Blue screen (BSOD) fix, step by step
Windows crashed to a blue screen? Tell us when it happens and the stop code. You get safe steps one at a time, and we tell you when it is a hardware fault for a technician. Nothing here erases your files.
How it works
Tell us when it happens and the stop code on the blue screen.
Safe steps one at a time. Nothing here erases your files.
Does this apply to me?
Blue screen fix step by step
Didn't catch the stop code?
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- Click Start, type reliability and open View reliability history.
- Click the day with a red X and the line Windows stopped working (or Shut down unexpectedly).
- Open View technical details. The number after BugCheck or Problem signature is the code, for example
0x0000001a= MEMORY_MANAGEMENT. - For a technician: the crash files are in
C:\Windows\Minidump. Copy them to a USB stick.
Common stop codes
| Stop code | Number | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
MEMORY_MANAGEMENT | 0x1A | Windows found its memory in a state that should not happen. Often the RAM. |
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL | 0xA | A driver or Windows touched memory it should not. A driver, or the RAM. |
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA | 0x50 | Windows read memory that was not there. The RAM, a driver or the drive. |
SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION | 0x3B | A crash inside a Windows service. A driver, or the RAM. |
KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED | 0x1E | A driver or Windows hit an error it could not handle. A driver, or the RAM. |
CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED | 0xEF | A process Windows needs stopped. Damaged Windows files or the drive. |
INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE | 0x7B | Windows lost its own drive while starting. Storage mode, an update or the drive. |
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM | 0x24 | The file system on the drive has a problem. The drive, or the RAM. |
UNEXPECTED_STORE_EXCEPTION | 0x154 | The memory store hit an error. Very often the drive (SSD). |
WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR | 0x124 | The hardware itself reported an error. CPU, RAM, heat or overclocking. |
CLOCK_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT | 0x101 | One CPU core stopped answering. CPU, overclocking or the BIOS. |
DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION | 0x133 | A driver took too long. Often the storage driver or SSD firmware. |
DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL | 0xD1 | A driver touched memory it should not. The driver named on the screen. |
DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE | 0x9F | A driver failed going into or out of sleep. Drivers or the BIOS. |
KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE | 0x139 | Windows found damaged data inside itself. A driver, or the RAM. |
VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE | 0x116 | The graphics chip stopped answering. Graphics driver, heat or the graphics chip. |
A different stop code every time is usually the RAM, not Windows.
Still blue screens? Post the stop code, the laptop model and what you tried on the NoPowerFix forum and a technician will answer.
Ask on the NoPowerFix forumFree, private, built to keep devices alive
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