XP Pro freezes - how to analyze?

Got an XPPSP3 computer that occasionally locks up. Like, I walk away and leave it for a while, come back and it's frozen.

There's no C:\Windows\Minidump folder and no .dmp files, so I can only assume that these are created only when there's a BSOD-type crash, where Windows has had a chance to see what happened.

But when the OS freezes, I guess that it has no chance to make an analysis and write a few quick notes about the cause.

Before anyone tells me how to configure the minidump setup, it's already done, ie Control Panel\System\Advanced\Startup and Recovery etc etc. What I'm saying is that there is no minidump folder and NO .dmp files anywhere on the computer.

I haven't installed WinDbg or Dumpcheck yet, (although I can and will if necessary) because I believe that the dmp system should work independently of those apps. One thing I have done is set Dr.Watson as the default checker, ie Start > Run > 'drwtsn32 -i', but it hasn't crashed since I did that so I don't know if the good Doctor is on the case.

Anyone able to comment on the lack of C:\Windows\Minidump and .dmp files?

Thanks

 

You didn't mention Event Viewer.

Perhaps that contains relevant information about the lockups.

 

I think Error Reporting must be disabled in order to produce DrWtsn32.log and .dmp files.

Also, I think your paging file may need to be on your Windows drive.

 

What do you see on the screen? Is it the last thing you were looking at or a blank/black screen that you cannot "wake up "?