Your computer keeps blue-screening

Read the stop code

The block-capital text on the blue screen is not decoration: it's the diagnosis. Write it down before restarting, because it narrows the cause dramatically:

• MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA, IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL: commonly failing RAM or a driver misbehaving.
• CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED, INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE: often a failing drive or corrupted Windows files.
• SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED, DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL: usually a specific driver, frequently graphics.
• WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR: a hardware-level fault, sometimes overheating or an unstable overclock.
• KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE: can be memory, driver or corruption; needs narrowing down.

If it restarts too fast to read, the crash is recorded in Windows Reliability History: search "reliability" in the Start menu.

What changed?

Blue screens rarely begin for no reason. If they started after any of these, that's your suspect:

• A Windows update: particularly a major feature update
• A new or updated driver, especially graphics
• New hardware, including memory
• New software running deep in the system: antivirus, VPNs, disk utilities
• Moving the machine, which can unseat a memory module

Worth trying yourself

• Windows Memory Diagnostic. Search for it in Start. It'll test your RAM on the next restart and it's free.
• Roll back a recent driver. If it started after a graphics driver update, reverting is straightforward.
• Uninstall the last Windows update if the timing lines up.
• Reseat the memory on a desktop if you're comfortable inside the case. Power off, unplug, remove and refit the modules firmly.
• Check temperatures. Crashes only under load often mean overheating from clogged cooling.

Back up before anything else

This matters more than the diagnosis. Repeated blue screens sometimes precede a drive failing properly, and the window to copy your files off is now rather than after the next crash.

If it's already got to the point where Windows won't start, your files are still very likely fine: we can pull them off the drive even when the machine won't boot.

When to bring it in

Blue screens are one of the harder faults to diagnose at home because memory, drivers, storage and heat all produce similar symptoms and the only reliable method is systematic elimination with proper tools.

If it's crashing daily, if it happens during important work, or if you've tried the obvious things without success, our diagnostic is $50 per hour and you'll get a firm quote before any repair.

Work through it yourself

Our free troubleshooter asks a few questions and narrows down the likely cause, then gives you steps to try. At the end you can copy the summary, email it, or share the link with your own technician or a family member. Nothing to install, and no email required.