When Windows detects a hardware or software error, it automatically collects diagnostic data and reports it to Microsoft. So, in this article, we’ll take a look at Windows problem reporting.
How Windows 10 Error Reporting Works?
When a program freezes or closes with an error in Windows 10, the system can automatically collect data about the error and send a report to Microsoft. This report usually includes the name of the program, its version, the exact time of the error, and some other data. If the developers have a ready-made solution to the problem, after a while, the user will receive a message that will indicate the causes of the problem and how to fix it.
The function of sending error reports is certainly a useful thing, however, many users would prefer not to send any such information to Microsoft, for example, for reasons of personal data security. In earlier versions of Windows, the function of sending error reports could be disabled through the interface, but in the tenth version of the system, the option responsible for this action was removed.
The reporting service collects information that is useful for diagnosing and resolving the problem you are experiencing, such as:
- Where the problem occurred in software or hardware
- The type or severity of the problem
- Files that help describe the problem
- Basic information about software and hardware
- Potential performance and software compatibility issues.
How to report problems on Windows 10?
Error messages are turned on by default in all versions of Windows, but you can easily turn them off from Control Panel or from Services depending on your version of Windows.
The function of sending error reports is certainly a useful thing, however, many users would prefer not to send any such information to Microsoft, for example, for reasons of personal data security. In earlier versions of Windows, the function of sending error reports could be disabled through the interface, but in the tenth version of the system, the option responsible for this action was removed.
To disable the generation and sending of error reports, you will have to use a registry tweak by the next steps:
- Before you start editing the key, check if sending reports really works for you. This is especially true for unofficial Windows assemblies, in which it may already be disabled by the assembly author. Go to the classic control panel, go to System and Security -> Security and Service Center and see if the “Search for solutions to reported issues” setting is active.
- If so, open the Registry Editor with the Regedit
- In the right column of the editor window, create a new 32-bit parameter named Disabled and set its value to 1.
- Now close and reopen the Security and Service Center applet.
- You will see that the “Search for solutions to reported issues” setting has changed its status to “Disabled”.
- This means that bug reports will no longer be sent to the developer company.
- You can close the Services window.