Why is Windows Error Reporting nicknamed "Dr. Watson"?

Connecting with Customers via Windows Error Reporting (Watson) and CEIP

Satisfy Me — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:44:25 GMT

Earlier this week, I provided a couple of glimpses at how product groups listen and respond to customers

Server Core phone home

The things that are better left unspoken — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 22:00:30 GMT

Windows Error Reporting (WER) is a Windows feature we know since Windows XP. (2001)  Microsoft loves

Circumventing custom SEH

REblog — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:34:21 GMT

I do most of my malware analysis statically, which is to say that I typically analyze malware by looking...

Circumventing custom SEH

REblog — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 07:23:11 GMT

I do most of my malware analysis statically, which is to say that I typically analyze malware by looking...

Circumventing custom SEH

REblog — Sun, 07 May 2006 17:54:14 GMT

I do most of my malware analysis statically, which is to say that I typically analyze malware by looking...

Origin of Dr. Watson

Designing @ Microsoft — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 21:12:04 GMT

Just read a post of Matt Pietrek referrring to the origin of Dr. Watson.
Check it out at OldNewThing...

re: Why is Windows Error Reporting nicknamed "Dr. Watson"?

Rolf — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 05:05:22 GMT

Actually, Chris is nearly correct when he points out that

"The old Dr. Watson and the newer DW are actually named differently. DW was supposed to stand for "Dad Watson." DAD was the acronym for Desktop Applications Division, which was the old name for the team that made Office."

The DAD devs liked to frequent "Dad Watsons", a pub on Fremont Ave and 36th, which is where DAD Watson (dw.exe) got its Nickname.

re: Why is Windows Error Reporting nicknamed "Dr. Watson"?

Salman — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 02:23:41 GMT

thanks for that. how about the history of the 'blue screen of death'? j/k

re: Why is Windows Error Reporting nicknamed "Dr. Watson"?

Norman Diamond — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 05:41:02 GMT

Thursday, August 11, 2005 9:56 AM by Tim Smith
> If you save your PDB files for each build
> and Dr. Watson uses the minidump file
> format, you can load a crash in .NET and see
> everything. It is really nice.

Yeah I thought I had read something like that before. But when cmd.exe aborted and I tried to open its minidump in .Net, .Net didn't show anything. When I closed .Net, .Net aborted. Then I was offered an opportunity to debug .Net using a new invocation of .Net, which I declined.

re: Why is Windows Error Reporting nicknamed "Dr. Watson"?

protectedstatic — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 20:18:09 GMT

I always thought that in addition to the Holmes reference, it tied in nicely w/ the story about Bell & his first phone call: Watson, come here! I need you!