[[File:Windows Error Reporting problem details.png|thumb|right|Windows Error Reporting displaying problem details from an issue with [[Windows Explorer]]]]
'''Windows Error Reporting''' ('''WER''') (codenamed Watson) is a [[crash reporter|crash reporting]] technology introduced by [[Microsoft]] with [[Windows XP]]<ref name="whatisit">[http://blogs.msdn.com/b/wer/archive/2008/12/26/what-are-wer-services.aspx What are WER Services?]</ref> and included in later Windows versions and [[Windows Mobile]] 5.0 and 6.0. Not to be confused with the [[Dr. Watson (debugger)|Dr. Watson]] debugging tool which left the memory dump on the user's local machine, Windows Error Reporting collects and offers to send post-error [[debug]] information (a [[Core dump|memory dump]]) using the Internet to the [[Microsoft]] when an application crashes or stops responding on a user's desktop. No data is sent without the user's consent.<ref>[http://blogs.msdn.com/b/wer/archive/2009/03/11/an-overview-of-wer-consent-settings-and-corresponding-ui-behavior.aspx An overview of WER consent settings and corresponding UI behavior]</ref> When a crash dump (or other error signature information) reaches the Microsoft server, it is analyzed, and information about a solution is sent back to the user when one isif available. Solutions are served using Windows Error Reporting Responses. Windows Error Reporting runs as a [[Windows service]] and can optionally be entirely disabled. If Windows Error Reporting itself crashes, then an error report that the original crashed process produced cannot be sent at all. Kinshuman is the original designer of Windows Error Reporting in Vista which is the same design and implementation that is present in current Windows versions.<ref>[http://m.cacm.acm.org/magazines/2011/7/109883-debugging-in-the-very-large/abstract Debugging in the (Very) Large: Ten Years of Implementation and Experience]</ref>
==History==
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===Windows Vista===
Windows Error Reporting was improved significantly in [[Windows Vista]]., Most importantly a new set ofwhen public [[API]]s have beenwere createdintroduced for reporting failures other than application crashes and hangs.<ref>[http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb513635.aspx WER APIs]</ref> DevelopersUsing the new APIs, as documented on MSDN, developers can create custom reports and customize the reporting user interface. The new APIs are documented in MSDN. The architecture of Windows Error Reporting haswas beenalso revamped with a focus on reliability and user experience. For example, WER can now report errors even whenfrom the process isprocesses in a very bad state for example if the processstates hassuch encounteredas [[stack (data structure)#Runtime memory management|stack]] exhaustions, PEB/TEB corruptions, and [[heap corruption]]s, etc.conditions Inwhich earlierin OSsreleases prior to Windows Vista,thewould processhave usuallyresulted terminatedin silentlysilent withoutprogram generatingtermination anwith no error report in these conditions. A new [[Control Panel (Windows)|Control Panel]] applet, "Problem Reports and Solutions" was also introduced, keeping a record of system and application errors and issues, as well as presenting probable solutions to problems.
