What Are System32 Dumps and How Do You Get Rid of Them? 

In most cases, Windows 11 stores crash dump files in the Windows directory, either in the “%SystemRoot%\Minidump” folder or as “%SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP,” depending on the type of dump. If you find .DMP files in the System32 folder, they may have been created by a program or by a custom dump configuration. Here’s how to identify and safely remove them.

What Are System32 Dump Files?

When Windows encounters a system crash, it can create a memory dump file containing information about the system’s state at the time of the crash. Depending on the configured dump type, the file may be a small memory dump, kernel memory dump, automatic memory dump, or complete memory dump. Once the PC restarts, you can analyze the dump file with an appropriate debugging tool to investigate what went wrong.

Windows manages crash dumps according to the configured dump type and overwrite settings, so they may remain on the system until they are overwritten or deleted.

However, the System32 folder has more restrictions put on it since it houses vital drivers and startup files, and the operating system itself rarely automatically removes files from it. If you do get System32 dump files, they might stick around forever, eventually clogging up your hard drive space for no good reason.

Can You Manually Delete System32 Dump Files?

In short, yes. Since the system doesn’t need them to function normally and they are only used for diagnostic purposes that you, as a user, need to start manually, they can be deleted normally.

Note that this doesn’t mean deleting the System32 folder itself. If you do decide to cut down on these files, make sure they are only files marked as “minidump” or having the associated DMP extension.

When in doubt, you can use WinDirStat or another visualizer to locate the files. You can use a disk-space analyzer to locate .dmp files and see how much storage they consume. Before deleting them, verify that they are diagnostic dumps and that you don’t need them for troubleshooting.

If you get an error or warning message that a dump file is being actively used by a program, skip it, restart the PC, and try again later.

Use Disk Cleanup to Remove Dump Files

While Windows won’t automatically remove log files, Disk Cleanup will.

Step 1. Search for “Disk Cleanup” and select “Run as administrator.”

Step 2. Select the partition where the system is installed, usually C:.

Step 3. Check the boxes for the following if they exist:

• Windows error reports and feedback diagnostics
• System error memory dump files
• System error minidump files

Step 4. Click on “OK” to clean up files.

How to Prevent System32 Dump Files

Windows’ standard crash-dump locations are “%SystemRoot%\Minidump and %SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP.” If you want to verify or change the configured dump location, you can do so through Startup and Recovery settings.

Step 1. Hit “Win + R” for the Run utility, type in “sysdm.cpl,” and hit “Enter.” This opens System Properties.

Step 2. Go to the “Advanced” tab and click on “Settings” in the “Startup and Recovery” section.

Step 3. For the Write debugging information drop-down, select “Small memory dump,” “Kernel memory dump,” “Automatic memory dump,” or another appropriate option. You can select “None” if you don’t want Windows to create a memory dump, but doing so removes a potentially useful diagnostic resource if the PC experiences another crash.

Step 4. If “Small memory dump” is selected, make sure the “Small dump” directory points to “%SystemRoot%\Minidump.” For kernel, automatic, or complete memory dumps, check the Dump file path and make sure it points to “%SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP” unless you have intentionally chosen another location.

Step 5. Click on “OK.”