> When Experiencing BSOD

[Bugsy]

If you experience BSOD below i have listed just a few basic checks to complete before seeking additional help & advice.

(PLEASE NOTE I AM NOT A BSOD ANALYST BUT THESE BASIC CHECKS ARE FOR EVERYONE & SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT BEFORE MORE TECHNICAL ADVICE IS NEEDED)

These are just a few basic checks to do first – eg memory test and hard drive test. And test them thoroughly.

You should eliminate any programs/software that you may have an idea that might just be the reason behind the BSOD. eg The famous AVG. But dont get me wrong they are many other AV softwares/AV updates that can cause bsod and other things like corrupt or incorrect DRIVERS/SOFTWARE/GENERAL UPDATES/OTHER HARDWARE/etc.. it is always best to start with the easiest solution first by totally removing newly installed programs/softwares/Drivers.

Check and double check ALL DRIVERS are upto date, including video drivers and that you have the correct driver's installed! Also making sure that your using the latest BIOS.

Check the DEVICE MANAGER for any issues showing up there, i.e YELLOW EXCLAMATION MARKS.



Consider running chkdsk on all partitions. Let chkdsk complete ALL partitions and see if that helps.

Also consider running SFC /SCANNOW from elevated command prompt from normal mode & safe mode.



Consider testing memory with Windows Memory Diagnostic or memtest86.

Note that memory that passes tests is not necessarily good memory! it just hasn't failed a test.

Consider systematically eliminating RAM from the system, Run with a couple of sticks for a while, and see how things go. Also switch them about too.

If you boot into safe mode, do you still experience bugchecks? What about if you do a clean boot, or device clean boot?

It can be helpful to use Driver Verifier;
To enable Driver Verifier... start > verifier.exe > OK > Create standard settings > Next > select driver names from a list > Next > sort by Provider > select all non Microsoft drivers > Finish, and OK.

Then, reboot and use the system as you normally would, and wait to see how you go. In the event that the system does not boot completely after enabling driver verifier, boot into Safe Mode and run driver verifier, and tell it to delete the changes!!

Now remember these are just a few basic checks to consider performing before seeking more technical advice, as this will save time, so if you were unable to solve the bsod issue,

when seeking more advice please state all checks you have performed and you full system specs and if requested mini-dumps in your post, very important!


Hope you find this useful!