The Windows Blue Screen errors are a royal pain. Commonly refereed to as the Blue Screen of Death, or BSOD, the blue error screen is actually an invaluable way of figuring out exactly what is wrong with your computer. With the information gathered below, you can fix, or help identify the problem of your system failure.
Your blue error screen might not look exactly like this, but you should be able to gather the relevant information shown in this picture:
BSOD Explained:
Error name:
This shows you the specific error you have received. Knowing the error name is important to get to the root of the problem. However, while it points you in a specific direction, you still need more information to find the exact cause of the problem.
Possible Solution:
This general area may show a few tips on how to fix the problem. If you cannot load Windows normally, you can try loading Windows Safe Mode which only uses the core operating system files. You can also try 'System Restore' to undo recent changes to the system since your computer last saved a restore point.
Filename or Device:
This name is important in determining where the specific error occurred. It helps to narrow down the specific file, program or device that crashed. With the error name as well as the file or device name you can better understand exactly what happened to the system.
Stop Code:
These hexadecimal numbers show you the specific error in technical jargon. If you are communicating with Microsoft or a technician online, having this stop code will quickly determine the cause of the problem. The most important part to record is the first number. A Google search of this number and the error name might give you a quick solution.
BSOD Error Names:
DIVIDE_BY_ZERO_ERROR:
Only Chuck Norris can divide by zero. Everyone else will get sucked into a black hole. This error happens when an application tries to divide by zero. Have a look at your memory dump and figure out what program caused it.Disable or reinstall the application, or contact the developers to get an update to the problem.
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL:
This error happens when a driver or your hardware is conflicting. If you have made any hardware changes, or driver updates, remove the hardware to see if the problem still occurs, or, roll back the faulty driver. Loading a recent System Restore point might fix the problem.
KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED:
This error happens when an incorrectly configured causes a conflict. Check the filename or stop code to figure out exactly what is causing the problem.
REGISTRY_ERROR:
This error means there was a serious error in the Operating Systems registry. This is because the registry is corrupt, or the hard drive is corrupted and cannot read the registry. This error is hard to fix and usually requires you to reinstall the Operating System.
INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE:
This error means Windows cannot read the hard drive. This could be because of a faulty hard drive, a driver or SCSI terminator. If none of these problems are present, check for Malware in the boot sector.
UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP:
This error means you likely have faulty memory. Your RAM should be the same type and speed. Upgrade your RAM if necessary. Also, check your CMOS settings under the memory section.
BAD_POOL_HEADER:
This is, perhaps, the most obscure error message. In most cases, if you receive this error, it's related to the most recent change you've made on your system. Try undoing the change to get rid of the error.
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM:
This error means your hard drive is corrupted. Try the 'chkdsk /f' command or replace the hard drive and reinstall the Operating System.
KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR:
This error means Windows cannot read part of the kernel data from the page file. This could be caused by bad RAM, CPU, or incorrectly terminated SCSI devices, or possibly a corrupt PAGEFILE.SYS file. Recreate the PAGEFILE.SYS file to see if you can resolve the problem.
NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE:
This error means the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) cannot report on the real cause of the error. This can sometimes be caused by mixing parity and non-parity SIMMs, or by bad SIMMs.
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