BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death)

This is more officially known as a STOP error, and it shows up when your computer's operating system determines that it can't run your computer safely at the moment. It has various causes, some of which are more serious than others. Be sure to read the specific error message for hints on what went wrong. But be warned, the error messages aren't always the clearest, and can sometimes be a red herring.

Common Causes

• A piece of hardware on your computer is malfunctioning or is not compatible
• The software controlling a piece of hardware (driver or firmware) is out of date
• Your main storage drive (commonly C:\ drive) doesn't have enough free space available
• Your computer acquired has a virus or other malware
• Your BIOS or other hardware settings are misconfigured

Troubleshooting suggestions

Be sure to read this full page before diving in, as something mentioned here may trigger an "aha!" moment for you rather than blindly trying all of the steps only to find it's the last thing mentioned!

As you should be doing anyway, treat this BSOD as a good time to backup all your important data, if possible, as some of the troubleshooting steps or if the system degrades more could mean that you can lose your data.

• Consider if there were any recent changes/additions to your PC, be it hardware, software, update, or a newly connected peripheral, and remove that from the mix to test
• Make sure all hardware components of your computer are properly installed
• Change the settings for your BIOS and hardware back to their defaults
  • In some instances, a BIOS update can be helpful, but ensure you follow all applicable warnings/advice when doing so
• Install updates to your operating system, device drivers, and other programs
• Go to Add or remove programs and uninstall programs that you don't use anymore (be careful not to uninstall system drivers!)
• Try to use System Restore to revert your PC back to a state where it was working
• Install and run an anti-virus/anti-malware program to remove/repair infected files
• Test your computer's hardware for failures (most likely RAM or storage drives)

Troubleshooting walkthrough

1. The most important Blue Screen of Death troubleshooting step you can take is to ask yourself what you did just before the error was triggered. Did you just install a new program, update a driver, install a Windows update, connect a new device, etc? If so, there’s a very good chance that the change you made caused the BSOD. Undo the change you just made and test again for the error. Depending on what it was that was changed, some solutions might include...

• • Starting up using your last known good configuration
  • Using Windows system restore

• • Rolling back the device driver

2. Check there’s enough free hard drive space left where Windows is installed. BSODs and other serious issues, like data corruption, can occur if there's not enough free space on your primary drive/partition.

• • Microsoft state for Windows 11 a typical feature updates require 6-11GB or more of free space, while quality updates need just 2-3GB of free space, but you'll regularly see problems with free space that low. It’s usually advised users keep at least 10% of a drive's capacity free at all times, or more if you can manage it with SSD drives or they may be slowing down!

3. Scan your computer for malware and viruses. Some viruses can cause a BSOD, especially ones that infect the master boot record (MBR) or boot sector
4. Check for and install all available Windows service packs and updates. Microsoft regularly releases patches and service packs for their operating systems that may contain fixes for your BSOD error
5. Update hardware drivers in Windows. Most BSODs are hardware or driver related, so updated drivers would fix the cause of the STOP error
6. Check the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for error or warnings that might provide more clues on the cause of the BSOD
7. Return hardware settings to default in device manager. Unless you have a specific reason to do so, the system resources that an individual piece of hardware is configured to use in Device Manager should be set to default. Non-default hardware settings have been known to cause a BSOD crash.
8. Return BIOS settings to their default levels. An overclocked or misconfigured BIOS can cause all sorts of random issues, including BSODs.
9. Make sure all internal cables, cards, and other components are installed and seated properly. Hardware that's not firmly in place can cause a BSOD, so try reseating your RAM & GPU and ensuring cables are fully plugged in still.
10. Perform diagnostics test on all hardware you're able to test

• • We have a help doc on CPU testing
  • You should also test your RAM
  • And if you have a dedicated GPU: test the GPU

11. Update your BIOS. In some situations, an outdated BIOS could have caused a BSOD due to certain incompatibilities
12. Start your PC with essential hardware only, and/or in Safe Mode.

A useful troubleshooting step in many situations, including BSOD issues, is to start your computer with the minimum hardware necessary to run the operating system. If your computer starts successfully, it proves that one of the removed hardware devices was the cause of the STOP message.

Software Steps

If your troubleshooting has led you to believe that a particular software program caused the BSOD, walk through this troubleshooting to try take care of it.

1. Check for and install any available program updates. Most software programs let you check for updates via menu options.
2. Reinstall the software. If updating doesn't work or isn't an option, simply uninstall the program then install a clean version of it all again.
3. Check with the developer for support information. It's possible that this particular BSOD is an issue the software maker has seen before and potentially has a documented solution.
4. Try a competing program. If there's simply no way to make the program work (and uninstalling proved this program is the cause of BSOD) then using a different but similar program might be your only course of action.

Hardware steps

If you believe at this point that a piece of hardware is causing the BSOD, here are some options.

1. Make sure the hardware is on the Windows Hardware Compatibility List
2. Update the hardware's firmware. Just like you might update software to fix a problem it's having with Windows, updating the hardware's software, called firmware, if there's any available, is a good idea.
3. Check with the manufacturer for support information. Their knowledge base could have information on this issue.
4. Replace the hardware. At this point it is likely it is the hardware itself. If your Custom PC is covered under warranty or the piece of hardware still falls under your manufacturer's warranty, it is worth having this looked at and potentially replaced.