Fix;Blue Screen of Death on your Windows 10 computer

We have all faced one or another problem when working at a computer. Hanging programs, graphics or sound problems – sooner or later everyone will become familiar with them. But the most frightening experience for newbies is always the emergence of a “blue screen of death.”

Content

• 1Information about the “blue screen of death”
  • 1Reasons for the appearance of the “blue screen of death”
    • 1.1Table: interpretation of specific errors
    • 1.2Video: the causes of the “blue screen of death” and their elimination
  • 2Solving problems that cause the “blue screen of death”
    • 1Removing viruses from your computer
    • 2Rollback and restore the Windows 10 operating system
      • 2.1Rollback to a restore point
      • 2.2Video: How to Create a Windows 10 System Restore Point
      • 2.3Restoring and reinstalling Windows 10
      • 2.4Video: How to Recover Windows 10 from a System Disk Image Backup
    • 3Updating and installing drivers
      • 3.1Video: How to Update Drivers in Windows 10
    • 4Reset Windows 10 to factory settings
      • 4.1Video: How to Reset Windows 10 to Factory Settings
    • 5Detecting computer hardware problems
      • 5.1Video: AIDA64 Program Overview
    • 3Reasons for the appearance of a blue screen when starting games

Information about the “blue screen of death”

When an error appears on the computer, a message about it is displayed on the screen, after which the device usually continues to work. But at some point, any PC may encounter a contradiction, for example, when two teams simultaneously instruct it to take mutually exclusive actions. In this and other cases, the computer could fail due to a contradiction in its own logic, which would lead to serious damage to the system. To prevent this from happening, all processes are forcibly terminated, and the very “blue screen of death” appears. It displays codes with which the user can find out what error he encountered and fix it.

Blue screen looks less intimidating in newer version of Windows

The blue screen changed with every version of the operating system. And in modern Windows 10, it is no longer so scary: users see a sad emoticon, an error message and a QR code that, when scanned from a phone, opens the official Microsoft website with more detailed information about the current problem. It turns out that the “blue screen of death” itself is not at all dangerous, it only signals a serious problem with the computer that needs to be solved and protects it from damage to system data.

The Blue Screen of Death was originally called the Blue Screen of Death and is often abbreviated to BSoD. BSoD itself is not dangerous: it only signals a serious problem with the computer that needs to be solved, and protects it from corrupting system data.

Reasons for the appearance of the “blue screen of death”

There are many reasons for a blue screen. As already mentioned, any disagreement in the logic of the computer can become a reason, but these disagreements themselves arise in different situations. Let’s take a look at the main problems that can cause a Blue Screen of Death on your monitor:

• infecting important files with viruses – viruses on your computer are always not good. If they damaged files important for the operation of the computer, then when the device accesses them, you risk seeing the already familiar blue screen;Regularly clean the system from viruses, as their infection of system files can lead to a blue screen
• device driver conflict – if the wrong driver is installed, any of the drivers simply does not work correctly, you can also get BSoD. After all, if the driver incorrectly detects the device, then it will interact with it in the wrong way;
• damaged operating system files – operating system files can be damaged for a variety of reasons. This includes the already mentioned viruses, and problems with the hard drive, and even careless actions of users. Of course, their damage also causes critical errors in the operation of the device;
• incorrectly installed update – updates to the operating system are designed to fix its errors. But given the variety of home computer configurations, it’s easy for testers to overlook some issues. Therefore, after installing the update, you may encounter a blue screen due to an error in the update itself, or the appearance of BSoD will result from the fact that the files were not completely installed during the update;
• incorrectly configured BIOS – in the BIOS, the user can change many system settings, so beginners should not enter there. In the BIOS, you can change the boot order of drives, the speed of coolers, and many other hardware settings. If you install something incorrectly, the computer may display a blue screen immediately after the operating system boots;A blue screen can also appear as a result of an incorrect BIOS setting
• overheating of individual computer components – each device in your computer has its own temperature threshold. Once this threshold is reached, there is a risk of damage to the hardware. To avoid this, the computer also terminates active processes and shows a “blue screen of death” or simply shuts down;
• hardware problems – mechanical failure of any part of the computer or other problems with hardware devices of the computer can lead to complete inoperability of the computer. And he, in turn, will repeatedly send you to the already familiar blue screen before rebooting.

Table: decoding of specific errors

Video: causes of the “blue screen of death” and their elimination

Solving problems that cause the “blue screen of death”

Now that you have figured out the reasons for the appearance of the blue screen, it is worth trying to figure out how to solve these problems.

Removing viruses from your computer

Viruses are the most common problem. It’s easier to keep them out of your computer than to get rid of them. But for this it is enough:

4. do not visit dubious sites – it is not difficult to catch viruses on sites with pirated software or by clicking on advertising links, but you simply will not find them on the official sites of software manufacturers or on popular hosting;
5. do not install unverified programs and browser extensions – almost the same situation. Use what you trust and you won’t have any problems;
6. pre-install antivirus protection – Windows 10 has a built-in antivirus. Do not unplug it or install an analog immediately. It is recommended to use anti-virus programs of well-known companies, such as Doctor Web or Kaspersky Anti-Virus.

But if you’ve already caught viruses? Then the system needs urgent cleaning. It can be done as follows:

5. Run Microsoft Malware Scanner. It will allow you to kill the most famous viruses and will enable you to go online. It is located in the path C: \ Windows \ System32 \ MRT.exe and is installed by default on every computer.Open the MRT executable file in the System32 folder
6. Click “Next” to start the test. Wait for it to end. During the scan, many malicious programs will be detected and eliminated.
7. Download and run the Dr. Web CureIt. For a free download, you must agree to the collection and sending of statistics from your computer.Download the Dr. Web CureIt from the official website of the manufacturer
8. Press the “Start Test” button after launch. This small program will remove particularly tenacious viruses and banner ads from your computer.Click the “Start scan” button after Dr. Web CureIt
9. Install a reliable antivirus on your computer after cleaning is complete. You can make the choice yourself, but the antivirus must be able to provide permanent protection to your system (real-time protection).

Roll back and restore the Windows 10 operating system

If the system files have already been damaged, and the blue screen appears constantly, the only correct solution would be to restore them. This can be done in several ways.

Rollback to a restore point

To recover damaged files in this way, you had to create system restore points in advance as follows:

6. Open “System Properties” and go to the “System Protection” tab. You can get there by selecting the “Recovery” section on the “Control Panel” or in another way convenient for you.
7. Go to the settings of the current tab by clicking the “Customize” button.Open the “System Protection” tab and click on the “Configure” button
8. Make sure that system protection is activated and that there is enough space to save restore points. It is advisable to leave at least five gigabytes.Make sure system protection is enabled or enable it yourself
9. Return to the “System Protection” tab and click on the “Create” button. A menu will open where you need to enter a name. It is necessary so that you can remember at what moment you created this point.Come up with a name for the restore point and click on the “Create” button
10. In the future, in the same “Recovery” item, you can start a rollback of the system to the previous values. After starting, you need to choose which point to roll back to.Select the recommended point or specify the required one yourself
11. Wait until the end of the procedure. The process of returning the system to its old state will be performed automatically, but it can take quite a long time.

If you have not taken care of creating a restore point in advance, then this method will not work for you.

It will be effective to create a system restore point before each installation of drivers or programs.

Video: How to Create a Windows 10 System Restore Point

Repairing and reinstalling Windows 10

You can reinstall the system using a similar version of Windows. You can download it from the official Microsoft website. The main thing is to choose the same bit depth and system language. After downloading the Windows Setup Assistant, do the following:

7. Run Windows Setup Assistant and select Windows Update Now.Select Computer Update to Access System Restore
8. Select the data in the first window that corresponds to your system and click “Next”.Specify the bitness of the system that matches yours and click “Next”
9. Click on “System Restore” in the corner of the screen.In the very first installation window, click on the “System Restore” button
10. Go to the Diagnostics menu. Since we are not installing the system from scratch, but reinstalling it, the easiest way to do this is through the current menu.Go to the System Diagnostics menu on the action selection screen
11. Select the option to reset the device.Click on the “Reset the computer to its original state” button in the “Diagnostics” window
12. Indicate whether you want to save the data (programs and games, one way or another, must be reinstalled after reinstalling Windows).Indicate if you want to save the data that is on your computer
13. Click on the operating system you want to restore.If your computer has several systems, select the one that needs to be restored
14. Specify the drive to install the system.Specify the drive or drives that will be affected by system restore
15. If you want to delete files, the wizard will ask how to do it. “Just delete my files” means quick format and it should be enough.Specify how to delete files if you have previously chosen to delete them
16. Confirm the reinstallation by clicking the Reset button.Click on the “Reset” button
17. The reinstallation of Windows will begin. The computer can be restarted more than once in the process.The operating system files will be replaced with the original ones: wait for the process to end
18. Wait for the reinstallation to complete.You can track the installation process as a percentage
19. Specify the current device user by entering the primary settings screen.Enter your account and click “Next”
20. Enter your product key or skip this step.Enter your Windows license key or skip this step
21. Review and accept the Windows 10 License Agreement.Review the license agreement and click “Accept” to proceed with the installation
22. After finishing all the settings, you will see the Windows desktop. The reinstallation is complete.After successful completion of recovery, you will see Windows 10 desktop

If your computer does not even turn on, using the same installation assistant, you can create installation media from another device. Connect the media to your computer and do the following:

8. Specify the recording of the operating system to the media in the first window of the wizard.At the very beginning of the installation process, select “Create installation media for another computer”
9. Select write to flash drive.Specify USB device as installation media and click “Next”
10. Wait for the end of the recording. It will take some time.

After creating the installation media, insert it into your computer and do the following:

9. On reboot, open the Boot Menu and set the USB-connected device as the priority one at the current computer start-up. You can get to this menu using the keyboard by pressing the key that will be written on the screen. This is usually the Esc, F8, or F12 key.After opening the Boot Menu, select the device on which the operating system is recorded
10. After selection, as in the previous instructions, the language selection menu will open. Your further actions completely coincide with those already indicated.

And also you can perform a system restore without installing it. To do this, do the following:

10. Open the “Diagnostics” window of the system in the same way through the Windows 10 installer.Select the “Diagnostics” section among other actions
11. Go to Advanced Options.Go to the “Advanced Options” section of the “Diagnostics”
12. Select Startup Repair. Further actions will be automatic, the system will check the files and replace the damaged ones.Select Startup Repair to automatically troubleshoot operating system startup problems

Video: how to restore Windows 10 from a system disk image backup

Updating and installing drivers

The installation of the latest driver versions should be done automatically in Windows 10. But this may not happen due to problems or incorrect settings. A device without a driver, in turn, will not work correctly, so to install its latest version, do the following:

11. Open Device Manager. To do this, right-click on the Start Menu icon and select Device Manager.Click in the lower left corner of the screen with the right mouse button to bring up the shortcut menu and select “Device Manager”
12. If there is an exclamation mark next to the device, and its name is incorrect, the device driver is not installed correctly or is not installed at all.But fixing this is not difficult at all if you have an internet connection.Devices that have driver detection problems will be marked with an exclamation mark
13. Right-click the device and click “Update Drivers …”.Right click on the driver and select “Update Drivers”
14. Select automatic search.Specify automatic search for drivers on the Internet
15. Wait until the search for the required driver finishes.Wait for the required drivers to be found automatically
16. Wait for the driver to finish loading.Wait for the driver to finish downloading from the network
17. Wait for the driver installation to complete.After downloading, the driver will automatically install.
18. After the installation is complete, the device name should be displayed correctly. Click on the “Close” button.When the driver is installed, you will receive a device update message
19. The computer will display a restart notification. It must be completed in order for the new driver to start working.Accept the prompt to restart your computer for the changes to take effect

Similarly, you can update the drivers for all hardware on your computer.

Video: How to Update Drivers in Windows 10

Reset Windows 10 to factory settings

Resetting the operating system to factory settings will help to restore it to its original state. This will fix errors and restore system files. Follow these steps to perform a reset:

12. Go to operating system options. To do this, press the keyboard shortcut Win + I.Open Windows 10 Settings with the keyboard shortcut Win + I
13. Open the “Update and Security” section, go to the “Recovery” tab and click on the “Start” button to proceed to the procedure for returning the system to its original form.In the “Recovery” section, press the “Start” key to proceed to the system reset
14. Choose how to handle the files. Be careful, choosing the option to delete files, you will lose all documents and personal data.Indicate if you want to keep files on system reset
15. Study the information about the selected settings and click on the “Reset” button if everything suits you.Study the information and, if everything suits you, click on the “Reset” button
16. Wait for the system reset to complete. This may take a different time depending on the options selected.

Video: how to reset Windows 10 to factory settings

Finding problems with your computer hardware

If you suspect that the “blue screen of death” appears due to problems with the hardware of your computer, then you should run system diagnostics. Let’s look at the diagnostic process using the AIDA 64 program. This convenient and comprehensive utility will help you identify a weak spot in the system. If the “blue screen of death” appeared right during the test with this program, then the matter is probably in the hardware part, and you should check which device was tested before the blue screen appeared. The test itself is very simple to conduct:

13. Download and run AIDA 64 from the official website. There is a free version with a number of restrictions.
14. Once launched, select the “Service” tab and click “System Stability Test”.
15. Press the START key. Use the checkboxes at the top left to indicate which equipment you want to check.
16. The stability test will begin. All equipment that you have selected for testing will be subject to stress. You can watch the operation of each of the devices on the graph.Based on the stability test results, you can identify the problem device

With the help of such a check, it is easy to identify problems in the operation of your hard disk or RAM in your system, and it is they that are most often the cause of the “blue screen of death”.

Video: AIDA64 program overview

Reasons for the appearance of a blue screen when starting games

Several factors can also cause a blue screen when starting a game:

14. the game does not work correctly – if the game is amateur or has a serious crash, its work may cause conflicts in the system. This happens very rarely in large projects, because the developers thoroughly test them. Nevertheless, if this happens, it is better to abandon the startup attempts and wait for the patch;
15. hardware problem – the game is putting stress on the hardware of the computer, and if your hard drive or other device has problems, you may see a blue screen of death. This is the most common reason for it to appear when launching games. Perform hardware diagnostics as described above;
16. the problem is in the drivers – the incorrectly working video card driver also starts to work fully only when the games are started. And this leads to various errors. Update your drivers to the freshest ones, and remember to do this every time they are released.

Now you know that the worst thing about the “blue screen of death” is its name. By itself, this error only signals problems in the system, which means that if you encounter a blue screen, you should look for problems in your device and fix them. And to do this now will not be difficult for you.