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What to Do When Your Device Blue Screens: A Comprehensive Guide

A blue screen is alarming, but it is usually fixable. It means Windows hit an error it could not recover from, most often a driver, a memory fault or a failing drive. Work through the checks below in order. If it keeps coming back, it is a hardware problem and we can look at it for you.

First, before you restart

  1. Write down the error code. The line beginning STOP or the text after "What failed" is the single most useful piece of information for diagnosing this. Photograph the screen if it is quicker.
  2. Restart. A one-off blue screen after an update is common and often does not return.

If it happens again

1. Update Windows and your drivers. Go to Settings > Windows Update and install everything offered. Then open Device Manager (right-click Start), look for any device with a yellow exclamation mark, right-click it and choose Update driver. Outdated graphics and storage drivers cause a large share of blue screens.

2. Repair your system files. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run:

sfc /scannow

then, once it finishes:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

3. Test the memory. Search for Windows Memory Diagnostic, run it and let the machine restart. Faulty RAM is a very common cause, and it is a cheap part to replace.

4. Check the drive. In Command Prompt as administrator, run chkdsk /f /r and restart. A failing drive will often blue-screen before it fails completely, so back up your files now if you have not already.

Digging deeper

  • Safe Mode. Hold Shift while clicking Restart, then Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart and pick Safe Mode. If the fault disappears, something you installed is the cause.
  • System Restore. If this started after a recent change, roll back to a restore point from before it.
  • Event Viewer. Under Windows Logs > System, look for critical errors timed to the crash.

Microsoft's own blue screen troubleshooting guide covers specific stop codes if you have one to look up.

Stopping it happening again

  1. Keep Windows, drivers and applications updated.
  2. Run a reputable antivirus scan. Malware causes blue screens too.
  3. Back up regularly. A failing drive gives you warning; use it.

Still blue screening? Open a support ticket

If you have worked through the above and it is still happening, the fault is almost certainly hardware: memory, storage, or in some cases the board. That needs diagnosis rather than guesswork.

Our repair centre in Naas handles this. Tell us the error code and what you have already tried, and we will come back to you.

Open a support ticket with the GreenIT repair centre

If you bought the device from us it may still be covered. Check the GreenIT product warranty, and if you hold extended warranty and accidental damage cover, the repair may cost you nothing.

Or replace it, if the machine has had its day

Sometimes the honest answer is that the repair costs more than the machine is worth. If yours is old enough that parts are scarce, a refurbished replacement usually costs about half of new and carries a full warranty.

Tell the sales team what the machine is used for and roughly what you want to spend, and they will come back with two or three options rather than a catalogue.

Request a quote  |  Contact the team  |  Call 045 409 150

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