How to Enable or Disable Windows Error Reporting (WER) in Windows 10

Windows Error Reporting is a diagnostic feature built into Windows 10 that automatically collects and sends error data to Microsoft when applications crash or system components fail. While this feedback tool helps Microsoft improve Windows stability and fix bugs, many users and IT administrators prefer to control exactly what information gets transmitted — or disable the feature entirely for privacy or compliance reasons.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the various methods to enable, configure, or completely disable Windows Error Reporting on your MS Windows 10 devices.

How to disable Windows Error Reporting in Windows 10

Method 1: Using the Services App

The simplest way to disable Windows Error Reporting is through the Windows Services application:

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog
2. Type services.msc and press Enter
3. Scroll down to find “Windows Error Reporting Service”
4. Right-click on the service and select “Properties”
5. Under the “General” tab, change the “Startup type” dropdown to “Disabled”
6. Click “Stop” to halt the currently running service
7. Click “Apply” and then “OK” to save your changes

This method immediately stops and disables the error reporting service, preventing it from collecting and sending any crash data to Microsoft.

Method 2: Via Group Policy Editor (Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise)

For administrators managing multiple devices or users with Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise editions, learn how to enable Windows Error Reporting via Group Policy with these steps:

1. Press Windows key + R, type gpedit.msc and press Enter
2. Navigate to: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Error Reporting
3. Double-click on “Disable Windows Error Reporting”
4. Select “Enabled” to turn off error reporting
5. Click “Apply” and then “OK”

Group Policy is particularly useful for enterprise environments as these settings can be pushed to multiple machines through domain policies, ensuring consistent configuration across your organization.

Method 3: Disable through Registry Editor (for advanced users)

Advanced users can turn off Windows Error Reporting using the Registry Editor by following these steps:

1. Press Windows key + R, type regedit and press Enter
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting
3. Right-click in the right pane and select New → DWORD (32-bit) Value
4. Name this value “Disabled”
5. Double-click on the new value and set its data to “1”
6. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect

Caution: Editing the registry incorrectly can cause serious system problems. Consider backing up the registry before making changes.

Optional: Scripted/automated approaches for IT teams

For IT administrators managing multiple systems, automated approaches can save time:

1. PowerShell script:

# Disable Windows Error Reporting Service

Set-Service -Name WerSvc -StartupType Disabled

Stop-Service -Name WerSvc -Force

2. Batch file deployment:

@echo off

sc config WerSvc start= disabled

sc stop WerSvc

echo Windows Error Reporting has been disabled.

3. Configuration Manager (SCCM) Deployment:

Create a configuration item that ensures the Windows Error Reporting service is set to “Disabled” and deploy it to your managed devices.

4. Intune policy:

For cloud-managed environments, create a custom OMA-URI policy targeting the appropriate registry keys to disable Windows Error Reporting across your fleet.

These automated approaches can be incorporated into your system imaging process or deployed on existing machines to ensure consistent configuration across your environment.

How to enable Windows Error Reporting in Windows 10

Re-enabling via Services App

1. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc and press Enter
2. Locate “Windows Error Reporting Service”
3. Right-click and select “Properties”
4. Change the “Startup type” to “Automatic (Delayed Start)” – this is the default setting
5. Click “Start” to immediately activate the service
6. Click “Apply” and then “OK” to save changes

Re-enabling via Group Policy Editor

1. Open Group Policy Editor by pressing Windows key + R, typing gpedit.msc and pressing Enter
2. Navigate to: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Error Reporting
3. Double-click on “Disable Windows Error Reporting”
4. Select “Disabled” or “Not Configured” to allow error reporting
5. Click “Apply” and then “OK”

Re-enabling via Registry Editor

1. Press Windows key + R, type regedit and press Enter
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting
3. Find the “Disabled” DWORD value
4. Double-click it and change the value to “0” (or delete the value entirely)
5. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect

Automated re-enabling for IT teams

# Enable Windows Error Reporting Service

Set-Service -Name WerSvc -StartupType AutomaticDelayedStart

Start-Service -Name WerSvc

Important considerations before enabling WER

Privacy implications

Consider what information may be sent to Microsoft before enabling WER. If you work with sensitive data, you might want to configure limited reporting rather than full reporting.

Network impact

In environments with many systems, enabling WER can increase network traffic, especially after updates or when problematic applications are in use. You may consider implementing throttling mechanisms to minimize this issue.

Customized configuration

Rather than fully enabling or disabling WER, consider configuring it to meet your specific needs:

• Set it to only collect basic reports without memory dumps
• Configure it to notify before sending reports
• Direct reports to internal servers for enterprise environments

Regulatory compliance

Ensure that enabling WER doesn’t violate any regulatory requirements applicable to your organization, particularly in sectors like healthcare, finance, or government.

User experience

Enabling WER can trigger dialog boxes after application crashes, which might confuse or interrupt less technical users. Consider providing guidance to your users about how to respond to these prompts.

Alternative solutions

For enterprise environments, consider whether Microsoft’s commercial diagnostic tools or third-party monitoring solutions might better serve your needs while providing more control over data collection.

What is Windows Error Reporting?

Windows Error Reporting (WER) is a built-in diagnostic system that was first introduced in Windows XP and has evolved through subsequent Windows versions, including Windows 10. Offering enhanced data collection and analysis capabilities, it was designed to replace the older ‘Dr. Watson’ error reporting tool.

How WER functions in Windows 10

In Windows 10, Windows Error Reporting operates as a background service that automatically detects when applications crash or when system components encounter errors. When a crash occurs, WER collects relevant diagnostic information about the failure and, depending on your settings, either transmits a report to Microsoft or asks for your permission before sending.

The collected data is then analyzed by Microsoft engineers to identify patterns in software failures, helping them develop fixes that are delivered through Windows Update.

Common scenarios where WER is triggered

Windows Error Reporting typically activates when:

• An application crashes
• A system service fails
• The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) occurs
• A component hangs or becomes unresponsive
• Hardware drivers encounter errors
• System resource conflicts arise

Types of data it collects and sends to Microsoft

Windows Error Reporting collects several categories of information when triggered:

• Basic system information (Windows version, hardware configuration, language settings)
• Application details (name, version, publisher, timestamp)
• Application data relevant to the failure
• Exception information (error codes, module information)
• Call stack data showing the sequence of functions that led to the crash
• Memory dumps (which may contain portions of what was in memory when the error occurred)

The level of detail collected depends on your configured privacy settings. At minimum, WER sends basic information about the error — but, if allowed, it can also include detailed memory dumps that help developers pinpoint the exact cause of failures. Microsoft’s privacy policy governs how this information is used, primarily for improving Windows stability and security.

Pros and cons of Windows Error Reporting

Pros:

Helps Microsoft improve product stability

Windows Error Reporting provides Microsoft with valuable diagnostic data about software and hardware failures. This information helps their engineering teams identify patterns in crashes and errors across millions of devices, prioritize fixes for the most common issues, and develop more stable updates. Over time, this feedback loop has contributed significantly to making Windows more reliable with each update.

Can assist in diagnosing and resolving system issues

WER can be an invaluable troubleshooting tool for individual users and IT professionals alike. The error reports often contain specific information about which components failed and why, helping to pinpoint the root cause of system instability. Microsoft’s automated responses to submitted error reports sometimes include links to existing solutions, patches, or workarounds for known issues.

Useful in enterprise environments for issue tracking

In corporate settings, WER can be configured to send reports to internal servers before (or instead of) sending them to Microsoft. This allows IT departments to monitor application stability across their organization, identify problematic software or configurations, and proactively address issues before they affect productivity.

Cons:

Potential privacy concerns

The most significant drawback of WER is privacy-related. Error reports can potentially contain sensitive information, including document fragments that were open during a crash, usernames, or other personally identifiable information. While Microsoft has privacy policies governing the use of this data, some organizations with strict data protection requirements may be uncomfortable with any diagnostic data leaving their network.

Can consume bandwidth in environments with many machines

In large deployments with hundreds or thousands of computers, WER can generate substantial network traffic, especially after OS updates or when problematic applications are in use. This can impact network performance and potentially increase costs for organizations with metered internet connections.

Unnecessary for tightly controlled or offline systems

For systems in highly regulated environments, air-gapped networks, or situations where changes come only through carefully tested update packages, WER offers limited benefits. In these cases, the diagnostic data rarely leads to actionable improvements since updates are applied on a controlled schedule rather than in response to emerging issues.

Use cases: When should you enable or disable WER?

Understanding when to turn off Windows Error Reporting or enable it can help optimize your system management approach.

Enabling for diagnostic or support scenarios

Windows Error Reporting can be particularly valuable in several diagnostic scenarios:

• Troubleshooting new software issues: When deploying new applications or after significant updates, enabling WER can help identify compatibility issues or bugs that might not appear during testing. The collected crash data can provide developers with information needed to create patches.
• Working with technical support: When collaborating with Microsoft Support or third-party software vendors on resolving persistent issues, enabling WER provides technical teams with diagnostic information they need to understand the problem context.
• During system migrations: When transitioning to new hardware or OS versions, temporarily enabling enhanced error reporting can help catch migration-related issues early in the deployment process.
• Development and testing environments: In systems used for software development or testing, detailed error reports can help identify the root causes of application failures more efficiently than manual debugging alone.

Disabling in air-gapped systems or for privacy-sensitive use cases

Methods to prevent Windows 10 from reporting errors to Microsoft are essential in high-security environments. Windows Error Reporting should typically be disabled in these scenarios:

• Air-gapped or secure networks: For systems without internet connectivity or in high-security environments, error reporting serves no practical purpose since the data cannot reach Microsoft and might pose a security risk if data is queued for eventual transmission.
• Systems processing classified or sensitive data: Computers handling confidential information, personal health information (PHI), financial data, or other protected categories should have error reporting disabled to prevent inadvertent data leakage through memory dumps.
• Mission-critical systems: For systems where uptime is paramount, such as point-of-sale terminals, medical equipment, or industrial control systems, disabling non-essential services like WER helps minimize resource usage and potential interruptions.

Managing WER at Scale in corporate IT environments

For enterprise IT teams managing numerous devices, a nuanced approach to Windows Error Reporting is often appropriate:

• Tiered configuration: Consider different WER settings for different device categories — full reporting for IT staff, limited reporting for general employees, and disabled reporting for systems handling sensitive data.
• Corporate error reporting: Large organizations can implement Corporate Error Reporting, which redirects error reports to internal servers for analysis before optionally forwarding filtered data to Microsoft.
• Pilot groups: Enable detailed error reporting on a representative subset of machines (the pilot group) rather than across the entire organization to gather diagnostic data while minimizing bandwidth usage.
• Integration with IT ticketing systems: Advanced configurations can tie WER events to automated ticket creation in IT service management platforms, ensuring that critical application failures receive prompt attention.

Troubleshooting and common issues

What happens if WER is disabled and a critical crash occurs?

Even after you stop Windows 10 from sending error reports, crashes will still be recorded in Windows Event Logs. When Windows Error Reporting is disabled and a critical crash occurs:

1. No error reports sent: The system will not collect diagnostic data or attempt to send error information to Microsoft, preventing any automated suggestions or solutions.
2. Minimal user feedback: Instead of the detailed error reporting dialog, users typically see only a basic notification that the application has stopped working, with options to close the program or check for a solution online manually.
3. Event logs only: The crash will still be recorded in the Windows Event Logs, but without the comprehensive crash dump data that Windows Error Reporting would normally collect.
4. No automatic recovery options: Any automated recovery actions that might be triggered by WER (such as suggesting known solutions) won’t be available.
5. Manual troubleshooting required: IT staff will need to rely on event logs, application logs, and manual troubleshooting techniques to diagnose the issue without the benefit of memory dumps or detailed crash analysis.

How to Verify WER Settings

To confirm your Windows Error Reporting configuration:

1. Through problem reports settings:

• Go to Start → Settings → Privacy → Diagnostics & feedback
• Check the settings under “Optional diagnostic data” and “Send Microsoft info about how I write”
• Click on “View diagnostic data” to see what’s being collected

2. Using Action Center:

• Open Action Center (Windows key + A)
• Click “All settings” → “Privacy” → “Diagnostics & feedback”
• Review the current settings

3. Registry verification:

• Open Registry Editor
• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting
• Check for the “Disabled” value (1 = disabled, 0 or missing = enabled)

4. Group policy results:

• For enterprise environments, run gpresult /r in Command Prompt to view applied policies
• Look for Windows Error Reporting policies under Computer Configuration

Tools or Commands to Check WER Logs/Status

Several tools can help you monitor and troubleshoot Windows 10 Error Reporting settings:

1. Event Viewer:

• Open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc)
• Navigate to Windows Logs → Application
• Filter for events with source “Windows Error Reporting”
• These logs show when reports were generated and whether they were successfully submitted

PowerShell commands:

# Check WER service status

Get-Service WerSvc

# View WER configuration

2. Get-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting”

3. WER report queue:

• Browse to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportQueue
• The presence of files here indicates pending reports that haven’t been sent
• Empty folders suggest either no recent crashes or successful transmission

4. Problem reports history:

• Type “View reliability history” in the Windows search box
• This opens the Reliability Monitor showing application failures and system errors
• Click on specific events to see if error reports were generated

5. WER report archive:

• Check C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive to view stored reports that have been sent or that you’ve chosen to save locally

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Is Windows Error Reporting safe?

A: Windows Error Reporting is generally safe to use in most environments. Microsoft employs several security measures to protect the data collected, including encryption and privacy controls.

However, for organizations with strict data sovereignty requirements, even these safeguards may be insufficient.

Q: Does disabling WER impact system performance?

A: Disabling Windows Error Reporting has minimal impact on system performance:

1. Slight resource savings: Turning off Windows Error Reporting eliminates a background service that consumes a small amount of system resources, potentially offering marginal performance improvements.
2. No crash handling delays: When disabled, applications can fail without the additional process of gathering diagnostic data, which could make crash recovery slightly faster.
3. Network traffic reduction: Systems with frequent application crashes will send less data over the network, which could be beneficial in environments with limited bandwidth.

For the most part, these performance benefits are negligible on modern systems. The service is lightweight by design and only consumes significant resources during actual crash events. For most users, the decision to enable or disable WER should be based on privacy, security, and diagnostic needs rather than performance considerations.

Q: Can WER be managed via PowerShell?

A: Yes, Windows Error Reporting can be effectively managed through PowerShell, making it ideal for automation and remote administration. These PowerShell commands can be incorporated into system setup scripts, group policy logon scripts, or remote management tools:

Service management

# Check current status

Get-Service WerSvc

# Disable the service

Set-Service -Name WerSvc -StartupType Disabled

Stop-Service -Name WerSvc -Force

# Enable the service

Set-Service -Name WerSvc -StartupType AutomaticDelayedStart

1. Start-Service -Name WerSvc

Registry configuration

# Disable WER via registry

New-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting” -Name “Disabled” -Value 1 -PropertyType DWord -Force

# Enable WER via registry

2. Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting” -Name “Disabled” -Value 0

Detailed configuration

# Configure to queue reports but not send

New-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting” -Name “QueuePesterLevel” -Value 1 -PropertyType DWord -Force

# Check current configuration values

3. Get-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting”

In summary

Managing Windows Error Reporting in Windows provides you with greater control over your system’s diagnostic data and privacy. Whether you choose to enable WER for improved troubleshooting capabilities or disable it for privacy or performance reasons, the methods outlined in this article give you the flexibility to configure this feature according to your specific needs.

For IT administrators in enterprise environments, the ability to deploy consistent WER policies across multiple systems can significantly streamline troubleshooting processes while observing organizational security standards. By understanding the capabilities and configuration options of Windows Error Reporting, you can make informed decisions that balance system diagnostics with your privacy and performance requirements.