Consider the following scenario:

• You have an x86 version of Windows Vista or of Windows Server 2008 installed on a computer’s IDE/ATA disk.
• The computer has more than 4 gigabytes (GB) of physical memory.
• The system is running in Physical Address Extension (PAE) mode.
• You configure the system to generate a memory dump file when a fatal system error occurs.

However, when a fatal system error occurs, and you receive a Stop error message, no dump file is generated. Or, an invalid dump file is generated.

When you restart a Windows Vista-based computer, some devices that are based on the ATA miniport driver may not work correctly. For example, if a device driver intends to write data back to a device when the computer restarts, the data may not be written back as expected.