310414/EN-US/) HOW TO: Configure and Use Error Reporting in Windows XP

If a program error occurs, Dr. Watson for Windows starts automatically. To configure Dr. Watson, follow these steps:

1.	Click Start, and then click Run.
2.	Type drwtsn32, and then click OK.

By default, the log file created by Dr. Watson is named Drwtsn32.log and is saved in the following location:

drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users.WINNT\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson

To disable Dr. Watson

1.	Click Start, click Run, type regedit.exe in the Open box, and then click OK.
2.	Locate and click the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AeDebug NOTE: Steps three and four are optional, but they necessary if you want to restore the default use of Dr. Watson.
3.	Click the AeDebug key, and then click Export Registry File on the Registry menu.
4.	Enter a name and location for the saved registry file, and then click Save.
5.	Delete the AeDebug key.

Registry entries for debugger programs are located in the AeDebug key in Windows. The Dr. Watson program is installed by default in Windows, and is configured to run when an application error occurs (with a data value of 1 for the Auto value). The default values are:

Value Name = Auto
Type = String (REG_SZ)
Data Value = 1 or 0. (Default is 1)

Value Name = Debugger
Type = String (REG_SZ)
Data Value = drwtsn32 -p %ld -e %ld -g

NOTE: This data value (drwtsn32 -p %ld -e %ld -g) is specific to Dr. Watson. Alternative debuggers will have their own values and parameters.

To enable Dr. Watson

1.	At a command prompt, type the following line, and then press ENTER: drwtsn32 -i
2.	Double-click the .reg file you created in steps three and four above.