A systems technician is troubleshooting a Windows 11 Pro workstation that frequently encou… — CompTIA A+ (Core 1 & Core 2)

A systems technician is troubleshooting a Windows 11 Pro workstation that frequently encounters unexpected Stop errors (BSODs). The IT security policy requires that whenever a system crash occurs, the operating system must write a complete memory dump file to a custom directory path ( $C:\CrashLogs\memory.dmp$ ), refrain from automatically restarting the system so error codes remain visible, and display a boot menu timeout of 15 seconds during normal startup. Which administrative tool or applet should the technician open to configure these specific system recovery and boot behavior settings?

System Properties (sysdm.cpl) via the Startup and Recovery settings on the Advanced tabAnswer
B
System Configuration (msconfig.exe) via the Boot and Services tabs
C
Services MMC snap-in (services.msc) via the Recovery tab properties of individual services
D
Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc) via the System Log subscriptions and properties

Answer

System Properties (sysdm.cpl) via the Startup and Recovery settings on the Advanced tab is the correct utility for setting crash dump file paths, disabling automatic restart on system failure, and setting boot menu display time.

The Startup and Recovery dialog within System Properties (sysdm.cpl) under the Advanced tab is specifically engineered to manage Windows system failure responses. It allows administrators to specify the dump file path (such as

C:\CrashLogs\memory.dmp

), uncheck 'Automatically restart' so Stop error blue screens remain visible for troubleshooting, and define the boot menu display timeout.

Step-by-Step Solution

Identify the required administrative configuration items.

The requirements are modifying OS-level kernel crash dump paths, disabling automatic reboot on Stop errors (BSOD), and adjusting startup boot list timeout.

Different administrative utilities handle service-level recovery, boot diagnostics, and OS system failure responses separately.

Evaluate the capabilities of System Properties (sysdm.cpl).

Navigating to sysdm.cpl > Advanced tab > Startup and Recovery > Settings opens options for System Failure (Write debugging information file path, Automatically restart checkbox) and System Startup (Time to display list of operating systems).

This specific dialog box is designed exclusively for operating system failure handling and startup timeout parameters.

Distinguish from msconfig.exe and services.msc.

msconfig.exe handles safe boot triggers and general boot timeouts, while services.msc manages individual application services.

Neither msconfig.exe nor services.msc provides options for complete memory dump directory target configuration or BSOD automatic reboot behavior.

Key Concept

Windows Startup and Recovery Configuration (sysdm.cpl)

Estimated Time:2m 0s

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