Blue screen of death

[Nupe2]

Got it again. This is the second time in the last couple of weeks. The first time after multiple reboots, chkdsk etc., the system repaired itself (?...I'm not a pc geek). Everything was working fine until this morning and now I have the blue screen. I dumped a lot of files onto an external hard drive when the last one happened. However, I began to wonder whether that new drive caused the problems so I disconnected it. I'm just wondering now what I should do. I have two hard drives on the computer and I'd like to salvage what I can. Any suggestions as to the next sequence of steps would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Xaquin44]

a lot of times blue screens are caused by over heating .... try blowing out your case and moving it a bit further away from the wall.

It won't hurt at the very least.

 

[FastCarsSpeed]

Got it again. This is the second time in the last couple of weeks. The first time after multiple reboots, chkdsk etc., the system repaired itself (?...I'm not a pc geek). Everything was working fine until this morning and now I have the blue screen. I dumped a lot of files onto an external hard drive when the last one happened. However, I began to wonder whether that new drive caused the problems so I disconnected it. I'm just wondering now what I should do. I have two hard drives on the computer and I'd like to salvage what I can. Any suggestions as to the next sequence of steps would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Make of PC?
Operating System?
List of New hardware and or software added since the BSOD.

 

[Toxick]

I have two hard drives on the computer and I'd like to salvage what I can. Any suggestions as to the next sequence of steps would be appreciated.

Hopefully it won't come to this, BUT, the BSOD doesn't necessarily indicate anything wrong with the data on your harddrives, so if it becomes necessary to re-install, see if you can get a new harddrive to install your operating system on - and then attach the 2 HD's you have now. You should be able to safely copy the data you want to keep onto your new harddrive - or to a backup system, or what-have-you.

 

[Nupe2]

Make of PC?
Operating System?
List of New hardware and or software added since the BSOD.

Dell

Windows XP

Added annual update to Norton Anti-virus software and updated Turbo Tax files.

I was wondering too about heat and dust. I turned it off this morning so I think I'll check for dust this evening when I get home.

One other thing...I'm thinking about transferring my files using an external hard drive case. We did this before with an earlier crash and were able to save most of my files this way.

One other other thing....Mac? Do these type of issues occur with Macs?

 

[RadioPatrol]

Got it again. This is the second time in the last couple of weeks. The first time after multiple reboots, chkdsk etc., the system repaired itself (?...I'm not a pc geek). Everything was working fine until this morning and now I have the blue screen. I dumped a lot of files onto an external hard drive when the last one happened. However, I began to wonder whether that new drive caused the problems so I disconnected it. I'm just wondering now what I should do. I have two hard drives on the computer and I'd like to salvage what I can. Any suggestions as to the next sequence of steps would be appreciated.

Thanks!

If you have a CD Burner, you can try this:

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

 

[Nupe2]

If you have a CD Burner, you can try this:

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

Why the ?

 

[FastCarsSpeed]

Nupe,

Usually if its a newer dell it should have a heat sensor on the motherboard which will cause the computer to shut down without even a BSOD so I find it a little odd if it was due to heat.

When the system reboots does it give an error and the ability to send microsoft a descrip of the problem? My new HP laptop apparently had a problem with my verizon wireless card that HP had documented and microsoft notification picked up on after I reboot the box and sent in the error report. It immediately pushed me to HP's website to get an updated driver. Since then I have not had another BSOD.

Im not saying this will work for you but it is a possibility since MS plays so well with Dell.

 

[Nupe2]

Nupe,

Usually if its a newer dell it should have a heat sensor on the motherboard which will cause the computer to shut down without even a BSOD so I find it a little odd if it was due to heat.

When the system reboots does it give an error and the ability to send microsoft a descrip of the problem? My new HP laptop apparently had a problem with my verizon wireless card that HP had documented and microsoft notification picked up on after I reboot the box and sent in the error report. It immediately pushed me to HP's website to get an updated driver. Since then I have not had another BSOD.

Im not saying this will work for you but it is a possibility since MS plays so well with Dell.

I've had it about 3 years. Not sure if its heat-related but I wanted to give that a shot. I did get the error report message (your computer has encountered a serious error...) and sent it to microsoft no word though.

Thanks for the help!

 

[LordStanley]

Next time it blue screens, write down the stop code, and google it on another working computer.

The stop codes usally give you good info on if its hardware related of OS/software related.

 

[Nupe2]

Next time it blue screens, write down the stop code, and google it on another working computer.

The stop codes usally give you good info on if its hardware related of OS/software related.

Will do. I think I'm the victim of planned obsolescence! Can you say Vista?

 

[Speedy70]

One other other thing....Mac? Do these type of issues occur with Macs?

No.

I think this article is a good starting point on comparing the two.
http://www.familyresource.com/lifestyles/technology/buying-a-home-computer-mac-vs-windows

 

[Nupe2]

My son has suggested the following replacement set-up. What do you think?

Okay, here are the specs and cost with my education discount

2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
250GB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon X1600/128MB VRAM
SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Apple USB Modem
Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
20-inch widescreen LCD
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR


$1601

You can get it with 1gb ram for $158 less … but I would go with the 2gb

 

[sparkyaclown]

No.

I think this article is a good starting point on comparing the two.
http://www.familyresource.com/lifestyles/technology/buying-a-home-computer-mac-vs-windows

I wouldn't call that article an unbiased comparison between the 2. Obviously an advertisement for the Macs. Both have their issues, while there is no BSOD per say OS X still has its share of crashes.

Viruses and security holes on the Mac are almost nonexistent with OS X.

This one especially gets me, the real reason you see so few viruses or exposed holes has more to do with the popularity of the operating system, not how tightly they've secured it. If I was going to write a virus, why do one that will only effect about 5-10% of all computer users. If I write it for Windows I'll hit closer to 90% of all systems out there. Hackers want notoriety and they won't get it by exposing holes or writing viruses for a OS without a significant market share.

 

[Speedy70]

I wouldn't call that article an unbiased comparison between the 2. Obviously an advertisement for the Macs. Both have their issues, while there is no BSOD per say OS X still has its share of crashes.

Really? There are 5 Macs in this house, and I don't recall one of them ever crashing. :shrug: Also, we've never had a virus in this house.

I'm not going to get into a debate with you on Mac vs. Windows because Mac is just better, period. :shrug:

 

[Speedy70]

My son has suggested the following replacement set-up. What do you think?

Okay, here are the specs and cost with my education discount

2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
250GB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon X1600/128MB VRAM
SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Apple USB Modem
Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
20-inch widescreen LCD
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR


$1601

You can get it with 1gb ram for $158 less … but I would go with the 2gb

Do you need an external modem? The desktops are very nice, but I prefer laptops; especially if you can go wireless.

 

[Speedy70]

My son has suggested the following replacement set-up. What do you think?

Okay, here are the specs and cost with my education discount

2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
250GB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon X1600/128MB VRAM
SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Apple USB Modem
Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
20-inch widescreen LCD
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR


$1601

You can get it with 1gb ram for $158 less … but I would go with the 2gb

BTW Nupe. I emailed these specifics to my hubby (who is a Mac know-it-all - seriously) and he said it's an excellent set-up.

 

[Nupe2]

BTW Nupe. I emailed these specifics to my hubby (who is a Mac know-it-all - seriously) and he said it's an excellent set-up.

He sounds like my son... As I learned to say when my guys were growing up..."we'll see."

 

[sparkyaclown]

Really? There are 5 Macs in this house, and I don't recall one of them ever crashing. :shrug: Also, we've never had a virus in this house.

I'm not going to get into a debate with you on Mac vs. Windows because Mac is just better, period. :shrug:

I could say the same thing about all my systems, never have had any issues, they stay up and running days on end without even a hiccup. Only BSOD I've ever had came when a hard drive failed which had nothing to do with the OS. I won't say one is better than the other. Both have their own issues, and both have their own perks. I was just stating that the article was clearly biased.
All operating systems crash. Most of the time it has nothing to do with the actual OS, more often than not it could be traced back to some 3rd party application. I've seen plenty of Windows BSODs and OS X systems crashes (even saw a video where Steve Jobs himself had it happen during a demo). Neither one is bullet proof, it all depends on what you do with the system. Truthfully I think Linux is the superior system hands down, but its lack of support by developers makes it impractical for most.

 

[RadioPatrol]

My son has suggested the following replacement set-up. What do you think?

Okay, here are the specs and cost with my education discount

2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
250GB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon X1600/128MB VRAM
SuperDrive 8X (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Apple USB Modem
Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse + Mac OS X (US English)
20-inch widescreen LCD
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR


$1601

You can get it with 1gb ram for $158 less … but I would go with the 2gb

Is this so your son can play better games ........