10 common Windows Blue Screens or Stop Errors & workarounds

You may have read our earlier article 15 Most Common Stop Errors in Windows, along with relevant Microsoft KB articles. The article applies to Windows 10/8/7 too. I have compiled below, from various sources, a few more.

Common Windows Blue Screen Stop Errors

I have compiled below, from various sources, a few more Windows Stop Error or a Blue Screen and possible workarounds:

REGISTRY_ERROR

This stop error is rare and is caused due to failure to read the registry properly from the hard disk. Best to try and restore the registry from your backup.

DIVIDE_BY_ZERO_ERROR

This stop error is caused by an application trying to divide by zero. If you receive this error & don’t know which application caused it, you might want to try & examine memory dump.

KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

An incorrectly configured device driver usually causes this type of error. Difficult to isolate and troubleshoot.

INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT

This Bugcode 0x5 indicates that a kernel process was making an attempt to attach to another process. To aid in the diagnosis, the user should note all applications that were executing at the time of the failure. There is no recovery or workaround.

HARDWARE_INTERRUPT_STORM

Such an error is usually caused by a poorly written driver or firmware. Difficult to troubleshoot, but Device Manager or System Information tool can help you.

INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE

This stop error occurs when Windows has trouble reading from the hard disk. This error can be caused by a faulty device driver. You may also try running your antivirus.

PFN_LIST_CORRUPT

This Bugcode 0x4E error is usually caused by faulty RAM. You may want to get your RAM checked or replaced. If that doesn’t work, there is no other known recovery or workaround

MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

If you have overclocked your CPU, this could result. Also check your power supply.

MULTIPLE_IRP_COMPLETE_REQUESTS

This Bugcode 0x44 indicates a fault in driver logic. This has been seen to occur on a heavily loaded system. There is no recovery or workaround.

NMI_HARDWARE_FAILURE

Usually caused by bad SIMMS. Best to call your hardware vendor.

The Most Common Windows 10 Error Messages & How To Fix Them

A lot codes are the product of a single error

On-screen errors are always a source of frustration. It never fails to drain the life from one’s face anytime your Windows OS succumbs to an internal hiccup. Even more so when you have no idea how it happened in the first place.

In a time when our lives are being made easier through the use of fast internet and digital technology, most would expect everything to work flawlessly. This couldn’t be further from the truth. When dealing with Windows 10, the only thing you should expect is to encounter a few errors along the way.

Sadly, there are some errors that are unavoidable. So why do these errors occur? What does each error mean? How can you fix them?

The Most Common Windows 10 Error Messages & How To Fix Them

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to cover all of the issues one may encounter when using Windows 10. It would take far longer than you likely have to sit down and read an article.

Thankfully, a lot of error codes are actually the product of a single error. Which is why I feel it best we start there.

Windows 10 Update Errors

Most of the errors that you’ll encounter with Windows 10 will occur while running Windows Updates. This error can be referred to as the mother of all annoyances. It will appear like the image above and will contain one of the following codes, if not something similar.

0x80070057, WindowsUpdate_8007002C, WindowsUpdate_dt000, 0x80072ee7, 80070005, 80240020, 80246007, 80070004… and many more.

According to Microsoft, these errors occur when Windows 10 initiates an automatic update and a program requires user interaction.

However, if you initiate the Windows Update, these types of errors can occur for various reasons. Often times it will require a few computer restarts in order to fix it. Removing your security software can help at times though it’s not recommended.

If you’ve restarted multiple times and you’re still getting the error, then there is a possibility that something is wrong with your software distribution folder.

• Click to open your Windows Start Menu in the lower-left corner of your screen.
• Click on the Settings icon which looks like the cogwheel.
• Scroll down the window and click on Update & Security.
• Click on Troubleshoot from the left side menu.
• From the Troubleshoot window, click on Windows Update under the Get up and running heading.

• Click on the Run troubleshooter button.
• Follow the on-screen wizard until troubleshooting is complete.

Still doesn’t fix the problem? You can run it a few more times or you might give manually modifying the software distribution folder a try.

This process could prove difficult if you’re unfamiliar with the use of the Command Prompt. Only attempt it if you feel comfortable.

• Type cmd into the search field on your taskbar.
• Under Best Match, right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator from the menu.

You’re going to be disabling a few services. Start with the first command on the list and work your way down. Press the Enter key after each entered command.

Next, you’ll be renaming both the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders. Similar to the previous step, type in each command followed by the Enter key.

Now, we’ll restart the earlier services you disabled. You should know the drill by now.

Close out of the command prompt, restart your computer, and attempt your updates again.

Runtime Errors

There are many reasons for this error to occur: You may be running two incompatible software programs, your PC has memory issues, potential complications brought on by a malicious virus, and bugged programming to only name a few.

They are often accompanied by a numerical code that helps identify which problem is being experienced. Far too many to go into detail here.

Thankfully, the fix is usually an easy one.

• Open up your Task Manager.
• Click over to the Processes tab and sort the list by Username.
• End each running process one by one. After each ended process, attempt what you were doing when the error occurred.
• If the error doesn’t return, you’ve found the incompatible program.
• Update the incompatible program to prevent the error from occurring in the future.

The program you’re attempting to run could also be bugged or corrupted so be sure that all programs are up to date before running them.

BSOD/Frowny Face/Stop Errors

Infamously known as the Blue Screen of Death, this error will generally occur when the Windows OS comes across a problem it can’t handle and shuts down to avoid further complications.

No longer just a blue screen with numerical error codes, you can identify this screen by the frowny face accompanied by the basic message Your PC ran into a problem… typically followed by an error code. No matter what, after receiving this screen you’ll be forced to reboot your PC. This can make troubleshooting the error a bit complicated.

The chances are, whichever change you made right before the error occurred is probably the culprit. Depending on what it was that was changed, you can choose to reboot using the last known good configuration, via System Restore, or by rolling back the device driver.

Ensure that you have all Windows service packs and updates applied, update all hardware drivers and software updates, and do a virus scan.

If it’s a software problem, reinstall it or contact the developer for assistance. For a hardware issue, update the firmware or replace the component.

Conclusion

The errors mentioned barely scratch the surface of the many that you can encounter while using Windows 10. They are, in my experience, the most common errors you’ll face.

If you encounter a specific error not covered in this post and it has an error code present, a quick Google search could prove useful in understanding why it happened and how best to fix it.

Former US Army IT communications specialist who began his online blogging career in 2016. Joseph has over 10 years experience in the IT industry as both an analyst and communications expert. He’s a night owl and an avid Red Bull consumer who spends most of his downtime enthralled by online gaming and website building. Read Joseph’s Full Bio

10 Common Windows Errors and How to Fix them

While working on your computer, and especially while browsing the web, it is very common to bump into an error. Errors are perfectly normal things which suggest that something is going wrong with your computer. It could be a faulty driver, or a device, or a recent app which you installed that isn’t aligning with the rest of the modules. Most people don’t bother about investigating these errors, and perform a complete wipe and re-installation of the operating system. Sure it will, most of the times fix the problem, but again you don’t cut and remove your hand and attach a prosthetic one every time it itches. We have looked into some of the common errors that we come across every once in a while, what exactly those errors mean, and how you could resolve them.

Windows Errors

The POST beeps

This probably is the first error you could encounter after turning your computer. If all the vital components inside the computer are running fine, you will hear one beep (or two, depending on your motherboard’s manufacturer). One beep technically means that your computer has successfully passed the POST (Power-on self-test). If however you hear more than one beep, then it means that certain hardware of your computer is not functioning properly. Depending on the manufacturer of your computer’s motherboard (and also, BIOS version), any extra number of beeps that you hear suggests a faulty hardware. It could be anything from an out of power CMOS battery to a non-functional graphics card. You can identify the symptoms here.

Blue Screen of death (BSoD)

Doesn’t matter which Windows operating system you are on, one thing that you must have encountered a couple of times by now is the Blue Screen of Death or BSOD. Unlike most errors, there is no real-time escape from this error. You can’t press ESC to avoid it, or Ctrl + Alt + Del to fix it right away. This error usually occurs because of recent hardware or software change that you might have made on your computer. After restart, you should unplug any new device that you had attached to your computer, or uninstall any new software while booting in through Safe Mode.

To tackle these situations, you can also use a nifty freeware tool Nirsoft BlueScreenView. The app looks into the system dump files and logs to figure what might have caused the problem. Alternatives include WhoCrashed and Reliability Monitor.

Virtual Memory Too Low

It’s another common error to bump into. It usually occurs when you have an insufficient amount of RAM or, an application is eating up or leaking your precious memory. Computer uses smart ways to deal with programs, it either provides them the real actual memory or something called Virtual memory, which is essentially your hard-drive memory being used in place of physical memory. To resolve this error, you need to buy some more RAM chips.

If you think your existing RAM(s) are enough to bear the amount of work you do, then, increase the size of the pagefile. To do that, go to Control Panel, System and Security. Click on Advanced system settings, and from the Advanced tab, inside the performance pane, click on settings. Usually, it is suggested to have the size of PageFile about 1.5 to 2 times your RAM memory.

The missing DLL files

It is pretty common to cite a missing DLL message. What this error usually means is that while execution of a program, one of the required files (.dll in this case) was nowhere to be found. You can fix this error by reinstalling the software, or if it is a system file, you can search for that file online and get a copy of it. It is not necessary that the replacement file will always work, and secondly, make sure that the website from which you are downloading the file is trustworthy. Usually these errors are caused by viruses, so you may want to try a better anti-virus suite.

Device errors

If a device has recently stopped working, it could be because of some glitches in its driver module. To figure out what is wrong with that device, you will need to go to the Device Manager. To reach there, click on the start menu and type devmgmt.msc. Now locate the device, right click on it, and go to its properties. Click on the ‘Update Driver’ button. If updating the driver doesn’t resolve your problem, click on the Device Status, you will find an error code. Search that code on the web, and you will find links to an ample number of forums including Microsoft’s support site explaining and providing the solution for your problem.

Fatal Exception errors

In computer a lot of programs and hardware share memory and other resources with each other. If for some reason, a program doesn’t get its request fulfilled, you will get an error saying ‘unhandled exception’ and the program might even terminate. In worst scenario, it could even cause the computer to shut down. If you have seen that error, you can visit the webpage of Microsoft’s list of fatal errors and identify your problem.

System Error Codes

Software programmers follow a protocol to assign error codes to tell end users, and IT support about that error and what that error means. You can go to Microsoft’s support site where they have documented all the error codes and what those errors mean. For example, Error “22” points to “ERROR_BAD_COMMAND”, which means that the command you have entered is unknown to the program. Whereas, error “225 (0xE1)” is “ERROR_VIRUS_INFECTED” that means the program wasn’t able to complete the operation because the file contains a virus or any other potential unwanted program.

Browser Errors

We have many varieties of 4xx and 5xx errors that you could come across while surfing the web. While some of the errors, like 404 (Page Not Found) and 408 (Connection timed out) are usually not your browser’s fault but the server you have pinged. But there are few errors that could be blamed on your browser.

Error 403

The error 403 means that your computer has made the connection successfully, but you don’t have the required credential to view the page. Look for authorization/authentication details and try again.

Error 501 or 505

This error means that either your browser is outdated and hence does not support the version of HTTP protocol. Or, your browser doesn’t have the required plugins, like Java or Flash that are essential to display the content of the page. Both way, you could update your browser and since all the popular browsers are now laced up with the basic 3rd party services, your browser should be able to display the content. Or, you can install the required plug-in by visiting their official websites.

Error 406

This error means that your computer (needless to mention, the browser) doesn’t have the required software to view the content. Make sure to download the required software and that should fix the problem.