Blue Screen of Death
"I wonder if you know what it means when a dark blue screen comes up saying Windows has encountered an error. It shows "Bad Pool Caller" and a lot of things about reinstall. The tech info is "Stop" with lots of 000, etc. This has happened to me twice about 2 weeks apart. What is going on?"
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Windows is Your Friend!
This is actually a feature built in to all versions of Windows, a free gift from Microsoft. The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is there to help you. Sometimes people work too hard, and they need a break from the computer. Windows automatically senses this (although sometimes it is fooled by excessive cursing and/or pounding on the keyboard), and forces you to take a break by displaying the BSOD.
Most people find that if they shut down the computer, consume a mind-altering substance, and then resume working, things work pretty much better for the rest of the day. However, if you find that the BSOD is popping up even when you're NOT over-worked or over-stressed, there may be a hardware and/or software issue involved.
What Causes the Blue Screen of Death?
Sometimes bad or flaky memory (RAM memory, not your hard drive) can cause seemingly random system crashes. If you have just the right combination of programs open and system memory in use, and your computer tries to access a "bad spot" on a RAM chip, the results can be unpredictable. Or they can be the Blue Screen of Death. You can try replacing your RAM sticks one at a time to see if the problem goes away. This involves opening up the system unit and looking at scary wires and stuff, so for some people just living with the problem may be a workable option.
More likely, you have a software problem. Some programs just don't get along... they trample on each other's memory spaces and confusion (or the BSOD) results. And it seems that Windows just gets old and cranky the longer you have it installed. You may solve the problem by using the System File Checker, or if all else fails, by
re-installing the Windows operating system and/or your software packages. If the problem seems to be limited to one particular program, try re-installing just that one first.
Spyware or a computer virus can also make strange things happen. My articles Spy, Counter-Spy and Do I need anti-virus software? will help you find and resolve any such problems.
Time For a New Computer?
And sometimes, bad things just happen to good computers. If you computer is more than three years old, it may be functionally obsolete. Read my How to Buy a Computer article for help in determining if a new PC is the right solution for you.
Posted by Bob Rankin on August 31, 2005 03:31 PM
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Most recent comments on "Blue Screen of Death"
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I think you missed a couple of things Like misbehaving drivers usually harddrive or nic. I've seen these after updating the drivers |
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i knew it!!! |
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I've recently had the BSOD when inserting the SD card from my digital camera into my printer to transfer pics. I've got WinXP & Windows said the problem was the program Iomega Hot Burn (which I have)& gave me the web address for the update. Downloaded it and no problem since. |
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I agree with you the way you view the issue. I remember Jack London once said everything positive has a negative side; everything negative has positive side. It is also interesting to see different viewpoints & learn useful things in the discussion. |
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Could the blue screen of death happen by opening an email EDITOR'S NOTE: It's usually a (seemingly) random event that causes the BSOD. But if the email contained malware or some security exploit, it could trigger it. |
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I'm reinstalling XP for reasons too vast to go into, but halfway through the Repair reinstall I get the physical memory dump BSOD. What the ....? EDITOR'S NOTE: Could be a bad RAM stick, or damage to the hard drive. I'd try swapping out the RAM first. |
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I tried to reinstall Windows XP Plus SP2 but even after reformating the HD it wont install completely, it says drivers corrupt or cd damaged and I've tried several copies of the same disc. |
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