Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Operating System Diagnostics
When Windows encounters severe problems such as malware that corrupts or interferes
with system operation, bugs in drivers or other low-level software, inconsistencies in data
necessary for operation, or even hardware defects, the system is halted or shut down in a
condition that is technically called a
bug check
. Bug checks are also known as stop errors,
kernel errors, trap errors, fatal system errors, and system crashes, and because the error
information is normally displayed on a blue text-mode screen, they are also informally
known as blue-screen or BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) errors. When these errors occur,
inadditiontotheblue-screentext,Windowsnormallysavesamemorydumpfileandthen
automatically restarts the system.
Unfortunately, the automatic restart makes it almost impossible to read the blue-screen
error text, so I recommend reconfiguring the system failure and recovery options in Win-
dows to disable the automatic restart. To do this manually, select Start, and in the either
theRunorStartSearchdialogboxthatappears,enterthetext
sysdm.cpl
,andclickOK.In
the System Properties window, select the Advanced tab, Startup and Recovery, Settings,
System Failure; then uncheck the Automatically Restart box. Alternatively, to accomplish
the same thing, you can change the setting directly by entering the following command in
either the Start, Run box or at a command prompt:
wmic recoveros set AutoReboot = False
With the automatic restart disabled, if a blue-screen error occurs you will be able to view
(and record) the text on the screen before restarting the system. When you're looking at
blue-screen errors, the hexadecimal number following the word
STOP
is called the bug
check or stop error code, and it indicates the cause of the problem. For more information,
Microsoft has provided a detailed list of bug check codes, along with explanations and
troubleshooting information, at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff542347.aspx
.
Although the bug check (stop error) code by itself is very useful, in many cases it would
be helpful to have even more information. By using the Debugging Tools for Windows,
you can examine the memory dump file created when the stop error occurred and find a
great deal more information about exactly what might have caused the crash. For inform-
ation on where to get the Debugging Tools for Windows, as well as how to use them, see
the MSKB article “How to read the small memory dump files that Windows creates for
debugging” at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315263
.
Stop errors can be caused by hardware errors (such as memory problems), malware, or
even improper hardware or software configuration. For general troubleshooting of Win-
dows bug check (stop error/blue screen) codes, I recommend you follow these sugges-
tions:
