The “blue screen of death” – is it really your hard drive?

In the next few weeks I’ll be posting some blogs from our archives. Digging all the way back to the beginning, you’ll be getting refreshers of some great information 🙂 Here’s the first oldie but goodie all the way from 2008!

So you get the “blue screen” or “blue screen of death,” what do you do now?

If you call someone, you may get this answer, “It’s your hard drive”

Or is it…

I’ve troubleshooted many of these errors. Sometimes simple troubleshooting is all you need to do.

First I would start by turning off your computer.
Then unplug all your cords including monitor
Let the computer sit for 20 minutes

After 20 minutes, only plug in the ac/dc for the computer and monitor and turn it back on.

If it turns on and goes to the Windows start up screen, you may have a bad keyboard, mouse or USB external port issue.

Once it comes back on, if all seems ok…turn it back off.

Plug back in the keyboard and mouse. Turn it on again.

If it blue screens, it’s more than likely your mouse or USB port. If the end of your mouse has a circular end, it’s probably not the issue. If it has a 1/2″ thin metal end, it’s a USB mouse and could be the issue. Try another mouse if you have one.

If your computer turns on fine again, then test your USB plug-ins. (camera, webcam, printer, etc)

If then all seems ok, go in and back up your information/data right away.

Again….if anything at this point fails, it could be a hard drive issue. I don’t always think it’s a bad drive if it blue screens. Sometimes your computer just has a bump in the road and needs to be “reset”. The troubleshooting tricks above often help figure out what may be causing the issue.

USB ports can fail if you plug in a camera or another “external device” meaning…printers, cameras, webcams, etc.

Are you getting a blue screen and not sure what to do? Fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you!

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