What to do if the screen of death appears. Blue screen of death. What to do? Hard drive diagnostics

What is BSoD

BSoD - Blue Sceen of Death, blue screen of death. Appears in the most critical situations, when closing faulty program it’s impossible to get by.

operating room Windows system has several levels of running programs. We see only the top one - open windows programs and running services. These are what the Task Manager shows. When one of the programs makes an error that it is not able to process and work around, it, as many users say, “crashes.” You can start it again and continue working.

Software modules those running at a lower level (drivers) will not be able to restart if an error occurs. operating system Windows tries to protect the user from many errors, but this does not always work and it capitulates, showing a sad face or a set of characters on the computer screen.

You need to understand that drivers are an intermediary between the software and hardware of a computer. Both drivers can fail (programmers are people too, they may not take something into account or make a mistake), as well as the hardware part of the computer.

Symptoms of BSoD

1. The appearance of a blue screen with strange symbols or a sad emoticon.

In 99% of cases, the computer reboots itself due to critical error(BSoD), but there is a worse situation: problems with the power supply or motherboard. If you have a desktop PC, check to see if there are any bulges anywhere.

Reasons for a blue screen

1. Overheating. Overheating of the video card or processor leads to the blue screen of death.

By the way, in Windows XP, when the video card overheated, a BSoD always occurred; in Vista and newer, the video driver simply rebooted. If you see the message “The video driver has stopped responding and has been restored,” then this is an overheating of the video card:

How newer than Windows, the more perfect the protection against failures. Let's hope that in some Windows XV, instead of a blue screen, we will see an error notification that does not interfere with work.

2. RAM failure. You can, but in order not to hit the mark, first read on - perhaps the cause of your blue screen of death is something else.

If you installed new RAM in your computer and get frequent BSoDs, replace it at the store with a working one. There are no other ways to overcome blue screens of death when replacing RAM.

3. Failure of other hardware. Maybe the voltage in the power supply “sags”. Maybe the connection is lost somewhere. Maybe your computer doesn't like the full moon. There are many reasons, one can guess endlessly.

If, after you have analyzed the minidump (more on this below) and eliminated errors, the blue screen does not go away, you should replace all components one by one. You can’t just go ahead and determine the cause of BSoD if the error codes are different every time.

4. Overclocking. If you are an advanced overclocker, then you know what overclocking a computer has to do with BSoD. If not, don't overclock your computer.

5. Driver(s) failure. The cause of BSoD is not necessarily a hardware problem. Unstable drivers are a frequent guest on user computers. How to identify a faulty driver will be discussed next.

6. Viruses. Be sure to check your computer with some or .

I never tire of being amazed at the self-confidence of users who say “ I have no viruses and no antivirus either! I have straight hands / I only sit on trusted sites / sometimes I check one-time antivirus and therefore everything is fine!". Leaving aside the debate about how you can live without an antivirus, think about it: if a person sees BSoD, he has This is no longer a normal situation. How can you say that there are no viruses and this is not the cause of the blue screen?

Also, do not think that if you have an antivirus installed with the latest databases, there cannot be viruses. Check with others to completely rule out the possibility.

7. Antiviruses. It's funny (and sad) that antiviruses can cause crashes. Remove your antivirus temporarily. Have blue screens of death stopped appearing? Install a new one so that blue screens do not appear due to reason No. 6.

8. Windows updates. Developers at Microsoft sometimes test updates poorly. Some are shutting down the Center altogether because of this. Windows updates and sit without updates, although this is not an option. Control Panel - Programs and Features - View installed updates - click right click - Delete for updates installed recently, then check Windows operation. Has everything returned to normal? Just don't install updates for a couple of weeks - usually during this time some kind of corrective update for the update comes out and everything becomes fine.

9. Programs crash. This happens, but rarely. If you see BSoD while playing or working on something specific program, I advise you to check your computer for overheating, because most programs are not capable of causing a blue screen, with the exception of those installing drivers into the system (antiviruses, emulators virtual disks, game protection systems like PunkBuster, accounting programs, working with digital keys).

10. Bugs file system hard drive. It won't be amiss

Let's find out the cause of BSoD

As you can see, there are quite a lot of reasons and there is no point in guessing. Luckily, the Blue Screen of Death contains clues as to why it's happening. Windows started fail. Among the incomprehensible text there will be error codes containing direct instruction on what caused the failure.

Most often you are BSoD you won't see, since in Windows settings By default, rebooting the computer in case of critical errors is enabled.

Disable automatic reboot Windows you can do this: Control Panel - System - Extra options systems - Parameters- check/uncheck the boxes as in the screenshot below:

Pay attention to the “Small memory dump” item - check it too.

Google the error code from the Windows Log

The “Write event to system log” checkbox is checked by default, which means error codes will be in Windows log.

Go to Control Panel - Administration - Event Viewer - System- and look for a line in the list that coincides in time with the appearance of a blue screen or restarting the computer:

Look for the error code (in the screenshot above it is 0x0000009f) in Google and read the first few sites in the results, follow the recommendations that have helped others. If a driver is specified (a word ending .sys, then it’s generally great - the likely culprit was found immediately, you need to install a driver for this device of an older/newer version. If there is no clear and clear indication on the Internet of the cause of BSoD for the specified error code, read my instructions further.

If there is nothing in the Windows Log, wait for the blue screen to appear and look for the error there:

Just search in Google information according to the error code and follow the recommendations.

Analyze the minidump

Unfortunately, if the problem is a faulty driver, this is not always shown on the blue screen. The error code is also not always informative. You need to analyze the minidump file created during appearance of BSoD and containing information about the failure, in particular which drivers reported the error. There are two programs for minidump analysis: Windows Debugging Tools and BlueScreenView. Unfortunately, the first one is too complicated for novice users, although it gives a more informative result. In 99% of cases, the second, simple and free BlueScreenView is enough.

The BlueScreenView installer is available at this link.

After starting the program, you will see a window in which at the top there will be minidumps created by the system and information about them, at the bottom - a list of drivers. Failed drivers will be indicated in yellow.

Example No. 1 - the video card is to blame

A blue screen appears with the text ATTEMPTED_WRITE_TO_READONLY_MEMORY. Let's look at the minidump:

The ATTEMPTED_WRITE_TO_READONLY_MEMORY error, judging by googling, is caused by some driver. The likely culprit is in this case- nv4_disp.sys. There are others, but they are part of the system and are statistically unlikely to be the cause. A Google search showed that nv4_disp.sys is a video card driver from nVidia. Three steps:

1. Check the video card for overheating.

2. Installing an older video card driver (new if the old one is installed). This is done with any drivers, not just video cards.

3. Installing the video card in another computer.

4. If a blue screen appears on another computer, take the video card to a service center. If the warranty is still valid, you can replace it with a working one free of charge.

5. Doesn't the blue screen appear on another computer? Try installing a different power supply on yours - this may be the reason.

6. Doesn't help? Reinstall Windows completely.

7. If this does not help, take it to the service center for diagnostics.

Example No. 2 - the culprit is not at all what was expected

Blue screen with the inscription PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA comes with many problems:

If the likely faulty driver was ntfs.sys, then I would recommend checking HDD for errors, and also replace the cable going from the hard drive to the motherboard. In this case, BlueScreenView points to the USB port driver and this could be true, but where I took the dump from for example, the person is at fault motherboard- the capacitors on it were swollen. Solution - system unit in hand and stomp to the service center.

Example No. 3 - the antivirus is to blame

I found this minidump on the Internet:

The culprit was SRTSP.SYS, an antivirus component from Norton. Solved by removing it.

Example No. 4 - “broken” RAM

Blue screen with MEMORY_MANAGEMENT is a sign that RAM unsuitable for use:

BlueScreenView points to the likely culprit - ntoskrnl.exe. This Windows kernel, it can't be cause of BSOD. In 99% of cases, the cause of a blue screen with the MEMORY_MANAGEMENT error is “broken” RAM. We'll have to change it.

Results of the analysis of examples

1. BlueScreenView indicates a failure in the driver, and the hardware with which the driver interacts may be to blame.

2. You can determine whether the failure is in the driver or the hardware by searching through both the drivers and the hardware. Install old drivers (for example, those that came with the disk), download new ones.

Yes, this is unpleasant. But not fatal. From the error message it is not clear what the reason is and how to fix it. But nevertheless, there is a sequence of actions and methods that should be performed first, since they are universal and in most cases will help in eliminating a critical error.

Diagnosing the problem

What have you changed lately?

Try to remember what you changed in the computer, its configuration and settings. The most common reason is a recent change in the settings of both the software and hardware of the computer. This may include installing new drivers and receiving OS updates.
The driver is software, which allows the equipment installed on the computer to interact with Windows and work correctly. Hardware manufacturers and driver developers cannot take into account all possible options for possible configurations of both hardware and software of a PC. In this connection, there is a possibility that the installed or updated driver causes a critical error.

Check your computer's internal hardware

In some cases there is a poor connection, bad contacts inside the computer can cause a blue screen. Open the case and check all cable connections, make sure all wires are securely fastened, and all existing equipment boards are firmly seated in their connectors.
If for personal computer checking everything is not difficult, but for laptop owners it is more problematic to do this. But you can check the hard drive and RAM to make sure they are connected correctly. Remove, using a small Phillips screwdriver, removable panels in the back of the laptop, under which the hard drive and RAM are hidden, or plus the motherboard, as in the photo below. Check the tightness of the plug connections.

Temperature

Check the temperature of the computer: processor, video card, hard drives. Overheating can cause equipment failure. One of the most common overheating problems is an overheating video card. The second most likely culprit could be the processor.
Temperature can be checked in most modern BIOS or using special programs For Windows type SpeedFan.

Memory test

A common cause of failures is a faulty RAM stick. When RAM starts to fail, it leads to unstable work systems.
You can test your RAM using a program called “Memtest86”. The program is free and free to download. You can run it by burning it to a bootable CD. You need to restart your computer and boot from the disk. Memtest will automatically begin testing your computer's RAM, which may take long time. We need to wait for the results.

Run the “CHKDSK” function used on the hard drive to scan for errors and fix possible problems. Faulty hard drive may cause blue screen due to damaged files. To run CHKDSK, open Computer/My Computer and right-click on the drive you want to scan. Select Properties.
On the Properties screen, select the Tools tab.
Click the Check button in the Error checking section. Your computer will ask you to restart to scan the disk.

One way to determine the cause of the failure is to narrow your search. To do this, you need to turn off everything without which the computer can work, without which it can start. This way, if the error goes away, you will know that the cause is one of the disabled devices.

To run a desktop computer you need: a motherboard, hard drive, power supply, RAM, video card and keyboard.
If the motherboard has a video connector, then connect the monitor to it, and disconnect the external (additional) video card.
If you have several RAM sticks, then it is better to leave one of them, then alternate when loading options with different slots in the motherboard and memory dies.
If the PC starts without errors, then we try to connect one device at a time and start the system until an error message appears. This will allow you to find out exactly which equipment is causing the failure.
Unfortunately, this method is not applicable to laptops; there is no option to turn off devices (at least for a novice user).

BSOD Information

Have time to read the error message

Often the computer will reboot faster than you can read the error message, let alone write anything down. It's all about the Windows OS settings that are installed on automatic reboot.
In order to still read the message, log into safe mode and press the check mark on “ “
In short:

System Properties\Advanced System Settings
Advanced tab
Uncheck the box Perform automatic reboot

Click the Apply button and reboot the system.

If you can’t boot into safe mode, then you just have time to read the code on the screen (about 1 s)

BSOD code and name

When the blue screen appears in front of you again, you will have plenty of time to study it on the screen, since the computer will now restart only on your initiative.

What exactly is important and needs to be rewritten from the screen is described in detail in this section
The error code always starts with 0x characters
Always located after the STOP phrase:

Then go to the BSOD error description page and enter the recorded code into the search form, you will find a description of the error and possible options elimination.

BSOD solution

If the operating system cannot start, try booting into safe mode.
Safe Mode is a truncated Windows version, in which they are left for downloading only necessary components, which in most cases allows you to boot during failures.
To do this, while the computer is booting, press the F8 button until the boot menu appears, in which you need to select Safe Mode with loading network drivers.
This will allow you to access Device Manager, drivers, startup.

Run a virus scan

Viruses and others malware may damage Windows files As a result, they can cause system collapse. Always use antiviral agent. Well, if the computer does not boot, then there are two options:

Use antivirus scanners in safe mode.
use LiveCD (LiveUSB) with antivirus (this is such boot disk, from which you can boot and scan a non-working system on your hard drive with an antivirus). Almost every antivirus manufacturer also distributes a LiveCD version.

Checking the integrity of system files

Using the built-in sfc utilities http://site/sfc-exe/ you need to check the integrity of all system files, protected by Windows File Protection.
To do this, run Command Prompt cmd.exe as administrator
Type cmd.exe and press Enter
In the black screen that appears (which is command line) enter sfc.exe /scannow
The system scan will begin and the changed files will be restored from the backup source.

Driver rollback

If the cause of the problem is hardware, the first thing you should try is rolling back the drivers. Especially if before the failure you installed a new piece of hardware or new driver into the system.
This process will restore more earlier version drivers with which the system worked without failures.

Open Device Manager. To do this, you can press the combination Windows keys+ Pause or by opening the Start menu, right-click on Computer (or on the desktop shortcut called My Computer). Select Properties. Then Device Manager.
Select the hardware whose drivers you want to roll back. It is possible to expand subgroups by clicking on the plus icon. Right-click on the hardware icon and select Properties.
Go to the Driver tab. Select Roll Back and Confirm.
Try rebooting and see if this has any effect on fixing the BSOD

Rollback Windows changes

If rolling back the drivers doesn't help, the next step is rolling back Windows changes. In other words, this is a rollback to the state of the system when it worked correctly.
In the search bar, enter the phrase Recovery. Open the found program and select the date before the error occurred.
This will restore the state of the computer to the selected date, everything that you installed later or updated, all these changes will be canceled. It’s as if no one simply did them, since we can say that we have returned to the past.

Lack of hard disk space

If Windows runs out of disk space on the system drive (where it is installed) it may cause system errors. Remove unnecessary files and programs with system disk, If free space it contains less than 15% of the total volume.

System and driver updates

If rolling back drivers and changes does not work, you can try installing new versions of drivers (if they were not installed previously). It is quite possible that the developers have already fixed the error and all that remains is to update.

Click the Start button and type Windows Update in the search bar.
Click check for updates.
Then follow the instructions.

Reinstalling Windows

The last resort that you can resort to if the previous ones did not help is complete reinstallation Windows.
Make sure everything is yours important files saved in a safe place, as the hard drive will be formatted during installation and your data will be lost.

If reinstalling Windows still did not solve the problem and the blue screen still appears, then the reason is still in the equipment. You need to find and replace the faulty part of your computer.

Replacement of faulty equipment.

On a laptop, replacing everything other than the RAM or hard drive can be difficult and expensive.
If RAM tests show errors, replace the faulty stick.
If hard tests disk errors are detected, first of all create backup copy your data and replace it with new hard disk.
If the fault is in the video card, then replacing it can be expensive. And it is almost impossible to replace it in most laptops. For desktop computers It’s easier to find a working video card, replace it temporarily and see how the system behaves.

Unfortunately, it happens that over time Windows users XP has a problem while working on a PC or when loading the OS in the form of a “screen of death”. The error is often caused by overheating of the equipment, conflict of PC components, infection malicious applications. This list can be continued endlessly, since failure can be caused by a variety of reasons.

Any of the critical errors can be an unpleasant consequence of displaying “BSOD” on the monitor, which stands for English “ Blue Screen Of Death." Below is a guide on how to avoid the Blue Screen of Death on your Windows XP computer, and details what to do if it does happen.

BSOD - what is it?

Despite the menacing name, this screen is designed to help the user and is protective Windows function HR. It already contains detailed text with a description and recommendations for solving the problem. The owner of the computer, after carefully studying the error codes displayed on the screen, can safely take action necessary measures to eliminate the causes of the failure.

However, sometimes some users mistake other programs with a blue interface, such as BIOS, for the “screen of death”. By accidentally touching a key when booting the computer, or in some other way, sometimes the PC owner starts the BIOS, which also of blue color and newbies mistakenly take it for the well-known “blue screen of death”. If a menu similar to the image below appears on your monitor,

then you just need to click “ESC” or click on the “Exit Without Saving” item. After this, the PC will start in the user’s usual mode.

Also, if Windows XP was shut down incorrectly, a blue screen may appear when the disk is analyzed for the presence of various errors.

You shouldn’t be afraid of it either, but you just need to wait and let the “Chkdsk” application perform its functions, after which Windows XP will boot itself.

But if the user sees the following image:

then you will have to follow the steps described below in this manual.

How to decrypt the information displayed on the BSOD?

A detailed study of the information and codes presented on this screen will allow you to quickly and effectively eliminate the causes of the failure.

At the top of the screen information is available from detailed description errors. The following are recommendations on how to resolve any difficulties that may arise. After them specific digital codes errors. And in the case when a failure occurred due to some file, the name of this file will be shown.

The main causes of BSOD

Knowing the reasons why a problem may arise, you can effectively take preventive measures to prevent failures from occurring.

The main reasons are divided into 3 groups:

Computer components;
Software for equipment (drivers);
Applications.

PC components

This includes the most common reasons the “screen of death” appears. Therefore, you should first pay attention to whether new equipment was installed immediately before the failure occurred. Also, the error is often caused by RAM or hard drive Therefore, it is recommended to test the computer’s RAM and hard drive.

Very rarely, but there are problems due to the video card or even due to central processor. They also need to be tested. For this purpose, specialists have developed many applications.

Many users install additional fees to increase PC speed. If there are any, then you should temporarily disable them and work on the PC for a while. In the case where the error does not manifest itself without them, we can draw an unambiguous conclusion about the cause of the failure.

When a blue screen appears during operation, very often the cause is a weak or outdated power supply. In this case, it is recommended to install a new power supply - with best characteristics power.

Hardware software (drivers)

More than half of all screen of death cases are related to drivers. If you need to reinstall the software, you must uninstall it before doing so. installed driver and only after that install the current version from the official source of the equipment manufacturer.

Applications

Just as with drivers, the issue can be resolved by reinstalling the application, but first completely removing it and clearing the registry of program remnants.

Often, when running 2 antiviruses on one computer at once, errors appear that cause BSOD. You should protect one operating system with only one antivirus utility.

Procedure for troubleshooting a problem in Windows XP

Sometimes Windows XP after a crash automatic mode restarts or the PC owner, by clicking on “RESET”, reboots the computer himself, and the system begins to function normally again. However, cases are not uncommon when the OS does not boot after a crash even in safe mode, and the “screen of death” is again displayed before the user’s eyes.

IN similar situation you will need to use external installation media with Windows distribution XP.

You need to do the following:

IN BIOS priority set OS startup with external media and depending on its type set it to optical drive computer (CD) or into a USB port (flash drive).
Next, restart the PC;
The menu “ Windows installation XP";
Then activate the “Restore Windows XP” command from the menu - to do this, click the “R” button;
After that, in the next menu that appears, click “1” and click on “Enter”;
Type the PC access code (if the user has previously specified it) and click “Enter” again;
In the invitation window, type “fixboot”;
The system recommendation “Do you want to record a new boot sector to directory C:?" - you need to click on the “Y” button;
Then type “fixmbr” and click on the “Y” button again;
Click “Enter”;
Type “exit”, close the program, restart the PC;
Open BIOS, where you specify to start the OS from the hard drive.

Now the computer will work again normal mode. Despite the fact that the procedure consists of 12 steps, it usually takes no more than five minutes to complete, and this is guaranteed to eliminate the BSOD problem.

Quite often, many people experience problems associated with personal computers. The blue screen that appears after turning off and on the computer is especially annoying. This screen reports a specific error. To understand what kind of error you encountered, you can go to the database Microsoft data enter hexadecimal code, which is displayed in the message. Chances are that you will receive some advice on how to solve your problem. So, let's say you experience a blue screen of death. What to do? First, you need to figure out what errors can cause it to appear.

Reasons for the error

More often basic problems with hardware related to not quite correct HDD operation. Problems with memory and processor can also cause a blue screen. Software errors usually occur due to the actions of viruses, rootkits or drivers that were not installed entirely correctly. What can cause a blue screen of death to appear? The reasons mainly lie in hardware errors. Big number personal computer hardware components may cause this error due to a malfunction. It is worth considering the main components that cause malfunctions.

What to do if problems arise due to the HDD

The hard drive is one of the most important elements of every personal computer. It stores a large number of data and the operating system itself. Very often, the Blue Screen of Death appears due to damaged sectors or due to defects that may be present on the hard drive. They contribute to damage to the operating system itself, thus affecting its performance. Problems may be related to the read head - this problem occurs mainly when the HDD reaches five years of age. Based on statistical data, problems in this situation arise due to overheating of the disk. So, blue screen of death: what to do if the problem is in the hard drive?

In order to get rid of problems, you need to use special software. They can move idle sectors for that purpose HDD space, which is not used. Besides this, if hard damage disk is too large, then it can be replaced with a new one. In this case, you will also need to reinstall the operating system. In this situation, you need to copy all your important documents to external drive, so that they are not damaged by an error that causes a blue screen of death. What to do if the hard drive is not to blame for the problem? It is worth paying attention to memory.

Errors with memory and processor

The causes of problems may also be related to PC memory. For a blue screen to appear, it only takes one module to fail. The cause of this damage is mainly overclocking, which uses more voltage than necessary. In addition, elements of the electrical circuit can fail under the influence of heat. Poor quality parts can also cause an error that results in a Blue Screen of Death. What to do in this case? To overcome the problem, you should reduce the input voltage supplied to the memory chips. This should be done in the BIOS. If after this the problem continues to occur, then you should consider buying a new memory module. The processor can also cause a blue screen if it fails. In order to get rid of this problem, you should immediately change the part.

Software errors

The cause of a blue screen may be driver failures or viruses. In the first case, they simply need to be reinstalled. If this does not help, then you should find those programs that are optimally suited to your computer. If errors occur due to malicious programs, you should seek help from special utility- antivirus.

Conclusion

Don't despair if you get a blue screen. You just need to find the cause and eliminate it. They can help in her search Microsoft database. Good luck in solving problems with your personal computer.

What is BSoD

BSoD - Blue Sceen of Death, blue screen of death. Appears in the most critical situations, when closing a faulty program is impossible.

The Windows operating system has several layers of running programs. We see only the top one - open program windows and running services. These are what the Task Manager shows. When one of the programs makes an error that it is not able to process and work around, it, as many users say, “crashes.” You can start it again and continue working.

Software modules running at a lower level (drivers) will not be able to restart in the event of an error. The Windows operating system tries to protect the user from many errors, but this does not always work and it capitulates, showing a sad face or a set of characters on the computer screen.

Symptoms of BSoD

1. The appearance of a blue screen with strange symbols or a sad emoticon.

In 99% of cases, the computer reboots on its own due to a critical error (BSoD), but there can be a worse situation: problems with the power supply or motherboard. If you have a desktop PC, check to see if there are any bulges anywhere.

Reasons for a blue screen

1. Overheating. Overheating of the video card or processor leads to the blue screen of death.

The newer Windows, the better the protection against failures. Let's hope that in some Windows XV, instead of a blue screen, we will see an error notification that does not interfere with work.

2. RAM failure. You can, but in order not to hit the mark, first read on - perhaps the cause of your blue screen of death is something else.

If you installed new RAM in your computer and get frequent BSoDs, replace it at the store with a working one. There are no other ways to overcome blue screens of death when replacing RAM.

4. Overclocking. If you are an advanced overclocker, then you know what overclocking a computer has to do with BSoD. If not, don't overclock your computer.

5. Driver(s) failure. The cause of BSoD is not necessarily a hardware problem. Unstable drivers are a frequent guest on user computers. How to identify a faulty driver will be discussed next.

6. Viruses. Be sure to check your computer with some or .

I never tire of being amazed at the self-confidence of users who say “ I have no viruses and no antivirus either! I have a straight hand/I only use trusted sites/sometimes I check with a one-time antivirus and that’s why everything is fine!". Leaving aside the debate about how you can live without an antivirus, think about it: if a person sees BSoD, he has This is no longer a normal situation. How can you say that there are no viruses and this is not the cause of the blue screen?

Also, do not think that if you have an antivirus installed with the latest databases, there cannot be viruses. Check with others to completely rule out the possibility.

8. Windows updates. Developers at Microsoft sometimes test updates poorly. Because of this, some people completely disable Windows Update and sit without updates, although this is not an option. Control Panel - Programs and Features - View installed updates- right click - Delete according to the updates installed recently, then check the operation of Windows. Has everything returned to normal? Just don't install updates for a couple of weeks - usually during this time some kind of corrective update for the update comes out and everything becomes fine.

9. Programs crash. This happens, but rarely. If you see BSoD during a game or when running a specific program, I advise you to check your computer for overheating, because most programs are not capable of causing a blue screen, with the exception of those installing drivers into the system (antiviruses, virtual disk emulators, game protection systems like PunkBuster, accounting programs that work with digital keys).

10. File errors hard systems disk. It won't be amiss

Let's find out the cause of BSoD

As you can see, there are quite a lot of reasons and there is no point in guessing. Fortunately, the Blue Screen of Death contains clues as to why Windows suddenly started to crash. Among the incomprehensible text there will be error codes containing a direct indication of what caused the failure.

Most often you are BSoD you won't see, since Windows settings by default enable restarting the computer in case of critical errors.

You can disable automatic restart of Windows like this: Control Panel - System - Advanced System Settings - Options- check/uncheck the boxes as in the screenshot below:

Pay attention to the “Small memory dump” item - check it too.

Google the error code from the Windows Log

The “Write event to system log” checkbox is checked by default, which means error codes will be in the Windows Log.

Go to Control Panel - Administration - Event Viewer - System- and look for a line in the list that coincides in time with the appearance of a blue screen or restarting the computer:

If there is nothing in the Windows Log, wait for the blue screen to appear and look for the error there:

Just search Google for information on the error code and follow the recommendations.

Analyze the minidump

Unfortunately, if the problem is a faulty driver, this is not always shown on the blue screen. The error code is also not always informative. You need to analyze the minidump file that is created when a BSoD occurs and contains information about the failure, in particular which drivers reported the error. There are two programs for minidump analysis: Windows Debugging Tools and BlueScreenView. Unfortunately, the first one is too complicated for novice users, although it gives a more informative result. In 99% of cases, the second, simple and free BlueScreenView is enough.

The BlueScreenView installer is available at this link.

Example No. 1 - the video card is to blame

A blue screen appears with the text ATTEMPTED_WRITE_TO_READONLY_MEMORY. Let's look at the minidump:

The ATTEMPTED_WRITE_TO_READONLY_MEMORY error, judging by googling, is caused by some driver. The likely culprit in this case is nv4_disp.sys. There are others, but they are part of the system and are statistically unlikely to be the cause. A Google search showed that nv4_disp.sys is a video card driver from nVidia. Three steps:

1. Check the video card for overheating.

2. Installing an older video card driver (new if the old one is installed). This is done with any drivers, not just video cards.

3. Installing the video card in another computer.

4. If a blue screen appears on another computer, take the video card to a service center. If the warranty is still valid, you can replace it with a working one free of charge.

5. Doesn't the blue screen appear on another computer? Try installing a different power supply on yours - this may be the reason.

6. Doesn't help? Reinstall Windows completely.

7. If this does not help, take it to the service center for diagnostics.

Example No. 2 - the culprit is not at all what was expected

A blue screen with the message PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA is associated with many problems:

If the likely faulty driver was ntfs.sys, then I would recommend checking the hard drive for errors, and also replacing the cable that goes from the hard drive to the motherboard. In this case, BlueScreenView points to the USB port driver and this could be true, but where I took the dump from as an example, the person’s motherboard is at fault - the capacitors on it are swollen. The solution is to pick up the system unit and head to the service center.

Example No. 3 - the antivirus is to blame

I found this minidump on the Internet:

The culprit was SRTSP.SYS, an antivirus component from Norton. Solved by removing it.

Example No. 4 - “broken” RAM

A blue screen with MEMORY_MANAGEMENT is a sign that the RAM is unusable:

BlueScreenView points to the likely culprit - ntoskrnl.exe. This is the Windows kernel and cannot be the cause of the BSOD. In 99% of cases, the cause of a blue screen with the MEMORY_MANAGEMENT error is “broken” RAM. We'll have to change it.

Results of the analysis of examples

1. BlueScreenView indicates a failure in the driver, and the hardware with which the driver interacts may be to blame.