Windows Error Reporting

By using Windows Error Reporting, Windows can send descriptions of problems on your server to Microsoft and look for steps you can take to solve them. Windows Error Reporting is enabled by default.

If you choose to send generic information automatically about a problem, Microsoft will send back either the most current solution or use the information to start working on a solution.

Read more about how your information is protected by our privacy policy at the Microsoft Online Crash Analysis Web site.

Windows Error Reporting advanced options

On the Windows Error Reporting Configuration dialog box, the following two options disable Windows Error Reporting:

  • I don't want to participate, and don't ask me again

    This option disables Windows Error Reporting, and prevents it from prompting you to send information about application failures to Microsoft.

  • Ask me about sending reports every time an error occurs

    This option disables Windows Error Reporting, but allows it to prompt you to send information about application failures to Microsoft whenever a failure occurs.

The following two options enable Windows Error Reporting. Each option provides a different level of detail in the information sent to Microsoft when failures occur.

  • Yes, automatically send detailed reports. Notify me if there are possible solutions to the problem.

    When this option is selected, if an application failure occurs, detailed reports are automatically sent to Microsoft. Portions of documents you were working on at the moment a program failed, or data you provided to Web sites or forms may be included in these reports. The contents of log files, and portions of the registry, may also be sent to Microsoft.

  • Yes, automatically send summary reports. Notify me if there are possible solutions to the problem.

    When this option is selected, if an application failure occurs, only non-personal data is sent to Microsoft. Data about your computer's configuration, the program in which you were working, and any operations that triggered the failure is sent to Microsoft.

How to enable Windows Error Reporting

In Windows Server® 2008 R2, you can enable Windows Error Reporting in the following ways:

To enable Windows Error Reporting by using the Initial Configuration Tasks window

To enable Windows Error Reporting by using Server Manager

To enable Windows Error Reporting by using Initial Configuration Tasks

  1. If the Initial Configuration Tasks window is not already open, you can open it by clicking Start, clicking Run, typing oobe in the text box, and then clicking OK.

  2. Click Enable automatic updating and feedback in the Update This Server area.

  3. Click Manually configure settings.

  4. In the Windows Error Reporting area of the Manually Configure Settings dialog box, click Change Setting.

  5. On the Windows Error Reporting Configuration dialog box, select one of the following options described in the previous section, and then Click OK.

    • Yes, automatically send detailed reports

    • Yes, automatically send summary reports

  6. On the Manually Configure Settings dialog box, click Close.
To enable Windows Error Reporting by using Server Manager

  1. Open Server Manager by clicking Start, pointing to Administrative Tools, and then clicking Server Manager.

  2. On the Server Manager home page, expand the Resources and Support area if it is not already open.

  3. Click Configure Windows Error Reporting.

  4. On the Windows Error Reporting Configuration dialog box, select one of the following options, described in the previous section, and then Click OK.

    • Yes, automatically send detailed reports

    • Yes, automatically send summary reports

How to disable Windows Error Reporting

In Windows Server 2008 R2, you can disable Windows Error Reporting in either of the following ways:

To disable Windows Error Reporting by using the Initial Configuration Tasks window

To disable Windows Error Reporting by using Server Manager

You can also enable or disable Windows Error Reporting by configuring its behavior by using Group Policy. Use the Local Group Policy Editor when editing Local Group Policy or, use the Group Policy Management console when editing domain-based Group Policy. You can locate these policy settings in Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Error Reporting.

To disable Windows Error Reporting by using Initial Configuration Tasks

  1. If the Initial Configuration Tasks window is not already open, you can open it by clicking Start, clicking Run, typing oobe in the text box, and then clicking OK.

  2. Click Enable automatic updating and feedback in the Update This Server area.

  3. On the Enable Windows Automatic Updating and Feedback dialog box, click Manually configure settings.

  4. In the Windows Error Reporting area of the Manually Configure Settings dialog box, click Change Setting.

  5. On the Windows Error Reporting Configuration dialog box, select one of the following options, and then click OK.

    • I don't want to participate, and don't ask me again

      This option disables Windows Error Reporting, and prevents it from prompting you to send information about application failures to Microsoft.

    • Ask me about sending reports every time an error occurs

      This option disables Windows Error Reporting, but allows it to prompt you to send information about application failures to Microsoft whenever a failure occurs.

  6. On the Manually Configure Settings dialog box, click Close.
To disable Windows Error Reporting by using Server Manager

  1. Open Server Manager by clicking Start, pointing to Administrative Tools, and then clicking Server Manager.

  2. On the Server Manager home page, expand the Resources and Support area if it is not already open.

  3. Click Configure Windows Error Reporting.

  4. On the Windows Error Reporting Configuration dialog box, select one of the following options, and then click OK.

    • I don't want to participate, and don't ask me again

      This option disables Windows Error Reporting, and prevents it from prompting you to send information about application failures to Microsoft.

    • Ask me about sending reports every time an error occurs

      This option disables Windows Error Reporting, but allows it to prompt you to send information about application failures to Microsoft whenever a failure occurs.

See Also

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