First
off, note down all relevant information when you see a BSOD flash across the
screen. This includes the error number and friendly name from the 'bugcheck'
section of the stop error (see above), and any file names specified in the
'driver information' section.
If the BSOD comes up on the screen for a split-second before
the PC restarts and wipes all the useful information away,
we need to change some settings within WinXP. In most cases, it
should be possible to stop your PC from automatically restarting when it
develops a major error, allowing you enough time to jot down the BSOD error
message. If you are using WindowsXP, right click
on my computer > Properties > Select the 'Advanced' tab
> and under 'startup and recovery' click the 'settings' button. This will open a new window, and under the 'System Failure' heading,
uncheck 'Automatically restart.'
Continuing on, attempt to restart the
computer normally into Windows. If the BSOD occurred while booting Windows, you
may be taken to a troubleshooting menu and will have to select 'attempt to start
Windows normally.' If your computer starts correctly, continue using it and
store the error information for later reference. If the BSOD reoccurs at random
or irregular periods, see Section D below on troubleshooting intermittent stop
errors.
If your system does not start
correctly or the stop message happens again, reboot the system. When the POST
(memory checking) screen comes up, press F8 repeatedly. This will bring you to
the Windows advanced options menu.
In the Windows advanced
options menu choose 'safe mode' to attempt to boot into
Windows Safe
mode.
Safe mode loads Windows XP with a
minimal set of drivers and no automatically loaded software. If faulty software
or drivers are causing your BSOD problem, safe mode should load correctly. If
safe mode loads correctly, refer to Section A below on 'troubleshooting software
stop messages.'
If safe mode does not load
correctly, and/or you get the same stop message upon attempting safe mode, it's
time to try the 'restore last known good configuration' option in the advanced
options menu.
Restart your computer,
pressing 'F8' again to load the advanced options menu and select 'last known
good configuration (your most recent settings that worked).' This uses Windows
XP's built in system restore utility to restore the most recent save point,
which should be the last time you installed any drivers or other software. If
your system boots normally after this operation, hopefully your problem has been
fixed.
If you are still receiving a
Blue Screen Of Death after the above procedures, or if system restore was
disabled on your system, note down any new information on the error and start
thinking. Did you install any new hardware or software just before this problem
occurred? The driver information section of the BSOD may help with
this.
If you did install new
hardware or software, and you think you know what it might be that is causing
the problem, this gives you a big boost in resolving the situation.
Otherwise, proceed to the
advanced troubleshooting sections below. Chances are your error is hardware or
system file based and will require more effort to repair.
Specific Repair Instructions
If you have a reoccurring Blue
Screen Of Death or crashing problem, and can't use Windows effectively because
of it, it's time to look at more specific methods of troubleshooting your
problem. Depending on the results of the basic troubleshooting steps above, you
should have a good idea of whether the problem that is causing the stop messages
is related to software or drivers you have installed, or is a hardware or system
file issue.
Essentially, if you can't boot
into Windows XP safe mode because of crashes or Blue Screens Of Death, you
likely either have a hardware error or one or more essential system files is
corrupted or missing. If you can boot into Windows XP safe mode, but get
constant or frequent BSOD's when running XP normally, you have a software or
device driver problem.
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