In this guide you will discover how to get rid of the Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD) using some simple steps. But first we should know what are the real causes of causing this famous error to show up in the first place.

Basically this error shows up in a blue screen with some white text on it containing some text about the error type, but sometimes the screen just fades away leaving you wondering about the real cause behind the error.

I have red lot of articles in the internet and never found the right way to fix this problem which is very easy to fix if you follow this complete guide.

You will discover how to fix this Blue Screen Of Death either during your activity or in the startup (boot) of your Windows computer.

Just follow the steps in this article and feel free to post your questions in the comments section below if you have any!

This tutorial will work with all versions of Windows including Windows 10.

Let’s GO!

The Causes of the Blue Screen Of Death

There are lot of types of errors, each have their own causes. In the most cases it’s one Driver that can trigger such an error… If you are using an old driver then maybe you need to update it. Or it can be a program that is causing that problem or even a new device or peripheral (RAM, Graphic Card, Processor, …)

If you remember what was the last thing you changed in your computer, software or hardware side, you have more chance to fix your computer than if you didn’t remember.

Here are the common reasons for having the Blue Screen Of Death:

• Conflicting driver – You may have installed a new Driver that is not compatible with your Windows operating system.
• Installing a new hardware – It’s also important to note that installing a new peripheral (not known or compatible with your OS) can be the cause, make sure the new device is working properly and the Driver is up to date.
• Heat – Your computer may have some cooling issues, try to clean it up (fans, heatsink and everything inside if possible) and change the thermal paste in case you removed the heatsink and place it back. It’s better to re-apply the thermal paste in 2 year period to keep your CPU cool.
• Over usage – If you have an old computer, using high consuming CPU an Memory programs can cause your OS to freakout and display the BSOD.

There are multiple causes that can push your Windows to die and display the Blue Screen Of Death, even if you didn’t have faced this issue I recommend you to read and know the possible solutions or save the URL of this page for later.

How to Stop Windows from Restarting

In order to stop Windows from restarting after showing the Blue Screen Of Death during the boot of your PC you need to insert a Dword value in your Registry Editor.

To do so just boot in Safe Mode and create a .reg file that contains the following code (you can use the famous Notepad to create your file):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl] "AutoReboot"=dword:00000000

Save your file and click on it once to make the changes happen to your Registry.

To make things go back to normal you can use this file instead:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl] "AutoReboot"=dword:00000001

If you are unable to install this Registry key then continue reading, it’s all OK.

Try the Safe Mode!

You can access the Safe mode easily by following these steps.

Press Shift key and restart your PC.

Click on “Troubleshoot“.

Click on “Advanced options“.

Click on “Startup Settings“.

Click “Restart“.

Press 5, make sure the Numlock is on.

Open the Command Prompt as administrator and run the following command:

sfc /scannow

If you want to use Internet then you probably need to choose “Safe Mode with Networking“.

Once you’re in the Safe Mode, you can do lot of things… really.

Try to uninstall the drivers that may cause the “BSOD”, sometimes the drivers will get updated automatically and somehow Windows won’t be able to “understand” their functionning, so getting back to old versions or uninstalling them may solve the issue.

You can also try to restore your OS to what it was like before the problem occurs, make sure to copy your files before you do so.

If you still get the “BSOD” even if you are in the Safe Mode then please continue reading.

Check the Installed Updates!

It happened to me numerous of times, especially in the early days of Windows 10. Lot of drivers are downloaded automatically and can cause lot of trouble if they are not compatible with your current operating system. You can always go back to previous versions of your drivers by checking the manufacturer’ site. To show the newly installed updates go to “Control Panel” > “Programs and features” then click on “View Installed Updates“.

The updates will be sorted by the date they were installed on, so if the BSOD started appearing at a certain date maybe you have to uninstall the updates installed at the same date.

If the BSOD no longer appears after uninstalling those updates then maybe you want to block the updates from reinstalling themselves.

Stuck in a BSOD Reboot Loop?

If your Windows keeps rebooting each time you try start your computer then you need to repair your Windows and this is done automatically if you have a Windows 10 installation.

You can use the System Restore feature to fix this issue, from there you can easily choose the date before you started getting those annoying BSOD errors.

System Restore is a very good option since it will restore your system removing any changes made by Windows Update if you are uncertain which update caused the issue or if you can’t even access to your desktop screen. I won’t affect any of your files.

How to Prevent Unwanted Updates from Installing

If you to prevent Windows 10 from downloading specific updates you can use a tool created by Microsoft called “Show or hide updates”, you can download it here: kb3073930

First download the package from the link above and launch it, then click on “Next“.

Here you can either show hidden updates or hide the updates you don’t want Windows to download and install.

In the next screen you will see the updates that are available, in my case I disabled Windows Update since I only enable it once in a month to download critical updates, I hate BSOD as we all do and I want to have control over my updates…

BSOD while Working on Your PC?

The BSOD may occur during your work which is certainly annoying, the reason could be a device driver update or new hardware inserted or even the software crashed (it happens rarely but could be the reason!).

If you inserted a new hardware that triggered the BSOD then shutdown your computer immediately and remove the device/peripheral that caused the BSOD. Once Windows is started go to Device Manager and uninstall the hardware from there.

Next time install the driver from the manufacturer’ site and insert your hardware, because Windows Update can get the wrong driver sometimes.

BSOD During Upgrade to Windows 10?

When you get the Blue Screen Of Death during the upgrading process to Windows 10… don’t worry!

The installer will restore your original operating system automatically, you have to run the upgrade again, you won’t get a half-installed Windows 10 but the files of the upgrade will still be on your C: drive, you need to remove all the files inside the folder C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution

But you need to first run these commands to stop the Windows Update Service and the Background Intelligent Transfer Service:

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits

Or you can just rename the folder SoftwareDistribution to make the installer create new upgrade files, you can do all this using theses commands:

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
rename c:\windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.bak
net start wuauserv
net start bits

Other Reasons that Can Cause BSOD:

Virus Attack

A BSOD can also come from a virus that infected your computer, I recommend that you run a regular scan using MalwareBytes (the best anti-malware so far) and Avast to scan the MBR (Master Boot Record) also (to kill any rootkits).

Next time don’t download any software from untrusted sources or open an .exe file from a message… be careful!

You can read my tutorial on How to Remove All Viruses from Your PC for Free and follow the steps to get rid of them.

Partition Filled

Sometimes the partition where Windows is installed get filled up, this is why I prefer creating multiple partitions and using the second one to store my large data. You can also use a second Hard Drive and use an SSD Drive for the OS and programs you use most of the time.

Boot Files Corrupted

You can fix all corrupt files by following this tutorial: How to Fix Corrupt Files on Windows 10

Now you know how to prevent the Blue Screen Of Death from happening, it’s also called Stop Error for some mysterious reasons…