Microsoft details how to fix Windows 10/11 blue screen of death (BSOD) issue

If you have seen that sudden, blue screen with a crash message no one wants to see, you probably know what blue screen of death, aka BSOD is. However, not everyone knows what to do when it happens. Worry not, today, you’ll learn how to fix BSOD in Windows 10 and 11.

Usually, the BSOD in Windows 10 and 11 have clues that can help you figure out what went wrong. Don’t worry if you cam’t sport those details. Microsoft has recently updated its official guide on how to troubleshoot blue screen errors.

Here’s how to fix Windows 10 and 11 blue screen of death (BSOD)

The support page used to be pretty basic but it now details everything. The new guide breaks things down into two levels.

First, there are the usual, basic troubleshooting steps. These include starting in Safe Mode, checking drivers in Device Manager, and making sure Windows Update is installed and up to date. Microsoft notes:

Basic Troubleshooting Steps for Blue Screen Errors

1. Remove any new hardware. If you added new hardware to your PC before the error, shut down your PC, remove the hardware, and try restarting.
2. Start your PC in safe mode. If you’re having trouble restarting, you can start your PC in safe mode. … . From safe mode, you can try the remaining troubleshooting steps.
3. Check the Device Manager. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager. Check to see if any devices are marked with the exclamation point (!). Right-click the device and select Update driver. If updating the driver doesn’t help, try disabling or uninstalling the device.
4. Check for sufficient free space on the hard drive. The operating system and some applications require sufficient free space to create swap files and perform other functions. Based on the system configuration, the exact requirement varies, but it’s a good idea to have 10% to 15% of free space available.
5. Install the latest Windows Updates. To check for updates, select Start > Settings > Windows Update , then select Check for updates.
6. Restore Windows. If none of these steps help, try restoring Windows using a system restore point, or one of the other options listed at Recovery options in Windows. Choose the recovery option that most closely matches your scenario.

For users who are comfortable digging a bit deeper, there’s an advanced section too. This part covers tools like Event Viewer and the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool. It’s not necessarily beginner-friendly, but it gives more control if you’re trying to track down the root cause.

Advanced Troubleshooting Steps for Blue Screen Errors

1. Check the Event Viewer. Check the system log in Event Viewer for other error messages that might help pinpoint the device or driver that’s causing the error. .. . Look for critical errors in the system log that occurred in the same time frame as the blue screen.
2. Run the Windows Memory Diagnostics tool. In the search box, type Memory, and then select Windows Memory Diagnostic.‌ After running the diagnostic, use the Event Viewer to view the results under the system log. Look for the MemoryDiagnostics-Results entry to view the results.
3. Memory dump analysis. IT professionals and developers can try performing a memory dump analysis.

You can find the full guide on Microsoft’s official support site. We also recommend you to bookmark the webpage, it might come in handy in future.