Dr. Watson

Dr. Watson, in computer networking, was a Microsoft Windows utility that intercepts software faults and provides the user with information on which software faulted and why.

What is Dr. Watson (in computer networking)?

A Microsoft Windows utility that intercepts software faults and provides the user with information on which software faulted and why.

In earlier versions of Windows, this information was terse and cryptic, but it was greatly expanded and reorganized in the version of Dr. Watson included with Windows 98, as shown in the screen capture. However, this information is usually not helpful to the person running the software.

Dr. Watson is primarily of interest to the providers of the software to determine what caused the software to crash. A piece of software that frequently generates Dr. Watson messages can be considered buggy, and you should contact your software vendor for a fix or a replacement.

Graphic D-39. Watson.