The blue screen of death indicates that a Windows® operating system has found an issue that it cannot easily resolve, but you may be able to step in and help fix your computer. One of the first steps is to restart the computer and, if this does not fix the blue screen of death, restart it again — in safe mode. If these options do not work, the next steps require either restoring the system or removing certain hardware, because some installations can be the cause of the system crash. In some cases, you need to repair or reinstall Windows®, because the system files may be corrupt.
Despite the intimidating name of this computer problem, one of the main ways to fix the blue screen of death is a simple reboot. If restarting your computer does not get rid of the bug, you may need to restart it in safe mode, which results in only a few drivers loading and allows you possibly to pinpoint the software causing the problem. Restart in safe mode by repeatedly pressing the F8 key once you see the Power-On Self Test (POST) screen. You will see a menu appear after you press F8, and you should select Safe Mode, after which Windows® should load. Run a virus check while in safe mode to ensure that malware is not the issue, and delete any viruses that are found.
If starting the computer in safe mode does not allow you to isolate and uninstall the software or virus responsible for the system crash, perform a system restore. This will take your computer back to its state before you installed the software that may be the cause of the problem. To fix the blue screen of death this way, reboot in safe mode, enter your administrator's password when prompted, and type "system restore" into the Start Menu. Select the date prior to the latest software installation that you suspect caused the system crash, and your computer will revert back to that date. If this does not fix the blue screen of death, uninstall any hardware recently added to your computer.
If none of these steps works, you may need to repair Windows®, because the files may be corrupt. Put the Windows® CD into your disk drive and use the Windows® recovery console to repair the files. If this does not work, you can use the same CD to entirely reinstall Windows®. The majority of computers will be repaired by this point, but if yours is not, you may have to pay a professional to fix the blue screen of death.
