Blue Screen Error

What Is a Blue Screen Error?

When Windows encounters certain situations, it halts and the resulting diagnostic information is displayed in white text on a blue screen. The appearance of these errors is where the term “Blue Screen” or "Blue Screen of Death" has come from.
Blue Screen errors occur when:

• Windows detects an error it cannot recover from without losing data
• Windows detects that critical OS data has become corrupted
• Windows detects that hardware has failed in a non-recoverable fashion
• The exact text displayed has changed over the years from a dense wall of information in Windows NT 4.0 to the comparatively sparse message employed by modern versions of Windows. (Figure 1)

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage
to your computer.
UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME
If this is the first time you've seen this error screen,
restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow
these steps:
Check to be sure you have adequate disk space. If a driver is
identified in the Stop message, disable the driver or check
with the manufacturer for driver updates. Try changing video
adapters.
Check with your hardware vendor for any BIOS updates. Disable
BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.
If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart
your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then
select Safe Mode.

Technical Information:
*** STOP: 0x000000ED(0x80F128D0, 0xC000009C, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

 

Figure 1: Sample Blue Screen Error

Troubleshooting Common Blue Screen Error Messages

Error 1

Stop 0x000000ED (UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME)
Stop 0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE)

These two errors have similar causes and the same troubleshooting steps apply to both of them. These stop codes always occur during the start-up process. When you encounter one of these stop codes, the following has happened:

1   The system has completed the Power-On Self-Test (POST).

2         The system has loaded NTLDR and transferred control of the start-up process to NTOSKRNL (the kernel).

3    NTOSKRNL is confused. Either it cannot find the rest of itself, or it cannot read the file system at the location it believes it is stored.
When troubleshooting this error, your task is to find out why the Windows kernel is confused and fix the cause of the confusion.

Things to check:

• The SATA controller configuration in the system BIOS If the SATA controller gets toggled from ATA to AHCI mode (or vice versa), then Windows will not be able to talk to the SATA controller because the different modes require different drivers. Try toggling the SATA controller mode in the BIOS.
• RAID settings You may receive this error if you've been experimenting with the RAID controller settings. Try changing the RAID settings back to Autodetect (usually accurate).
• Improperly or poorly seated cabling Try resetting the data cables that connect the drive and its controller at both ends.
• Hard drive failure Run the built-in diagnostics on the hard drive. Remember: Code 7 signifies correctable data corruption, not disk failure.
• File system corruption Launch the recovery console from the Windows installation disc and run chkdsk /f /r.
• Improperly configured BOOT.INI (Windows XP). If you have inadvertently erased or tinkered with the boot.ini file, you may receive stop code 0x7B during the start-up process. Launch the recovery console from the Windows installation disc and run BOOTCFG /REBUILD

Error 2

STOP 0x00000024 (NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM)

This stop code indicates the NTFS file system driver encountered a situation it could not
handle, and is almost always caused by 3 things:

• Data corruption on the disk
• Data corruption in memory
• The system completely running out of memory (this typically only happens on
  heavily-loaded servers)

Things to check:

1    Reset the memory and all drive data cables to eliminate data corruption  issues stemming from poorly or improperly seated hardware.

2    Run a complete memory and hard drive diagnostic. The quick test will not be thorough enough here. You need to run the full system diagnostic.

3    If those diagnostics pass, run a full file system check from the Recovery Console
(chkdsk /f /r) to detect and (potentially) fix any corrupted data.

4    If none of the above solves the issue, re-install Windows.

5    If that does not fix the issue, replace the hard drive.

Error 3

STOP 0x0000007E (SYSTEM_THREAD_EXEPTION_NOT_HANDLED)
STOP 0x0000008E (KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED)

These two errors indicate that a program running in the kernel encountered an unexpected condition it could not recover from. They have identical troubleshooting and resolution steps, and you will probably need to use the Windows Debugger to find out what caused the error.

Things to check:

• If the Blue Screen message mentions a driver or library file, figure out what driver or application that file is part of and update or disable it.
• Update the system BIOS to the latest available revision.
• Uninstall any recently installed programs, and roll-back any recently installed drivers.
• Run diagnostics on the computer's memory.

Error 4

STOP 0x00000050 (PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA)

This stop code means the system tried to access a nonexistent piece of memory, almost always due to:

• A driver trying to access a page of memory that is not present
• A system service (ex. virus scanner) failing in an exceptional way
• Faulty or incorrectly seated memory
• Corrupted data on the hard drive

Use the Windows Debugger to pinpoint the exact cause of these errors.

Things to check:

1    If the Blue Screen error mentions a driver or library file, figure out what driver or program the file is a part of and either upgrade to the latest version or uninstall the driver or program.

2         If the error happens during the start-up process, try booting to the Last Known Good Configuration.

3         If the error started appearing after a program or driver was installed, uninstall that program or driver.

4    Try running a full hard drive and memory diagnostic after resetting the memory and hard drive data cables.

System requirements Windows Server 2008

System requirements for Windows Server 2008 are as follows:

	Minimum for Windows Server 2008	Recommended for Windows Server 2008	Minimum for Windows Server 2008 R2	Recommended for Windows Server 2008 R2
Processor	1 GHz (IA-32) or 1.4 GHz (x86-64) or Intel Itanium 2	2 GHz or faster	1.4 GHz (x86-64 processor) or Intel Itanium 2	2 GHz or faster
Memory	512 MB RAM (may limit performance and some features)	2 GB RAM or higher Maximum (32-bit systems): 4 GB RAM (Standard) or 64 GB RAM (Enterprise, Data center) Maximum (64-bit systems): 8 GB (Foundation) or 32 GB RAM (Standard) or 2 TB RAM (Enterprise, Data center and Itanium-Based Systems)	512 MB RAM	Maximum: 8 GB (Foundation) or 32 GB (Standard) or 2 TB (Enterprise, Datacenter, and Itanium-Based Systems)
Video adapter and monitor	Super VGA (800 × 600)	Super VGA (800 × 600) or higher resolution	Super VGA (800 × 600)	Super VGA (800 × 600) or higher resolution
Hard drive disk free space	Minimum (Non-Foundation 32-bit systems): 20 GB or greater Minimum (Non-Foundation 64-bit systems): 32 GB or greater Foundation: 10 GB or greater. Computers with more than 16 GB of RAM require more disk space for paging, hibernation, and dump files	40 GB or higher	32 GB or greater for editions other than Foundation Foundation: 10 GB or more Computers with more than 16 GB of RAM require more disk space for paging, hibernation, and dump files	32 GB or greater for editions other than Foundation Foundation: 10 GB or more Computers with more than 16 GB of RAM require more disk space for paging, hibernation, and dump files
Optical drive	DVD-ROM
Devices	Super VGA (800 × 600) or higher-resolution monitor, keyboard and mouse

Recovery Console on a Computer that Does Not Start

This step-by-step article describes how to use Recovery Console to recover a Windows 

Server 2003-based computer that does not start.

The Recovery Console is a command-line tool that you can use to repair Windows if the computer does not start correctly. You can start the Recovery Console from the Windows
Server 2003 CD, or at start-up, if you previously installed the Recovery Console on the computer. 

 Use the Recovery Console on a Computer that Does Not Start

NOTE: You must be logged on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to perform this procedure. Also, if your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from completing this procedure.

To run the Recovery Console, follow these steps:

1.           Configure the computer to start from the CD or the DVD drive. For more information about how to do this, see the computer documentation or contact the computer manufacturer.

2.           Insert the Windows Server 2003 CD in the computer's CD or DVD drive.

3.           Restart the computer.

4.           When you receive the message that prompts you to press any key to start from the
CD, press a key to start the computer from the Windows Server 2003 CD.

5.           When the Welcome to Setup screen appears, press the R key to start the Recovery Console.

6.           Select the Windows installation that you must access from the Recovery Console.

7.           Follow the instructions that appear on the screen, type the Administrator password, and then press ENTER.

8.           At the command prompt, type the appropriate Recovery Console commands to repair your Windows Server 2003 installation. 

For a list of commands that are available in the Recovery Console, type help at the command prompt, and then press ENTER. 

NOTE: Alternatively, you can install the Recovery Console as a start-up option on the computer so that it is always available. For information about how to do so, see the Precautionary Measures section in this article.

9.           To quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer, type exit at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

Recovery Console Commands

The following list describes the available commands for the Recovery Console:

·             Attrib changes attributes on one file or folder.

·             Batch executes commands that you specify in the text file, InputFile. OutputFile holds the output of the commands. If you omit the OutputFile argument, output is displayed on the screen.

·             Bootcfg is used for boot configuration and recovery. You can use the bootcfg command to make changes to the Boot.ini file.

·             CD (chdir) operates only in the system directories of the current Windows installation, in removable media, in the root directory of any hard disk partition, or in the local installation sources.

·             Chkdsk: The /p switch runs Chkdsk even if the drive is not flagged as dirty. The /r switch locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. This switch implies /p. Chkdsk requires Autochk. Chkdsk automatically looks for Autochk.exe in the startup folder or in the boot folder. If Chkdsk cannot find the file in the startup folder, it looks for the Windows Server 2003 installation CD. If Chkdsk cannot find the installation CD, it prompts the user for the location of Autochk.exe.

·             Cls clears the screen.

·             Copy copies one file to a target location. By default, the target cannot be removable media, and you cannot use wildcard characters. Copying a compressed file from the Windows Server 2003 installation CD automatically decompresses the file.

·             Del (delete) deletes one file. Del operates in the system directories of the current Windows installation, in removable media, in the root directory of any hard disk partition, or in the local installation sources. By default, you cannot use wildcard characters.

·             Dir displays a list of all files, including hidden and system files.

·             Disable disables a Windows system service or a Windows driver. The servicename argument is the name of the service or the driver that you want to disable. When you use this command to disable a service, it displays the service's original start-up type before changing the type to SERVICE_DISABLED. It is a good idea to note the original start-up type so that you can use the enable command to restart the service.

·             Diskpart manages partitions on hard disk volumes.

o                The /add option creates a new partition.

o                The /delete option deletes an existing partition.

o                The device-name argument is the device name for a new partition. One example of a device name for a new partition is \device\harddisk0.

o                The drive-name argument is the drive letter for a partition that you are deleting, such as D:.

o                Partition-name is the partition-based name for a partition that you are deleting, and can be used instead of thedrive-name argument. One example of a partition-based name is \device\harddisk0\partition1.

o                The size argument is the size in megabytes of a new partition.

·             Enable enables a Windows system service or a Windows driver. The servicename argument is the name of the service or the driver that you want to enable, and start_type is the startup type for an enabled service. The startup type uses one of the following formats:

·                         SERVICE_BOOT_START

·                         SERVICE_SYSTEM_START

·                         SERVICE_AUTO_START

           SERVICE_DEMAND_START 

·             Exit quits the Recovery Console and then restarts the computer.

·             Expand expands a compressed file. The source argument is the file that you want to expand. By default, you cannot use wildcard characters. The destination argument is the directory for the new file. By default, the destination cannot be removable media and cannot be read-only. You can use the attrib command to remove the read-only attribute from the destination directory. The option /f:filespec is required if the source contains more than one file. This option permits wildcard characters. The /y switch disables the overwrite confirmation prompt. The /d switch specifies that the files should not be expanded and displays a directory of the files in the source.

·                 Fixboot writes a new boot sector on the system partition. The fixboot command is only supported on x86-based computers.

·             Fixmbr repairs the boot partition's master boot record (MBR). The device-name argument is an optional name that specifies the device that requires a new MBR. Omit this variable when the target is the boot device. The fixmbrcommand is only supported on x86-based computers.

·             Format formats a disk. The /q switch performs a quick format. The /fs:file-system switch specifies the file system.

·             Help lists all the commands that the Recovery Console supports. For more information about a specific command, typehelp command-name or command-name /?.

·             Listsvc displays all available services and drivers on the computer.

·             Logon displays detected installations of Windows and requests the local Administrator password for those installations. Use this command to move to another installation or subdirectory.

·             Map displays currently active device mappings. Include the arc option to specify the use of Advanced RISC Computing (ARC) paths instead of Windows device paths. (ARC is the format that is used for the Boot.ini file.)

·             Md (Mkdir) creates a directory. The command operates only in the system directories of the current Windows installation, in removable media, in the root directory of any hard disk partition, or in the local installation sources.

·             More/Type displays the specified text file to the screen.

·             Rd (rmdir) removes a directory. The command operates only in the system directories of the current Windows installation, in removable media, in the root directory of any hard disk partition, or in the local installation sources.

·             Ren (rename) renames a single file. The command operates only in the system directories of the current Windows installation, in removable media, in the root directory of any hard disk partition, or in the local installation sources. You cannot specify a new drive or path as the target.

·             Set displays and sets the Recovery Console environment variables.

·             Systemroot sets the current directory to %systemroot%.

Precautionary Measures

How to Install the Recovery Console as a Start-up Option

You can install the Recovery Console on a working computer so that it is available to use if you cannot start Windows. This precautionary measure can save you time if you must use the Recovery Console. 

NOTE: You must be logged on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to complete this procedure. Also, if your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from completing this procedure.

To install the Recovery Console as a start-up option:

1.           While Windows is running, insert the Windows Server 2003 CD in the computer's CD or DVD drive.

2.           Click Start, and then click Run.

3.           In the Open box, type the following line, where drive is the drive letter of the computer's CD drive or DVD drive that contains the Windows Server 2003 CD, and then click OK:

drive:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

To install Recovery console as a start-up option for Windows Server 2003 x64 edition, type the following line:

drive:\amd64\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

4.           Click Yes when the message appears, to install the Recovery Console.

5.           When you receive the message that states that the Recovery Console is successfully installed, click OK.

6.           To use the Recovery Console, restart the computer, and then use the ARROW keys to select Microsoft Windows Recovery Console in the Please select the operating system to start list.

How to Remove the Recovery Console

As a precaution, do not remove the Recovery Console. However, if you want to remove the Recovery Console, you must do so manually.

To remove the Recovery Console, follow these steps:

1.           Restart the computer.

2.           Click Start, and then click My Computer.

3.           Turn on the Show hidden files and folders option (if it is not already turned on). To do so, follow these steps:

a.       On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.

b.       Click the View tab.

c.       Click Show hidden files and folders, click to clear the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)check box (if it is selected), and then click OK.

4.           Double-click the drive letter that represents the hard disk on which you installed the Recovery Console.

5.           Delete the Cmdcons folder from the root folder, and then delete the Cmldr file. To do so, follow these steps:

 .        Right-click Cmdcons, and then click Delete. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen, and then click Yesto confirm the deletion.

a.       Right-click Cmldr, and then click Delete. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen, and then click Yes to confirm the deletion.

6.           Remove the Recovery Console entry from the Boot.ini file. To do so, follow these steps. 

WARNING: Incorrectly modifying the Boot.ini file may prevent your computer from restarting. Make sure that you delete only the entry for the Recovery Console.

 .        At the root folder, right-click the Boot.ini file, and then click Properties. Click to clear the Read-only check box, and then click OK.

a.       Open the Boot.ini file in Notepad.

b.       Locate the Recovery Console entry, and then delete it. The Recovery Console entry looks similar to the following line:

C:\cmdcons\bootsect.dat="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

c.   On the File menu, click Save, and then click Exit to quit Notepad.

7.           Change the attribute for the Boot.ini file back to Read-only. To do so, right-click Boot.ini, and then click Properties. Click to select the Read-only check box, and then click OK.