Hi Radiation,
"The memory dump file contains the contents of your computer's memory and
other technical information. The information is pretty much unintelligible
to ordinary users, but it can be helpful to Microsoft engineers when
diagnosing a crash.
Your system is probably set up to write a 'complete memory dump' if it halts
unexpectedly. It doesn't have to be this way: You can choose to have a
'small memory dump' instead, which will record the smallest amount of
information that will help identify a problem. To learn how to do this, open
Help and Support and search for 'memory dump' (without the quotes, of
course). Read the article entitled "Specify what Windows does if the system
stops unexpectedly."
As long as you've re-installed Windows, you can safely delete the old dump
file (as they're called.)
As for why it doesn't defragment - that's by design. In the interest of
getting the job done more quickly, XP's defragmenter doesn't defrag files in
low priority paths. Since Microsoft doesn't anticipate that you'll have
great need for dump files, they aren't defragmented.
How to Configure the dump type in XP
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. On the Advanced tab, click Startup and Recovery.
Unless you plan on debugging it or paying MS to analyze it, just delete
it. (It's a dump from a prior system crash.)
In to delete memory.dmp in vista.
1. Start > Programs > Accessories > System tools
2. Disk Cleanup
3. Select Drive C and hit OK
4. then delete them
polonus