Resolving stop (blue screen) errors in Windows 7
Stop errors (also sometimes called blue screen or black screen
errors) can occur if a serious problem causes Windows 7 to shut down or
restart unexpectedly. You might see a message that says, "Windows has been
shut down to prevent damage to your computer."
These errors can be caused by both hardware and software issues,
and it can be difficult to troubleshoot the problem. The following tools and
methods can often help get Windows up and running again.
If you can start Windows
These tools and methods can help you roll back your system to an
earlier state, and help ensure your computer has the latest updates installed.
Windows creates a report when certain hardware or software
problems occur. Action Center can check whether there's a solution to a
reported problem. For more information, see How
does Action Center check for problems?
To check for solutions
1. Open Action Center by clicking the Start button 
, clicking Control Panel, and then, under System and Security, clicking Review your computer's
status.
2. Click
Maintenance.
3. Under
Check for solutions to problem reports, click Check for solutions. Windows will notify you if there are any
solutions to problems available for your computer.
Note
·
Some problems and solutions can only be viewed
and fixed by an administrator. Log on using an administrator account to view
these problems.
Recent updates from Microsoft might help fix the problem. Windows
Update helps keep your computer up to date with the latest system updates and
drivers. You can check Windows Update manually to help ensure you have the
latest updates to Windows 7 installed. For more information, see Updates:
frequently asked questions.
To check for updates
1. Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button . In the search box, type Update, and then, in the list of results, click Windows Update.
2. In
the left pane, click Check for updates, and then wait
while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer.
3. If
you see a message telling you that updates are available, or telling you to
review updates, click the message to view and select the updates.
4. In
the list, click an update for more information. Select the check boxes for any
updates that you want to install, and then click OK.
5. Click
Install updates.
Read and accept the license terms, and
then click Finish if the update requires it. 
If you're prompted for an administrator password or
confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
If you recently installed a hardware device, such as a sound card
or video card, an incorrect or improperly installed device driver might be
causing the problem.
Make sure you have the latest driver for the device installed.
You can typically find drivers on the device manufacturer's website. Most
drivers are self-installing—after you download them, you can usually just
double-click the file to begin the installation. For more information, see Update
drivers: recommended links.
If a driver isn't self-installing, follow these steps:
To update a driver
You must be logged on as an administrator
to perform these steps.
1. Open Device Manager by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, and then, under System, clicking Device Manager. If you're prompted for an administrator password or
confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. In
the list of hardware categories, find the device that you want to update, and then
double-click the device name.
3. Click
the Driver tab, click Update Driver,
and then follow the instructions. If you're prompted for an administrator password or
confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Safe mode starts Windows in a limited state. Only the basic files
and drivers necessary to run Windows are started, which can help you
troubleshoot software problems.
For example, if a program runs as soon as you start Windows and
can't be shut down, you can start Windows in safe mode, and then try to
uninstall the program. For more information, see What is
safe mode?
To start your computer in safe mode
1. Remove
all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart your
computer.
Click the Start button ,
click the arrow next to the Shut Down button 
,
and then click Restart.
2. Do
one of the following:
o
If your computer has a single operating system
installed, press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts. You need to
press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you'll
need to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then
shutting down and restarting your computer.
o
If your computer has more than one operating
system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to start
in safe mode, and then press F8.
3. On
the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to
highlight the safe mode option you want, and then press Enter. For more
information about options, see Advanced
startup options (including safe mode).
4. Log
on to your computer with a user account that has administrator rights.
When your computer is in safe mode, you'll see the words Safe Mode in the corners of your screen. To exit safe mode,
restart your computer and let Windows start normally.
Some errors can be caused by problems with your computer's hard
disk or random access memory (RAM), rather than problems with Windows or other
software running on your computer.
Windows 7 includes tools that can help identify and fix
certain hardware-related errors. Serious errors might require you to contact
the hardware manufacturer for support. For more information, see Check
a drive for errors and Diagnosing
memory problems on your computer.
To check for hard disk errors
1. Open Computer by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Computer.
2. Right-click
the drive that you want to check, and then click Properties.
3. Click
the Tools tab, and then, under Error-checking,
click Check now. If you're prompted for an administrator password or
confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
o
To automatically repair problems with files and
folders that the scan detects, select Automatically fix file
system errors. Otherwise, the disk check will report problems but not
fix them.
o
To perform a thorough check, select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. This scan
attempts to find and repair physical errors on the drive itself, and it can
take much longer to complete.
o
To check for both file errors and physical
errors, select both Automatically fix file system errors
and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
4. Click
Start.
To check for memory problems
1. Open Memory Diagnostics Tool by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type Memory, and then click Diagnose your
computer's memory problems. If you're prompted for an administrator password or
confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Choose
when to run the tool. If you choose to restart your computer and run the tool
immediately, make sure that you save your work and close all of your running
programs. The Memory Diagnostics Tool will run automatically when you restart
Windows.
If you can't start Windows at all
The following tools can help you uninstall or roll back software
changes, repair Windows startup files, and restore your system from an earlier
backup. If none of those suggestions fix the problem, you can reinstall
Windows 7.
Several of the following tools are located on the System Recovery
Options menu. This menu is preinstalled on your computer's hard disk, and is
also on the Windows 7 installation media.
When attempting to recover Windows:
·
If you use a Tablet PC or other computer with a
touchscreen, you might need to connect a keyboard and mouse in order to use
Startup Repair and the other tools in the System Recovery Options menu. For
more information, see What
are the system recovery options in Windows 7?
·
If Windows 7 came preinstalled on your
computer, your computer manufacturer might have included other recovery
options. For more information, refer to the documentation that came with your
computer, or go to the manufacturer's website.
Safe mode starts Windows in a limited state. Only the basic files
and drivers necessary to run Windows are started, which can help you
troubleshoot software problems.
For example, if a corrupted video card driver is preventing
Windows from displaying, or if a program runs as soon as you start Windows and
can't be shut down, you can start Windows in safe mode before the driver or program
starts and then try to fix the problem. For more information, see What is
safe mode?
To start your computer in safe mode
1. Remove
all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart your
computer.
Click the Start button ,
click the arrow next to the Shut Down button ,
and then click Restart.
2. Do
one of the following:
o
If your computer has a single operating system
installed, press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts. You need to
press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you'll
need to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then
shutting down and restarting your computer.
o
If your computer has more than one operating
system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to start
in safe mode, and then press F8.
3. On
the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to
highlight the safe mode option you want, and then press Enter. For more
information about options, see Advanced
startup options (including safe mode).
4. Log
on to your computer with a user account that has administrator rights.
When your computer is in safe mode, you'll see the words Safe Mode in the corners of your screen. To exit safe mode,
restart your computer and let Windows start normally.
Startup Repair can detect and fix certain types of system
problems that might prevent Windows from starting, such as missing or damaged
system files. For more information, see Startup
Repair: frequently asked questions.
Startup Repair is designed to start automatically if certain
system problems are detected, but you can also run the tool manually.
To run Startup Repair using preinstalled recovery options
1. Remove
all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart your
computer using the computer's power button.
2. Do
one of the following:
o
If your computer has a single operating system
installed, press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts. You need to
press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you need
to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then
shutting down and restarting your computer.
o
If your computer has more than one operating
system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to
repair, and then press and hold F8.
3. On
the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to
highlight Repair your computer, and then press Enter. (If
Repair your computer isn't listed as an option, then your
computer doesn't include preinstalled recovery options, or your network
administrator has turned them off.)
4. Select
a keyboard layout, and then click Next.
5. On
the System Recovery Options menu, click Startup
Repair, and then follow the instructions.
To run Startup Repair using the Windows 7 installation disc or a USB
flash drive, or a system repair disc
If your computer's system is severely damaged and you can't
access the System Recovery Options menu on your computer, you can access it
using the Windows 7 installation disc or a USB flash drive, or using a
system repair disc if you created one earlier.
To use this method, you need to restart (boot) your computer
using the disc or USB flash drive.
1. Insert
the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive, or a system repair
disc, and then shut down your computer.
2. Restart
your computer using the computer's power button.
3. If
prompted, press any key and then follow the instructions that appear.
4. On
the Install Windows page, or on the System
Recovery Options page, choose your language and other preferences, and
then click Next.
o
If neither the Install Windows
page nor the System Recovery Options page appear, and
you're not asked to press any key, you might need to change some system
settings. To learn how to do this, see Start
your computer from a Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive.
5. If
you're using the Windows installation disc, click Repair your
computer.
6. Select
the Windows installation you want to repair, and then click Next.
7. On
the System Recovery Options menu, click Startup
Repair, and then follow the instructions.
You can use System Restore from the System Recovery Options menu.
It's just like running System Restore normally, with one exception: System
Restore can't create new restore points in this mode, so you can't undo a
restore operation. However, you can run System Restore again and choose a
different restore point, if one exists.
To run System Restore using preinstalled recovery options
1. Remove
all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart your
computer using the computer's power button.
2. Do
one of the following:
o
If your computer has a single operating system
installed, press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts. You need to
press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you need
to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then
shutting down and restarting your computer.
o
If your computer has more than one operating
system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to
repair, and then press and hold F8.
3. On
the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to
highlight Repair your computer, and then press Enter. (If
Repair your computer isn't listed as an option, then your
computer doesn't include preinstalled recovery options, or your network
administrator has turned them off.)
4. Select
a keyboard layout, and then click Next.
5. On
the System Recovery Options menu, click System
Restore, and then follow the instructions.
To run System Restore using the Windows 7 installation disc or a USB
flash drive, or a system repair disc
If your computer's system is severely damaged and you cannot
access the System Recovery Options menu on your computer, you can access it
using the Windows 7 installation disc or a USB flash drive, or using a
system repair disc if you created one earlier.
To use this method, you need to restart (boot) your computer
using the disc.
1. Insert
the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive, or a system repair
disc, and then shut down your computer.
2. Restart
your computer using the computer's power button.
3. If
prompted, press any key and then follow the instructions that appear.
4. On
the Install Windows page, or on the System
Recovery Options page, choose your language and other preferences, and
then click Next.
o
If neither the Install Windows
page nor the System Recovery Options page appear, and
you're not asked to press any key, you might need to change some system
settings. To learn how to do this, see Start
your computer from a Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive.
5. If
you're using the Windows installation disc, click Repair your
computer.
6. Select
the Windows installation you want to repair, and then click Next.
7. On
the System Recovery Options menu, click System
Restore, and then follow the instructions.
If you've used Windows Complete PC to create a system image
backup as part of your backup plan, you can use the system image to restore
your computer.
A system image is a copy of the partition on your hard disk that
contains Windows. It also contains everything on that partition on the date you
created the image, including Windows, your programs, and user data—such as
documents, pictures, and music. You need to have created a system image
beforehand to use this option.
When you restore your computer from a system image, the contents
of your hard disk are replaced with the contents of the system image. This
means that any changes you've made, programs you've installed, or files you've
saved after the system image was created will likely be lost unless you have a
recent backup of your data.
To restore from a system image using preinstalled recovery options
1. Remove
all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart your
computer using the computer's power button.
2. Do
one of the following:
o
If your computer has a single operating system
installed, press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts. You need to
press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you need
to try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then
shutting down and restarting your computer.
o
If your computer has more than one operating
system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to
repair, and then press and hold F8.
3. On
the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to
highlight Repair your computer, and then press Enter. (If
Repair your computer isn't listed as an option, then your
computer doesn't include preinstalled recovery options, or your network
administrator has turned them off.)
4. Select
a keyboard layout, and then click Next.
5. On
the System Recovery Options menu, click System
Image Recovery, and then follow the instructions.
To restore from a system image using the Windows 7 installation disc
or a USB flash drive, or a system repair disc
If your computer's system is severely damaged and you can't
access the System Recovery Options menu on your computer, you can access it
using the Windows 7 installation disc or a USB flash drive, or using a
system repair disc if you created earlier.
To use this method, you need to restart (boot) your computer
using the disc.
1. Insert
the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive, or a system repair
disc, and then shut down your computer.
2. Restart
your computer using the computer's power button.
3. If
prompted, press any key and then follow the instructions that appear.
4. On
the Install Windows page, or on the System
Recovery Options page, choose your language and other preferences, and
then click Next.
o
If neither the Install Windows
page nor the System Recovery Options page appear, and
you're not asked to press any key, you might need to change some system
settings. To learn how to do this, see Start
your computer from a Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive.
5. If
you're using the Windows installation disc, click Repair your
computer.
6. Select
the Windows installation you want to repair, and then click Next.
7. On
the System Recovery Options menu, click System
Image Recovery, and then follow the instructions.
If you can't recover Windows 7 in any other way, you can
reinstall Windows 7 using your original Windows 7 installation disc
or setup files. For more information, see Installing
and reinstalling Windows 7.
Reinstalling Windows 7 will delete any programs you've
installed and will restore the default Windows settings. You'll need to restore
your user files, and reinstall any programs you've installed using the original
installation discs or files.
To install Windows 7 using the Custom option and formatting the hard
disk
To format your hard disk during Windows 7 installation,
you'll need to start, or boot, your computer using the Windows 7
installation disc or a USB flash drive.
1. Turn
on your computer, insert the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash
drive, and then shut down your computer.
2. Restart
your computer.
3. Press
any key when prompted, and then follow the instructions that appear.
4. On
the Install Windows page, enter your language and other
preferences, and then click Next.
If the Install Windows
page doesn't appear, and you're not asked to press any key, you might need to
change some system settings. To learn how to do this, see Start
your computer from a Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive.
5. On
the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the
license terms, click I accept the license terms, and then
click Next.
6. On
the Which type of installation do you want? page, click Custom.
7. On
the Where do you want to install Windows? page, click Drive options (advanced).
8. Click
the partition that you want to change, click the formatting option you want to
perform, and then follow the instructions.
9. When
you've finished formatting, click Next.
10. Follow the
instructions to finish installing Windows 7, which include naming your
computer and setting up an initial user account.
11.
How to Fix a Blue Screen Memory Dump
12.
A blue screen memory dump is
an error screen that comes up just before the system gets rebooted, because the
operating system is no longer able to function properly due to a variety of
reasons, and the content of the RAM is dumped on to a data file. This is a
frequent problem mainly encountered in various versions of Windows operating
system, and is also popularly called the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD).
13. Fixing a blue screen memory dump will be specific to
correcting the error which is displayed on the screen. Sometimes it is
difficult to figure out the particular error from the info on the screen, and
therefore a broad correction strategy is undertaken to solve the issue. Here are
a few steps which address frequently encountered problems in BSoD.
14. Step 1: Check Recently Installed Hardware and Device Drivers
15. It has been found that many times BSoD occurs because of a
faulty device driver or there is a conflict with the recently installed
hardware. In such cases, try the latest version of the driver and reinstall the
hardware, but before that make sure the hardware is compatible with your
system. To pinpoint the problem, you can use third-party software to disable a
recently installed driver and see if the problem is solved. Sometimes the
problem also could be that the device driver has not been properly configured
to meet the requirements of the system.
16. Step 2: Repair Your Registry
17. The second most common cause of BSoD is a Registry that has
become corrupted or has a lot of invalid entries. If you are experienced and
knowledgeable about the Registry, you can edit it yourself, but this is always
a risky proposition, and the best course of action would be to buy special software
which automatically scans and fixes problems in the Registry.
18. Step 3: Check CMOS and Memory Modules
19. If the error message on the BSoD reads
"UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP," then it indicates you have problem
with the memory of your computer. You need to check whether the SIMMs (Single
Inline Memory Modules) are compatible and have the same speed. Secondly, also
check whether you have set the CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor)
to the right amount of RAM. If these solutions do not work, you might have to
replace memory in your computer.
20. Step 4: Rectify a Damaged Hard Drive
21. Sometimes the cause of BSoD is a faulty hard disk. Most
Windows operating systems have a diagnostic scan for the hard drive, and you
need to run this to figure out the problem. Sometimes the operating system will
encounter a problem where it is unable to read from the hard disk, and in such
cases apart from the hard disk, you also need to check out the SCSI (Small
Computer System Interface) terminator.
22. Step 5: Scan for Virus
23. BSoD problem can also be caused by a virus which has
infected crucial files in the hard drive that might disrupt the flow of
information between the operating system and hard drive. If you have already
installed antivirus software, you might have to scan your computer with a new
one.
|
BlueScreenView v1.52
Related Utilities
|
WinCrashReport
- Displays a report about crashed Windows application.
WhatIsHang - Get
information about Windows software that stopped responding (hang)
AppCrashView -
View application crash information on Windows 7/Vista.
WhatInStartup
- Enable/Disable/Delete the programs that run at Windows Startup.
See Also
- NK2Edit
- Edit, merge and fix the AutoComplete files (.NK2) of Microsoft Outlook.
Description
BlueScreenView scans all your minidump files created during
'blue screen of death' crashes, and displays the information about all crashes
in one table. For each crash, BlueScreenView displays the minidump filename,
the date/time of the crash, the basic crash information displayed in the blue
screen (Bug Check Code and 4 parameters), and the details of the driver or
module that possibly caused the crash (filename, product name, file
description, and file version).
For each crash displayed in the upper pane, you can view the details of the
device drivers loaded during the crash in the lower pane. BlueScreenView also
mark the drivers that their addresses found in the crash stack, so you can
easily locate the suspected drivers that possibly caused the crash.
How Install CWM to your Tablet
