A Complete Troubleshooting Guide for BSODs in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, & XP
A Blue Screen of Death, also called a STOP Error, will appear when an issue is so serious that Windows must stop completely.
A Blue Screen of Death is usually hardware or driver related. Most BSODs show a STOP code that can be used to help figure out the root cause of the Blue Screen of Death.
Did your PC restart after the BSOD? If the blue screen flashed and your computer rebooted automatically before you had time to read anything, see the tip at the bottom of the page.
Important: Below are general Blue Screen of Death troubleshooting steps. Please reference my List of Blue Screen Error Codes for individual STOP code troubleshooting steps. Come back here if I don't have a troubleshooting guide for your specific STOP code or if you have no idea what your STOP code is.
Note: Some of these steps may require you to start Windows in Safe Mode. If that's not possible then skip those steps.
Don't Want to Fix This Yourself?
If you're interested in fixing this BSOD problem yourself, continue with the troubleshooting in the next section.Otherwise, see How Do I Get My Computer Fixed? for a full list of your support options, plus help with everything along the way like figuring out repair costs, getting your files off, choosing a repair service, and a whole lot more.
How To Fix a Blue Screen of Death
Time Required: It might take you several hours to fix a Blue Screen of Death, depending on the STOP Code.
Some steps are easy while others might be a little more
complicated.
Applies To: Any version of Windows, including Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista,
and Windows XP.- The most
important Blue Screen of Death troubleshooting step you can take is to ask
yourself what you just did.
Did you just install a new program or a piece of hardware, update a driver, install an update, etc.? If so, there's a very good chance that the change you made caused the BSOD.
Undo the change you made and test again for the STOP Error. Depending on what change you made, some solutions might include:
- Startup using Last Known Good Configuration to undo recent registry and driver changes.
- Use System Restore to undo recent system changes.
- Roll Back device driver to version prior to your driver update
Check that there's enough free space left on the drive Windows
is installed on. Blue Screens of Death and other serious issues, like data
corruption, can occur if there's not enough free space on your primary partition used for the Windows operating system.
Note: Microsoft recommends
that you maintain at
least 100MB of free space but I regularly see problems with
free space that low. I usually advise Windows users to keep at least 15%
of a drive's capacity free at all times.
2. Scan your computer for viruses. Some viruses can cause
a Blue Screen of Death, especially ones that infect the master boot record (MBR) or boot sector.
Important: Make sure your
virus scanning software is completely up to date and that it's configured
to scan the MBR and boot sector
Tip: If you can't get far
enough to run a virus scan from within Windows, use one of the programs
I've highlighted in my Free Bootable Antivirus Tools list instead.
3. Apply all available Windows service packs and other
updates. Microsoft regularly releases patches and service packs for their operating systems that may
contain fixes for the cause of your BSOD.
4. Update drivers for your hardware. Most Blue Screens of
Death are hardware or driver related so updated drivers could fix the
cause of the STOP error.
5. Check the
System and Application logs in Event Viewer for errors or warnings
that might provide more clues on the cause of the BSOD.
6. Return
hardware settings to default in Device Manager. Unless you have a specific
reason to do so, the system resources that an individual piece of hardware
is configured to use in Device Manager should be set to default. Non-default
hardware settings have been known to cause a Blue Screen of Death.
7. Return
BIOS settings to their default levels. An overclocked or misconfigured BIOS can cause all sorts of random issues, including
BSODs.
Note: If you've made
several customizations to your BIOS settings and don't wish to load the
default ones then at least try returning clock speed, voltage settings,
and BIOS memory options to their default settings and see if that fixes
the STOP error.
8. Make sure
all internal cables, cards, and other components are installed and seated
properly. Hardware that's not firmly in place can cause a Blue Screen of
Death so try reseating the following and then test for the STOP
message again:
- Reseat all internal data and power cables
- Reseat the memory modules
- Reseat any expansion cards. 9. Perform diagnostic tests on all hardware you're able to test. It's highly likely that the root cause of any given Blue Screen of Death is a failing piece of hardware:
- Test your system memory
- Test your hard disk drive
If a test fails, replace the memory or replace the hard drive
as soon as possible.
10. Update
your BIOS. In some situations, and outdated BIOS could cause a Blue Screen
of Death due to certain incompatibilities.
11. Start your
PC with essential hardware only. A useful troubleshooting step in many
situations, including BSOD issues, is to start your computer with the
minimum hardware necessary to run the operating system. If your computer
starts successfully it proves that one of the removed hardware devices was
the cause of the STOP message.
Tip: Typically, the only
necessary hardware for starting your PC through to the operating system
includes the motherboard, CPU, RAM, primary hard drive, keyboard, video
card, and monitor.
Find that hardware is the cause of your Blue Screen of Death?
Try one of these ideas:- Replace the hardware.
- Update the hardware's firmware.
- Make sure the hardware is on the Hardware Compatibility List.
- Check with the manufacturer for support information.
Find that a software program is the cause of your Blue Screen of Death?
One of these things should help:- Reinstall the software.
- Check for and install any available program updates.
- Check with the developer for support information.
- Try a competing program.
Is your PC restarting before you can read the STOP Code on the Blue Screen of Death?
Most Windows PCs are configured to reboot immediately after receiving a serious error like a BSOD.You can prevent this reboot by disabling the automatic restart on system failure option.
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