Windows Stop Error

From ResNetWiki

Windows Stop Errors, also known as BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death), refer generically to a wide variety of windows system errors that cause Windows to stop loading or to crash.

1 BSOD Layout
2 Reboot Cycling
3 Causes
4 Most Common BSODs
5 External Links

[edit] BSOD Layout

There are 2-3 important pieces of data on a Blue Screen that should be recorded.

The error message (upper red box).
The error code (lower red box).
- The error code also has 4 sets of parameters which can be important (see Most Common BSODs)
The file associated with the error (to the left of the lower red box in this image...here it is just *** so the file is unknown)

You can then search for one and/or both of these codes on a search engine or the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

[edit] Reboot Cycling

In Windows XP and Vista, the default settings tell the machine to reboot automatically when a fatal error (BSOD) occurs.

In order to prevent the system from restarting automatically after fatal errors simply right click "My Computer" --> "Properties" --> "Advanced" tab --> Under "Startup and Recovery", click "Settings" to open the "Startup and Recovery" dialog box --> clear the "Automatically restart" check box --> click "OK" the necessary number of times --> restart the computer for settings to take effect.
Source: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/russel_02may13.mspx

You can also view the crash information in the System Event Log which can be found at "Start" --> "Control Panel" --> "Administrative Tools" --> "Event Viewer" --> "System" in the left column.

If you are unable to boot Windows (even in Safe Mode) to view the BSOD information, you will need to edit the registry entry that controls the automatic reboot option. You will need to use an offline registry editor. The key that must be edited is:

System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl]

Value Name: AutoReboot

Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)

Value Data: (0 = disabled, 1 = enabled)

Source: http://www.pctools.com/guides/registry/detail/229/

Set the value to 0 (disabled), and reboot to try to reproduce the blue screen error.

[edit] Causes

BSODs can be caused by any number of errors:

RAM failure
System file corruption
Hard drive physical errors
Driver issues
And a host of other problems.

Please research these carefully and be sure to note in the ticket what kind of BSOD not just that an error occurred.

[edit] Most Common BSODs

Code	Message	Important Parameter	Common Cause
0x0000000A	IRQL_NOT_LESS_EQUAL	4th	Drivers, antivirus, backup utilities
0x0000001E	KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED	2nd	If Win32k.sys is referenced file, check remote-control apps
0x00000024	NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM	1st	HDD corruption, or bad defragmentation
0x0000002E	DATA_BUS_ERROR		Bad RAM/Motherboard, BIOS Memory Caching
0x00000050	PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA	1st	RAM, Drivers (esp. Printer)
0x0000007B	INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE		Driver, RAID config, IDE controller, HDD corruption
0x0000007F	INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE	1st	Bad RAM, CPU overclocking, sync negotiation in SCSI BIOS
0x0000009F	DRIVE_POWER_STATE_FAILURE		Power mgmt, CD writing software
0x000000D1	DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_EQUAL	4th	Similar to 0x0000000A
0x0000021A	STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED	4th	System file corruption mismatch, third-party applications