At one time or another almost all of us have
experienced the "Blue Screen of Death"! The bright blue screen popping
up can be a little scary, but it can also be very annoying! Especially
when you have no idea why it's there or how to fix the problem.
The
Blue Screen of Death or BSOD, is a window's error screen. It occurs
when there's been a problem that windows can't recover from. There are
several things can cause the dreaded screen to suddenly appear, but
many of the problems do have solutions!
If you're lucky windows
has just encountered some type of temporary error and a simple re-boot
will solve the problem. But, if you're experiencing a blue screen on a
regular basis, there's a problem that needs corrected!
All of the
information that you need to find and fix the problem is contained
somewhere on the screen. However, it can still be a little tricky to
figure out exactly what it was! Resist the urge to restart your
computer as fast as you can and grab a pen and paper!
At the top
of the screen there will be some information, this will basically tell
you the type of error that windows encountered. With that code you may
be able to find a simple solution using the Microsoft Knowledge Base or
even a search engine.
Down in the middle part of the screen you
will find a list of all of the drivers that were being used at the time
you got the BSOD. Many times the error is caused by a system or device
driver that's just not working properly or simply needs to be updated.
If
you discover that the problem is a driver, try to remember which
program or piece of hardware you most recently installed. More than
likely it will be the driver that was last added to your computer and
this should be the first driver you should try to update.
There
are a total of 15 processor errors that can lead you to the blue
screen! With the code that is listed after "Fatal Exception" you will
be able to identify which error you received and hopefully be able to
find the solution.
The software you have installed on your
computer will often be the cause of the error. Sometimes various
programs just can't get along, they try to use the same memory spaces
on the RAM and the result is a system error.
If you're
experiencing the BSOD on a repeated basis, pay close attention to the
programs that you have running at the time it happens. If you have one
particular program open every time the blue screen pops up, try
un-installing and re-installing that program first. If that doesn't fix
the problem you can try to update the software driver.
Another
cause could be your RAM, over time your RAM chips can develop bad
spots. If something that you have running on your system tries to
access those bad spots, it can cause freezes or even worse, the blue
screen of death! Replace your RAM sticks one at a time to see if the
problem stops.
If your fans aren't working properly or there's
not an adequate supply of air reaching the CPU, your computer will over
heat. A computer that is getting to hot will also trigger the BSOD.
Make sure that your fans are working properly and that your CPU vents
aren't blocked or covered.
Hardware is another common cause for
the BSOD. If you've installed any new hardware items right before you
start getting the error, this could be the cause. Remove the item and
re-boot to see if the problem still exists.
Just as a virus can
stop our bodies from working properly, a virus can do the same with
your computer. If you're suddenly getting the error screen and you've
not recently installed any new programs or hardware, it's quite
possible that you've contracted a virus!
Make sure that your
anti-virus program is always kept up to date on the latest infections
crawling the Internet. Run regular scans to keep your system in the
best of health!
