What is a Blue Screen of Death?

The Blue Screen of Death, or more properly the ‘Windows stop message’ occurs when Windows detects a problem or error from which it cannot recover. The operating system halts and diagnostic information is displayed on a blue screen. In newer versions of the operating system, the contents of the PC’s memory are dumped to a file for later analysis.

Blue Screen of Death

Reading the Blue Screen Of Death

A typical Windows XP stop message, like the one above, is divided into four parts, and actually does display some helpful clues as to what caused its appearance. Reading a BSOD is not an everyday task, but if we take a moment to dissect it, you’ll see it can help us to resolve the conflict which is stopping Windows from operating correctly.

The bugcheck information shows the number of the stop error (in hexadecimal format), information on why the system has stopped and the friendly (text-based) name for the stop error.

The second section, ‘recommended user action,’ is pretty generic and contains advice for the user on possible troubleshooting steps.

This tends to be the same for just about every stop error, though the main advice ‘try restarting your computer’ is the best possible first step to take.

The third section, ‘driver information,’ may contain vital info. If an actual driver file is associated with the blue screen, it will be listed here. This can give you something to work on in the case of a reoccurring error.

The final part of the stop error screen is the ‘debug port and status information’ section.

Windows XP will attempt to dump the contents of system memory either to a file on the hard drive or to one of the COM ports in the case of a stop error.

Why Do BSOD’s happen?

In Windows XP, stop messages generally take one of five forms:

1. Software errors during Windows operation. Software or device drivers installed in your computer may have errors or problems which cause a stop error, either constantly or under certain conditions.

2. Hardware errors during Windows operation. If a hardware device malfunctions or is removed during the operation of Windows, or if your hardware does not fully support the operations that XP expects it to support, a hardware stop error will occur. Outdated BIOS information on older computers might also be an issue.

3. Installation errors. The Windows XP installation process is the most sensitive time for hardware and disk errors. If there is a problem with your computer’s hardware configuration or the media you are using to install XP, a stop error will likely occur.

4. Startup errors. Corrupted system files, hardware and driver errors can all cause Windows XP to halt with a stop message without correctly booting into Windows. An error of this sort will almost always require troubleshooting before Windows can be loaded correctly.

5. Intermittent errors. The most irritating type of stop message, these crop up consistently but apparently randomly. The most likely culprits for this include: defective system memory, an overheating processor, dead or dieing hard drive or faulty software and device drivers.

Given the range of possible crashes and stop errors, it’s difficult to come up with a precise set of instructions for every possibly BSOD. Websites do exist which contain lists of known stop errors and some potential solutions, and we would advise you to check them also in your quest for a cure. Try here or here for starters.

Basic troubleshooting for all BSOD errors

First off, note down all relevant information when you see a BSOD flash across the screen. This includes the error number and friendly name from the ‘bugcheck’ section of the stop error (see above), and any file names specified in the ‘driver information’ section.
If the BSOD comes up on the screen for a split-second before the PC restarts and wipes all the useful information away, we need to change some settings within WinXP. In most cases, it should be possible to stop your PC from automatically restarting when it develops a major error, allowing you enough time to jot down the BSOD error message. If you are using WindowsXP, right click on my computer > Properties > Select the ‘Advanced’ tab > and under ‘startup and recovery’ click the ‘settings’ button. This will open a new window, and under the ‘System Failure’ heading, uncheck ‘Automatically restart.’

Continuing on, attempt to restart the computer normally into Windows. If the BSOD occurred while booting Windows, you may be taken to a troubleshooting menu and will have to select ‘attempt to start Windows normally.’ If your computer starts correctly, continue using it and store the error information for later reference. If the BSOD reoccurs at random or irregular periods, see Section D below on troubleshooting intermittent stop errors.

If your system does not start correctly or the stop message happens again, reboot the system. When the POST (memory checking) screen comes up, press F8 repeatedly. This will bring you to the Windows advanced options menu.

In the Windows advanced options menu choose ‘safe mode’ to attempt to boot into Windows Safe mode. Safe mode loads Windows XP with a minimal set of drivers and no automatically loaded software. If faulty software or drivers are causing your BSOD problem, safe mode should load correctly. If safe mode loads correctly, refer to Section A below on ‘troubleshooting software stop messages.’

If safe mode does not load correctly, and/or you get the same stop message upon attempting safe mode, it’s time to try the ‘restore last known good configuration’ option in the advanced options menu.

Restart your computer, pressing ‘F8′ again to load the advanced options menu and select ‘last known good configuration (your most recent settings that worked).’ This uses Windows XP’s built in system restore utility to restore the most recent save point, which should be the last time you installed any drivers or other software. If your system boots normally after this operation, hopefully your problem has been fixed.

If you are still receiving a Blue Screen Of Death after the above procedures, or if system restore was disabled on your system, note down any new information on the error and start thinking. Did you install any new hardware or software just before this problem occurred? The driver information section of the BSOD may help with this.

If you did install new hardware or software, and you think you know what it might be that is causing the problem, this gives you a big boost in resolving the situation.