Diagnose Your Blue Screen of Death

• 1). Disable the automatic restart after system failure feature by right-clicking on "My Computer" and choosing "Properties." If you have Windows Vista or Windows 7, choose "Advanced System Settings" in the left sidebar. Under the "Advanced" tab of the dialog box that appears, find the area that reads "Startup and Recovery" and click the "Settings" button. Uncheck the "Automatically Restart" check box and click "Okay" at the bottom of the dialog box.
  
  
• 2). Record the data that appears on the blue screen of death (BSOD) the next time your computer crashes. Near the top of the BSOD, there should be an error listed in all capital letters with underscores separating the words. In the middle of the page there should be a series of strings beginning with "0x...". These "pointers" signal where in your RAM the computer crash occurred. Record the error at the top and a few of the pointer strings in the middle of the page.
  
  
• 3). Open your web browser and navigate to Google. Type in the first pointer string that you wrote down and click "Google Search." At the top of your search results you will most likely find a website from the maker of your operating system or the software that caused the crash; there you will most likely find the answer to your problem. If not, browse the various forums and help websites that appear until you find a scenario that matches how your computer crashed. Follow the instructions on that website or forum to learn how to resolve the error.
  
  
• 4). Search a pointer string that you recorded combined with the string name of the error that occurred and any programs that you were using when your computer crashed if you cannot find the error simply by searching the pointers alone. Again, follow the instructions to resolve the error whenever you find a scenario that matches yours.