Blue Screen of Death

Anyone got any suggestions on how to resolve these types of issues?

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Research the error and stop code(s). It's usually related to hardware or drivers.

I believe there are some Sysinternals tools that will give you some very detailed information if you want to take it to an advanced level.

Plantwiz

DerekAustin26 wrote: »

Anyone got any suggestions on how to resolve these types of issues?

Stop using Windows 98/95

Or as dynamik stated...research the codes.

I've not seen a BSOD in.....

a really, really long time.

What OS are you using?

cisco_trooper

Plantwiz wrote: »

What OS are you using?

Microsoft!

Ok, I'll stop now.

skrpune

I'm loving the responses and the pic posted!

...but if you're looking for how to quickly address BSOD's & what CompTIA wants you to know about them, here's the skinny.

Ask some questions: did you/the user recently update a driver (probably most common)? Or is there new hardware installed? Any other system changes?

Like others have said, research the BSOD code. If it flashes by too fast or restarts automatically, then disable the "automatically restart" option...if you're in XP, it's the default to automatically restart when an error occurs and you can lose out on the opportunity to write down that error code before it goes & reboots on ya.

Slowhand

cisco_trooper wrote: »

Microsoft!

Ok, I'll stop now.

Could be worse, you could be using Linux.

DerekAustin26

Im not having the BSOD. Im just trying to find the correct procedure to resolve the problem for learning purposes... I got my A+ , but the tests do not test you on this. Actually the tests were easy. I think BSOD requires experienced techs to resolve the issue.. But I have found that BSOD can also be due to a hardware issues.

REID8968

I had a heck of a time with the dreaded BSoD on my daughter's computer. Since she had mad no changes, or done any updates, I contacted MS.

Turns out it wasn't truly a BSoD, but a virus that liked to pretend it was showing you a BSoD.

Tried mulitple utils to clean the virus, nothing worked. Microsoft finally got one that worked for me. Check their website, they even list a # to call for support. Didn't charge me anything. The XP version was an OEM copy, and that was cool with them too.

Plantwiz

cisco_trooper wrote: »

Microsoft!

Ok, I'll stop now.

****
DerekAustin26,
the correct 'procedure' depends on the cause.

And I don't follow what you want here:

I got my A+ , but the tests do not test you on this. Actually the tests were easy. I think BSOD requires experienced techs to resolve the issue.. But I have found that BSOD can also be due to a hardware issues.

First, this is the A+ forum....Q/A for the exam requirements. If you want 'general' answers we have a forum for this.

Second, What the heck do you mean "BSOD requires techs to resolve the issue"??? Likewise your last line of "Can also be due to hardware issues"??? That was mentioned previous by Dynamik that it will usually be drivers or hardware.

So, just what is your question?

DerekAustin26

It requires experienced Techs because you usually would have to use Recovery Console and to use Recovery Console commands, an A+ certified entry level tech would not be able to do that w/o experience... How do I know? Cuz i have 2 A+ Books and read them front-n-back and now have my A+ Cert and i know nothing about Recovery Console Commands.

Now do you got any advice you would like to provide or do you just want to continue to beg the question?

dynamik

I don't really understand what you're asking either...

If you want to learn about the recovery console, google it. This was right at the top.

Here are some more:
Advanced troubleshooting for general startup problems in Windows XP
Troubleshooting the Startup Process

You're really going to need to delve into the 70-270 and/or the 70-290 material if you want a better understanding of this material. It seems like you want to run before you can walk. You're going to make things more difficult than they have to be if you don't master the fundamentals.

skrpune

DerekAustin26 wrote: »

It requires experienced Techs because you usually would have to use Recovery Console and to use Recovery Console commands, an A+ certified entry level tech would not be able to do that w/o experience... How do I know? Cuz i have 2 A+ Books and read them front-n-back and now have my A+ Cert and i know nothing about Recovery Console Commands.

Now do you got any advice you would like to provide or do you just want to continue to beg the question?

I have to disagree with you - troubleshooting BSODs is a topic covered in A+ (under the umbrella of tools, diagnostic procedures & troubleshooting techniques), and recovery console has nothing to do with BSODs.

I'll reiterate what I said above in an earlier post - if you encounter a BSOD, note the error code & try to think of anything that's just changed. Did you update a driver? Install a new piece of hardware? If not, then can be a failing piece of hardware. Look up the code, and if it's a driver issue then try last known good configuration (if you haven't been able to log in) or try booting to safe mode to roll back the driver. And if the BSOD flashes by too quickly, then be sure to turn off the auto-restart feature so you can have a chance to see what it actually says.

Psoasman

I have dealt with the BSOD a few times. I usually write down the code and google it.you can find just about every code and often a fix for it. We have a Wiki at work that we put notes on what we fix.
BSoDs are usually due to drivers that are corrupt, bad software. Some viruses can mimic a BSoD.
They can be irritating, but often aren't that serious as long as you have good backups, maybe make a restore point.
As far as using Recovery Console for BSoD, I have never done that. I know A+ pushes RC, ASR, etc. If is often easier to wipe the computer and restore backups.

DerekAustin26

Thank you for the advice.. I seriously appreciate it.. But I have taken the A+ Exams and studied thousands of practice questions.. You are only asked about Recovery console very briefly about twice out of the thousand and none on the real exam..

Now to the book... when "Troubleshooting the 'Stop Error' or aka "BSOD" you can search the last part of the error message.. yes i know you mentioned this and i appreciate the help.. But the book in fact does mention a possible solution is to use Recover Console (a very powerful adminstrative tool which does require a tech who is very adept in this area) and you restart your pc using the Recovery Console and run a command from the command line... What that is? i dont know.. A+ doesnt seem to go into this.. I believe Microsoft goes more in depth on this.

Anyways thanks guys for the help! appreciate it.. any more advice is encouraged.

gojericho0

The recovery console is a backdoor into the file system that you can use when Windows is not booting properly. From here you can copy or replace system files. It also contains some administrative tools like checkdisk that will check and hopefully fix errors in your disk drive.

Does this help?

Plantwiz

DerekAustin26 wrote: »

Thank you for the advice.. I seriously appreciate it.. But I have taken the A+ Exams and studied thousands of practice questions.. You are only asked about Recovery console very briefly about twice out of the thousand and none on the real exam..

Now to the book... when "Troubleshooting the 'Stop Error' or aka "BSOD" you can search the last part of the error message.. yes i know you mentioned this and i appreciate the help.. But the book in fact does mention a possible solution is to use Recover Console (a very powerful adminstrative tool which does require a tech who is very adept in this area) and you restart your pc using the Recovery Console and run a command from the command line... What that is? i dont know.. A+ doesnt seem to go into this.. I believe Microsoft goes more in depth on this.

Anyways thanks guys for the help! appreciate it.. any more advice is encouraged.

Advice:
Stop using 'practice' tests to learn the material

CompTIA exams are vendor neutral. As Dynamik pointed out, if you want more on BSOD then look to the MS exams.

And this is not 'advanced tech' stuff, sorry. Set yourself up a test machine, like just about everyone before you, break it, fix it and keep researching material (not just a couple books). Read white papers, MFGs info, University materials, etc.. if you want 'more'.

The simplest solution: Research the code when it occurs. There are too many to memorize and frankly, XP and newer hardly ever BSOD. But if you are trying to prepare via Practice tests...

.....well, you can search for my thoughts on practice tests.

Seems like you already have all your answers, because you've shot down just about anything we've offered. Good luck to you!

Plantwiz

DerekAustin26 wrote: »

Thank you for the advice.. I seriously appreciate it.. But I have taken the A+ Exams and studied thousands of practice questions.. You are only asked about Recovery console very briefly about twice out of the thousand and none on the real exam..

Now to the book... when "Troubleshooting the 'Stop Error' or aka "BSOD" you can search the last part of the error message.. yes i know you mentioned this and i appreciate the help.. But the book in fact does mention a possible solution is to use Recover Console (a very powerful adminstrative tool which does require a tech who is very adept in this area) and you restart your pc using the Recovery Console and run a command from the command line... What that is? i dont know.. A+ doesnt seem to go into this.. I believe Microsoft goes more in depth on this.

Anyways thanks guys for the help! appreciate it.. any more advice is encouraged.

.....well, you can search for my thoughts on practice tests.

Seems like you already have all your answers, because you've shot down just about anything we've offered. Good luck to you!

DerekAustin26

As I just said... "Microsoft goes more in depth on this"

aordal

I personally see my users BSOD their machines almost daily. If you are running XP Windows (by default) writes a **** file to C:\Windows\Minidump. The files names correspond to the date/occurance of the BSOD. Anyways, find the .dmp file and open it into Debugging Tools for Windows. Just type that into google and you'll find a free download from Microsoft.

After you've downloaded and installed that utility you need the Symbols package for the OS you are pulling the .dmp from. Odds are if you are running XP that you're on SP2 or SP3. Type into google, Debugging Tools for Windows + Symbols Download + Windows XP SP2.

You'll get a hit from Microsoft for the download. Download and install the Symbols (pay attention to the install location, its usually C:\Program Files\Symbols but it could be dif). Then launch Debugging Tools for Windows and click File | Symbol Path and load in your symbols. After that has been done open the crash **** (.dmp file) into the application and it will give you verbose information and the faulting .dll or process that caushed the crash.

If memory caused the crash it'll say so and you can run MemTest86 (free download) to check memory. If its a .dll or .sys that caused the crash you can put that into google and see which app/driver it corresponds to and you can simply remove/reinstall that app/driver.

Hope that helps... let me know if you need help.

DerekAustin26

Thanks Aordal. Very nice feedback!

skrpune

I would say that Recovery Console is the LAST thing you would do if you have a BSOD. It's not really that advanced of a tool, but if is powerful, so be careful if you do use it. Kinda like a sharp stick or knife - not really so hard to use, but you can put an eye out if you don't use it right!

Ahem, but seriously...Recovery Console is in no way, shape, or form part of the first line of action after a BSOD. Unless the cause is a virus that's attacked your machine & the system files, then it really won't help too much. Most often it's a driver issue that can be solved by booting to Safe Mode & rolling back the driver, or it's a failing hardware issue which is only fixed by replacing the failing hardware. It's rather common for dying RAM to cause BSODs.

DerekAustin26

And I definitely agree! I was just wondering how you would use Recovery Console on this type of situation if you had too. Because the book is not clear on this..

But yes you are definitely right and I agree 100%
Thanks for the advice!

undomiel

Most common use for the recovery console in a blue screen situation is for when you need to run a chkdsk /r, or a fixboot and/or fixmbr. But this would depend upon the error you are receiving and very rarely would be the first tool you would use.

dynamik

One time my best friends mom called me in a panic because her computer was blue screening, and she had her master's thesis on it with no backup. Some system file was corrupted or missing, so I loaded up the recovery console and copied the file over from a working system. It's funny how something so simple can mean the world to people

skrpune

Yeah, what can seem easy or like second nature for techies can seem like a different world of complexity for those who aren't techies. Computers are similar cars in this way - most people just turn the key and their car just WORKS, and when something doesn't work and they neeeeed to get somewhere with said car, it can cause a major freakout. But if you've got a mechanic friend to call (or, for you NPR fans out there, the fellas on Car Talk) who can walk you through a simple fix or if your friend can fix it for you, then it's not so bad.