Stray Thoughts

If you are a Windows User, XP or Vista, you are sure to encounter BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) Errors sometime. The problem occurs a lot more often if you are building your own computer, as opposed to buying a pre-built one. As annoying as these are, (especially since they seem to be unique to Windows; Macs and Linux don’t tend to get “fatal errors.”) there are fixes you can try. Personally, I have never had to completely trash a hardware or resort to formatting because I got a BSOD error. Here are a few tips on how to diagnose and fix your own BSOD. (Notice that the pic on the right seems to have a problem with “Beep.sys :-D”)

1. Update your drivers. I know most people do this now. Just in case.
   
2. Always note the message on the BSOD Screen. Most likely, your BSOD will have a very specific error message such as “UNEXPECTED_KERNEL” or “IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL.” Always note these because most likely these will be the key to solving your problem. Sometimes, the BSOD screen goes away too fast to note the error. In this case, follow these steps: Right Click on My Computer, Select Properties, Go to Advanced tab, Under Startup and Recovery, click settings and uncheck the box that says Automatically Restart. The next time you get the BSOD, you should be able to read it.
3. Google is your best friend in solving BSOD error. If you get a BSOD error, the odds are, someone out there got the same error for similar reasons under similar conditions. Always search for the error message (that you found in #1) and see what other people have to say about it.
4. If lost, Memtest! In my opinion (I do not know if it is the truth), RAM is the most fragile and breakable piece of hardware in your computer. If you’re getting random BSODS and crashes, check your RAM first. Download Memtest, burn it to a CD using a program like Nero (you won’t see any visible files on the .iso file), boot from CD, and let her rip.
5. Try to be Hardware-Specific. When you’re searching for your solution in Google, try to see whose fixes have similar or the same hardware as you do, as that may lead you closer to your solution.
   
6. If your first attempt doesn’t work, try another. If the first fix you decided to try from Google does not work, do not be discouraged. There are literally hundreds of ways thing could be going wrong, and you may have just crossed out one wrong answer from that list! (Sorry, but you really have to be patient when doing this)
7. Try Eccentric Solutions/Workarounds. Sometimes these problems are not meant to be fixed. In that case, you just have to find workarounds. Look online. If you’re playing a game, try windowed mode, varying quality settings, etc. (For example, my Age of Conan refused to play for longer than 5 minutes but when I played it in Windowed Mode it did not crash once.)

I hope this helped you get started on the right way to solving your BSOD. If you have any other tips you would like to share, comment on this post!

Tags: Windows, tips, BSOD, blue screen, windows error, error, fixes, blue screen of death, DIY, guide

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