Microsoft opens DirectX Dump Files to retail games
GPU crash dumps recorded on players' PCs can now be opened in PIX, with AMD, Nvidia, Intel and Qualcomm drivers decoding their own data.
Microsoft announced on October 28 that DirectX Dump Files can now be used with retail games, extending a GPU crash-dump mechanism previously limited to development environments to end-user PCs. According to forest.watch.impress.co.jp, the feature is available through Agility SDK 1.620 and PIX 2610.28 or later.
DirectX Dump Files let the runtime generate a dump file before Windows resets the GPU when processing stalls, giving developers a consistent procedure to record and investigate crashes on end-user PCs or development devices regardless of hardware vendor. The file holds the state of the Direct3D runtime and game-specific data of up to 2MB, and with supported drivers can also capture hardware and driver state.
The file can be opened in PIX on any PC, not only the machine where the crash occurred. Data from each vendor is decoded by plugins supplied by the hardware partners; Microsoft said the mechanism was developed in close cooperation with AMD, Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm.
Driver support and changed defaults
AMD supports MEDIUM_OVERHEAD and HIGH_OVERHEAD on the Radeon RX 9000 and Radeon RX 7000 series. Nvidia supports NO_OVERHEAD, MEDIUM_OVERHEAD and HIGH_OVERHEAD on Turing and later GPUs with driver R620 or later. Intel support is planned soon, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 platform is targeted for overhead options and plugins in the same timeframe.
Compared with the public preview released in June, the update adds support for retail builds, changes the file extension from .dxdmp_preview to .dxdmp and enables the NO_OVERHEAD option by default. Dump files are not left on players' PCs unless a game retains and uploads them. Generating one requires Windows 11 version 24H2 or 25H2 (build 26100.8524 or 26200.8524 and later) and Agility SDK 1.620 or later.
PIX 2610.28 also includes the DxDmp command-line tool and an MCP server for AI-assisted analysis. Currently only GPU resets caused by timeout detection and recovery are covered; software-side dump generation for device removal is not yet supported.
Quick answers
What do I need to generate a DirectX Dump File?
Windows 11 version 24H2 or 25H2 (build 26100.8524 or 26200.8524 and later) and Agility SDK 1.620 or later, with PIX 2610.28 or later to open the file.
Which GPUs are supported?
AMD supports MEDIUM_OVERHEAD and HIGH_OVERHEAD on the Radeon RX 9000 and Radeon RX 7000 series; Nvidia supports all three overhead options on Turing and later GPUs with driver R620 or later. Intel and Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 support is planned soon.
Are dump files left on players' PCs?
No, unless the game itself retains and uploads them.