Microsoft Introduces New DirectX Tool for Investigating GPU Crashes

Microsoft is expanding Windows 11’s graphics troubleshooting capabilities with a new DirectX feature designed to make GPU-related crashes easier to diagnose.

The company has announced DirectX Dump Files, a new DirectX 12 API feature that captures detailed snapshots of GPU execution when graphics crashes, hangs, freezes, or timeout events occur. The technology is currently available in preview and is expected to see broader adoption around the release of Windows 11 version 26H2 in fall 2026.

Graphics driver failures remain one of the more difficult issues for developers to investigate. Many of these problems stem from Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR), a Windows mechanism that resets the graphics driver when the GPU becomes unresponsive. While Microsoft already improved TDR diagnostics through WDDM 3.2 in Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, the company now wants to simplify the entire crash analysis process.

DirectX Dump Files aim to simplify GPU crash investigations

When a graphics-related failure occurs, DirectX Dump Files generate a single .dxdmp file containing diagnostic information gathered from across the graphics stack.

Rather than forcing developers to compare logs from multiple debugging tools, the new system consolidates critical crash data into one package. The dump files can include details about the GPU, graphics driver, Windows environment, and the application involved in the crash.

Microsoft says the feature should help developers identify the root cause of graphics failures faster and with greater accuracy.

The dump files can capture low-level GPU hardware state information, including GPU register values, shader program counters, page fault addresses, shader memory contents, and command buffer data.

In addition, they can store DirectX runtime and kernel-level information such as D3D objects, pipeline state objects, device error information, graphics adapter details, and CPU call stacks.

Designed for both developers and end users

Microsoft built DirectX Dump Files around two primary scenarios.

The first is retail device removals, which allow developers to collect graphics crash information from end-user systems in the field. This can help identify issues that may not appear during internal testing.

The second is local device removals, which target developers and QA teams investigating crashes on test machines.

To provide additional context, developers can also attach up to 2 MB of custom application-specific data through new D3D12 APIs.

Three levels of crash data collection

Microsoft is introducing three different dump collection modes, allowing developers to balance diagnostic depth with performance impact.

• NO_OVERHEAD — Captures crash information without affecting runtime performance
• MEDIUM_OVERHEAD — Collects additional diagnostic data with moderate performance impact
• HIGH_OVERHEAD — Captures the most detailed GPU and driver state information with higher runtime overhead

On compatible Tier 2 hardware, Microsoft says zero-overhead dump collection will be enabled by default. As a result, developers may receive useful crash diagnostics even if they have not added special support to their applications.

AMD currently leads support

DirectX Dump Files are currently available through preview releases.

At the moment, AMD is the only vendor offering a compatible AgilitySDK Developer Preview driver. Support is available through AMD driver version 26.10.07.02.

Microsoft expects support from additional hardware vendors as the feature moves closer to general availability.

The announcement represents another effort by Microsoft to improve Windows troubleshooting tools. The company is also preparing a Windows 11 update that will allow users to disable Bing web results in Start menu search, while separately working on a fix for the recently acknowledged Recycle Bin bug introduced by the June updates.