Blue Screen Of Death Survival Guide: Every Error Explained

Greetings!  I'm Mark Micheau, manager of research and translation services at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
Today, I am delighted to be sharing a great article with you; all about what happens when you see that dreaded blue screen on your computer and what you need to do.  Try not to worry too much!  This article has a lot for you to read and learn about.
Enjoy your day.

 

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A Dan Thompson contribution

 

Blue Screen Of Death Survival Guide: Every Error Explained

 

| Maximum PC

 

May 24 2010

 

Article source, MaximumPC

 

The link to a page with this article and more is at the end of today's tip.

 

Picture this: It's late at night, you're sitting at your computer playing a game or working on a project when, suddenly, Windows freezes completely. All your work is gone, and you find a blue screen full of gibberish staring back at you. Windows is dead, Jim, at least until you reboot it. You have no choice but to sigh loudly, shake your fist at Bill Gates and angrily push the reset button. You've just been visited by the ghost of windows crashed: the Blue Screen of Death.

 

Also known as the BSoD, the Blue Screen of Death appears when Windows crashes or locks up. It's actually a Windows "stop" screen, and is designed to do two things:

 

tell you the reason for the error, and to calm your nerves, hence the use of the color blue (studies show it has a relaxing effect on people). Though Blue Screens are difficult to decipher, all the information you need to figure out what caused it is right there in front of you in blue and white—and that's where we come in.

 

We're going to show you how to dissect the blue screen error details, so you can fix the problem that's causing them.

 

BSoD 101: A Crash Course.

 

Error Name

 

There are many parts to a BSOD, but the most important is right at the top. The actual name of the error is presented in all caps with an underscore between each word.

 

In some cases this will be all that's needed to get to the root of the problem (thanks to the handy guide you are about to read). Most of the time, however, more information will be required.

 

Troubleshooting Advice

 

Nearly every BSOD includes a portion of text with some basic troubleshooting advice, the first of which recommends restarting your computer. Gee, thanks for the tip Microsoft.

 

Before you restart, copy the exact all-caps error code and hexadecimal values shown above and below this portion of generic text. The next paragraph provides sound advice, alerting the user to check to make sure their hardware is installed properly, or to undo any recent software or hardware upgrades.

 

Memory Dump

 

Every BSOD is accompanied by a memory dump. What this means is when Windows crashes, it dumps whatever it is holding in system memory to a file, and saves the file on your hard drive for debugging purposes. If you contact Microsoft for technical assistance, they'll want to know the contents of this file.

 

Stop Code

 

The "technical information" section portion contains the actual Windows stop code, in oh-so-easy-to-read hexadecimal form. Despite appearing unintelligible at first glance, this combination of numbers and letters is instrumental in determining the cause of the crash. Pay particular attention to the first set of numbers and letters.

 

It precedes the other four, which are enclosed in parenthesis. If a specific driver is associated with the crash, it will be listed on the very next line.

 

I Run Vista, so I'm Immune to BSODs, Right?

 

Unfortunately, no. A common misconception is that blue screens don't even exist in Vista, but not only are they still there, but we're here to tell you we've seen them first hand. The good news is Microsoft put a lot of work into how Vista handles critical errors and other glitches that in previous OSes would cause a system crash. Most of the time, if a problem occurs, Vista will attempt to fix the problem without any interruption. For example, if your videocard crashes, you may see a message saying "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered." In XP and previous OSes, this almost always would have resulted in a system crash.

 

In some cases, Vista will be unable to recover on its own, and the result is a blue screen. By default, Vista will reboot itself after briefly flashing the blue screen.

 

It happens so fast you might miss it, but once Windows reloads, you'll be greeted with an error message similar to the above. You can try clicking the Check for solution button, just as you can try your hand playing the lotto. Neither one is likely to result in anything.

 

Instead, scroll down and take note of the blue screen codes. Armed with this information, you can perform your own detective work. Alternately, if you'd prefer to see the actual blue screen rather than automatically rebooting, right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, select Properties, and click on Advanced System Settings. In the System Properties window that appears, select the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery, and uncheck the box that says Automatically Restart.

 

The same steps also apply to XP.

 

In another nod towards streamlining the troubleshooting process, Vista's Problem Reports and Solutions wizard can save you oodles of time in PC detective work, and may even alert you to potential conflicts you weren't even aware existed. You can find this applet by name in your Control Panel, or just type Problem Reports and Solutions in Vista's search box. Once loaded, click 'Check for new solutions' in the left-hand column. If Vista finds any conflicts, it will list them in the main window, along with any potential resolutions.

 

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/blue_screen_survival_guide

 

If you have any questions about the tips posted in Dan's Tech tips, please contact Dan at the following email address:

 

dthompson5@mchsi.com

 

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