There are two ways to get to a mini-dump that was previously created. One of them is to use debuging tools like windb.exe or kd.exe.

Which one you use depends on which interface you will be using.

You need to have the debugging symbols installed and refer to them in the commands.

• from a GUI: windbg -y <SymbolPath> -i <ImagePath> -z <DumpFilePath>
• from a CLI: kd -y <SymbolPath> -i <ImagePath> -z <DumpFilePath>

The placeholders for the above commands are:

• SymbolPath: The local path where the symbol files have been downloaded.
• ImagePath: The path of the symbol binary files. The files are contained in the I386 folder on the Windows XP CD-ROM.
• DumpFilePath: The path and file name for the dump file that you are examining.

For example: if the contents of the I386 folder on the Windows CD-ROM are copied to the C:\Windows\I386 folder, and your dump file is named C:\Windows\Minidump\Minidump.dmp you can use either of these commands:

• kd -y srv*c:\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols -i c:\windows\i386 -z c:\windows\minidump\minidump.dmp
• windbg -y srv*c:\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols -i c:\windows\i386 -z c:\windows\minidump\minidump.dmp