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A Blue Screen Error or STOP error, also known as the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), can be a frustrating experience. The error message almost never clearly states what is wrong, and they seem to strike at random. To fix the Blue Screen of Death on Windows, you'll need to diagnose the problem by testing common culprits like the RAM, hard drive, and temperature. Depending on the problem, you may need to run a virus scan, perform a repair installation, clear up hard disk space, or repair faulty hardware, among other fixes.
1. Boot into Safe Mode. If Windows won’t start because of Blue Screen errors, try booting into Safe Mode try fixing the problem. As the computer is booting, repeatedly hit the F8 key until the Windows boot menu appears. Select Safe Mode with Networking to boot into a stripped down version of Windows. This will allow you to access your Device Manager, the internet, and other system tools.
2. Run a virus scan. Sometimes viruses and malware are at the root of a Blue Screen problem. Make sure that you have the latest antivirus software installed, and perform a full system scan to find anything that could be causing problems.
3. Perform a Repair Installation of Windows. This is a quick alternative to completely reinstalling Windows, as it only copies system files to your computer. This is useful if an essential file has become corrupt and is causing your computer to fail.
4. Roll back your drivers. If the cause of the problem is hardware, the first thing you should try is rolling back drivers. This process will install an older version of the driver software, potentially getting rid of the conflict.
5. Roll back Windows updates. If rolling back the driver did not fix the problem, consider restoring to an older, working installation of Windows. This will let you determine if the Windows updates are responsible for your Blue Screen.[4]
6. Clear up hard disk space. If Windows does not have enough space on the disk it is installed on, it can cause system failures. Remove unnecessary files and programs if you have less than 15% of your hard disk free.
7. Apply new updates and drivers. If rolling back drivers and updates didn’t work, installing the newest versions and updates (if they weren’t installed already) may fix your problem. Check your Windows Update program to see if there are any new system and hardware updates available.
8. Reinstall Windows. If you cannot track down the error, you can try a full reinstallation of Windows as a way to reset your computer. Make sure that you have all of your important files backed up before doing so, as your hard drive will be formatted for the install process.
9. Replace faulty hardware. If driver and update rollbacks do not solve your problem, you may need to remove and replace your hardware. Replacing anything other than the RAM or hard drive on a laptop can be difficult and expensive.
1. Boot into Safe Mode. If Windows won’t start because of Blue Screen errors, try booting into Safe Mode try fixing the problem. As the computer is booting, repeatedly hit the F8 key until the Windows boot menu appears. Select Safe Mode with Networking to boot into a stripped down version of Windows. This will allow you to access your Device Manager, the internet, and other system tools.
2. Run a virus scan. Sometimes viruses and malware are at the root of a Blue Screen problem. Make sure that you have the latest antivirus software installed, and perform a full system scan to find anything that could be causing problems.
3. Perform a Repair Installation of Windows. This is a quick alternative to completely reinstalling Windows, as it only copies system files to your computer. This is useful if an essential file has become corrupt and is causing your computer to fail.
- To perform a repair installation, insert your Windows disc and boot from it. In the setup menu, select Repair Installation. Windows will delete old Windows files and copy new ones. You will not lose any personal data.
4. Roll back your drivers. If the cause of the problem is hardware, the first thing you should try is rolling back drivers. This process will install an older version of the driver software, potentially getting rid of the conflict.
- Open the Device Manager. You can access this by opening the Start Menu and right-clicking on Computer/My Computer. Select Properties, then Device Manager. In Windows 8, press Windows+X and select Device Manager from the list.
- Select the hardware that you want to roll back. You may have to expand categories to find it. Right-click on the icon and select Properties.
- Click the Driver tab. Select Roll Back Driver and confirm that you want to roll it back.
- Continue using your computer as normal. Once your driver has been rolled back, continue to use your computer to verify that the error does not occur again. Do 'not' update the driver again until a newer version is released.
5. Roll back Windows updates. If rolling back the driver did not fix the problem, consider restoring to an older, working installation of Windows. This will let you determine if the Windows updates are responsible for your Blue Screen.[4]
- Open System Restore. You can find System Restore by searching for it in the search bar in the Start menu. Open the program, and select a date from the calendar before you started experiencing errors.
- This will reset all of the updates and settings to that date, effectively removing any updates added afterwards. Use this to determine if a specific Windows update is what caused your malfunction.
6. Clear up hard disk space. If Windows does not have enough space on the disk it is installed on, it can cause system failures. Remove unnecessary files and programs if you have less than 15% of your hard disk free.
7. Apply new updates and drivers. If rolling back drivers and updates didn’t work, installing the newest versions and updates (if they weren’t installed already) may fix your problem. Check your Windows Update program to see if there are any new system and hardware updates available.
- Click Start and search for “Windows Update”. In Windows 8, tap the Windows key and then start typing “Windows Update”.
8. Reinstall Windows. If you cannot track down the error, you can try a full reinstallation of Windows as a way to reset your computer. Make sure that you have all of your important files backed up before doing so, as your hard drive will be formatted for the install process.
- If the Blue Screen is being caused by a failing piece of hardware, reinstalling Windows will not fix the problem. You will need to find and replace the piece of hardware that is causing problems.
9. Replace faulty hardware. If driver and update rollbacks do not solve your problem, you may need to remove and replace your hardware. Replacing anything other than the RAM or hard drive on a laptop can be difficult and expensive.
- If the RAM test shows that you have faulty memory, you will want to replace the failing stick as soon as possible.
- If the hard disk scanner is returning disk errors, you should back up your data and install a new drive. This will require reinstalling Windows if the drive has your Windows installation on it.
- If your graphics card is failing, replacing it could get expensive. This is almost impossible to fix in most laptops. For a desktop, open your case and swap out the old card for a new one.
