One of the most common questions today is what is this blue screen message and why won't my computer boot to windows. The problem is that the blue screen of death message can be very general sometimes. It may be caused by faulty hardware or it can be caused by a problem in the software. I have even seen viruses cause the blue screen of death.
Here are some things you as a consumer can do to check the hardware in your desktop or laptop computer. If you have access to the internet with another computer at your location or through a friends computer download a memory test program. One of them is the Microsoft memory test program. It is free and can be downloaded at http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Microsoft-Windows-Memory-Diagnostic-Download-3648.html . Here is some information on running it http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.09.utilityspotlight.aspx .I would suggest to save the cd image to a disk which is an iso file. This can be burned to a cdr disk using the burning software such as nero or roxio. Just check on your computer to see what software you have to burn the iso file to a disk. Once you boot off the created cd just run the program. If it finds a error with one of your sticks of memory just replace it with a new stick of memory. Most computers presently will have two or more sticks of memory. You can always take one stick out of the computer and test the other stick of memory.
Another good program that I would recommend over Microsoft's memory test program is called MemTest 86+. It is another free program that you can download and install on a cdr disk. You can download the program from http://www.memtest.org/ . Scroll down the page and choose to download the pre-compiled bootable iso in a zip file. Double click the zip file and it will create the iso file which can be burned to a cdr disk. You can then boot off the cdr disk and run the program. If it finds errors then remove one stick of memory at a time and rerun the program again to narrow down to which stick of memory is actually bad and replace it.
Another piece of hardware you can test is the hard drive. One program is the western digital program. It can be downloaded at http://support.wd.com/product/download.asp?groupid=621&sid=3&lang=en . Other manufactures have diagnostic software to test their hard drives as well. If it finds an error such as bad sectors write down the code it gives you. You can then contact the manufacturer and send the hard drive in for warranty repair if it is under warranty. If it is not under any warranty then the hard drive will have to be replaced. I would suggest using a cloning software such as acronis to clone it to a new hard drive. If it will not clone, then you will have to install a fresh load of windows with your operating disk from the manufacturer and your product license key that is usually on the computer. Then you can temporarily connect your defective hard drive and copy the data to the new set up drive. There are programs out there on the internet such as unstoppable copier that is free. You can run this after opening the files on your bad drive to give it permissions, then you can move the data.
One more good choice is to download the current Hiren's cd iso and burn it to a dvd disk. You can then boot off of it and run the various programs mentioned above. It also has quite a variety of tools on it. This is a free repair tool used by technicians. It can be downloaded at this link http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/ . If you are sure you want to try any of the above methods then I would seek out professional help at a local computer service center.
Always make sure to practice good esd protection so you do not damage the memory you may be replacing or the hard drive as well. Also remember that the blue screen of death may come from a variety of problems such as a motherboard, video card or a virus.
Thank You for reading and stay safe. All Comments are welcome.
Have A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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