Windows Dirty Shutdown: Determine the number of system crashes

The operating systems from Microsoft are informational all-rounders. You log in all the data and organize it in places like the register. Information also arrives there if the installed OS crashes: In this case, a corresponding counter counts up by one.

Are you interested in how often your Windows system has been shut down without a clean shutdown? Here’s how to look it up: You open with Windows-R and the command regedit cave Registry editor (aka Regedit aka regedit.exe). In this program, you enter the following registry key path via an address bar entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control

Below, pay attention to the DWORD 32-bit entry “DirtyShutdownCount” in the right pane. Its value or property is available as a number and indicates how often Windows has crashed so far.

Read the number of system crashes via PowerShell

Don’t feel like going on a registry editor expedition? In this case, press Windows-R and query PowerShellwhich can be done by copying and pasting the following command:

powershell -NoExit -command “(Get-ItemProperty -Path ‘HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control’).DirtyShutdownCount “

After pressing Enter, a PowerShell window opens that reveals the number of Windows crashes on your machine.

PowerShell Detective — PowerShell as a Windows crash detective: It tells you how often your system has crashed.

Photo: COMPUTER BILD

The term “DirtyShutdownCount” contained in the command certainly reminds some experienced users of the dirty bit that the operating system sometimes sets when the system crashes, which then requires Chkdsk (hard drive error checking) – capeeck DIsk a dirty bit is removed, alternatively this can be done using a Hex editors (more delicate, more complicated).

Drill deeper: determine the number of blue screens and shutdown duration

Another tip is shareware.AIDA64“: You can find out how many of them under “Operating system > Runtime”. Blue screens Your operating system has been plagued to date. Incidentally, such crashes can often be avoided in the future with a comprehensive driver update. Assists you with this CCleaner Pro (unlike CCleaner Free), which allows you to automate the whole thing.

If Windows doesn’t crash but shuts down properly when you want it to, it always takes time. Do you want to know exactly how long? You discuss this with him Ashampoo WinOptimizer 27: The software can be downloaded free of charge as a 30-day demo version and as such is not functionally restricted.

The application displays benchmark values for past OS shutdown sessions, including a breakdown of which phases of the procedures were how time-consuming. To do this, detective users use the click path “All modules > Optimize startup process > Shut down” in the application GUI/interface.