If you’re a Windows user, chances are high that you might have already encountered with the blue error screen at some point. This STOP error screen on Windows is infamously known as the “Blue Screen of Death” or simply BSoD .
The BSoD screen often appears when there are some serious issues with your PC’s hardware or a software driver. It mainly shows up when the fatal errors lead to the system crash, making the Windows no longer functional.
The only solution to the BSoD is restarting your PC, but it may cause data loss.
So what does the Blue Screen of Death actually means and how to fix issues with your PC if BSoD keeps appearing again and again? Let’s see.
What is Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)?
As we discussed above, Blue screen of death displays crucial error messages and information on why the system crashed. The Blue Screen of Death is actually a good feature, as it freezes your Windows OS and alerts you to prevent the computer from further damage.
There are different types of BSoD for different versions of Windows. For eg. in the older versions of Windows such as Win7 or XP, the BSoD looks like an error screen with too much complex information about the error. In Windows 8 and 10, Microsoft introduced the much simpler version of BSoD.
Every BSoD screen has the four main components, as below:
- The accurate error message
- Loaded memory modules
- Unloaded modules (no errors)
- Present kernel debugs status
These are the primary components of BSoD. However, these errors related troubleshooting tips are listed in the form of hexadecimal and text codes. I suggest you note down these codes before you allow restarting your PC.
Besides, when a blue screen occurs, Windows creates a “minidump ” file itself that has all the information about the crash and later saves it to your disk. You can also access this file to know more about the problem.
What causes Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) in Windows?
“Your System ran into a problem and needs to reboot. We’re just collecting some error info, and reboot for you.” This is the BSOD error you may face on your blue screen.
It is mainly due to the issue with your PCs hardware or its driver software. We have mentioned some common causes of BSOD error below:
- Poor Device Driver or Nonfunctional Hardware
- Overheating of Components
- Dreadful Memory
- Issues with The BIOS Settings
- Faulty Hard Disk Drives
These reasons cause the BSoD error in your Windows system with the above BSoD error codes. Thankfully, the BSoD error now is reduced with the latest technology power to deal with many errors and also offers easy troubleshooting ways to fix this error.
What are the Common BSoD Errors?
The BSOD error occurs due to many faulty aspects in your system. Although, most of the BSOD errors are caused due to outdated device drivers, let us go through some of the common issues causing BSoD errors.
- REGISTRY_ERROR: Failure in the system registry
- IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL: A corrupt device driver or hardware conflict
- BAD_POOL_HEADER: Recent changes in the system
- KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED: Incorrectly configured device driver
- DIVIDE_BY_ZERO_ERROR: When an application tries to divide by zero
- NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM: Hard disk corruption
How to Read Kernel-level errors?
These errors related to the system temperature, hardware, corrupt files or viruses are available in numeral systems or texts. It is difficult to read and unlock these codes and hence the solutions mentioned below give you to access and understand these codes easily:
- Right-click on Start Menu and select Computer Management
- Click on Event Viewer under System Tools section
You’ll find a list of errors in the “ Summary of Administrative Events ” window, categorized under the drop-down menus. You can click on the drop-down menu to expand the list and double click on errors to know the details.
Troubleshooting and Fixing Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Errors?
As we now know the causes of Blue Screen of Death error, let us fix them one by one by applying the troubleshooting guide methods.
This method works in any version of your Windows systems including the Windows 7, 8 and 10 and also, Windows Vista and Windows XP.
1. Use System Restore
You may suddenly see the Blue screen error on your device immediately after you just install new hardware or just a program, introducing a new Windows update or even updating a new driver.
So, you might want to undo the changes you made to your system to avoid the STOP error. Follow the steps to do so:
- Use the System Restore tool to undo any recent changes
- Roll back to the previous drive feature in the Device Manager and uninstall the current driver
You have now undone the major changes you’ve made to your system. You can reboot your PC and check whether the BSoD occurs after this process.
2. Troubleshooting BSODs through Control Panel
Windows offers you the Troubleshoot feature for blue-screen in Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 present in the Action Center. It is an effective method to fix your BSOD error, let us see how to do so:
- Go to the Control Panel and then, head to the System and Security option
Note: In Windows 8 and 10, go to Control Panel and begin Security and Maintenance
- Now, under the Maintainance section, click on the Check for solutions icon
This option automatically checks for solutions to your existing issue.
However, Windows 8 and 10 can perform troubleshooting program automatically, once your system restarts following the BSOD. But we suggest you check the Action Center to identify more information and troubleshooting process.
3. Install The Updated Drivers
Faulty drivers may lead to conflicts. Download and install the latest driver on PC from your trusted manufacturer’s website to fix this issue.
4. Scan for Malware
Any kind of virus or malware that infects your system deeply can result in unstable programming of your system. To fix this problem, scan your computer through any antivirus scanner to avoid any malicious software.
5. Reinstall Windows
If any of the above methods don’t remove the blue screen of death in your Windows system, the final solution is to reset your Windows or perform a clean install. You’ll lose all your malicious system software. But, have a fresh new Windows system. To reboot your Windows:
- Go to the Start menu and search the “ Windows Defender Security Center.”
- Open “Device Performance & Health ” in the sidebar, and click “ Additional Info ” under the Fresh Start section.
- Click the “ Get Started” button. Now, follow the instructions to reinstall Windows.
These are some of the Hardware and Driver related workable solutions to fix your BSoD error in your Windows system. However, even if you’re facing this error, you may have to replace your Hardware or reinstall the software. Fortunately, Windows system now offers automatic updates for your drivers to avoid any issues.
And we are done! These easy fixes are most-likely to solve your BSoD error on your screen and start operating normally. Let us know any other issue or any suggestion in the comments section below.