What is Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

In this article, we will go through the description of the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error in Windows, along with its possible causes and solutions.

Updated: 01 Jun, 23 by Susith Nonis 4 Min

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Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is a widely encountered error for Windows users. The entire machine stops working and needs to be restarted in this case. There are several reasons and solutions to this error. In this article, we will be going through the details of the BSOD error and discuss its causes, solutions, and meanings of several BSOD codes.

"Blue Screen of Death" (BSOD) is a common error that is encountered in Windows and is caused by hardware issues and problems with low-level software running in the kernel of the Operating System. After this error, all the services running in the machine need will stop, and the device will be restarted from the beginning. However, this error saves the machine from further damage.

Blue screens are typically caused by issues with your computer's hardware (like high temperature) or hardware driver software. Blue screens should not be caused by standard software; if an application fails, it will crash without stopping the operating system. 

The blue screen of death (BSOD) is Windows' equivalent of a kernel panic. A situation in which a failure has occurred that prevents Windows from running. This could be due to

  1. Drivers who are corrupted
  2. A hard disc failure
  3. Failure of RAM Drivers and Hardware Incompatibilities
  4. Other malware and viruses
  5. Bad System Config Info
  6. Overheating of hardware
  7. Software related issues
  8. Power related issues

This error is most commonly seen when an important driver crashes or hangs, causing Windows to shut down because that driver is required to run or to run your hardware.

DATA_BUS_ERROR:

Memory failure

INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE:

Missing driver

 

Virus/Malware

UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP:

Hardware error

 

Temperature too high

NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM:

High CPU memory usage

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL:

Incompatible or outdated device driver

BAD_POOL_CALLER:

Unwanted memory access

FAT_FILE_SYSTEM:

Corrupt file system

OUT_OF_MEMORY:

Memory failure

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA:

Memory failure

UNABLE_TO_LOAD_DEVICE_DRIVER:

Defective device driver

KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED:

Defective software

Undoing major changes

In rare cases, this error can be caused by some driver or a software issue. In this case, you can try undoing the major changes that you did inside your machine. For instance, if you updated some driver who later caused this issue, you can try reverting to the previous version of this driver.

Boot in the safe mode

A safe mode is a state of the computer in which the computer loads only the essential drivers. You can boot the computer in safe mode and avoid this error.

Free some hard disk space and junk

We can try clearing some disk space and junk files from your hard drive to get rid of this error. Microsoft recommends that a user should keep at least 100 MB free space in Windows.

Update Windows and drivers

You could also try updating drivers and other components of Windows in order to solve this issue.

Check for the machine temperature.

This error can also occur due to the excessive heating of the machine. In this case, the Operating System needs to stop running all the services to avoid significant damage to the machine.

In this article, we went through the description of the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error in Windows, along with its possible causes and solutions. It's a major error that stops all the running services inside the Operating Systems to avoid further damage to the machine. We can eliminate the error by updating drivers, checking hardware regularly, and uninstalling infected data from the machine.

Susith Nonis

Susith Nonis

I'm fascinated by the IT world and how the 1's and 0's work. While I venture into the world of Technology, I try to share what I know in the simplest way with you. Not a fan of coffee, a travel addict, and a self-accredited 'master chef'.