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- 1). Reboot your PC. Some blue screens are one-time errors, which can be cured with a simple reboot. Always try the simplest troubleshooting steps before advancing to more complex ones.
- 2). Research what type of error is causing the blue screen. The blue screen will identify the error that caused the crash in the upper left hand corner. You will see the text "STOP:" followed by the error number in hexadecimal format (for example, "0x000000D1"). Write down the code and perform a search on Microsoft.com or the Internet with the terms "blue screen" and the error number.
- 3). Identify any changes made to your PC right before the blue screen started happening. Did you apply any automatic updates from Microsoft or other vendors? Were any new devices or software packages installed (or removed) recently? If you added or removed hardware, power down the PC and restore the hardware back to its original state and see if the blue screen disappears.
- 4). Boot into safe mode to disable many device drivers and regain access to Windows. Turn your PC on and continually tap the F8 key as it is booting up. This should interrupt the boot sequence and present you with a boot menu. Select the option to boot into safe mode. If safe mode will not load, try to boot using the last known good configuration. Power down the PC, then power it back on, pressing F8 as before to get the boot menu up. Select the option to restore last known good configuration and see if Windows will start.
- 5). Uninstall or reinstall any software which might be causing the problem. The most suspect programs will be the last ones you were working with before experiencing the blue screen. Device drivers are usually responsible for blue screens, so if you updated or changed any drivers, reverse your changes and try to reboot.
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