How to Fix Blue Screen Errors
Blue screen errors, or blue screen of death (BSOD) errors, are the most severe errors Windows can encounter. Since Windows can not recover from this kernel level error, a blue screen is displayed with the error details. The error details contain a STOP error code, which indicates the type of error.
There are a lot of possible causes for blue screen errors, but most of them relate to the computer hardware. The cause of a BSOD error can be a temperature problem, a timing error, a resource conflict, hardware failure, a corrupt registry, a virus or simply a device incompatibility or driver error.
How to analyze blue screen errors
The first thing to do to analyze a blue screen error is to check the meaning of the STOP error code. You need to stop Windows from rebooting when a STOP error is encountered. Once the blue screen of death is shown, you can check the meaning of the STOP error code. Together with the filename of the driver or module, this will give an indication of the error cause.
Another option to analyze the cause of the blue screen error is to look at the Windows system event log or to debug the memory dump (minidump) that Windows created when the error occurred. The event log can be viewed using the event viewer. Right-click Computer in the Start menu, and then select Manage. In the Computer Management window select Event Viewer. The information in the event log can be of great help to isolate the cause of the blue screen error.
Within the Event Viewer, use the right-hand pane to create a custom view and select a date range or specific event category to nowwor down the events relating to the blue screen error.
Windows can also be configured to create a minidump of the current state when a critical error happens. Reading the minidump requires a bit more technical knowledge, but Microsoft has tools to read the minidump. Read more about how to analyze Windows minidump files if you want to use the crash dump file to find the cause of a Windows stop error.
The most common cause of blue screen errors
In reality, the most common cause of blue screen errors is a device driver problem. Outdated, incorrect or corrupt drivers can cause the system to encounter a STOP error, resulting in the BSOD.
So the easiest way to try and fix a blue screen error is to reinstall and update your system’s device drivers. This will ensure that all driver bugs are fixed and that all hardware has the correct driver.
If you know which device caused the error, you can update or reinstall that driver first. The file name in the blue screen of death can help identify the driver. Look for a file with the .SYS extension and search for that file name.
If you do not have the drivers for all devices, or are not comfortable updating your PC’s drivers manually, you can use a driver update tool to find, download and update all device drivers for you. Such tools will accurately identify your computer hardware, including any device causing an error, and automatically install the latest drivers for it.
In most cases updating or reinstalling drivers will solve your blue screen errors.
Other causes of blue screen errors
However, if updating device drivers does not fix the blue screen error, there are a number of additional things to try:
- Load the default BIOS values – resource conflicts and timing issues can be caused by incorrect BIOS settings.
- Update the BIOS – especially after adding new hardware or installing a Windows service pack this can help fix issues.
- Update Windows – missing updates, including service packs can be a source of stop errors.
- Check your system – run a virus scan after updating your definition files.
- Run a memory test to check your computer’s RAM. Memory faults can easily cause blue screen errors, so see if your RAM is error free. Vista and later Windows versions have a built-in option to test the memory, for XP you can use a program called memtest86.
- Driver rollback – if you have recently updated a driver, you can use the driver rollback to revert back to the previous driver version.
List of STOP Errors Causing BSOD:
- Stop 0x00000003 UNSYNCHRONIZED_ACCESS
- Stop 0x0000000A IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
- Stop 0x0000001E KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
- Stop 0x00000023 FAT_FILE_SYSTEM
- Stop 0x00000024 NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
- Stop 0x0000002E DATA_BUS_ERROR
- Stop 0x0000003F NO_MORE_SYSTEM_PTES
- Stop 0x00000044 MULTIPLE_IRP_COMPLETE_REQUESTS
- Stop 0x00000050 PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
- Stop 0x0000006B PROCESS1_INITIALIZATION_FAILED
- Stop 0x00000073 CONFIG_LIST_FAILED
- Stop 0x00000074 BAD_SYSTEM_CONFIG_INFO
- Stop 0x00000076 PROCESS_HAS_LOCKED_PAGES
- Stop 0x00000077 KERNEL_STACK_INPAGE_ERROR
- Stop 0x00000079 MISMATCHED_HAL
- Stop 0x0000007A KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR
- Stop 0x0000007B INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
- Stop 0x0000007E SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
- Stop 0x0000007F UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP
- Stop 0x0000008E KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
- Stop 0x0000009C MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION
- Stop 0x0000009F DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE
- Stop 0x000000BE ATTEMPTED_WRITE_TO_READONLY_MEMORY
- Stop 0x000000C2 BAD_POOL_CALLER
- Stop 0x000000C4 DRIVER_VERIFIER_DETECTED_VIOLATION
- Stop 0x000000CA PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR
- Stop 0x000000CB DRIVER_LEFT_LOCKED_PAGES_IN_PROCESS
- Stop 0x000000CE DRIVER_UNLOADED_WITHOUT_CANCELLING_PENDING_OPERATIONS
- Stop 0x000000D1 DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
- Stop 0x000000D5 DRIVER_PAGE_FAULT_IN_FREED_SPECIAL_POOL
- Stop 0x000000D8 DRIVER_USED_EXCESSIVE_PTES
- Stop 0x000000DA SYSTEM_PTE_MISUSE
- Stop 0x000000EA THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER
- Stop 0x000000ED UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME
- Stop 0x000000F2 HARDWARE_INTERRUPT_STORM
- Stop 0x000000F4 CRITICAL_OBJECT_TERMINATION
- Stop 0x000000FC ATTEMPTED_EXECUTE_OF_NOEXECUTE_MEMORY
- Stop 0x000000FE BUGCODE_USB_DRIVER
- Stop 0xC0000218 UNKNOWN_HARD_ERROR
- Stop 0xC000021A STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED
- Stop 0xC0000221 STATUS_IMAGE_CHECKSUM_MISMATCH
- Stop 0xC0000244 STATUS_AUDIT_FAILED
A complete list of error codes can be found on the Microsoft MSDN website.
Please share your own experiences with blue screen of death errors, including possible solutions. New insights can help others, or maybe we can help you with specific STOP errors.
I reformatted the hard drive on a different computer without problems (Windows XP, Service Pack 3). Inserted the formatted hard drive back into the original computer, booted up and received the BSOD. I restarted in the advanced mode pressing the F-8 key. I tried each method outlined in the advanced mode. Each time the computer returned the BSOD. Since onboard video is on the mainboard. I purchased and installed a PCI video card. Again I received the BSOD when I turned on the computer. I suspect that the BIOS has somehow been corrupted but have no way to re-load or update the BIOS information. I will keep the board and install it in another computer in order to determine if the motherboard is bad. Meanwhile. I will purchase and install a new motherboard. If you have any idea, please list them. Bet I’m not the only one this happened to.
BTW, I am using Windows XP, Service Pack 3
Thanks
@N.Morgan – Stop error 0×00000116 is a video or display error. In some (older) BIOS you can set a option related S3 wake up, you could try changing those to see if it helps.
Checking if you have the latest video drivers also is a good idea.
What Windows version are you using?
Help have blue screen with the following information
bugcheck 0x00000116 (0x89165510), 0x92a41330,0x00000000,0x00000002
it only occures when my computers is woken from sleep. can you help?
@sweeeeeeety – If you can not start Windows at all, the only option is to use a Windows boot CD and use the Repair option of the Setup.
Apart from that reinstalling Windows is the next option. You could also install another copy of Windows on the same disk and than run a virus scan, but I am not sure if that is worth the effort.
@David – I am not familiar with that error code as a bsod error. But from your description it sounds as if you reformatted AND installed Windows maybe? In that case the Windows system configuration probably does not match your PC configuration, which makes sense since it will be based on the other PC. If possible, use a Windows boot CD and reformat and reinstall on your own PC.
How can I run a scan if I cannot get onto windows at all? Is there a way of doing it
Hi hope you can help me. This is what I got on the blue screen:
***stop: 0CX0000005, 0XF75DE0BF, 0XF7A2A208, 0XF7A29F08
*** PCI.SYS-ADDRESS F75DE0BFBASE AT F75D7000, DATESTAMP 3B7D855C.
I reformatted the SATA hard drive in another computer. It reformatted properly but I still get the above listed information when I put it back into the other computer from which It came.
Can you advise me what I should do?
Thanks
@sweeeeeeety – Did you try uninstalling the new software that you mention in your first comment? Also try running a virus scan is possible to exclude any viruses related to the recent software installation.
@Matt – Most 0x0000008e stop errors are related to faulty RAM, so run a memory test first. There is one known virus that can cause this error too, so running a virus scan is also a good idea.
If all that fails, it could very well be a motherboard issue….
Hey Anthony,
I’ve looked through the web + this site and got no luck with my problem.
Can you help with this blue screen message?
top: 0x0000008e (0xC0000018, 0x80536306, 0xBAEA78E4, 0x00000000)
I did the chkdsk and no errors had come up and I still get the same error :(
What shoud l do ????
Thank you
@sweeeeeeety – Stop error 0x00000023 is related to the file system. If you can still boot in Safe Mode, you can try running a CHKDSK /F at the command prompt. If the safe mode does not work, you’ll need a bootable Windows CD and start from that. You can then try the Repair option or also run the CHKDSK /F in the recovery console.
Hi,
I managed to disable the automatic resart, and this is the error displayed on the bkue screen:
*** STOP: 0x00000023 (0x000E0100,0xF7BBA888,0xF7BBA584,0x86298805)
Can you please help me resolve this.
Thank you
Hey
I got the blue screen a few days ago and cannot get onto windows at all however, because my computer is set to automatic restart I cannot read the error displayed.
I checked many posts on how to get rid of it but in all of them they all had the errors displayed, so does anybody know how to disable automaic restart but not via control panel as I cannot acces the computer in any mode, so that you can help me get rid of the BSOD completely. I do think that it was caused due to me installing a new software, but am not 100% sure.
Your help is really appreciated,
Thank you
@error – Did you install any software with virtual devices, like MagicISO or Deamon Tools? The error could be a problem with a virtual device driver.
One other common option is a memory (RAM) error, so run a memory test.
Try booting in Safe Mode to correct things (F8 during startup).
cant start my pc …….evrytime i try to log in a ble screen appears i dont kno wat to do. technical info *** stop: 0x0000008e (0xc0000005,0x866daf51,0xba4b3b64,0x00000000). wat shud i do?????
@Guska – You need to make sure that you configure the Startup options in the Bios to boot from your CD/DVD driver first. Use a Windows setup disc to boot.
While starting, your system might tell you to press a key to boot from CD/DVD.
And it has nothing to do with performance, it is a single boot to fix your Windows configuration.
Hy again ehhh, how to boot from disk and will that ruin my perfomance?
@Rick – Seems some hardware in your system is defect. At least make sure you load the default BIOS settings.
If that does not help, try changing the RAM.
@Guska – Windows will restart on a BSOD error. You can change that in the Control Panel in System, Advanced. But of course you need to be able to run Windows for that. If you can not even boot in Safe Mode, then you will need to boot from a Windows setup or recovery disk and use the Repair option in the setup.
@Camren – In most cases stop error 0x0000004e means a memory (RAM) problem. Run MemTest86 if you can , otherwise try changing your RAM.
Can any one help me i keep getting this blue screen error
the computer has rebooted from a bug check 0x0000004e (0x0000000000000099, 0x000000000010abc0, 0x0000000000000000, 0x000000000010bdc0)
Hey, I accidently closed my laptop before it shutted down fully and I tried to run it today but then it asked me to run in safe mode,start windows normally,etc…(I tried everything).Then when I select start windows normally or safe mode or something else it start loading and the windows logo appears but then on one second some blue screen appears and shuts down instantly
Hi im getting the
STOP: 0X00000024(0X001902F8,0XF790A704,0XF790A404,0XF7118411)
Which appears to be the same problem Nicki had on the 24th of June…
Now my problem goes a bit further then hers… My computer gets to the selection screen
Safe Mode
Safe Mode with Command Prompt etc etc
As I press enter on Safe mode with Command Prompt Or any other infact It bluescreens and immediately restarts the system…
I have entered my windows disk to perform a Reformat but even that does not work it gets to the part where i press enter to start reformatting i press enter then BAM! Bluescreen again then i have to reboot it myself…
I think my computer is completely screwed HELP
Thanks in advance
@Devin – If you installed a new motherboard, you need to reinstall Windows. The configuration will be different. Did you do that? And after that the BSOD still appeared exactly the same?
Did you also run a RAM test?
Im getting Stop 0×0000006B PROCESS1_INITIALIZATION_FAILED every time i try to boot windows.. it wont even let me boot into safemode it started happening after my motherboards chipset fan died. since then iv swaped out the mobos and im still getting the same error any idea how to fix this without access to safemode?
@hackt – You need to configure Windows not to reboot automatically on a stop error, so you can see the error code. Anyway, you got it a different way :)
Stop error 0×0000000A is often a hardware or driver error. You can search some of the earlier comments for this error to see what you can try to fix that stop error.
Accessing the files on your other Windows configuration should be possible though. Did you install both Windows copies in the C: drive or are you using multiple partitions (drives)?
@ steven schanstra – Stop error 0×0000007b is a problem with your boot device. Could be your hard disk is having problems, or maybe you have a USB stick plugged that is being used to boot? If the latter is the case, simply remove the USB stick.
In any case you need to boot the system to be able to check the hard disk. You can use a Windows CD for that.
what does that mean?
ok my error says stop: 0x0000007b (0xff78aa524,0xc0000034,0x00000000,0x00000000