Every Windows user has encountered the Windows Stop Error, also called the Blue Screen of Death, at least once. Quite often the problem gets solved with a simple reboot and doesn’t return. But most likely the BSOD is the first sign of some major hardware or software problems. If that is the case, your screen will keep turning that lovely shade of blue. That is frustrating, yes, but all is not lost. There are ways to deal with it. You can at least establish what exactly is wrong with your computer, or maybe even solve the problem by yourself.

What Is the Blue Screen of Death?

You get the Blue Screen of Death, or to call it properly the Windows stop message, when Windows detects an error from which it can’t recover. So your OS stops and gives you diagnostic information displayed on that blue screen.

If you get the Windows stop message, don’t panic, but read what’s on that screen first. The information on it is divided into four sections.

First you will see the error number (in hexadecimal format). It is followed by information on what caused the system to stop. Then you get the name of the error, which can be difficult to understand and looks something like this: DRIVER_IRQI_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

The second section contains general advice and troubleshooting steps. I can’t say that it’s very helpful, because most of the times it just prompts you to restart your computer.

The third part is very important, because it contains driver information. If a driver was the probable reason why the Blue Screen appeared, it will be listed there.

The last section of the stop error report is “debug port and status information”.

Basic Troubleshooting

First of all, it’s very important to write down all useful information from the BSOD – the error number, the error name, and any file names from the “driver information” section. Even if you can’t figure it out yourself, it might be useful to show it to a computer technician.

Sometimes your system is configured in such a way, that the computer restarts automatically before you manage to read anything on the Blue Screen. To change this, XP users should right-click on My Computer – go to Properties - Advanced. Under Startup and Recovery click the Settings button. A new window will open. Under the System Failure heading uncheck Automatically restart.

After that try restarting your computer. If the Blue Screen of Death appeared when booting Winodws, you may be taken to  a troubleshooting menu, where you’ll need to select Attempt to start Windows normally. If everything is fine after that, continue using your computer as usual, but store the error information for future reference.

It’s extremely frustrating when the BSOD reoccurs randomly. Usually it means that anything could have caused it. In this case the first step would be to try booting in Safe Mode (press F8 repeatedly when the POST screen appears and then choose Boot in Safe Mode). If it boots fine, most likely the problem lies with malware, software, or the drivers. Try running full anti-virus and anti-spyware scans and if any infections are found, get rid of them. Then try restarting XP the usual way – it should work if malware was the problem that caused the Windows Stop Error.

If it doesn’t help, try booting back into Safe Mode and try System Restore.  Go to Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore. Restore your system to the most recent point that was created before you started having the BSOD problem.

Try to remember – did you install any new software or drivers right before you started getting the Blue Screen? If yes, it would be a good idea to uninstall the software (preferably using an Uninstall manager, like the one in BoostSpeed, because it guarantees complete uninstallation) and roll back the drivers, since they are likely to be the wrongdoers.

Of course, there are many other things that could have caused the Windows Stop Error and there is no simple solution, but hopefully these tips can help you get rid of the Blue Screen of Death.