MustGather: Crash on Windows
 Technote (troubleshooting)
 
Problem(Abstract)
MustGather for problems with a IBM® WebSphere® Application Server crash on a Microsoft® Windows® system. Gathering this information before calling IBM® support will help familiarize you with the troubleshooting process and save you time.
 
Resolving the problem

Do you want to automate the collection of MustGather data?
Collecting the following MustGather information has now been automated in the IBM Support Assistant. For more information about automating data collection, see Using IBM Support Assistant to collect MustGather data.

If you have already contacted support, continue on to the component-specific MustGather information. Otherwise, click: MustGather: Read first for all WebSphere Application Server products.

Crash on Microsoft Windows specific MustGather information
The following steps outline where to collect information and begin troubleshooting a Java™ virtual machine (JVM) crash on a Windows system:
  1. Collect the Drwtson32.log and user.dmp files. To determine what the Log File Path (location of Drwtsn32.log) and Crash Dump (location of user.dmp) paths are set to, run drwtsn32 from a command line and review the Log File Path field.

  2. Run the following command against the user.dmp file:
    On V6.1:
    jextract [DUMP_PATH] user.sdff
    On V5.0, V5.1, and V6.0:
    jextract -o user.sdff [DUMP_PATH]
    Where,
    jextract is found in the install_root/java/jre/bin directory
    user.sdff is the output file
    DUMP_PATH is the path and file name for the user.dmp
  3. Collect the following information:
    • For all releases:
      • drwtsn32.log
      • user.dmp
      • All javacore*.txt files
      • user.sdff

      Note: For all versions, if you have configured the Application Server to write logs into a different location, send them accordingly.

    • For V6.0 and V6.1 release:
      • All files in the following directory:

        install_root\profiles\profile_name\logs\server_name

      • A copy of the server.xml file, which is located in the following directory:

        install_root\profiles\profile_name\config\cells\
        cell_name
        \nodes\node_name\servers\server_name

    • For V5.0 and V5.1 releases:
      • Include all of the files from the following directory:

        install_root\logs\server_name

      • A copy of the server.xml file, which is located in the following directory:

        install_root\config\cells\cell_name\nodes\node_name
        \servers\server_name

  4. Follow instructions to send diagnostic information to IBM Support.


Steps to setup Microsoft Windows environment to generate Drwtson32.log and user.dmp files
  1. On the Start menu, click Run.

  2. Type drwtsn32, and then click OK. This will bring up the Dr. Watson for Windows.

  3. Type the location to where you want the Drwtson32.log file to be stored in the Log File Path field.

  4. Type the location and the file name where you want the user.dmp file to be stored in the Crash Dump field.

  5. Make sure that the following options are selected in the Dr. Watson window:
    • Dump Symbol Table
    • Dump All Thread Contexts
    • Visual Notification
    • Create Crash Dump file
    • For Windows 2003, the Crash Dump Type needs to be set to NT4 compatible Full.

  6. Click OK.

  7. Click Run on the Start menu.

  8. Enter drwtsn32 -i and click OK. This will enable Dr. Watson to become the default debugger, and it will generate the Drwtson32.log and user.dmp files when an application crashes.

  9. Run the application.

  10. If the preceding steps do not result in the creation of a Drwtsn32.log file or a user.dmp file, follow the instructions in Java process exits without leaving a footprint in WebSphere Application Server log files.

  11. Follow instructions to send diagnostic information to IBM Support.

For a listing of all technotes, downloads, and educational materials specific to Crash, search the WebSphere Application Server support site.
 
Related information
Submitting information to IBM support
Steps to getting support
MustGather: Readme first
Troubleshooting guide
 
 
Cross Reference information
Segment Product Component Platform Version Edition
Application Servers WebSphere Application Server - Express Hangs/performance degradation Windows 6.0, 5.1, 5.0
Application Servers Runtimes for Java Technology Java SDK
 
 


Document Information


Product categories: Software > Application Servers > Distributed Application & Web Servers > WebSphere Application Server > Crash
Operating system(s): Windows
Software version: 6.1
Software edition:
Reference #: 1053924
IBM Group: Software Group
Modified date: May 25, 2007