Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

One of the most dreaded error messages for a Windows user is the blue screen, or the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) as it is popularly known, which suddenly pops up informing you that something is seriously wrong with Windows. What this screen essentially means is that Windows has crashed and needs to reboot to recover. Usually, you will be able to recover and continue without any problems.

Problems causing BSOD :

The BSODs are generally associated with five problems faced by Windows:

• Software or device drivers may have a problem.
• A hardware device is malfunctioning , or was removed while Windows was running, or does not fully support Windows. On older machines, outdated BIOS information can also cause errors.
• Hardware or hard disk errors during installation of Windows.
• Startup files , hardware and driver software during Windows startup can also be the cause. This type of error  will always require troubleshooting before Windows can start up normally.
• Intermittent errors that appear randomly. These can be caused by an overheating processor, a defective memory system, a dying or  dead hard disk , or faulty software and device drivers. 

Solution :

These are some of the most common Stop Messages along with their cause and suggested resolution:

1. Stop Code: STOP 0x0000000A        

                         IRQL_NOT_LESS_EQUAL

Code Meaning : Faulty device drivers, or services from backup utilities or virus scanners

Recommended Resolution: Remove, disable or stop the offending drivers, backup utilities or anti-virus programs. Get updated

software from the manufacturer.

2.Stop Code: STOP 0x0000001E

                        KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

Code Meaning: Some driver files may be causing a problem.

Recommended Resolution: Remove, disable or update the driverfile listed in the error message. Verify if new hardware installation

is correct.

3.Stop Code: STOP 0x00000024

                       NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM

Code Meaning: Usually caused by disk corruption in the NTFS file system or third-party disk defragmenters.

Recommended Resolution: Use hard disk diagnostic software to verify that the hard disk is working. Remember to always Use

Microsoft-certified disk defragmenters.

4.Stop Code: STOP 0x0000002E

                       DATA_BUS_ERROR

Code Meaning: Caused by a parity error in the system memory. Almost always caused by hardware problemsa configuration

issue, defective hardware, or incompatible hardware.

Recommended Resolution: If physical RAM was recently added to the system, remove it and see if the error still occurs. If the error

persists, try disabling memory caching in the BIOS. Else remove, repair or reinstall the defective hardware.

5.Stop Code: STOP 0x00000050

                        PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

Code Meaning : Caused when requested data is not found in memory; the system checks the page file, but the missing data is

I dentified as unable to be written to the page file

Recommended Resolution: Remove any newly-added hardware or run diagnostic software supplied by the manufacturer to check if

the component has failed. Install updated device drivers or roll back to a previous driver.

6.Stop Code: STOP 0x0000007B

                        INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE

Code Meaning: Caused when Windows loses access to the system partition during the Startup process. This can be caused by: an

incorrect driver for a SCSI, RAID, or UDMA IDE controller;incorrect ARC path in the Boot.ini; or a failed boot device.

Recommended Resolution: Verify that the disk storage device is installed correctly and working. Reinstall or update the device

driver. Verify that the BIOS setting for the device is correct. Verify the integrity of the hard disk.

7.Stop Code: STOP 0x0000007F

                        UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP

Code Meaning: Caused when the CPU generates an error that the kernel does not catch. Usually hardware related especially RAM.

Can also be caused by CPU overclocking, or defective components on the motherboard.

Recommended Resolution:

1. Run the memory diagnostic to test RAM.

2. Restore over clocked settings to previous values.

3. Repair/replace the motherboard.

4. Disable sync negotiation in SCSI BIOS; check SCSI termination.

8.Stop Code: STOP 0x000000D1

                        DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Code Meaning: Occurs when the system attempts to access pageable memory at a process IRQL that is too high

Recommended Resolution: Very similar to STOP 0xA. Remove,disable or stop the offending drivers, backup utilities or anti-virus

programs. Get updated software from the manufacturer.

9.Stop Code: STOP 0xC000021A

                        STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED

Code Meaning: Caused when the user-mode subsystem (Win logon or CSRSS) is fatally compromised and security cannot be

guaranteed. The most common causes are third-party applications or mismatched system files.

Recommended Resolution:

1. Remove, disable, or roll back any newly-installed device driver.

2. Uninstall any newly-installed software.

3. Use Windows-compatible backup/restore programs.

4. Restore full control permissions to the local SECURITY account on the system root folder by doing a fresh parallel installation of

Windows on a separate partition.