How to: 5 Ways to Fix Blue Screen of Death in Windows Vista

Hits:9

1. Did You Install Any New Software/ Hardware Lately?
 Are you getting the blue screen of death in a fairly new computer? Did you install a new software or a hardware lately? If you did then that could be causing your blue screen error as it may be incompatible with Vista. If you installed any new hardware (printer, video card, anything), remove it and reboot.
 
 If it is a software, try booting in safemode and uninstalling the software.
 
 2. Are you Sure that there is no Software Conflict?
 I had a case where I installed ZoneAlarm Pro Personal Firewall and McAfee Anti-virus software and the system was getting a frequent BSD. After much time spent on the troubleshooting I realized the problem was on the anti-virus - firewall conflict. So I decided to uninstall one and the computer started running well.
 
 3. Did You Use 'Repair Your Windows'
 Another option, put the Vista DVD in the drive, boot to it (might have to go into the BIOS to set the boot sequence to CD/DVD drive) and then instead of letting the the DVD install, click on "Repair Your Computer" (I think it's on the bottom left of the screen).
 
 4. Analyze the Error Message given at Blue Screen of Death
 Turn off Automatic restart on fatal error. That way the message will stay on the screen long enough to read the details. If you can do that, see what it is on the blue screen that is causing the issue (in particular the numbers after the STOP message such as 0x000000A1... and the message in Capital letters such as MISSING OR CORRUPT HAL.DLL). Once you get the error message, put it in a google search, look for any results from Microsoft. I hope they have a patch to it.
 
 5. Extract Core Windows Files
 The most common reason for a blue screen of death is a malware infection that can infect up to 6 of the core windows system files listed below. If so happens then
 
 Extract the following 6 files from the i386 directory and replace the infected files: (You may also use extract from a Service Pack CD, recovery media, or recovery partition if said media matches the currently installed Service Pack)
 C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
 C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
 C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
 C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
 C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
 C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
 Reboot
 This way, you can get rid of the repeated blue screen of deaths you may face each time you start the computer.