The Blue Screen of Death

The Blue Screen of Death is just a blue screen with text telling you that something is wrong with your computer. The type of problems that cause BSOD can be either hardware or software related and will sometimes require the help of a technician. Here are a few things to do after encountering the BSOD.

1) Read what the screen says: Often the error message will be useless to the average user, but you may want to give that information to a technician working on your computer.

2) Reboot: You'll have to do this anyway. Sometimes the problem that caused the BSOD simply goes away, but all too often the BSOD will continue until you fix the underlying problem.

3) Consider removing any recently added software: When you install software to a computer, it will often include a small piece of software, called a DLL, whose purpose it to, ironically, keeping software's impact on your system to a minimum. When software is added over a matter of time, a conflict between DLLs will inevitably arise, putting you into what is labeled in the computing world as "DLL hell." This can trigger the BSOD.

4) Ditto for hardware: Hardware doesn't install DLLs, although the software that comes with it might. Instead, new hardware will install a driver, which allows the new software to work with your computer. A poor written driver one can cause problems, including the BDOS.

5) Take it to the shop: The BSOD may indicate that some component in your computer, such as a memory chip, is going bad. You may have to take the computer into the shop to have someone diagnose what is going bad and to install a replacement part.