New from SysInternals: ProcDump

Although mainly aimed at IT administrators, the free SysInternals tools are invaluable for developers as well. I've solved countless problems with tools like Process Monitor (ex FileMon/RegMon), TCPView and DebugView. From time to time, the fellows at SysInternals come up with new tools, and this time they've invented ProcDump.

With ProcDump, you can create a dump from any running process that hogs the CPU. Says the documentation: "ProcDump is a command-line utility whose primary purpose is monitoring an application for CPU spikes and generating crash dumps during a spike that an administrator or developer can use to determine the cause of the spike."

Of course, such dumps have been available for a long time, and especially if you are able to do just-in-time (JIT) debugging with your favorite development tool, then you won't need anything more. But usually, the problems occur at the production sites, which are always far away from the convenience of your own desktop and tools.

In these sitations ProcDump can become very valuable. Be sure to check it out.