[KB7901] Create a full memory dump of a VMware virtual machine

Solution

1. Create and download a virtual machine snapshot
2. Use the vmss2core tool to create a memory dump from the virtual machine snapshot

I. Create and download a virtual machine snapshot

1. In the VMware environment, select the virtual machine that has issues.

2. Replicate the issue on the virtual machine.

3. Right-click the virtual machine and click Snapshots → Take snapshot.

4. Type the name, select the check box next to Snapshot the Virtual Machine's memory and click OK.

5. Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.

6. Select the virtual machine and click Datastores and click the datastore name.

7. Select the virtual machine, select the .vmsn file (VMware Snapshot file), click Download and save the file locally.

II. Use the vmss2core tool to create a memory dump from the virtual machine snapshot

1. Download Vmss2core.

2. Select the check box next to I have read and agree to the Technical Preview License I also understand that Flings are experimental and should not be run on production systems. Select the file for your operating system from the drop-down menu (for example, if you want to run the tool on Windows, select vmss2core-sb-8456865.exe) and click Download.

3. Place the vmss2core tool and the VMware snapshot file (downloaded in Section1, Step 7) into the same folder.

4. Run the vmss2core (vmss2core-sb-8456865.exe in this example) in the command line with the following parameters:

• • Specify the guest operating system from which the snapshot was created:

    • -W8 —Windows 8 and later or Windows Server 2012 and later.
    • -W —Windows 7 and older or Windows Server 2008 and older.

  • Virtual machine snapshot filename (for example, virtual_machine_name.vmsn).

vmss2core-sb-8456865.exe -W8 "virtual_machine_name.vmsn"

When the vmss2core tool completes the operation, it creates a memory dump file named memory.dmp that can be used for additional troubleshooting.