Windows Stop Codes and Blue screen of death troubleshooting.

If you ever get a BSOD(Blue Screen of Death) you know how frustrating it can be. Most times it's a change in the systems configuration or a hardware malfunction that's to blame. Trying to interpret these cryptic codes can be a real headache. In this article I am going to give you some useful tips on how to troubleshoot these stop codes and hopefully help you clear up any issues you have so you can get back to enjoying your computer.

When a stop code/BSOD occurs it's important to get pertinent information about the issue. Write down the stop sodes which look like this:  0x0000000. There are quite a few so being exact is important. The next thing you need to do(after you reboot of course) is check the system logs for more information. If you can not get the system to reboot, or the BSOD happens quickly after you get back to the desktop there are other things you can do which I will get to later on in the article.

Image via Wikipedia

To get to your event logs either A.go to Start/Run and type 'EventVwr.msc' 
or open your 'control panel' and open 'administrative tools'. from administrative tools launch the 'event viewer'. In Windows 7 the event viewer is already categorized by the type of event and grouped together for easier viewing. In Windows XP the list is divided into 'application, 'system', and 'security' logs.
In viewing these logs you will see events labeled with the time and date and a symbol that represents what kind of error it was. There are warnings that look like a yellow triangle and more severe failures that look like a red circle with a white X in the middle.

Image via Wikipedia

This should give us a general idea of what caused the issue. If it's not immediately clear what may be the problem we start the more tedious troubleshooting.

• Remove any new hardware that may have been installed and it's associated drivers.
• Try updating the system board drivers and see if there are any new updates for your operating system via Windows update. 
• Check for viruses and malware.
• Check to make sure you have the latest BIOS installed, and try resetting it to the default settings.

I hope these tips were useful to you. If you need a complete list of stop codes or some more troublsehooting help go here.


http://www.aumha.org/a/stop.php

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Disable Unwanted Startup Scripts.

Whenever you install new programs, some of them will add an entry to your startup so they will start when Windows does. Too many programs running during startup can cause your boot time to become unbearable. There are very few programs that are necessary when you first boot in to Windows. Some examples would be your anti-virus software and your audio card software control icon. Some examples of unnecessary startup items would be instant messaging programs and other random utilities that can easily be run only when needed.

Most programs will allow you to create a quicklaunch icon when they are installed and they will also create an entries in your the programs section off of your Windows start button. If you have too many programs running at startup here is what you can do to remedy this.

In Windows XP go to Start/Run and than type 'msconfig'(without the single quatation marks) and hit 'ok'.

In Windows Vista and 7 click on the Windows 'sphere' than type 'msconfig'(again without the quotes) in to the dialog box and hit 'enter' on the keyboard.

Next click on the 'startup' tab.

Choose the items you want to disable and remove the check mark from them. Click 'apply. and than 'ok. Windows will ask you if you want to restart or exit without restarting at this point. The choice is yours. I recommend rebooting and testing to see if the changes you made have helped.

*WARNING* Be careful what programs you disable. If you disable certain items video or audio issues could occur. Programs such as your anti-virus and anti-malware programs may become disabled. If you are unsure about the item you are about to disable perform a google search about the item by it's name.

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