The Blue Screen of Death and How to Fix it
All of us that are involved in computers on the technical support have dealt with this infamous issue. User freak out when sees it and trying to read the error message. Sometimes the Blue Screen of Death can be resolved simply by rebooting you computer and never occur again. Usually it is an indication of some serious problem with the computer hardware software or the Operating System.
Blue Screen of Death is a common name for a multitude of issues so there is no concrete way of repairing it unless you know what actually causes it to appear. This is what some of the text on that blue display can say:
A problem has been detected and window has been shut
down to prevent damage to your computer. The problem
seems to be caused by the following file: cap256.sys IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR-EQUAL
Stop: 0x0000000A (0×00700005,0×00000002,0×00000000,0x8051CD07,0×005600613, 0×00540046)
It occurs whenever Windows has an unrecoverable issue. The operation system will stop everything it is doing and display the Blue Screen of Death. The screen will tell you why it sopped. Each type of error has a corresponding number that you can look up to get additional information on how to repair the issue. Write down all of the error and google it if possible. Searching the error on Goggle should get you instant results. There are certain things you can check if the Blue Screen of Death consistently appears. For troubleshooting of BSOD I have listed a good sample of possible reasons and what you could do.
- Newly installed software – Newly installed software could cause the issue. The are certain programs that don’t work well if they are both installed like Norton AntiVirus and McAfee Virus Scan. This can cause your computer to experience a Blue Screen of Death. To resolve this issue one of the programs must be removed. In other words see what you installed or did exactly before this blue screen came up and undo it. If you are able to log in simply remove just installed program through Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. If you are not able to log in try Safe Mode, otherwise do the next step.
- Software errors – Some software or driver installed on your PC can have errors or it malfunctions in some way which can randomly cause this issue. Again note exactly when it happens to have a clue where to look for the problem.
- Hardware problem or errors – It can happen when some of your hardware malfunctions or you removed it during Windows operation or newly installed hardware is not supported by the current Windows. See what exactly you did with the hardware before it happened and undo or replace it.
- Defective Memory Sticks (RAM)- Try to remove the RAM out of the slots and if possible replace them or you can try to swap them around. Be sure to push them firmly into the slot when you replace them otherwise you can burn them (it happened to me few times, some contacts of the memory stick can get literally burned). You can try clean their contacts as well, in many cases it helped!
- Startup errors – System files can be corrupted or the hard drive can have errors or bad clusters, use Recovery Console to fix it. If Blue Screen of Death occurs randomly and you can log into windows then schedule Error Checking of your partition to the next reboot, you can find this option in My Computer – Local Disc (C:) – right click – Properties – Tools – click Check Now in Error Checking section and select all options in the pop up window, press ok. Then reboot your PC.
Note: your Hard Drive can be bad or dying you can check HD’s performance.
- Removable drives/USB Drives – Sometimes USB connected devices may cause the issue. Make sure that the driver for these devices is properly updated.
- Computer or processor overheating – Your computer can overheat if it does not have the proper ventilation. Make sure the hardware and heat sinks are not cluttered with dust, use vacuum and brush to clean up the inside. Double check that there is a good air flow through the processor’s heat sink. Check the processor temperature under Hardware Monitor or PC’s Health Status sections in the BIOS. It can be that the temperature is still high (above 55-60 Celsius in idle state) after cleaning the pc so you may need to take off the processor heat sink and reapply the new thermal paste. If then the temperature is still high you will need to update the BIOS. Google for your exact motherboard and see the manufacturer instructions for updating the BIOS.
- Defective hard drive or unrecoverable errors – In the case there are some unrecoverable errors your last resort is to do repair installation of Windows or reinstall the Windows. Sometimes the hard drive is just corrupted. No matter what you do even reinstalling the Windows, the Blue Screen of Death still comes up. In this case you need to buy a new hard drive and reinstall the Windows. Having a backup is the best way to make sure you don’t have to go through the long process of setting everything back up again.
These are the common reasons for this screen to appear. The Blue Screen of Death is one of those things, where because of its name, it sounds worst than it really is. Restarting the computer can usually go away because sometimes the issue is caused by temp files or programs that are hung up. Doing this as well as the tips above will get you back up and running quickly.
Very helpful to face interview as well as in practical.
Thanx for helping.
Seems to have worked! I used to not be able to remain on my laptop for more than an hour before I’d get the BSOD, and now I’ve had it turned on for about three hours! Fingers crossed!
(Had stock version of Norton AND CA virus, deleted CA, seems to have worked)
Thanks!
very very helpful and very good to see the areas above which are discussed. Thanks to the author.