Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)

Last Updated: February 1, 2017

Definition - What does Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) mean?

Blue screen of death (BSoD) is a Microsoft Windows operating system error screen that is displayed to indicate system conflicts and the potential for a crash. This term gets its name because these critical messages were displayed on a blue screen.

BSoD errors relate to system hardware, temperature, timing, resources, corrupt registries or viruses. The BSoD error screen serves as an alert to avert further computer and system damage. A BSoD freezes Windows and requires that the system be rebooted in order to continue to operate.

The blue screen has become less common now that operating systems are able to deal with many errors without interruption.

The blue screen of death is also known as a stop error.

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Techopedia explains Blue Screen of Death (BSoD)

The four primary BSoD components are as follows:

Actual error message
Loaded memory modules
Unloaded modules with no errors
Current kernel debug status

BSoD error codes include associated driver data and troubleshooting tips in the form of text and hexadecimal values. It is recommended that users make note of this data before rebooting. Users should also verify proper hardware installation and undo recent hardware and software upgrades.

BSoD errors also include memory dumps. When a system crashes, system memory data is dumped and saved to a hard drive file for debugging. BSoD error details are displayed because Windows is unable to recover from kernel-level errors.

BSoD error codes are readable via the following steps:

In the start menu, right click "Computer"
Select "Manage"
In the Computer Management window, select "Event Viewer"
The event log data isolates the cause of the BSoD error

BSoD error examples include:

DIVIDE_BY_ZERO_ERROR: Occurs when an application tries to divide by zero
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL: Caused by a buggy device driver or actual hardware conflict
KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED: Caused by an incorrectly configured device driver
REGISTRY_ERROR: System registry failure
INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE: Unable to read hard disk
UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP: Check complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) for correct amount of random access memory (RAM) and single inline memory modules (SIMM) for speed and type
BAD_POOL_HEADER: Recent changes introduced this error
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM: Indicates hard disk corruption

BSoD file names (.SYS extensions) indicate the BSoD error source. If a BSoD error file name cannot be located, the driver update tool may be used to find, download and update device drivers. Because most BSoD errors are related to outdated device drivers, reinstalling and updating system device drivers ensures seamless function.