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 Outdated, incorrect or corrupt drivers can cause the system to encounter a STOP error, resulting in the BSOD.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.
Hi Anthony. My internet connection drops multiple times during the day. I restart the computer to get the connection back. I then get a blue screen with the following errors- stop:0x000000fe-(0x00000008, 0x00000006, 0x00000006, 0x862dd760). The message on top of the screen states: Windows has been shut down to avoid damage to your computer. I also get file information that describes the problem- C:\Windows\minidump11210-23953-01.dmp and C:\Users\dale\AppData\Local\Temp\Wer-61109-0.sysdata.xml. Can you help me.
Thank you. Inun
@Kyla – You have tried updating all system drivers already?
@nicola – If you have tried all that and the error is still occurring, it is going to be more likely a hardware error. The motherboard can indeed be changed, although it might be wise to consider a new PC depending on the age of the system.
@Philippe Jacques – Stop error 0x0000007B is a problem with your boot device, so considering your scenario it appears that the hard disk has a problem. If you cleaned it, check and make sure all cables and connections are secure. If that does not help, you need to do a disk check and maybe a disk repair depending on what the check finds. The best option is to boot from a recovery or setup CD.
@Caitlin The Windows registry can indeed become corrupted and you will need to repair it. Microsoft has a knowledge base article on how to do that. The link is present in the registry repair article we have on the site.
Regarless of which startup option I use, I am taken to a blue screen that says:
STOP: C0000218 {REGISTRY FILE FAILURE}
THE REGISTRY CANNOT LOAD THE HIVE (FILE):
\SYSTEMROOT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SAM
OR ITS LOG OR ALTERNATE.
IT IS CORRUPT, ABSENT, OR NOT WRITABLE.
BEGINNING DUMP OF PHYSICAL MEMORY.
Regarless of which startup option I use, I am taken to a blue screen that says:
STOP: C0000218 {REGISTRY FILE FAILURE}
THE REGISTRY CANNOT LOAD THE HIVE (FILE):
\SYSTEMROOT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE
OR ITS LOG OR ALTERNATE.
IT IS CORRUPT, ABSENT, OR NOT WRITABLE.
BEGINNING DUMP OF PHYSICAL MEMORY.
dUMMPING PHYSICAL MEMORY
I hjave a CX200S- Gateway and I have no disks or anything
HI Anthony,i have pc with a asus mother board,every time the pc try to boot it goes straight to the BSOD but sillt give the options to start windows normally ,last known goog configuration,you the rest and the stop error code is:
0X0000007B (0XF7C7A640,0XC0000034,0X00000000,0X000000)
I also need to mention the interior was really dusty which is now cleaned.
PLEASE HELP.
Thank you.
Philipppe
hey anthony i did a full format and the drive is fine i added a clean memory stick also and it was still doing that if it’s a motherbaord issue then does that mean i need a new motherboard?
Upon shutting down my hp mini 311 about every tenth time I receive a blue screen with bugcode.usb.driver as the error message. When I try to do the windows repair system it does not correct the issue. At one point the computer made me do a system recovery which took about 3 hours to complete. A week later the blue screen error message came back on with the same error. HP customer service center has given me tons of items to supposely fix the issue but nothing works. PLEASE HELP!
@Aaron – Did this always happen, or after some change? Normally that stop error is mostly caused by drivers, so maybe you updated the network drivers (or a Windows update did that)?
@Nicola – Stop error 0x0000007B is a problem with your boot device, which is normally the hard disk. If you are certain the disk is fully formatted and connected properly, than it could be a motherboard problem yes. But did you format the disk or just clean it from a virus? Because if the clean failed, this could still simply be a disk problem. Do a full NTFS disk format if you can with the disk in a different system.
Anthony,
Yes I tried reinstalling the fax modem, no success… still the same story.
hey anthony so after getting the blue screen of death stay put so i could copy the error codes this is what i got ?
0x0000007b (0xfazc3528,0xc0000034,0x00000000,0x00000000) not sure with this is but i got the hard drive to clean and fix on another computer my old one i was wondering if it was a memory issue so i tried a boot floppy disk a mc afee i had with my old comp not sure if thts a old and it said the memory was clean so i was wondering if it’s my motherboard or something if you can give me any tips it would be greatly appreciated…
@Aaron – Have you checked if you have a fax/modem installed and if so, updated or reinstalled the driver for that?
@kim – Never heard that a charger is the cause of a blue screen. If provides power or it doesn’t… As long as it did not happen when you were plugging or unplugging the charger while the laptop was running this would not be the cause.
Only happened once?
hi, i had a blue screen of death, but i have never had one until i bought a new charger because the other one broke. could that be the problem? i didnt get to c the code because it instantly re-started
I am getting the following-
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL stop: 0x00000000a (0X00000000,0x000000002,0X000000001, 0x81a6783c)
I have discovered that if I in safe mode disable telephony using msconfig then it will boot normally but I cannot connect to the internet… If I enable telephony it goes back to BSOD…
I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling network adapters… no luck…
Any suggestions?
@Anna – Stop error 0x0000007E is generally a driver problem. But if you can not get into Safe Mode, you can not roll back the driver. Only option is to use Windows setup disk and use the Repair option or maybe a system restore if you have a recovery partition. But the restore will probably erase all your current data, so the Repair option is preferred.
@Jacket – Your system seems rather unstable all together, it might even be the motherboard since that is the only common component.
@John C – Definitely start running a memory scan with memtest86 first. Download the .iso file, burn it and boot from it to test the RAM.
@vibin – If it is during games, the first thing to check is the video and audio drivers. Try reinstalling and/or updating them. Temperature is possible, but indeed less likely.
@john – Normally you should be able to boot in Safe Mode if a driver is the cause, since Windows starts with the minimum number of devices and services possible in that mode. But if that does not work, the only option is to use a recovery or setup CD/DVD.
@ANGEL – I think your Caps Lock is stuck…
In any case, the 7B error indicates a problem with your boot device. Make sure there are no USB sticks or external USB disks plugged that can be mistakenly seen as boot device. If that is not the case, you can check the physical disk connections (cables) if you can open the computer (not for a laptop).
Last option is to boot from a recovery or setup disk and do a CHKDSK or FIXMBR to restore the hard disk.
I CAN’T GET AROUND THE BSOD TO DO ANYTHING. I TRY TO RUN IT IN SAFE MODE, AND IT JUST GOES BACK TO THE BLUE SCREEN. WINDOWS NOT BOOTING, SO OF COURSE I’M USING A DIFFERENT COMPUTER TO SEND OUT THIS CALL FOR HELP!!!!! I CAN’T RUN ANY SCANS OR CHECKS BECAUSE IT WILL NOT GO PASS THE BSOD.
THIS IS THE ERROR CODE I GET:
STOP: 0X0000007B (0XF78AA524, 0XC0000034, 0X00000000, 0X00000000)
PLEASE HELP….
Hey anthony great info bro. Well I hope u can help me out. one of my pc which has win 7 installed just got bsod mainly because I installed a driver in that pc. well Ive tried safemode, last known good configurationr, bios but whateve i try it gives a new error and even the pc wont pickup the windows setup. bro im stucked kindly help me out with this………….
i have dell laptop with XP SP3 OS gettng BSODs for over 5 months…..
ERROR CODES
0x000000F4
0x000000C2
0x0000007B
i recently started saving mini dumps
i get BSODs while playing games … definetly……thats fr sure
but sm times i get while watching videos etc… plz help
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
my battery is dead
my laptop temp.. goes 60-70 degrees {celsius) in just 1-2 hrs
so i doubt my laptop fans and temp… laptop is about 3 yrs old…
and now i’m a bit confused since I just got home to find that my computer had bluescreened with a ‘system_service_exception’ which usually points towards graphic card driver errors if I’m correct in my research.
Dear Anthony,
I’m sure you missed me if you didnt, the BSOD sure did. haha,
restoring everything to factory settings in bios did solve the random BSOD but I’m getting a new which might not be the same problem that caused the older BSODs.
What i know about this new BSOD is that,
1 – its the same message every time
*** Hardware Malfunction
Call your hardware vendor for support
*** The system has halted ***
2 – No logs/dump-files created. Event viewer shows nothing.
3 – Most importantly, It will happen in the first 2, 3 boots of the day (First 5 minutes, It might either crash during booting or on desktop.)
Like i mentioned before. Turning the pc on after its been off for quite some time, the more the time its off, the more is the chance to crash on the first boot.
But after a few boots it feels as if the pc warms up and after wards it runs perfect for the rest of the day.
P.S, OCCT PSU torture ran for one whole hour without a crash.
I started getting BSOD about two weeks ago and then today it came again. This time it will not allow me to restart in any mode. Safe mode, Last know.. etc. The message is Page Fault in No Paged Area with Stop:0X00000050 (xxxxx,xxxx,xxxx) The xxx numbers change when I try to restart in the different modes. Any suggestions of what I should do would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
It’s me again. I got another error that was IRQL_not_less_or_equal siting memory_corruption from a vista driver again.
Even though each of my ram sticks had passed 7 passes each individually on memtest 86 I decided to just pop it in and scan them all at once randomly for 20 hours. It tested with no errors until the 10th or so pass it suddenly caught 9 errors.
I’m going to pull out and test each individually. Just wanted to update the situation.
Finally I find a place where people seem to help each other out. This blue screen has welcomed me the past few days. I can’t go into safe mode and do anything and I have no recovery disk either. What to do?
This is at the end of the blue screen.
STOP: 0x0000007E
0x87035F73
0x8ccc264c
0x8ccc2348
Went on Intel website and installed the latest driver. No BSOD so far… Crossing my fingers! Thanks for your help.
@Ingrid – Quite possible of course, good of you to check the minidump files. So the next thing to do is reinstall or update the Intel network card driver.