Crash Recovery - Dealing with the Blue Screen Of Death

A BSOD will strike every Windows PC at least once. PCstats lays out the ground rules to fixing the problems that can cause a Blue Screen of Death. Or, you can just reinstall your ENTIRE PC... it's your choice! - Version 1.2.0

If you've ever used Windows, chances are you've experienced the lovely shade of blue associated with the famous Windows Stop Error or 'Blue Screen of Death.' This frequent, although less so in newer operating systems, error occurs whenever Windows senses a software, hardware or driver error which will not allow it to continue operating properly. In other words, it happens all the time, for all sorts of reasons. Often, if you're lucky, the problem will resolve itself with a simple reboot and you may never have to worry about it again. More typically though, the BSOD is a harbinger of trouble and you may find yourself faced with another and another until you throw up your hands... but all is not lost. In this article PCstats.com will walk you through the BSOD in many of its most familiar incarnations. We will not be exploring and cataloguing what each BSOD means, but rather providing a set of tools for troubleshooting that you can use to get around any Blue Screen Of Death, or constant crash issue. Just another step in PCstats' never-ending quest to save your hard earned cash from going to the computer repair shop. What is a Blue Screen of Death? The Blue Screen of Death, or more properly the 'Windows stop message' occurs when Windows detects a problem or error from which it cannot recover. The operating system halts and diagnostic information is displayed on a blue screen. In newer versions of the operating system, the contents of the PC's memory are dumped to a file for later analysis. All Windows XP stop errors are numbered according to the circumstances that caused the error, which assists enormously in troubleshooting them.

Let's take a moment to look at a BSOD in its natural environment, careful now, we don't want to startle it... Note the eye catching shade of blue intended to warn us of trouble, the detailed list of hexadecimal numbers, and relatively unhelpful 'tip.' This is the BSOD in all its glory, so be very afraid if you ever come face to face with this hideous creature! Reading the Blue Screen Of Death A typical Windows XP stop message, like the one above, is divided into four parts, and actually does display some helpful clues as to what caused its appearance. Reading a BSOD is not an everyday task, but if we take a moment to dissect it, you'll see it can help us to resolve the conflict which is stopping Windows from operating correctly.

The bugcheck information shows the number of the stop error (in hexadecimal format), information on why the system has stopped and the friendly (text-based) name for the stop error, in this case "DRIVER_IRQI_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL."

The second section, 'recommended user action,' is pretty generic and contains advice for the user on possible troubleshooting steps. This tends to be the same for just about every stop error, though the main advice 'try restarting your computer' is the best possible first step to take.

The third section, 'driver information,' may contain vital info. If an actual driver file is associated with the blue screen, it will be listed here. This can give you something to work on in the case of a reoccurring error. More on this later in the article.

The final part of the stop error screen is the 'debug port and status information' section. Windows XP will attempt to dump the contents of system memory either to a file on the hard drive or to one of the COM ports in the case of a stop error. This section shows information about the procedure. Next up we look at what causes BSODs in the first place, and how to fix them! Why Do BSOD's happen? In Windows XP, stop messages generally take one of five forms: 1. Software errors during Windows operation. Software or device drivers installed in your computer may have errors or problems which cause a stop error, either constantly or under certain conditions. 2. Hardware errors during Windows operation. If a hardware device malfunctions or is removed during the operation of Windows, or if your hardware does not fully support the operations that XP expects it to support, a hardware stop error will occur. Outdated BIOS information on older computers might also be an issue. 3. Installation errors. The Windows XP installation process is the most sensitive time for hardware and disk errors. If there is a problem with your computer's hardware configuration or the media you are using to install XP, a stop error will likely occur. 4. Startup errors. Corrupted system files, hardware and driver errors can all cause Windows XP to halt with a stop message without correctly booting into Windows. An error of this sort will almost always require troubleshooting before Windows can be loaded correctly. 5. Intermittent errors. The most irritating type of stop message, these crop up consistently but apparently randomly. The most likely culprits for this include:

defective system memory, an overheating processor, dead or dieing hard drive or faulty software and device drivers. What can you do about them? As you are probably aware, Windows XP can crash in all sorts of interesting ways. Even though it is massively more stable than its predecessors (Windows 2000, Windows 98SE, Windows 95) people are still finding new and interesting ways to blow it out of the water. Given the range of possible crashes and stop errors, it's difficult to come up with a precise set of instructions for every possibly BSOD. Websites do exist which contain lists of known stop errors and some potential solutions, and we would advise you to check them also in your quest for a cure. Try here or here for starters. The goal of this PCstats.com Guide is not to provide specific instructions for fixing each possible Blue Screen Of Death issue. Rather we aim to provide a generic set of troubleshooting steps which will allow you to analyze and hopefully identify the cause of the error and correct it. If we do not cure your issues, by the end of this section you will certainly be armed with more information about what is causing them. There are a few basic steps that you should always take in the case of a Blue Screen Of Death appearing. Let's look though them now... Basic troubleshooting for all BSOD errors 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.

Section A: Troubleshooting Software & Driver stop messages Assuming you can boot into safe mode, the first thing you should attempt to do is perform a virus and spyware scan of your system if you have the relevant utilities such as recently updated anti-virus software and Ad-Aware or Spybot S&D for spyware scans. If anything was found and eliminated in either scan, attempt to restart Windows XP normally. If this does not help, boot back into safe mode. The next step is to use the built in system restore utility to hopefully return Windows XP to working order. When run in safe mode, you can access all recent restore points created by the system restore utility. This gives you more flexibility than the 'last known good configuration' command in the boot menu which only restores the most recent one. To use the system restore utility, go to 'start\all programs\accessories\system tools\system restore.'

The utility reserves hard disk space and creates a restore point each time you install or remove software. If you are fairly sure you know what you installed that might have caused the problem. Restore the point created at that date. Note that any software installed since then will stop functioning, as links created to it in the registry will be removed. Otherwise, restore your system to the most recent point created before you started having BSOD troubles. If the first one does not succeed in curing the problem, try the next most recent, etc. If system restore has been disabled on your system, or if the utility did not fix your problem, it's time to try more specific cures. Did you install new software or device drivers before the problem occurred? If so, you need to disable them as they are likely the culprits. Drivers need to be disabled

or rolled back, and software needs to be uninstalled or be stopped from running automatically. Fixing device drivers In the case of a device driver, you can either roll it back to a previous (functional) version of the driver or disable it. To do either right click on 'my computer' and select 'properties' then go to the 'hardware' tab and choose 'device manager.'

From here, expand the section where the troublesome device driver is located (video card drivers are found in 'display adaptors,' sound card in 'sound video and game controllers' and motherboard drivers in 'IDE/ATAPI controllers'). Highlight the device, right click and hit 'properties.' Go to the 'drivers' tab.

From here you can use the 'roll back' option to revert to the previous driver version, or use the 'uninstall' option to remove the driver completely. Note that you should not uninstall video card or motherboard drivers, as this will stop Windows XP from booting just as effectively as your BSOD problem is doing. Attempt to 'roll back' the drivers first. A second possibility is to right click on the offending device in device manager and choose 'disable' which will prevent XP from loading that device driver during startup. For obvious reasons, you should not use this on video card or motherboard drivers either. If you are able to boot into Windows normally after these procedures, look for a working driver to update any device that you uninstalled or disabled. Fixing software problems If your BSOD issues are being caused by a faulty or incompatible program that starts automatically when you boot Windows, thus crashing the system, there are a couple of easy ways to prevent this. The best way is to use Sysinternal's 'autoruns' program to display all auto-running software on your computer. You can then pick through them and disable any potential culprits. To do this download and run autoruns .

The program displays all software (including some essential Windows files) that runs automatically after Windows loads. By unchecking the boxes, you can disable specific programs and prevent them from loading. Note that there are several entries here you should not disable at any time, the two most important of which are userinit.exe and explorer.exe. Be very cautious with anything authored by Microsoft in this list (though it is possible for malicious startup programs like spyware and Trojan horse viruses to use the Microsoft label here also). If you can't get access to autoruns, you can still use the built-in MSCONFIG utility to edit startup programs. Go to 'start\run' and type 'msconfig.' Choose the 'startup' tab.

While this utility's display is not as comprehensive as autoruns is, it has the advantage of not displaying any critical system files. Therefore, you can uncheck any and all items on this list without fear of messing up Windows even more. Once you have used either utility to edit your startup programs, reboot normally into Windows.

Section B: Troubleshooting hardware and system file based BSODs If you can't even boot into safe mode without a stop message, and the 'last known good configuration' boot option did not help, it's likely you have a hardware or system file error. There's a procedure for each and neither is particularly fast, so we will run through the procedures in ascending order of difficulty. Checking for hardware errors First off, have you added any new hardware devices or peripherals to your system recently? If so, power off the computer and remove them, then attempt to boot again normally. If you changed the motherboard in your system, or moved your Windows installation to a new system before the error occurred, you must perform a Repair Install before XP will work correctly again. See the section below entitled 'Fixing missing or corrupted system files.' If you haven't added new devices recently, or if removing them does not solve the problem, it's time to test your system's memory. Testing system memory From another computer, obtain the Windows Memory diagnostic or Memtest memory diagnostic programs on floppy or CD, then use them to boot your system and test the memory. If either of these programs shows any errors in your memory, you have likely found the source of your troubles. Chances are you will need to purchase new memory. For more information on faulty memory and memory diagnostics, see PCstats article on diagnosing bad memory here. Fixing missing or corrupted system files Windows XP will often refuse to work if certain system files are missing or become corrupted through hard drive or virus issues. Likewise, changing the motherboard (or the entire system) under your Windows XP installation will stop it working until the system files are repaired and updated. To do this, you should perform a Repair Install. The repair install process reinstalls all Windows system files while leaving directories, settings and user data intact. This should fix any corrupted files that are causing BSODs and crash issues. To perform a repair install: 1. 2. 3. 4. Boot from the Windows XP installation CD Choose the 'press enter to set up Windows XP now' option Press F8 to skip through the EULA Now press R to begin a repair installation

Your system will go through the entire XP install process, but will not attempt to replace any of your existing data. It will simply reinstall the system files and redetect all hardware. Once the process has completed, your computer will reboot. Note that

if you perform a repair install, you will need to visit the Windows Update Site and reload any patches and Service Packs that you previously applied to your system, as the repair install will remove them all. Identifying other defective hardware If you are still experiencing constant crashing, power off your computer again, open the case and remove all non-essential hardware. The only things still connected to the system and motherboard should be: Mouse & keyboard Hard drive CD-Drive Video card Memory (And obviously the processor and power supply must still be connected also) If you are unsure of how to remove the parts correctly, or which is which, see our PC Assembly Guide here. Now try booting the computer into safe mode first, then normally. If you can boot into Windows without a stop error, you can be sure the issue is with one of the peripherals you removed. Now you can pinpoint the problem by selectively reinstalling each component (with the power off) and restarting Windows. Section C: Troubleshooting Windows XP install BSODs Constant Blue screen errors while attempting to install Windows XP are generally caused by hardware or media problems. The most common hardware-related installation issue is faulty memory chips, which can cause havoc to any XP installation. Overheating or a dying or defective hard disk are other common causes. A severely scratched or otherwise faulty XP install CD may also cause stop errors. First, check your CD and clean or replace it as necessary. Your next step should be to test your system memory for errors with a diagnostic program. To do this obtain the Windows Memory Diagnostic or Memtest memory diagnostic programs on floppy or CD we mentioned earlier, and use it to boot your system and test the memory. If either of these programs shows any errors in your memory, you have likely found the source of your troubles. Chances are you will need to purchase new memory. For more information on faulty memory and memory diagnostics, see PCstats Guide to diagnosing bad memory . Now it's time to test the hard drive for errors. Visit the website of your hard drive's manufacturer and download their drive diagnostic utility software. Every major hard drive company makes a utility like this freely available. An example is Maxtor's PowerMax software available here . Follow the included instructions to install the software and test your drive(s) for errors.

If no errors were found in memory or with the hard disk, you need to ensure that your processor is not overheating. Make sure the fan on the heatsink is in working order and reboot the computer, pressing DEL repeatedly on startup to go into the BIOS setup screen. Let your PC run on this screen for an hour or so, checking back to make sure it has not crashed. If a PC crashes on the BIOS screen, it generally means the processor is overheating for one reason or another. As a final measure, you can remove all unnecessary hardware from your system before attempting to install Windows XP again. Power off the computer, remove the case and remove all hardware except: Mouse & keyboard Hard drive CD-Drive Video card Memory (And obviously the processor and power supply must still be connected also) Attempt to install XP again. If it works correctly, you can troubleshoot the remaining devices from within Windows. Section D: Troubleshooting Intermittent Blue Screens or Crashes Nothing is more maddening than a random crashing problem on your PC. Most of all because almost any type of hardware or software error could cause this behaviour. The first step you can take to narrow the field down is booting in safe mode and trying to use the system normally (or as normally as you can in safe mode.) If the errors do not occur, it is likely to be software or drivers that are causing the problem. Refer to Section A in this Guide for advice on treating these issues. If the errors occur randomly, even in safe mode, hardware issues are likely to blame. Consult Section B of this Guide for a list of steps to take. Also you should check that the processor heatsink fan is working correctly, and that your PC is not overheating. The above procedures should help you troubleshoot and cure just about any PC bluescreen/crash problem. The range of possible issues is vast though, and there are almost certainly errors and solutions that aren't covered here. If you know of a common BSOD or crash related issue that isn't in this guide, please let PCstats.com know and we'll add it in.