Introducing the Blue Screen of Death
Of all the problems with Windows computers, the infamous Blue Screen of Death probably requires the least of introductions, simply because every one has met it at least once (if you haven’t you just wait). However, most of us don’t know the intimate details about the BSoD. And through this post, we will get to know a little more about the BSoD and hope that by understanding it better, we start to appreciate its beauty (much like how almost everyone is afraid of sharks, but if you study them, they turn out to be fascinating creatures).
Background
Let’s start with a little bit of a history lesson. The Blue Screen of Death is technically known as a stop error which occurs in operating systems to signify a fatal error in the working of the OS. It is the Operating System’s way of preventing the computer from corrupting itself further. The reason why it is associated with Windows most is probably because Windows is the most popular OS around.
The BSoD in Windows has been around since the days of Windows 3.1 and every version of Windows has a BSoD (even Windows CE), and various versions have different information on the BSoD. Windows Vista and Windows XP display similar BSoDs. Most BSoDs are a result of corrupt or badly written device drivers, but they can also result from faulty hardware on the computer (such as memory) or problems with the power supply of the computer (though these days, this is becoming less frequent).
Continuous Windows restart with BSoD
As we know, the Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) occurs whenever there is a fatal error in the OS. Usually these errors are transient and will go away after a single restart, but there are some which have to be taken care of explicitly.
To be able to debug a BSoD you need to be able to know what is wrong in the first place – information that you typically read of the BSoD itself. But what do you do if your computer is continuously rebooting as soon as a BSoD is displayed. This happens because of a setting in Windows. Now, following the ‘Prevention’ step-by-step below, you should disable this setting to avoid getting into a continuous loop of restarting in case of a recurring BSoD. If you are already stuck in such a loop, skip over to the “Cure” after the step-by-step.