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Thread ID: 26316	2002-10-24 07:59:00	The BSOD - a helpful guide	Mike (15)	Press F1

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92564	2002-10-24 07:59:00	This is taken from . apcmag . com/]APC" target="_blank">www . apcmag . com Magazine[/url] - it is a brilliant help article on the Blue Screen of Death . The article can be found here - it also has links to other helpful articles that are related to the BSOD . That old Blue Screen of Death is the nemesis of many Windows users, even in the days of Windows 2000 and XP . So named for its colour (blue) and its function (a "dump screen" that gives you somewhat cryptic technical information as to why Windows just crashed), it's become synonymous with Windows annoyances in general . But don't hide from it and pray it doesn't happen to you (or pray it'll just go away if it does) . Here we'll tell you how to beat the BSOD -- learn what it's telling you and fix the problem at its root . Why do BSODs happen in the first place? There are four top reasons that account for the vast majority of BSODs: 1 . Bad hardware Never a pleasant prospect to face, but the truth is that hardware -- motherboards, hard drives, memory -- ages over time and becomes less reliable . Windows 2000 and XP are far stricter about hardware than 98/Me, and what worked before may not work now . (This often shows up when someone upgrades a decrepit system to 2000 or XP and experiences a BSOD during or after the upgrade . ) Often one particular component can be the culprit . Nine times out of ten it's bad RAM -- and again, RAM that was "good enough" for 98/Me may not fly in 2000/XP . If the BSODs seem to come and go with no rhyme or reason, bad hardware is usually the culprit -- that, or . . . 2 . Environmental conditions Dirty or fluctuating power, dust and simple overheating can cause a system to BSOD . Put your system on a UPS to take care of power problems, and take a peek inside your computer if you haven't lately . Are all the fans plugged in and turning? Fans can get choked with dust and die over time; if they don't respond to being cleaned, consider replacing them . Also, is the internal airflow blocked by too many cables? You may want to gang cables together with twist-ties or use rounded IDE cables if you're having airflow problems due to too many wires . Finally, if the room itself is too hot, that may be a contributing factor . 3 . Bad kernel drivers Drivers that work directly with the lowest level of the OS are called kernel drivers, and a badly-written one can give your system a BSOD . If you weren't having BSODs before you installed a given software package, consider uninstalling the program and running the PC some more to see if the problem goes away . Antivirus products, video card drivers, low-level system utilities and media controllers are all possible culprits . Also, check with the maker of the program to see if there may be an update or a recommended workaround -- some programs won't work reliably in anything less than a given Service Pack, for instance . 4 . Hardware conflicts Newly-added hardware can sometimes conflict with other hardware already installed in the system . This sort of thing has become mercifully rarer over time, but every now and then it does happen . Some hardware even conflicts with the motherboard of a specific system itself . Hardware conflicts can sometimes be resolved with updated drivers for the conflicting devices, or with a BIOS revision for either the computer or the device itself . Let's have a look at the BSOD itself . Generally, at the very top of the screen there is a line with the label *** STOP: followed by a series of numerical codes, called parameters, and a text description of the crash . The codes are used to provide additional information about the crash and vary from error to error . Below that is usually a list of the services and drivers running at the time of the crash, and the memory address of the crash (which isn't too useful unless you're a programmer) . Here's a rundown of the most common BSODs, their corresponding error information, and some possible resolutions . PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA Probably the most common error thrown when a BSOD pops up, this happens when the system tries to read memory that isn't valid . This usually occurs when there is faulty hardware in the system causing data corruption -- either bad RAM or a corrupt NTFS volume in Windows 2000/XP . However, it can also happen if a faulty system service or kernel-level driver has been installed . If this error pops up after adding new software, you may want to remove it and check with the manufacturer for possible conflicts with other programs, or whether or not the program needs to be run in conjunction with a particular Service Pack or hotfix . IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL Usually the result of a badly-written kernel driver or a hardware conflict . For instance, some early revisions of the SoundBlaster Live! driver for Windows 2000 had this problem, but only on certain varieties of motherboard . If this happens, try yanking any newly-added hardware and see if that changes anything; if you haven't added anything in hardware, check your software . Another possibility is to check and see if your video or sound card drivers have been updated by the manufacturer -- a newer driver may fix the problem . KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED Most likely caused by an incorrectly configured device driver, but this can also pop up on machines that have a bug somewhere in their system BIOS . Check if your motherboard has a new BIOS available for it; if so, try flashing your system with it and see if that improves things . If you installed a newer device driver for something and got this error, roll back to the last device driver you installed and see if that changes anything . UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP Bad memory is almost always the culprit here . Make sure all your memory is seated correctly and clean (dirty contacts can cause memory problems) . Off-brand or cheap memory can also cause terrible problems, so spend the extra money and buy from a reputable manufacturer like Crucial, Mushkin, Kingston or another name-brand memory maker . KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR This happens if Windows can't read from its own pagefile . Hard drive errors -- bad cabling or a disk defect -- are the usual suspects for this one . Cables actually develop defects more often than hard drives do, so try changing out your cables . ("Rounded" hard drive cables are apparently far less error-prone than "ribbon"-style cables, and clutter the inside of your system less, too . ) INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE As the name implies, this error comes up when Windows can't find the hard disk used to boot the system . This usually happens if someone has tampered with the drives or cabling, or if the device driver that handles I/O to the boot drives is not loading . If you've installed a newer version of your disk controller drivers, for instance, you might get this if they're not working correctly; boot to Safe Mode and roll the drivers back . Newly-added hardware might be conflicting with the controller or trying to usurp its functions . STATUS_CANNOT_LOAD_REGISTRY_FILE This is generally one of the worst possible BSOD errors, usually reported during boot . The Registry, the system's repository of settings and system data, could not be loaded for some reason . Sometimes this is due to a simple communications problem with one of the hard disks (a faulty or unplugged cable), although it may also be due to data corruption . A corrupted Registry needs to be recovered through the use of the Emergency Recovery Disk, or via a System State backup . If you have no backup copy of the Registry, you'll need to reinstall Windows -- another reason to make Recovery Disks and System State backups . STATUS_IMAGE_CHECKSUM_MISMATCH Another possible disk-corruption or drive-cabling problem, this happens when the checksum for a system file doesn't match the data in the file itself . If in fact the file in question is damaged (and you'll get a report as to which file threw the error), you can often replace it by simply booting to the Recovery Console and copying out a clean copy from the CD-ROM . Alternatively, you can boot the Emergency Recovery Disk to perform the repair . Bad RAM can also cause this kind of data corruption . If you get this error a lot with different files, there may be something fundamentally wrong with the system's hardware, since you're probably looking at a widespread data corruption condition . Is anybody in there? One of the close cousins to the BSOD is the Spontaneous Reboot . Out of nowhere, one's Windows machine resets itself for no apparent reason, often in the middle of work . As it turns out, a good part of the time this is the BSOD "in hiding" . By default, Windows XP machines are enabled out of the box to reboot upon logging a BSOD . (Windows 2000 machines are not . ) Presumably this is because Microsoft doesn't want people getting hopelessly confused by the BSOD itself, but having one's machine reboot on you for no apparent reason isn't much better -- in fact, it's arguably worse . The worst part is when the system gets into an infinite loop --BSOD, reboot, BSOD, reboot -- which can only be stopped through manual intervention . Thankfully, you can disable this behaviour easily enough: 1 . Under My Computer, Properties, select Advanced, Startup and Recovery, Settings . 2 . Under System Failure, deselect "Automatically restart . " 3 . Click OK on all dialog boxes to close them . This way, if you get the BSOD error, you'll be able to see it and make sense of it instead of being dumped right back into your boot screen . Features in APC October 2002 Section: features > technical Author: Serdar Yegulalp Posted: Tuesday, 22 October, 2002 Perhaps this could be added to the FAQ on the subject? I'm not sure if it'll be allowed, since it's from another magazine ;) Mike .	Mike (15)
92565	2002-10-24 09:01:00	I haven't had a BSOD since installing WinXP Pro. Good post though. Saved it for future reference.	Elephant (599)
92566	2002-10-24 09:04:00	>>> I haven't had a BSOD since installing WinXP Pro Neither have I :D >>> Good post though. Saved it for future reference. That's part of the reason I posted it here - I wasn't sure how long the Aussie mag would keep it online to link to it. Mike.	Mike (15)
92567	2002-10-24 09:59:00	I have :D Mainly when I've been playing with the FSB *curses PC2100 RAM* Just get a BSOD when windows tries to load. Also had one when it did load and i shut down. Other than that it's just the occasional small freeze.	-=JM=- (16)
92568	2002-10-24 21:00:00	>>> Perhaps this could be added to the FAQ on the subject? I'm not sure if it'll be allowed, since it's from another magazine Ask Bruce. It's quite a good guide, though n00bies will find it way over their heads. Heck, even I do with some of it! As long as you've acknowledged the source and as long as that source doesn't say it can't be reproduced then it should be OK. Bruce won't want it on here if it's copyright.	Susan B (19)
92569	2002-10-24 21:04:00	>>> Bruce won't want it on here if it's copyright That's the thing - I'm guessing it's copyrighted :( but it my quick scan of the copyright notice it sounded like if we said where it came from blah blah blah it was okay... maybe someone else should read the copyright notice on the page :D Mike.	Mike (15)
92570	2002-10-24 21:15:00	I can't see any copyright notice on that page. Clicking on the links at the bottom takes me to a "Page cannot be displayed" error, probably because I won't accept a cookie. Just go and ask Bruce if it's OK. Be warned that he's pretty busy at the moment tho.	Susan B (19)
92571	2002-10-24 21:29:00	Gets my vote for adding to the FAQ's	roofus (483)
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92573	2002-10-25 00:35:00	>>> you must not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, frame, upload to a third party, post, transmit or distribute this Content >>> in any way except as expressly provided for on the Network or expressly authorised in writing by ninemsn or its Affiliates . I just re-read that - damn, I guess it'll be taken off this site now :( oh well . . . I guess that's up to Bruce and/or Robo Mike .	Mike (15)
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