Whenever an application crashes on your PC, Windows 11 briefly freezes and displays a small window stating that it is “checking for a solution to the problem.” This is the Windows Error Reporting (WER) service in action. In reality, it rarely finds a solution. Instead, it quietly generates massive hidden dump files (.dmp) containing the raw memory state of the crashed application, and attempts to send this telemetry data back to Microsoft servers.
If you run buggy beta software or unstable video games, these memory dump files can accumulate rapidly, silently consuming gigabytes of valuable SSD storage space in your hidden ProgramData folder. If you do not care about sending debugging data to Microsoft and simply want to reclaim your storage space and stop the annoying popup windows, you can permanently disable the entire WER service.
Step 1: Open the Services Manager
To completely kill the telemetry engine, you must disable the underlying background service that powers it.
- Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type
services.mscinto the text box. - Press Enter to launch the Services Manager. (If prompted by User Account Control, click “Yes”).
Step 2: Locate the Telemetry Service
The Services Manager displays a massive alphabetical list of every background process running on your operating system.
- Click anywhere inside the list and press the letter W on your keyboard to instantly jump down to the services starting with W.
- Scroll down carefully until you find the exact service named Windows Error Reporting Service.
- Double-click on the service to open its specific Properties window.
Step 3: Permanently Disable the Engine
- Look at the middle of the Properties window for the dropdown menu labeled Startup type:.
- By default, this is usually set to “Manual (Trigger Start).” Click the dropdown menu and change it to Disabled.
- Look slightly below the dropdown to the “Service status” section. If it says “Running,” click the Stop button to instantly terminate the active process.
- Click Apply, and then click OK.
Step 4: Nuke the Existing Dump Files (Optional but Recommended)
Disabling the service stops future files from being created, but you still need to delete the massive files that already exist on your hard drive.
- Press the Windows Key, type Disk Cleanup, and hit Enter.
- Ensure your C: Drive is selected and click OK.
- Click the button that says Clean up system files (this requires admin privileges).
- Scroll through the “Files to delete” list and check the boxes for System error memory dump files and System error minidump files.
- Click OK to permanently delete them.
The Result
Your operating system is now completely untethered from Microsoft’s crash diagnostic servers. The next time an application freezes and crashes, it will simply close itself immediately without generating gigabytes of hidden memory files or interrupting your workflow to “check for a solution.”