Decrypting Lotus Notes’ NSD crash logs.

When Lotus Notes crashes, it usually also creates a crash log. Much like the tapes from the black box of an airplane, the crash log can yield veluable information, provided you can read it. The crash logs are named in a very specific way, such as nsd_W32I_XP-UNME_2009_03_11@08_35_17.log, easily allowing us to find the log we need.
 
The problem is that the logs are, mildly put, overfilled with information, logging all of the files Notes uses, the processes running at the time of the crash and so on. These files are raw text data, containing some 30000+ lines of information, taking up roughly 2MB of space.
 
For years, Notes consultants have clamored for a tool to ease the reading of these files; and IBM has seen fit to acquiesce; they have published the Lotus Notes Diagnostic Tool.
 
The Lotus Notes Diagnostic Tool, found here, analyses the file, and tells you what you need to know, along with links to knowledge base articles. You still have to decide upon a plan of action yourself, but at least now you don’t have to search some 30000+ lines of error logs to find what the error was…