Common Blue Screen Errors and Their Meanings

This post was written by admin on June 11, 2009
Posted Under: BSOD, Free PC Security

There is never a good time to encounter the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

This infamous system glitch has been known to show up right when you are in the middle of something important and it will bring your computing activities to a crashing halt.

Though it may seem like your computer has turned against you, it is actually calling out for help. When this untimely annoyance makes an entrance, it is usually a sign of stability issues or critical system errors.

Here's the good news: BSOD errors provide hints of the underlying problems so you can fix them.

Blue screens are accompanied by messages and hexadecimal values known as stop error codes.

These codes contain vital information that can be used to troubleshoot the cause of the problem and ultimately lead you to a solution. Below are some details and resolutions on a few stop codes that typically accompany the dreaded Blue Screen of Death.

Stop Code 0x0000001E - KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED:
This code commonly means there are issues occurring within the kernel of the Windows operating system, a problem that often stems from device driver files.

The recommended resolution for this blue screen error code is to remove, disable or update the driver file in question. This file will be specified in the error message so it should be relatively easy to find. If this doesn't work, make sure the hardware installation was completed properly.

Stop Code 0x0000007F - UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP:
This code means that your Blue Screen of Death problem is the result of a glitch the system was not able to detect. It is typically rated to hardware components such as RAM.

This error code can also be caused by defective components on the motherboard or the CPU over clocking.

To address this blue screen error you can do one of the following:

Run memory diagnostics to check the status of RAM.
Restore over clocked settings to their previous state.
Repair or replace the motherboard.
Disable the sync negotiation function in SCSI BIOS.

Stop Code: STOP 0x000000D - DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL:
This code means the Blue Screen of Death occurred because the system is trying to access page memory at a process IRQL that is too high.

This error is usually related to a device driver or application installed on the system.

To address the problem, disable or update the drivers in question, or uninstall and reinstall any backup utilities or anti-virus software recently installed on your computer.

Stop Code 0xC000021A 0 - STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED:
This blue screen error means that the user-mode subsystem has been fatally compromised. When this occurs, security and integrity cannot be guaranteed. The most common cause of this error is third-party applications on mis-configured system files.

To fix this error, try one of the following:

Remove or roll back any device drivers recently installed on the system.
Uninstall and reinstall any new software installed.
Make sure you only utilize Windows-certified backup utilities.
Restore the security on the system root folder by doing a fresh installation of Windows on a separate partition.

Conclusion:

BSOD errors have a number of causes and therefore, numerous stop codes exist.

While your first instinct may be to kick your PC to the curb, these problems can be easily resolved with a little troubleshooting and patience.