Blue screen of Death, commonly known as BSOD is a nightmare for PC users., normally caused by the OS not being able to fix the error and load properly. Before directly diving into solving the Blue screen of death let’s first identify the probable causes of this issue.
- Incompatible windows update
- Driver Issue
- Damaged upgrade files
- HDD or RAM issue
- Bad sector in HDD
Page Contents
Incompatible Windows update:
You might be repeatedly getting the windows CVE update in your laptop pushed by Microsoft to mitigate any vulnerabilities. However, sometimes these updates might not be compatible with your version or may not be supported, or may have been installed improperly. Resulting in Blue Screen of Death.
Solution:
Check-in Control Panel > Windows Update, the update that has failed( Particularly check the KB value), Check for any recently installed KB value. Remove from cmd as admin: wusa /uninstall /kb:5000802
You can visit: Microsoft Update Catalog to search for the specific update by its KB value.
and download and install the required update compatible with the model of your laptop.
Driver Issue:
Driver update can be another major cause of the BSOD. Always verify where you downloaded from and compatibility of the driver file.
Go to device manager; uninstall any peripheral device drivers that were recently installed one by one like printer drivers, or other add-on devices, then reboot your PC.
HDD or RAM issue:
In order to properly identify if the issue is duo to hardware failure or software error, first disable the automatic restart, Its default, so if you get error code
Right Click > My computer > Goto Properties > goto Advanced System Settings >Advanced > Setting (in Startup and recovery): Uncheck the automatic restart
This helps to identify if it is a hardware issue or not.
If it’s an HDD or RAM issue, first take off the HDD or RAM from the motherboard and clean it with a soft cloth, and place it properly. If the issue still persists, then verify with any spare HDD or RAM as the HDD issue may be permanent due to a bad sector in it as it has a limited life span.
Damaged upgrade files:
Sometimes, upgrade files may not have been properly downloaded due to interruption during the the download process.
Remove the recently installed application
How to solve BSOD error during the upgrade process of Windows 10?
Step 1 :
Disconnect non-essential peripherals: such as second monitor, printers, external HDD or any connected USB thumb drives. Disconnect all devices except mouse ,keyboard and central monitor
Step 2:
Uninstall the drivers and install newer drivers. This will resolve the issue due to driver compatibility. Also, check for any available updates for the drivers from the device manager.
Step 3:
If the issue still persists, then some incompatible applications might be causing the OS to crash. Check if any newly installed applications are interrupting the OS functioning.
I will share in you in my next blog on how to identify the incompatible applications
Step 4:
Fresh OS upgrade: If all the above mentioned solutions do not work, then I would recommend you to initiate a fresh download of the windows 10 upgrade. First clean the previously setup file from Disk Cleanup. Clear all temp files from temp and %temp locations Once done, then you can initiate the Upgrade of Windows 10 once more.
If the setup file is in a USB thumb drive, I recommend to recreate the boot-able media again in that drive.
Step 5: Fresh installation of OS
I think almost 99 % of the time fresh installation of your OS will resolve the issue by saving you the hassle of determining the root cause and fixing the specific issue when you don’t have that much time to do research on the issue.
However, you may need to create a recovery drive to backup all your data to prevent the loss of your data.
What are the error codes in Blue screen of death (BSOD) ?
Error codes in BSOD depend upon the version of your OS.Complete list of error codes are here.
Some of the most common error codes are as below:
| Error Code | Message |
| 0x00000002 | DEVICE_QUEUE_NOT_BUSY |
| 0x00000007 | INVALID_SOFTWARE_INTERRUPT |
| 0x0000001A | MEMORY_MANAGEMENT |
| 0x00000022 | FILE_SYSTEM |
| 0x0000005A | CRITICAL_SERVICE_FAILED |
| 0x0000008B | MBR_CHECKSUM_MISMATCH |
How to troubleshoot when you cannot access the OS?
Insert a bootable media, Instead of clicking the Install Now option, you need to go to repair the computer. Then goto, Troubleshoot > Advanced Option > Select Command prompt. The type the below for checking for any sector issues in your HDD.
chkdsk /f /r
Read Also: How to Fix Chrome Memory Leaks and Reduce Memory Usage?