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DW Spectrum - Server or Client Crash Troubleshooting

Updated

DW Spectrum Server or Client Crash Troubleshooting

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Affected Roles:  Owner, Administrator

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps:  DW Spectrum IPVMS

Last Edit:  April 10, 2023

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DW Spectrum Software Crashes

Users may rarely experience a system crash with the DW Spectrum Server or DW Spectrum Client desktop programs. These are typically isolated incidents, however if you are encountering recurring problems with the DW Spectrum program crashing, the following article will outline some troubleshooting tips that you can try.

 

DW Spectrum System Troubleshooting

Part 1: Find the Current Simple Crash Dump Files

Crash dump files are automatically generated memory stack files that are created when a program crashes. This information usually contains helpful troubleshooting information that can help DW Spectrum developers to debug situations where crashes are occurring and to identify stop codes that may have led to the error.

You can find simple crash dump files in the following locations:

Windows Operating System

DW Spectrum Server

C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\*.dmp

 

DW Spectrum Desktop Client

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\.*dmp

 

**NOTE:  Make sure that these crash dumps show the same version number and build number as the software version that is currently being used. File names might contain words and phrases such as, “DW_Spectrum.exe”, “mediaserver.exe”, etc.

 

Ubuntu Linux Operating System

DW Spectrum Server

  • (GDP backtrace)
/root/*mediaserver*.gdb-bt

or

/opt/digitalwatchdog/mediaserver/var/crash/*mediaserver*.gdb-bt

 

  • (System kernel dmp)
/opt/digitalwatchdog/mediaserver/bin/core

 

DW Spectrum Desktop Client

/home/$USER/desktop_client*.gdb-bt

 

**NOTE:  Make sure that these crash dumps show the same version number and build number as the software version that is currently being used.

 

Part 2: Enable and Produce Full Crash Dump Files

This step is optional but to fully diagnose the cause of a DW Spectrum system crash, you may be asked by the DW Support team to provide the full, detailed crash dump files instead of the simple crash dump files that were obtained in Part 1 above.

 

To enable and find the full crash dump files:

Windows Operating System

  1. From the Windows desktop, press the Windows W+ R keys to open the Run application, then enter “regedit” to open the Registry Editor application. Alternatively, you can search for “Registry Editor”.

 

  1. Add a new string value (Edit > New > String Value) with the name “createFullCrashDump” and set the value to “true” in the following locations:
  • DW Spectrum Server
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Digital Watchdog\Digital Watchdog Media Server

 

  • DW Spectrum Desktop Client

 

 

  1. After making the changes, restart the DW Spectrum Client and DW Spectrum Server applications.
  2. If possible, try to reproduce the crash by going through the original process that caused the crashes before.
  3. Look for new crash dumps after reproducing the crash. This will be in the same locations as outlined in Part 1.

 

**NOTE:  It is recommended to undo these system changes after the full memory dump has been collected using the steps (Part 2) above. Full dumps can occupy large amounts of storage space and the “createFullCrashDump” configuration will increase the load on the CPU and RAM of the system.

 

Ubuntu Linux Operating System

  1. Use a text editor (vi, vim or nano) to open the configuration and add a new parameter with the name “createFullCrashDump” and set the value to “true” in the following locations:
  • DW Spectrum Server
/opt/digitalwatchdog/mediaserver/etc/mediaserver.conf

 

  • DW Spectrum Desktop Client
/home/$USER/.config/'Digital Watchdog'/'Digital Watchdog DW Spectrum Client.conf'

 

  1. Save the files and close the text editor.
  2. After making the changes, restart the DW Spectrum Client and DW Spectrum Server applications.
  3. If possible, try to reproduce the crash by going through the original process that caused the crashes before.
  4. Look for new crash dumps after reproducing the crash. This will be in the same locations as outlined in Part 1.

 

**NOTE:  It is recommended to undo these system changes after the full memory dump has been collected using the steps (Part 2) above. Full dumps can occupy large amounts of storage space and the “createFullCrashDump” configuration will increase the load on the CPU and RAM of the system.

 

Part 3: Upload Crash Dumps and Open a DW Support Ticket

  • If you already have an ongoing case and support ticket number with the DW Support Team, you can send the crash dump files using a file-sharing app (Google Drive, Dropbox, Sharefile, etc.) or by using the Digital Watchdog File Drop.
    • Avoid sending compressed (.zip) files as DW Support is less likely to open this type of file for technical security reasons. Instead, upload each file to the sharing application of your choice so that your technician can check the file before opening or downloading it.
  • If you do not have a support ticket or ongoing case with the DW Support Team yet, you may request a support ticket in the DW Technical Support portal. You can refer to the article Reporting DW Spectrum Issues for more information on submitting a ticket request.

 

Additional Help

What do I do if the required crash dumps cannot be found in Windows?

If DW Spectrum is unable to produce full crash dump files, additional configuration may be required with the Windows Error Reporting Service. You can enable and configure this feature (according to Microsoft):

  1. From the Windows desktop, press the Windows W+ R keys to open the Run application, then enter “regedit” to open the Registry Editor application. Alternatively, you can search for “Registry Editor”.

 

  1. In the Registry Editor, navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\

 

  1. Select “Windows Error Reporting” then right-click and select New > Key.

Name the new item as “LocalDumps”.

 

  1. The LocalDumps folder will appear in the left-pane. Select LocalDumps then right-click in the right-pane and select New > Expandable String Value.

Name the value as “DumpFolder”.

 

  1. Right-click on DumpFolder and select “Modify”.

Enter a path into the Value data field (e.g. C:\dumps) then click the OK button.

 

  1. Right-click in the right-pane and select New > DWORD, then type “DumpCount” and press the Enter key.

Right-click on “DumpCount” and select “Modify”. Enter the dumps count into the Value data field (recommended: 2) then click the OK button.

 

**NOTE: The difference between 32-bit vs 64-bit varies depending on the Server’s processor. Current DW Blackjack Servers us x64-bit processors.

 

  1. Right-click on “DumpType” and select “Modify”. Enter the dump type into the Value data field (recommended: 2) then click the OK button.

 

  1. After the application has crashed, dumps will then be generated in the DumpFolder. After at least two (2) crashes have occurred, upload two (2) dump files to the file sharing service for the DW Support Team as mentioned above.

Remove the registry changes from your system when finished.

 

 

 

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DW Technical Support: https://www.digital-watchdog.com/contact-tech-support/

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Rev: 06/25                              Copyright © DW. All rights reserved. Specifications and pricing subject to change without notice.                            

 

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