The blue screen of death (BSOD) error is one of the most annoying system crashes unique to Windows computers. The critical failure has been around since the Windows 1.0 era and continues to be unresolved by Microsoft.
BSOD crashes can occur due to many reasons: corrupted registry, damaged installation files, or out-of-sync drivers and hardware. During each crash, Windows saves a “minidump” file that explains the precise reason behind the crash.
The following tutorial covers some of the best ways to mitigate the BSOD problem. The troubleshooting techniques we discuss are recommended by Microsoft on their official website.
How to Fix the Blue Screen of Death Error
In a typical blue screen of death error, your full-screen monitor will turn into a blue terminal screen to display the text: “your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart.” In the meantime, Windows collects some error info and restarts the system for you.
In most BSOD crashes, it takes only a few seconds for the restart to complete. However, if you had any open unsaved files, that data will be lost forever.
In the worst case, your PC will remain stuck in an infinite restart loop. You must then hold down the power button for a cold restart. As soon as you notice a BSOD error, it is important to try and fix this problem right away. Before you do, remove any external hardware such as USB devices, headphones, or printers.
Go to “Advanced Startup” from the Start Menu and click “Restart now.”
As soon as the PC is in an advanced startup mode, click “Troubleshoot.”
Go to “Advanced options.” Resetting the PC should also do the job, but you will have to take up a backup of all your files and programs first. We don’t recommend this. Go to “Advanced options.”
After clicking “Advanced options,” you have to follow a few steps to ensure that the exact BSOD error is resolved. None of these methods will consume a lot of time.
1. Fix Corrupted Registry with Startup Repair
First, you need to eliminate the possibility of a corrupted registry which usually occurs due to malware attacks in boot services. To fix the problem, go to “Startup repair,
” which was formerly known as “Automatic repair.”
Here, you will be prompted for your user account which you must select.
To begin startup repair, enter your system password.
The system will diagnose your PC for any registry-related problems. It will take just a few minutes.
If there are no registry errors, you should see a message that the “Startup repair couldn’t repair your PC.” Go back to “Advanced options” once again.
2. System Restore to Previous Date/Time
If you saw the BSOD error for the very first time, it is helpful to restore your PC to its most recent trouble-free version. For this, go to “System Restore.”
In the next step you will be prompted to “Restore system files and settings.” Click “Next.”
Confirm the last restore point from when you believe the error surfaced. After this, click “Next.”
Once the system has been restored to a recent point, you can be assured that the BSOD error source has been mitigated.
3. Uninstall Updates
Sometimes bad installation files in a recent app or feature can also cause the BSOD error. To eliminate them, go back to “Advanced options” and select “Uninstall updates.” Here, you can sort out the problems by the latest quality updates or feature updates.
In each case it does not take very long to uninstall the last update. You can always re-install the app or the entire feature.
4. Driver Fixes
Sometimes the BSOD error is due to a faulty driver. This is identified by the Windows system in its “minidump” error. To identify the out-of-sync driver, go to “Device Manager” from the Start menu.
Locate the precise driver that was identified in the error screen. Right-click to update it.
The update will take a while while the system automatically searches for the latest driver. Make the changes as soon as possible.
5. Check for Hard Disk Errors
Lastly, you must ensure that your computer has no hard disk errors. For this, run a chkdsk command from the Start menu.
You must right-click and run the program as an administrator. Let the entire process complete itself. If there are any hard disk errors, they will show up here. You can again update the drivers for the hard disk from “Disk update” in “Device Manager” shown in the
above section.
Conclusion
Blue screen of death errors reveal all the problems that require urgent attention. The actual causes are complicated, but by following the steps in this guide, you can prevent the problem from resurfacing.
Do you have any issues related to BSOD errors? Let us know in the comments.