My computer froze up, so I turned it off and tried to restart it. All I get is a plain blue screen. What has happened, and can it be fixed?

The Blue Screen of Death

The much dreaded “blue screen of death”, also known as a BSoD, is an all-too-common Windows operating system start error. The BSoD occurs when the computer has encountered a critical error that causes the operating system to shut itself down, in an attempt to prevent too much damage. More specifically, the error is often caused by an illegal operation that causes the computer to freeze and (often) attempt to restart. BSoDs are commonly related to errors during driver or program installation, including Windows automatic updates. A lot of the time a BSoD involves a problem in the computer’s hard drive or file system that requires you to boot from a Windows CD.

Reboot and Uninstall Recent Additions

Before going any further, try to reboot the computer again - sometimes this is all it takes to fix the error. If not, and if you recently installed a device or program, see if you can get into your computer enough to remove it. If you are only getting a BSoD, it might not be possible, but removing the flawed install could take care of it. To try this you can restart the computer and press F8 as the computer boots up to start in Safe Mode. Following the instructions, try to get access to remove recent installations. If this is unsuccessful, you will need to try and repair the operating system installation.

Operating System Recovery Discs

These days, a lot of new computers with pre-installed operating systems don’t come with Windows CDs. You need a CD of the same version as the operating system installed in your computer. If your computer system included a disc, fantastic, if not, you might have made one when you first got your system for an occasion like this. Otherwise, you can borrow one from a friend - but you will also need the product key, printed on a sticker on the box - or you can contact Microsoft for one. If getting a disc is impossible, you might need to take it in for repair, but there are a few things to try first.

Repair your Operating System Installation

If you have the disc, put it in the drive then reboot the computer, turning it off and on. The system should boot from the disc, but if you are prompted click any key to do so. Click Enter to continue - not Repair then, on the agreement, click F8 to accept. Now click the disk partition that contains the operating system - if there are several, it is likely the largest, then click R to Repair to attempt to fix the installation. Follow the on screen directions to complete the repair. When the process is finished, restart the computer and see if your problem is resolved.

Reformat and Reinstall your Operating System

If this isn’t possible, then you might need to reformat the computer and re-install the operating system. If so, you will most likely want to take your system to a repair shop and see if any of your data can be salvaged, because a reformatting will completely erase your system’s contents.

We have an HP Compaq dc7600 minitower computer. Recently, I have been having intermittent “blue screen errors” that cause me to press and hold the power button to turn the computer off, and then back on again. I have looked for the cause but have had no luck.

Blue Screen Errors

One of the problems that most computer users experience at some point or another is the blue screen error. It typically reflects a problem with corrupted files or the hard drive. The blue screen appears because the system never finishes rebooting at that point. Fortunately, you can try the following strategies to get this problem to go away.

Blue Screen Errors: Boot Up in Safe Mode

Booting up in Safe Mode skips a lot of the applications, files, drivers, etc that you don’t necessarily need to start the computer. This improves your chances of getting the computer to boot up properly and it also offers a chance to fix the problem so that it stops happening. Follow the directions here to see if this strategy works for you:

• Press the power button on.
• Start to press the “F8″ key on the keyboard immediately and continue doing so until you see the computer is starting to boot up.
• Select “Last Known Good Configuration” from among the options that appear. This will place your computer back to a time prior to the blue screen error.
• Follow the prompts that appear.

If you can’t get the computer to boot up using this plan on the first try, complete it again. It sometimes takes a bit of trial-and-error to get this to work.

Blue Screen Errors: Scanning for Spyware and Viruses

Needless to say, anyone who uses the Internet today, places their computer at risk of getting spyware or viruses. Too many of these on your computer and you will have performance issues such as blue screen errors. Even one complex virus could be all that it takes to decommission your computer. If you have a reliable anti-virus/anti-spyware application, run it to see what comes up. Delete any problematic applications. In fact, once you have completed the initial scan, check for any current updates for your anti-virus/anti-spyware program and run it a second time. After this, remember to run your program on a regular basis, which should vary according to your Internet use. If you don’t already own a reliable anti-virus/anti-spyware program, I can recommend this one: Anti-Virus PLUS.

Blue Screen Errors: Insufficient Resources

On occasion, someone will have difficulty booting up their machine if they have run out of resources. Have you recently installed a lot of games or software applications? Perhaps, you’ve uploaded a few thousand photographs. Seriously though, if you have eaten up your computer’s memory or hard drive space, you could create problems with the computer’s functioning. Check to see available memory you have as well as how much free space you have on the hard drive and add more if you need to do so.

Blue Screen Errors: Missing or Incorrect Files

Blue screen errors are sometimes caused by problems in the registry such as missing files or incorrect paths between files or instructions. Cleaning up the registry can assist with getting rid of blue screen errors. Consider getting Paretologic’s RegCure to clean up your registry.

After a hard reboot my computer starts with a Windows blue screen and does a scheduled check disk every time? What has precipitated this action and why can’t I control it? The computer doesn’t respond until it completes 5 steps?

What is a Blue Screen Error?

Blue screen errors often reflect problems with the hard drive or corrupted files. Quite often, this behavior is caused by a virus infection or improper shut downs. It is indicative of a system failure, which is why the computer keeps rebooting to a blue screen and a check disk scan. What we need to do here is try and do away with the reason behind this activity so it will stop.

Resolving Blue Screen Errors: Boot Up in Safe Mode

The first step that I am going to have you try is to boot up in Safe Mode. This method bypasses some of the drivers and applications that might be leading to the blue screen error. It is the most basic way to start your computer. Just follow these directions:

1. Turn the power button for the computer on.
2. Immediately press the “F8″ key on the keyboard. Do this continually until the computer begins to boot. You might need to try this more than once if it doesn’t go to Safe Mode for you the first time. It takes a bit of timing to get it right.
3. When the options appear, select the one for “Last Known Good Configuration.”
4. Follow any prompts that show. This strategy is designed to put your computer’s operating system back to a previous time when everything was working properly.

Resolving Blue Screen Errors: Scan for Viruses

Now that you have completed the first step, it is time to scan for spyware, viruses, and Trojans. This is important not only since any of these forms of malware could be creating the blue screen error, but also since their presence puts your computer and personal data at risk. If you have an anti-spyware/anti-virus application already, check for updates for it and then run it with a full scan. If you don’t have an anti-spyware/anti-virus application, I can recommend that you try Anti-Virus PLUS.

Resolving Blue Screen Errors: Insufficient Memory

Is there any chance that you are running low on resources? Have you been installing a lot of programs, files, photos, games, etc and forgotten to keep up with your memory? If this is a possibility, consider upgrading the amount of RAM that you have on this particular computer.

Resolving Blue Screen Errors: Faulty Downloads and Installs

If the blue screen error began after a recent installation or upgrade to one of your applications, perhaps the installation is faulty. If you think this could be the root problem here, you can always uninstall the application and reinstall it.

Resolving Blue Screen Errors: Peripheral Incompatibility

Along the same lines as the above, have you recently added any peripherals that might be incompatible with your operating system or other peripherals? Access the Device Manager through the Control Panel and see if any yellow flags appear indicating that you have a problem.