Download of the Week: WhoCrashed

Posted 01/07/2010 at 12:20pm | by David Murphy

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Who crashed?  Who. I'm asking you, who crashed?  Yes, Who, that guy over there on first base...

Only the best downloads get their own warm-up comics. And WhoCrashed is one of the best downloads you'll want to have on your system if you want to figure out the source behind your occasional Blue Screens of Fatal Windows Unhappiness. Install this app on your PC and you'll be treated to a little more information than the gobbilty-gook permeating your average BSOD.

WhoCrashed isn't a panacea--it's not going to give you a little button that says "Fix Me," which will automatically heal your system's upset-whatever like a glass of digital Maalox. Consider this app the Sherlock Holmes of freeware (the book, not the Iron Man version). It'll give you clues and suggest a potential culprit for your woes, but it just can't make everything better without a little deduction and sleuthing on your part.

So why, then, would you download WhoCrashed? For the most part, the program does a nice job of showing you the exact drivers that were responsible for your system's failure in an easy-to-understand, notepad-like interface.  While it's usually pretty accurate when it comes to system problems, you'll occasionally get a crash that completely baffles the app.  Regardless, if WhoCrashed says that an errant driver is at fault, you have a few options: try updating the program or driver to a new version to see if that fixes your issue, try downgrading the driver to an older version, or try uninstalling the driver or program completely.

Every Wednesday, Maximum PC picks a new free or shareware download as its favorite of the week. Have a nifty application that you can't live without? Twitter David Murphy @acererak with your latest suggestions.