In Dantes tenth circle of Hell, unrepentant Microsoft designers eternally and unsuccessfully troubleshoot the STOP error, more commonly known as the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). Here on Earth, the BSOD is only slightly less troublesome. The BSOD gets its vivid nickname from the blue background screen. On the screen, you will see a message in white letters, describing the problem. The message can be cryptic, however, and sometimes appears too briefly to be useful. In Windows XP, the BSOD can lock you into a cycle of reboots and errors, unless you know the steps to extricate yourself.
Instructions
- 1
If a STOP error appears during Windows Setup, it is usually due to a faulty device driver. Bypass the error by pressing F6 when prompted at the beginning of Setup, then check for compatible drivers on the Internet.
2If a STOP error appears during start-up, and Windows XP was previously running properly, it is likely due to an incompatible software application or device driver that you recently installed. Remove the device or uninstall the program, and restart your computer.
3If Windows hangs during start-up, use your Windows CD to start the computer. If you need to do repairs, and you are comfortable working at the command line, enter the Recovery Console by pressing R at the Welcome to Setup screen. Type help for a list of commands.
4If a STOP error appears while Windows is running, it could be caused by drivers, services or hardware problems. The text on the screen may help you pinpoint the problem.
5If your computer restarts before you can read the STOP error text, view the details in the Event Log. Open Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Event Viewer. In the left-hand pane, click on System Log. Filter entries to show only error events by choosing View>Filter; click the Filter tab, and clear all checkboxes except Error. Scroll through the entries to find the time and date your computer crashed, and double-click the entry.
6Read the BSOD text, which might say something like, If this is the first time youve seen this Stop error screen, then an explanation and directions. Follow the instructions and see whether they correct the problem. If another BSOD appears, decode the rest of the STOP error in order to search for a solution.
7Find the symbolic error name. At the top of the BSOD, under the message beginning, A problem has been detected, the symbolic error name appears in capital letters. One common symbolic error name is DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.
8Decode common abbreviations.
IRQL (pronounced Urkel) stands for interrupt request level.
KMODE stands for kernel mode.
PTES refers to page table entries (PTEs).
HAL stands for hardware abstraction layer.
9Locate the error number. Under Technical Information, after the word STOP, you will find an error number (in hexadecimal), such as 0x0000003F. The numbers following the error number, in parentheses, are parameters.
10Start your computer in Safe Mode, then search Microsofts Knowledge Base, using the symbolic error name or error number as your search term.
