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 Outdated, incorrect or corrupt drivers can cause the system to encounter a STOP error, resulting in the BSOD.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 am receiving a stop error of 0x0000007F (0x000000000000008, 0x0000000080050031, 0x00000000000406F8, 0xFFFFF80002FF64CE) with the last one varying from FF64CE, FF24CE, FF04CE, FF84CE, FB64CE, FB44CE, EACCA6. I am very confused on what is causing this because it seems to happen only when I connect to certain networks and not all, the strange thing about this is that all the networks I connect to that it does this are some crappy internet connection networks, and the ones it doesn’t do this on are some great internet connection networks, I doubt this has to do with why it is doing it, but felt it might help.
@DAVID DORMON – Stop error 0x0000007B indicates an inaccessible boot device. Make sure nothing is plugged in your USB ports (USB stick or external hard disk).
You can try to boot in Safe Mode (F8) and do a chkdsk. If you cannot boot at all, you will need to boot from a Windows setup or recovery CD.
@face – The only legit way to fix your problem is to get a valid Windows 7 license. For advice and comments about keygens and activation tools I have no advice.
Can I activate my windows 7 using a ”windows 7 activator” to help fix this problem. I’m activated windows with keygen, but how about when I activate windows using a windows 7 activator?, it may be help to fix this problem about ”windows evaluation period”??? thank you
MY PC IS TOSHIBA. THE ERROR CODE IS
STOP: 0X0000007B (0XF7AB524,0XC0000034,0X00000000,0X00000000)
please help me to fix this error of blue screen.
@EZGO – In that case you will need a recovery CD or a Windows setup disc and boot from that. Use the recovery or repair option to try and fix the problem.
In the recovery console you can also run a chkdsk.
@Kurt – The mention of ntfs.sys does indicate that it might be a disk problem. But if the bsod errors started after you added the memory, you should still consider that as a possibility.
Suggest you boot in safe mode (F8) and then run a chkdsk /r on both partitions/drives, so you see if there are any disk problem.
BSOD with ntfs.sys error msg.
——————————————————————————–
hello everyone,
can someone please help me resolve this problem that im having, if possible,
my laptop is getting the BSOD quite frequently showing the error msg ntfs.sys.
my latop is an acer aspire 4330 but with an additional 1gb memory added to it recently.
It produces a BSOD with the error msg then restart without prompting for safe mode and then it eventually it would load the os and in the middle of using the system it would produce the BSOD.
My hard drive is split into 3 partitions: DATA, OS and a hidden partition called recovery partition which i accidentally formatted.
I’ve never formatted the DATA partition but most frequently the OS partition if i had got a virus etc.
Do i need to format the DATA partition ?
oh i ran the memory diagnostic tool and found no errors.
Someone please advice me about what i should do.
Best regards..
Kurt
The setup screen i was referring to did have a safe mode start option. Even if i select that it still gives me the blue screen.
@Paul – Can you still boot in Safe Mode (F8 during boot)? If so, try a system restore when Windows is running in safe mode. If not, you will need a setup or recovery CD.
@face – Stop error 0x00000098 in Windows 7 means your evaluation period expired. You’ll need to purchase a copy of Windows 7.
@EZGO Try pressing the F8 key during startup and select Safe Mode in the startup menu. That should allow you to run a disk check and other checks.
oh i wanna add up that on the boot it says that
STOP ERROR is:0x00000050 ( 0FFFFFFF0,0x00000000,0X804EA447,0X00000000)
im using a twinhead Efio!S13FTZ
thanks, ill wait for your suggestions
hey anthony.. i have my blue screen error.
Error code 10000050, parameter1 fffffff0, parameter2 00000000, parameter3 804ea447, parameter4 00000000.
please help me.. thankyou.
After leaving my laptop on plugged into the wall for a while, i went back to it and the screen was black. I did a hard reboot by holding the power button down for 10 seconds and started it again. It came up with a setup screen that gave me 5 options to start up. Then after that it came up with the blue screen of death. It told me the usual windows has shut down, etc… But i dont know how i can open the chkdsk /f. Please help. I am not very experienced with computers. Thank you.
I reinstall my windows 7, but every time same way…
i have windows 7. how can i fix this stop error : Stop 0 × 00000098. thanx…
I just got a SOD on my xp pro and I didn’t write down the error. I turned off the computer and turned it back on and the monitor won’t display anything, it is completely black. Now what???
@kayla – If the recovery option does not work, I am afraid the only thing left is a reinstall.
@shady336 – Can you provide any more details? Does the Safe Mode still work?
@Almin – Stop error 0x0000007E in most cases is a driver error. Check the Device Manager for any problematic devices, or use the system restore option to revert back to a previous configuration. This is of course assuming you can still boot into Safe Mode.
If not, you need to boot from a Windows setup or recovery CD and try the Repair option.
Hi I have Windows 7 Ultimate, my STOP ERROR is: Stop 0 × 0000007E SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED. How Dow I fix it. Help please!!! Thnx…
I have Windows XP on my laptop and its been 2 days been trying to fix that bludy blue screen of death. :(
I have Windows vista and I’m trying to do system restore using f8.
I’m fairly certain my computer has a virus and I’ve tried everything! My problem now is that when I select “repair your computer” after hitting f8, I get a blue screen and have to start over. At this point I want to restore to factory settings and erase everything… I have everything important on an external hard drive. Is there any other way to get past the blue screen?
@yourstruli – If you get so many, seemingly random, blue screen errors, it generally has to do with the memeory (RAM) or the motherboard. You can try running a memory test with memtest86 (see instructions in earlier comments), or you can try switching the memory modules on the motherboard. Be careful with that though.
Hi Anthony,
I performed a clean install of Windows XP SP3, but during the installation I received these stop errors:
STOP: 0X000000D1 (0XF77A1E0E, 0X00000007, 0X00000001, 0XF72EAE0)
nvatabus.sys address F72EAEAO, base F72E9000, 444d72c9
STOP: 0X0000000A (0X0302806E, 0X00000007, 0X00000000, 0X806E78FE)
STOP: 0X0000008E (0X80000004, 0X806E6526, 0XF78B2BE0, 0X00000000)
Any suggestions on how to fix these?
Thanks! I really appreciate all your help. =)
@yourstruli – Microsoft has a knowledge base article about that stop error. Even from that it seems clear the error is rather serious. A disk problem might even cause it. See if you can run a “chkdsk /f” at the command prompt.
I can’t run “scf /scannow” on cmd.exe
It said something like this:
Windows File Protection could not initiate a scan..
The specific error code is 0x000006ba [The RPC server is unavailable’]
Also whenever I shut down my computer from safe mode (since this is the only way I can use my computer without all the BSODs) this message will appear:
STOP: c000021a {Fatal System Error} The Windows Logon Process system process terminated unexpectedly with a status of 0xc00000000 (0x00000000 0x0000000)
The system has been shut down.
What do you best possible solution for all of this? Do you think that having a clean install of Windows could fix all of my blue screens? If you have other solutions in mind please let me know… Clean Installation is my VERY LAST option.
@dallas – You should format the disk before you reinstall Windows. In the setup program you have to select where to install Windows. There you can also select to do a full format. If that does not fix it, you are better off with a new hard disk indeed.
With the new disk, there is nothing to do to prevent this, other than be careful when handling the disk. Bouncing can cause damage of course.
@terry houston – First try pressing F8 during the boot to see if the startup menu still comes up. If it does, you can try the “Last known good configuration” option or the “Safe Mode” option.
If the startup menu does not come up, try inserting a Windows setup CD/DVD and see if it boots from that. If it does, you can try the Repair option in the setup menu.
@ron c – If you have access to another system, you can download memtest86, create a bootable CD from it and then boot your problematic system with that to do a memory test. If not, you can try switching around the memory modules if there are multiple, but be very careful with that as static electricity can actually destroy them.
@yourstruli – Try a system file scan and see if that corrects the errors. Type “sfc /scannow” at a command prompt (with admin level access).
You might be asked for the original Windows files during that process.
Hi Anthony!
My BSOD started about a month ago when I tried to install uxtheme patch. I tried to use system restore and registry cleaning but it didn’t work… I still get BSODs. They have different stop error codes.
Here are some of them:
~ 0X0000007F (0X0000000D, 0X00000000, 0X00000000, 0X00000000)
~ 0X000000D1 (0X00000037, 0X00000007, 0X00000000, 0XBA6E5F13)
Atapi.sys – BA6E5F13 base BA6E3000 date stamp 41107BTD
What do you think is the reason and what can I do to fix this? I will try to list down some of the other stop codes if needed. I really need your help. Thanks!
i have the blue creen with
stop 0x……50
but no mater what mode i try to start it in it will not start up, just back to the blue screen……
any suggestions?