Windows 11/10 too has the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) or Stop Error screen that appears when you are in the middle of something, upgrading the operating system when booting or simply working on your PC. Blue Screens in Windows 11/10 are simple and do not display Stop Error information. You may have to force Windows to display Stop Error details. We take each scenario and explain what to do in each case.
What is the first step to take to resolve a Blue Screen of Death error
The BSODs or Stop Errors in Windows 11/10 appear to be better, more user-friendly, and easier on the eyes. But they don’t give many details. You have to force your OS to display Stop Error information.
How do I find out what caused my Blue Screen?
To identify what caused a blue screen, access the “Windows Logs” in the Event Viewer, then select “System”. Look for error events—these usually provide clues. Click an error to see details below the event list, or opt for “Event Properties” in the “Actions” pane for comprehensive information. This post will show you how to find which Driver is causing the Blue Screen.
How to fix Blue Screen in Windows 11/10
The common troubleshooting steps to fix Blue Screen errors in Windows 11 or Windows 10 to be followed are:
- See if a System Restore can resolve this issue.
- Run Blue Screen Troubleshooter
- Run your anti-virus and anti-spyware and your PC Junk/Registry Cleaner.
- Run the Windows Check Disk Utility.
- Check if you’ve made any software or hardware changes or modifications.
- In most cases, the software is the victim and not the cause of BSODs. So, don’t rule out hardware problems. It could be damaged hard disks, defective physical RAM, overheated CPU chips or anything else!
- Check if you can see a driver’s name in the error details. If you can, then simply disabling, removing, or rolling back that driver to an earlier version can help solve that problem. Network interface cards, disk controllers, and Video Adapters are the culprits, most often.
- Check your memory. Use the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool. Go to Control Panel and type “memory” in the Search box. Under Administrative Tools, click Diagnose Your Computer’s Memory Problems. In the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool, shown here, select one of the options.
- Check your system BIOS carefully. Is an update available from the manufacturer of the system or motherboard? Check the BIOS documentation carefully; resetting all BIOS options to their defaults can sometimes resolve an issue caused by over-tweaking.
- Check if you are low on system resources. Sometimes, a critical shortage of Disk Space or RAM can cause BSODs.
- Check if a system file has been damaged.
- Work in Safe Mode, as only the core drivers and services are activated. If your system starts in Safe Mode but not normally, you very likely have a problem driver. Try running Device Manager in Safe Mode and uninstalling the most likely suspect. Or run System Restore in Safe Mode.
These are some basic tips to help you fix Blue Screen of Death in Windows under different scenarios.
If you can log in normally, good; otherwise, you will have to boot into Safe Mode, enter the Advanced Startup options screen, or use the Installation Media to boot to be able to carry out the above instructions.
This guide will help you understand, analyze and troubleshoot Windows Blue Screen of Death, Stop Errors, Error Codes, Bug Check errors, system crash errors, system faults, and kernel error crashes in Windows 11/10/8/7.
Blue Screen of Death when upgrading to Windows 11/10
When upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1 or Windows 7, or to Windows 11 from Windows 10, you may face BSOD. Normally, this would happen due to BIOS settings. In some cases, the error could be due to a corrupted download of the installer.
If you get the Blue Screen Of Death when upgrading, the installer will take you back to the original operating system. From there, you have to run the upgrade installer again. You will not be stuck with a half-installed Windows 11/10. But installation files will be there on your C: Drive that you’d need to clean before running the upgrade again. You must delete all files in the Software Distribution folder under the Windows folder. You will also have to remove the Windows~BT folder from C Drive.
After deleting these files, go to the BIOS (press DEL while booting up) and enable UEFI Boot before trying to upgrade again. It would be better if you use the installation media provided by Microsoft to upgrade. The in-place upgrade takes too much time and might again cause a problem. Just go to your original operating system. Then run Setup.exe from the installation media you created. It should help you get around BSOD while upgrading to Windows 11/10.
Fix: Windows Blue Screen when idle
Blue Screen of Death while Booting Windows 11/10
There are two scenarios when booting Windows 10. In the first scenario, you can access the desktop while in the second, the Blue Screen of Death won’t even let you reach the desktop, and you are stuck in a loop of computer restarts.
The main reasons why BSOD appears are:
- Some Windows drivers cause conflict or
- Some Windows Updates have gone wrong. If the latter is the reason, you have to remove and block the update that caused the Blue Screen of Update.
If you can access the desktop, go to Settings and then Windows Updates. Click on Advanced and then on View Installed Updates. See the date of the updates and remove the ones installed on the date after which, the BSOD is appearing. If removing the updates fixes the problem, block the update from reinstalling itself.
If the problem is a driver update, you need to see if any drivers were installed lately. The process is the same as above. You will see driver updates in Installed Updates. But after removing the update, I suggest you block automatic driver updates from Microsoft. Using a third-party tool that allows you to select the driver version is better. That way you will be playing it safer.
Read: Blue Screen of Death Causes and Solutions
BSOD reboot loop prevents access to Desktop
If you are stuck in a Blue Screen of Death reboot loop, Windows 11/10 will automatically go into the Repair mode after a while. From there, use the System Restore facility to fix the issue. Click on System Restore and select a date/point before you started getting BSOD. System Restore will restore your computer to a prior time, removing any changes made to your computer by Windows Update. It will not affect your files.
Blue Screen of Death while working on Windows 11/10
The causes can again be a Windows Update, a device driver update, or recently installed hardware. To ensure the updates are the reason, use the above method to isolate the problem update and then block it.
If you installed any hardware recently, shut down your computer and remove the hardware. Then boot and go to Device Manager (WinKey+Break). If the hardware is still listed there, uninstall it. Reboot to see if the issue is fixed.
Fix: Blue Screen when playing games on Windows PC
Is Blue Screen of Death harmful?
A BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) or stop code results from hardware or software failure. A BSOD occurs when a problem causes your system to shut down or restart unexpectedly. If you repeatedly see the stop errors on your system, it may indicate some hardware damage. Ignoring the BSOD errors can damage your system. Hence, a Blue Screen of Death is harmful.
Can a PC Blue Screen for no reason?
A Blue Screen does not occur until there are hardware or software issues. Most commonly, a BSOD occurs due to faulty hardware or a faulty hardware component. In addition, corrupted device drivers and other software issues may cause stop errors. In some cases, a Blue Screen occurs due to problematic software.
Useful resource: List of Windows Bug Check or Stop Error Codes.
How do I fix a blue screen in Windows 11 from command prompt?
To fix a blue screen in Windows 11 using the command prompt, you can initiate a System Restore by using rstrui.exe or initiate an SFC scan (sfc /scannow) by opening the command prompt as an administrator. The first will restore your PC to a good point and the second will scan for and attempt to repair any corrupted system files, potentially resolving the blue screen issue.
Read: Purple, Brown, Yellow, Red, Green Screen of Death explained.
blue screen of death cant get the laptop to start so cant do anything wit it so what next
Third party tools? You mean like Driver Talent this kind of driver update software, right?
“Windows 10 will automatically go into the Repair mode after a while. ” What to do if this doesn’t happen? And no specific information about the file which causes BSOD.
I made the update yesterday on my HP 8470w with the latest Win 10 there were. When starting up I went into BSOD and I find no way out of this loop. Not through any of menu selections under start-up “Esc” nor through any of menu selections under F8 during start-up. How on earth can I get into a re-boot state that works?
Try disabling SATA support in BIOS. It worked for me.
Dear Arun,
It seem a good thought so I webt into BIOS setup. Now SATA seem also to be frequently named. Could you advice on where in the menus the setting you think of is?
Best!
Lennart
It should be under the “Configuration” tab, but could be somewhere else depending on your computer manufacturer. If you can’t see it you can google it with keywords like “disable sata in HP laptop”.
While I am sure it should work after disabling SATA, you might also want to look into secure boot in Windows 10: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn898540%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
I got the windows 10 BSOD I think I was updating. I restarted my PC and it hasn’t done it since. Thanks!
Got some great 2 hours totally help by a HP support guy. We reset the disk from RAID to ACHI(?) and then the Win 7 Pro went in fine. I had bought a new computer so I actually dared trying the update to Win 10 again… and believe it or not, it worked just great.
Widows 10 blue screen restarting for over 1hour now gone to black screen carnt do any thing
I have a Lenovo Yoga Pro 3 that would give this screen 3-4 times/day. Tried all the fixes. Seemed to be audio card, other days graphics card related. Decided to open it up and found a loose screw lying across some sort of board. It has been working perfectly since (several weeks)
I was uninstalling several steam games, some times 2-3 at a time and i got a blue screen after about 15-20 consecutive uninstalls. It has been on 100% complete for a whole hour with an error code on the bottom “SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION” and my brother, my only contact on computers, can’t respond about this as he is on a long car trip.
Will try to write a post about this in the next few days. Stay tuned.
My Windows Tablet isn’t going into Repair mode. It just keeps booting into the blue screen. So now what?
Do you get any message? What is the tablet model?
Meanwhile, try setting the default boot option to “Windows Boot Manager” in BIOS. I can assist you better if you provide me with Tablet model and error message if any.
Bsod boot loop doens’t go away, tried everything to get to the advanced startup options but no luck there either … Tried to boot from USB and DVD, still BSOD :-/ I’m stuck, help ?
Alienware 17, late 2014 model, windows 10…
I fixed it. I kept tapping F12 to try to get into the bios. Finally figured out for this Tablet it’s F2. Thank you for trying to help though. It’s appreciated.
Did you upgrade to Anniversary Update? It could be the problem. Did you try Reset this PC in Recovery?
Tried to but didn’t manage to get into recovery … Dell came this morning to get the laptop, even if I think I could have solved it by replacing the hdd myself, going to let them do it :-) I just hope I won’t have the problem again, it’s a shame a stupid update could be the cause of an endless bsod bootloop …
Tried reset the laptop, event then also after 33% blue screen is coming. Tried to boot from USB then also same problem. Formatted c drive in windows setup then tried to install but still blue screen is coming. Don’t know how to fix this.
Since you already have formatted the C Drive, I guess there is no operating system on the computer. If you have digital entitlement (upgraded from 8.1 or 7) or serial key, please download the media creation tool and use it to install Windows 10. The tool is available here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/software-download/windows10
Tried to install windows 10 using media creation tool then also blue screen appearing.
Can you get into the BIOS and see if the SATA option is enabled? If yes, turn it off and try installing. It sometimes confuses Windows. Let me know the result so that we can further troubleshoot if required.
Hello..computer blue screen remains and booting what can i do or press on keyboard? Thanks
if you are asking how to get into the BIOS, please press DEL or ESC when booting. For SafeMode, press F12 while booting.
Thanks for the info. Regards :)
Blue screen stuck at 20% complete.
Can you please tell me what are you trying to do? Like… if the BLUE SCREEN is appearing while booting, reseting or updating?
I will be in a better position to assist if I know the details.
I have a brand new hp desk top. After uninstalling the factory McAfee antivirus I installed Webroot. Couple days later, BSOD. Took back to Best Buy, geeksquad tried installation for me and same thing. We figured the computer had something wrong with it asked for anew one and they obliged. So we asked them to swap the factory antivirus again with the webroot before we picked it up. 2 days later BSOD. I really don’t like McAfee, makes things slow, but Windows doesn’t seem to like Webroot. What can I do to get around this?
Need help my amd 7850k,gigabyte bios. Bsod bootloop keeps coming. got this problem for 6 fucking days. I tried using cmd to clean my disk. But bsod keeps coming for 6 days. I watch it on youtube how to fix but still does’nt work. I formatted my pc twice and still bsod. Need help. And now my pc is on black screen saying “reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key” i already installed windows 10. But after update bsod. And after i intalled new rgb fan bsod comes. PLEASE HELP :(.
Please help ASAP :( hate this bsod
I need to know the error code and message that you receive. Then maybe I could help.
Kernel data inpage error. And now i got this error during reinstalling win 10 home os. 0x800701E3.
Hello!
I do not know what to do anymore and frankly really upset with Microsoft! I have a Lenovo IdeaCentre 300s desktop that we bought as a family computer. Had it less than a month and can’t use it all for a week now. BSOD LOOPS and referrs to NTFS.sys not being handled. I installed Windows 10 setup from my laptop to a USB, changed the boot sequence from BIOS setup on desktop to USB first and same thing happens! I was able to run Lenovo’s diagnostics which all in all took 2 hours. The HD, motherboard, memory, EVERYTHING passed and is ok. Found no bad sectors. So frustrated that at this point, cannot even start in safe mode or get to the desktop. I would have no problem starting at factory default since we don’t store anything on this computer. Help Please!
Oh, and I tried to disable SATA as you suggested to others below and then received error that no operating sys found, so i reenabled it.
Please try to clean install after turning off WiFi. It could be creating problems. You may create a local account while installing because there is no WiFi and later you can go to Users and change it to Microsoft account if you so wish.
os could not be loaded because system driver spaceport.sys contains error code 0xc0000225
I bought my hp laptop a month or so ago – and every so often the blue screen of death shows up and force restarts and its annoying af – I didnt upgrade/update to windows 10 it just came already on the laptop. How do I fix thissssssssssssss
I have a HP Spectre x2 detachable tablet that has increasingly severe BSOD problems – every 5-10 minutes for the past 4 hours, until the last time about 30 minutes ago. The BSOD error message is usually followed by flashing horizontal lines scrolling up the screen, before the tablet restarts. The stop-start process usually takes about one minute.
But sometimes the blue screen/scrolling lines continue, occasionally with a high-pitched squealing noise, and I have to hold down the power key until the tablet is turned off.
The stop-start process happens regardless of whether or not I am using the tablet.
I used to get a few trouble-free weeks between this problem occurring, but now I’m lucky to get five or six hours of functioning computer, before it starts again.
The tablet is still under warranty, and HP’s phone support people have been very helpful, but have not been able to shed any light on the problem, or stop it from happening.
Try reset if you can get there. It should help. But you’ll lose all programs and will have to install them again.
In the BIOS, first go for default values and then find SATA, disable it. Save and Exit. It should fix the issue.
Thank you very much for your reply. I have not been able to locate SATA in the BIOS, which I understand should be under the “Configuration” tab, but which might be somewhere else, depending on the manufacturer.
So after not finding the information in the User Manual, or on any HP websites, I have asked the HP support forum for help in locating and disabling SATA. I will let you know what happens. Thank you again for your help, much appreciated.
Hai kyotee…go to safemode and uninstall program that u install recently….
I use hp laptop it went into blue screen death when i try to open system recovery it take 10 to 15 min to open that then again when I open troubleshoot it give 3 options refresh windows,restore ,repair I tried those 3 and they don’t work??
Hi I just got this Blue Screen of Death this morning and I’ve tried the System Restore and it tells me that the System Restore did not complete successfully. Does that every time. What should I do? Pls help!
Didn’t there used to be an on-screen message with an error code back in the day? Mine’s recently started blue screening at least once a day, sometimes twice; there’s been no hardware changes or software updates like drivers and it’s driving me insane :[
I was switching back to local account when the blue screen appeared. Its happening every time I try to switch back to my local account from microsoft account. Any solution for this?
I was switching back to local account when the blue screen appeared. Its happening every time I tried to switching from microsoft account to local account. Any solution?
ugh…my pc is constantly looping through repairing and restarting. Cannot figure out how to restart in safe mode.
Pehaps something here will help you: https://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-8-fails-to-boot-automatic-repair-refresh-reset-pc-fail
My computer are getting blue screen every 5mins. And this computer was just bought 1week ago. Window 10 is so bad and wasting my money and time.
Oh, by the way, I had fixed the problem by attaching/detaching battery.
hello all
i have new pc i am using win 10 but when i am playing pc games this blue screen error is coming what to do..??
i got this and i unplugged my computer turning everything off, my computer will not start windows ot show everything. my monitor then turns off.
if you can get a window install disk. you can boot into disk and temp to fix your problem
Heres how I fixed this blue screen problem. I had experienced this for several months both just after booting and then after several boots, often three times then it would clear itself and all was fine for the rest of the day. Then when shutting down I would experience it again at times. The report reasons were mostly different but I tried all the things recommended but never fixed it. Sometimes the mouse pointer would freeze. I had experienced a problem over the last few years with dust in the fan and filter from time to time so I had stripped the laptop down, My computer is a Toshiba A660 with Win10, So I decided it was time to try that again and removed keyboard etc., and the top cover, fan and vacuumed the filter and brushed the fan blades and inside of the motherboard. Reassembled and never a blue screen again now for three weeks or any mouse freezing. THe laptop is very quiet now too. Also I had two years ago stuck some furniture leg felt pads to the bottom of the casing to give better ventilation and that did help a lot in keeping the laptop clear of dust for a longer time.I hope thats of some help.
Twice I have gotten the BSOD and the operating system refused to give me back my complete set of acqURLs bookmarks, forcing me to reestablish them . A great time and expense to me. Is there any way of knowing what caused it?
You need to know the error code displayed. That shows you the direction to work.
I’m hoping that by by updating all my drivers with Dell,all my problems will be solved.
Please don’t tell me not to use an ad blocker. I use an ad blocker if I want and I won’t let anyone tell me not to.
trying to download office 365 but everytime i try the blue screen of death comes up and i’m forced to restart
Same my laptop is brand new but i don’t had idea why this blue screen of death is showing… it;s not from drivers etc. He is new
my laptop is brand new but i don’t had idea why this blue screen of death is showing…it shows when i play video games. Pls help me what if i preinstall the whole laptop ? I need help!
Same. My computer works good only for 3 weeks and then this stupid blue screen starts showing when i play games it’s so annoying and i’m sad that i waste my money. Time for Mac who is expensive af…….
Thanks windows 10! i waste my all money and now i got this stupid blue screen ? I didn’t expect this from the newest version. :) i guess it i should buy MAC one day..
I tried that but it still doesn’t work
Why all solutions say to go to setting! Once the screen goes blue it wouldn’t even restart! And when shutdown by button, it goes blue from the welcome screen!!!
Please, give other solutions.
i have updated from windows 7 to 10 and it gives multiple BSOD every time i boot . i have tried every thing possible updated windows, reinstalled windows and updated graphics driver. please provide me a sollution. and how can i fix bios settings
Try in safe mode, Windows loads only the essential drivers in safe mode. If a driver you’ve installed is causing Windows to blue screen, it shouldn’t do so in safe mode. You can work on fixing the problem from safe mode. Check for Hardware Problems: Blue screens can be caused by faulty hardware in your computer like RAM.