What Is the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)?

September 20, 2024 By Janne Smith No Comments 7 minutes

Blue screen of death (BSOD) is a critical error displayed by the Microsoft error. It’s also known as a fatal error, bugcheck, stop error, or blue screen. This only shows when there’s a serious problem with the Operating System. This often results from a possible software bug or a hardware issue.

At times, restarting the system resolves the issues, but that’s not always the case. Speaking of that, this guide briefly covers the meaning of BSOD, its causes, and the troubleshooting steps for the blue screen of death.

Note: Malware is a potential cause of BSOD attacks. Malware often comes from unreliable installations or from clicking on ads online. However, you can prevent these installations by connecting to FastestVPN.

A VPN connection spoofs your IP address and conceals your ID from the black hats. This way, you get to mitigate the cyber threats and also, a BSOD attack.

BSOD Meaning

BSOD is a Windows Operating System error that leads to a blue screen and white text displaying an error. It often results due to a software bug or hardware issues. A recent example was the CrowdStrike outage in July, which caused losses in billions of dollars worldwide.

The blue screen of death makes your system inoperable until the issue is resolved from the operator’s side. Moreover, BSOD doesn’t come with a warning. Meaning, all your unsaved work will be lost, i.e, even if you spent hours filling the sheets, it’s gone in seconds.

Reeling back to the origin, BSODs rolled in after Windows NT 3.1’s release in 1993, when this error stepped in as a protective measure to prevent any serious hardware failure.

Exploring the Causes: Why Does BSOD Happen?

While the primary purpose was for prevention, there are other hardware and software failure that result in BSOD error. Here are the common causes:

What Are the Common BSOD Stop Codes?

Every BSOD causes an error to be displayed on your screen. These are stop codes and there are a total of 270 of them. However, you don’t always have to go through them all, because only 5 common ones usually appear.

Here are the common BSOD stop codes that can help you understand what the error is about:

1. PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA: The swap file is damaged during file system operations, or software or service failures cause it to fail.
2. NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM: An error occurred during reading or writing. This can be due to problems with data integrity either on the disk or in memory.
3. DATA_BUS_ERROR: There are issues with RAM, resulting in defective or incompatible memory modules.
4. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL: There can be problematic system services, faulty drivers, or incompatible software.
5. KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED: This error results from issues related to the kernel process or hardware malfunctions and incompatibility.

Troubleshooting BSOD: How Do You Fix BSOD?

Here are the 10 common troubleshooting steps for a BSOD error:

1. Document the Displayed Error Code

Here’s the first step, always note down the error code/stop code to follow steps for resolving the specific issue.

2. Restart the System

A simple system restart helps resolve the issue. Here’s how you can restart your Windows:

• Navigate to the Windows logo at the bottom left of the screen.
• Find and click on the Power button.
• Select Restart.

3. Run a Virus Scan

You can run a quick malware scan to check if it’s the virus causing error. We recommend using a paid antivirus since that’s more credible for reliable results. You can erase the infected file via the antivirus if there’s malware.

4. Check the System Files

It can usually be corrupted system files that result in a BSOD attack. Here’s how to run a system file check:

• Press the Windows key and enter “cmd” in the search box.
• Right-click on “Command Prompt” and choose “Run as administrator“.
• In the Command Prompt window, type “sfc /scannow” and hit Enter.

5. Go to Safe Mode

Booting back to safe mode ensures that you’re not exposed to risks caused by recent updates. Here are 3 methods for going to safe mode on your PC:

• Method 1: Continuously press the F8 key until the Windows logo appears. You’ll see the Advanced Boot Options menu. Use the arrow keys to choose Safe Mode.
• Method 2: Use the msconfig utility to booth to the Safe mode.
• Method 3: Press the Windows logo key + X. Hold the Shift key and choose Restart. Once the PC restarts, choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart. Press F4,

6. Test System Hardware

Test your system’s RAM and check your system temperatures when you’re using them to ensure they are not overused and are not causing the error.

7. Restore the System

If the error continues after installing new software or hardware, updating a driver, or applying a Windows update, you might want to perform a system rollback using System Restore. This Windows feature captures a snapshot of your computer’s state, including the OS and applications, and saves it to address issues like these.

8. Blue Screen Troubleshooter

Windows 10 and 11 offer a Get Help feature which offers a troubleshooting feature. First boot to the Safe Mode, then type Troubleshoot BSOD error in the Search action to get troubleshooting help for this error.

9. Check Recent System Updates

Recall all changes made before the Blue Screen of Death appeared. Consider whether a new program was installed, a driver was updated, or an app was installed or upgraded, as these actions might have triggered the BSOD.

10. Reset Windows

A clean installation is the last resort. Ensure backing up all your important data, since a system reset will erase it all.

How to Mitigate a BSOD Attack: The 7 Prevention Steps

Here are 7 ways to prevent a potential BSOD attack.

1. Check System Performance

Go to your Windows’ Resource Monitor to scan for issues. Here’s how to check system performance:

• Go to the Start Menu.
• Type “Resource Monitor”.
• Click on the first option.
• A quick test scan will start.

2. Don’t Overclock

Ensure that you stick to the manufacturer instructions and don’t overclock your system more than that.

3. Ensure Hardware Ventilation and Cooling

This can be a basic Windows for administrative use or a gaming PC, it’s important to ensure proper hardware ventilation and cooling. Since monitors heat up, you must setup your system somewhere with ventilation.

4. Update Windows and Drivers

Check for Windows updates, and if there are any, update them. Here’s how to check for updates:

• Go to Settings.
• Type “Updates”.
• Click on Updates if there are any.

 5. Install Credible Resources

Only download software and other resources from credible resources.

6. Use an Antivirus

Ensure using a reliable Antivirus and run scans for potential malware or virus. This enables you to prevent potential BSOD attack.

7. Run a Windows Memory Diagnostic Check

Running this check enables you to check for RAM issues. Here’s how to run a Windows Memory Diagnostic Check:

• Go to the Start Menu.
• Type Windows Memory Diagnostic.
• Click on the first result.
• A quick scan will start.

Final Note

BSOD attacks can be serious and there are various causes that lead to it. However, it’s best to implement the mitigation steps to ensure that you’re safe from it. Moreover, we recommend connecting to FastestVPN when browsing the web. Since, doing so ensures that you don’t unintendedly install malware which can cause a BSOD attack.

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