How to Disable Dr. Watson for Windows NT

ID: Q188296

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

This article describes how to disable and re-enable the Dr. Watson program for Windows NT.


MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To Disable Dr. Watson

  1. Click Start, click Run, type "regedit.exe" (without quotation marks) in the Open box, and then click OK.


  2. Locate the following registry key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\
    AeDebug

    NOTE: Steps 3-4 are optional, but 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 NT. The Dr. Watson program is installed by default in Windows NT, 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 3-4 above.



Keywords          : kbtool winnt 
Version           : WINNT:4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: February 12, 1999